This past weekend

We did a little shopping in Seoul this past weekend. We were looking for a new camera lens with a longer zoom on it than our what the shop keeper called a "cheap" kit lens. We didn't buy anything as they were all quite pricey and we decided to do a little more research before making such a steep purchase. The area of town that is known for camera shops is called Namdaemun. Korea has this interesting concept with shopping. When you need to buy something specific you go to a particular area of town where every vendor specializing in that product can be found. In Namdaemun, if you aren't shopping for cameras, camera lenses or extra camera products, I don't why else you would really be in the area. Every other shop literally for blocks and blocks is nothing but camera shops. And it is the same in Yongsan, which is called the electronics market. The strange thing about this is that they are all selling the EXACT SAME things without competitive prices nor are they ever really willing to bargain. The setup seems so strange to me. I don't understand how any of them stay in business this way.

Either way, it was a fun outing. The downfall to outings into Seoul, however are that the travel time often sucks up so much of the day, I never want to make the effort. Public transportation is awesome in Seoul, but we are not exactly in Seoul. We are countrified Seoul, meaning that we are urban enough to warrant the last subway stop on the line, but our subway only comes twice, sometimes three times an hour if we are lucky. And then, you have to get into Seoul, add on another hour to two hours for that. Plus you have to take into consideration the return trip because for some strange reasons the trains stop running around midnight, which means we have to be back on a train no later than 10:30pm. Blah bla, bla. All that to say, going into Seoul for a little outing is more hassle than it's worth most of the time.

But we have been working A LOT, 6-7 days a week for the past two weeks, so we needed to get our before we went absolutely stir crazy. And while we were out, we took some interesting photos of this little country we live in, I thought you might enjoy.

Kids were playing in this river. Seoul is basically a sauna the entire summer.

Namdaemun away from the camera shops.

Fruit displayed in an interesting fashion

Old men passing away the time.

I am pretty sure this is ginseng

Koreans love their ginseng

The Russians and the obstacle course

You thought we were done with the Russians didn't you? Well... I have been for two weeks, but I have been slow at editing videos. If you haven't noticed the blog is not exactly chronological. I put things up when I get around to it.
In fact, we have one last video yet of the Russians- their drama. So exciting isn't it!

As I have stated before, Russians and Koreans are not the same breed. I'm not sure they are even from the same planet, but that is a whole other topic for another day. One striking difference, is their need for physical activity. At one point in Korean history, the typical Korean spent most of their day farming outside under the blazing sun. This was of course before the technology bubble burst in Korea, contaminating all matter south of Seoul into a technology making factory. This technology contagion sent Koreans indoors, set them in chairs in front of a P.C. and turned them into gaming robots. Unless I am proposing soccer, the option of outdoors is clearly out of the picture for my Korean students. I one time had a girl say, hopefully jokingly but I am not sure, "teacher, too much green!" after we had gone outside for fresh air. The Russian students on the other hand were having a difficult time going to sleep at night from lack of physical exertion so it was deemed that they have obstacle course day at the random ropes course in the mountains right near us. This is the video of our day with the Russians at the obstacle course.




And pictures. I felt a little ridiculous in my overload of technology when following my students around with not only a camera with two lenses but also a video camera.

Our super fun but kinda lame and a little scary Paintball Adventure!

The other weekend Vanessa and I joined some of our new Meetup friends here in S.K. for a day of paintball. Now as many of you know, I have been in love with guns, shooter games, and just about every form of projectile you can imagine from slingshots to sniper rifles. I can't really explain the reason for my obsession, except to say that I think it has something to do with the incredible science behind it. There's something about it that I just find fascinating. Now I'm not going to lie. When it comes to paintball and airsoft too for that matter, I also love the ability to inflict a little friendly pain. Call me a sadist but there isn't a single person who's played the game that can deny the satisfaction that comes from landing that perfect shot right on the knuckle. That little yelp of pain just puts a huge smile on your face and the adrenaline is intoxicating. It's just so stinkin fun!

