OK, I'm gonna put some captions on here. Why did this take two months for me to do? I got nothin.

Ahh Buddhist temple food is hella good.

I went to Jeju Island a few months back, which is the southern most area of Korea. Many of these pics are from the island, which was nice but too damn cold. Islands are always warm, right? even in winter?
If you click on these pics they will enlarge. Read the caption on this one. I thought it was pretty funny at the time. I like the idea of gods coming out of holes in the ground.

Daron told me of these low, hazardous looking power lines of Korea. They are no joke.

"Sunrise peak" and the temple on it. Twas nice.

Yes, these are from the "sex theme park" in Jeju. Koreans use to go to the island for their honeymoons, so someone made this park. Lot's of dick everywhere. First it is was very strange, then amusing, and after awhile just tacky and dumb.
Hunter, (or so I assume because you're the only person I know in Denver who is funny)

the reason that there is no thrusting going on in this pic is because my dad took the photo. We're close enough where I can say "take a picture of me by that huge green penis" but I'm not gonna do anything more than stand in the picture and look stoic. Ohh, yes those are supposed to be mosaic ass cheeks behind me.


These drinking fountains were by far my favorite sculptures at the park

Big maze. Josh Wedding quote in maze "this maze sucks, it's just a path." ....then 20 minutes later "ohhh god I have to pee and we're lost in this insanely difficult, large, godforsaken maze"

Democrats abroad. These guys helped me with my absentee ballet, and I'm glad they did.

Lava tunnels. woooooo.

not very photogenic.

3 people have emailed me saying something along the lines of "that pic with your dad and the crying guy is really good." Well, the fact that it is really good should tell you that I didn't take it. A bunch of Americans got together at this bar to watch the election results. Some AP guy took the photo and it ended up on a "reactions to the election around the world" story on Time magazine's website. The results came back during the day and I was teaching.

This says

"Obama". No I still don't really know much Korean. I can read and that's probably about as good as it's gonna get.

At the same bar at night a bunch of people where celebrating. This guy thought there was no way that America would ever elect BO so he lost a bet and had to get a tattoo of Obama speaking Korean on his ass. nooo, just kidding. He lost the bet and had to shave his head. They passed around the trimmer and everyone had a go.
That night I fell in love with a British woman who I haven't seen since. sigh.

The view from my window. It sure beats the Hoosier Mnsion view, i.e. our neighbor's porch awning which always had a flag of Santa, America or an Irish leprechaun.

These pics are all quite old by now. The sheets the school gave me-FUGLY. I'm not the type of guy to complain about free bed sheets, but.... Now I've got a few pillows and less hideous sheets, which we're hard to find because, apparently, Koreans love fugly bed sheets.

That's my dinner table that I got from the curb. Fold out leg with floor cushions. It makes a lot of sense for small flats with heated floors.

Desk, fridge and armoire. That gong is now in my classroom. If you're not paying attention in Wedding's class you get a "krrrrannnng" to the ear.

Efficiency baby. All within a few square feet you've got a stove, sink, rice cooker, blinder, water boiler, cabinets and a washing machine. All I need now is cast iron and I'll be set. That's the TV at the edge of the right corner.

My shirt is on and I don't have a mustache so this is not a "douche bag in mirror shot." This is my bathroom. Basically one big shower, Korean style.

Thanks for reading.

music and boyscouts

OK. Due to the bitching of a few select people, here's a new blog. I'm going to throw some random pictures on you with a little commentary and stupid jokes for good measure.
I just read the last blog and realized what a miserable failure I am. It's been a bit more than a week and these pics don't have that much to do with my day to day life in Seoul.

I'm really bummed that I missed Halloween in STL.

The mothers I teach asked me to do a lesson on Halloween, and I was glad to oblige. They couldn't seem to grasp the appeal of going to a party with fake blood smeared all over your face while acting like a reanimated corpse.

I wanted to show some pics of my friends, and stole some from facebook to accomplish this. I used these two to show that some costumes aren't always scary.

When I showed the pic of Joel and Ellen one mom said "ohh he looks like Kevin Costner." I said "trust me he's no Kevin Costner, but I'll tell him you said that."

So there you go mang.

I was feeling deprived of distorted guitars and drumbeats that shake your soul's core.
I felt an achin' and went to a music festival to see Yo La Tango in and attempt for a fix (my camera battery was dead).
It didn't quite kill the jonesin. I didn't need to see a band from 100 feet away while standing next to an over priced "vodka malt beverage" stand.

I needed to see someone bleed 2 feet away from my face, where I can smell their BO.

Then I stumbled upon 2 drummers, a guitarist, bassist, tap dancer, and an occasional MC playing outside in a urban park on a Friday night in the best area of Seoul.

These guys sound like a slop, garage, Korean version of James Brown.

I felt like I had rediscovered my faith.

Close by some guys were hiphopin.

The only words I understood were "put your hands in the air"

Occasionally I'll turn a corner and get treated to some traditional Korean drumming.

Aww real coffee. Just like mom makes.

I payed 30 bucks to ship this stove top espresso maker that I got from ebay for 8. but it's worth it.

This picture defines Seoul. On the right is the roof of a palace which about 3 times older then the US of A. On the left, in the background is a huge, times square style outdoor screen, with some garbage advertisements on it no doubt. This juxtaposition is East Asia.

This is gyeongbok place. Amazing.

Hungout with some boyscouts.



A ceremonial wedding reenactment.

I went with my friend Nathanial. Who lives in the flat above mine. This son of bitch can actually speak Korean. (I still know next to nothing)

I went on a feildtrip to Lotte World, which is a big ass amusement park. It was my first time seeing the students outside of their school uniforms, wearing everything from abercrombie and fitch to pot leaf shirts, which many Koreans think is just a "cool looking leaf."

A cycling-pianist playing old jazz songs. No one seemed to enjoy me singing along.

youuu must take the A train...








Two teachers with two students in front of some lovely Halloween decorations.

Here are two English teachers who I work with.

The one on the left went to school with Chelsea Clinton.
The one on the right learns grammatically incorrect English expressions like "gotta" and "ain't" from Britney Spears and Beyonce songs.
It pains me to work at a religious school and think that I might be playing some part in the brainwashing of kids (no offence to you Christians out there in bloggy land, you know I love ya, but that's how I feel about mission schools) but working with great people makes it a great job, regardless of the differing opinions that my school and I have about the hereafter.

Aww, I still stand behind this as a good band name. We should have made a decent recording.

This is a huge banner.

Of course I'm a scholar but it was really unnecessary for them to call me distinguished.









That's a "I voted" sticker. I sent in an absentee ballot. All that work just to write in a vote for Carrot Top.

I've talked about the joy of reading signs with incoherent English. The Korean language is organized with a different structure than English and this seems to result in silly signs scattered throughout the city. Danny found this one, good job dad.












OK kids.

Thanks for stopping by.

Keep in touch.