Anyways, I was a little timid about the whole event when William posted the description on Meetup. I've known for a while that Korea doesn't really have much of a gun culture and while paintball and airsoft are gaining popularity, they still aren't the most experienced gun handlers. Shooter safety is just as important with fake guns as it is with real ones and paintball is no exception. They aren't generally life threatening but under the right circumstances they certainly can be. Our friend Ros who came with us ended up taking a paintball right behind the ear at pointblank because one of the girls didn't have her safety on. Now if you ask me, that's just as much the instructor's fault as it was hers. Generally speaking, our instructor was mediocre at best. During his demonstration on how to safely handle the gun, he kept pointing the barrel at us. Shooter safety 101, never point the barrel of any gun, loaded or not, at anything you don't want to shoot, i.e. people.The other thing that concerned me was the equipment. The guns themselves weren't bad. They were well maintained and easy to operate but the masks we were given would never have been allowed at any legitimate paintball field. Faceplates that don't cover the ears are not good protection. They did add a new level of fun to the game however as you could see pretty clearly who you were shooting at. Not that I was gunning for anyone in particular and certainly not for my wife. ;)The field wasn't half bad. A little small for my taste but it had good cover and a nice hill to climb with lots of trenches and ravines to go diving for cover into. The only thing that kinda stank about it was the fact that the ground was covered in burs and pine needles that dug into your knees as you knelt for cover. No pain, no glory though.
I was a little bummed that we only got 50 rounds per game but in the end it just made you shoot more conservatively. The last game we played was kind of a Showdown where we had 3 people per team standing about 30 yards apart, each armed with 15 rounds. One team went first and took their 15 shots at their friends, then the other team took theirs. I won't lie about it, this was my favorite part! I hit Van 8 out of 15 which in paintball ain't half bad. Van hit me once, but she sure made it count. Somehow she got me smack square in the chin, under my mask. Stung like hell but I think I deserved it. I also probably deserved the whacks with her hairbrush I got over the next few days as well.

All in all, it was a super fun but kinda lame and a little scary day!
P.S. Ros was just fine. She took it like a man and got back in the next game. Had a nice welt to show for it though. Must be that tough South African blood that kept her from crying ;)

Our janitor, one size fits all outfits were extremely fashionable. As you can see the inseam area hung nearly a foot below where it should have been for Van.

The Oido lighthouse adventure!

I have been a little busy as of late which is why my postings have been fewer than normal. I have taken on an overtime position teaching for two extra hours a day, however, recently the administration decided that teachers had entirely too many preparation hours and decided to cut them. Obviously we are dealing with long-term planners, and education experts! To hell with preparing! Who needs to prepare for a class? The result has been that my head has twisted a full 180 degrees to face the wrong direction, I now gallop like a gorilla, if that's what gorillas do and woot like an owl. Well maybe it hasn't gotten that bad, but I do actually have a twitch in my eye and if things don't improve, I might turn into a crazed gorilla monstrosity.

So the entire intention of this intro was explain why this post about an experience last March is being written at the begining of June. And really, it isn't an excuse because it is months late and not just a week late. But if I can get you to feel sorry for poor little nessa having to deal with the crazies in Korea, then maybe no one will notice how late this post really is. Hows my plan working?

Onto the story: Except that there isn't too much of a story...

One day Kyle and Vanessa woke up very very early on a Saturday. They were taking a photography class and had to catch a taxi to the subway, switch trains three times before arriving at their destination three hours later. Vanessa and Kyle, not being morning people were non too pleased about this arrangement, but for photography lessons, they were willing to give up sleeping in for a few Saturdays in March.

I warned you it wasn't much of a story...

So one Saturday, we had made plans to meet up with a meetup group and some friends in Ansan to visit the *FAMOUS* Oido light house. (It isn't really famous, I'm being ironical ;) ) We met up with the folks, got on a bus to a random, and honestly pretty crappy museum, wandered around this sad attempt at a gathering of art and then headed out towards the light house.









We wanted to make it before sunset because it was supposed to be the best time of day to see it. We timed it perfectly, except for the transportation. You see, I knew what bus to get on, but we got on this local bus in the wrong location and ended up traveling around half the city. It was so past dusk when we finally arrived at the lighthouse, I could hardly see my hands in front of my face. Roman candles were for sale at the lighthouse, but unfortunatly the light house itself, which we had traveled litterally hours to see was closed.

For dinner, there were tons of restraunts along the beach front and as far as I could tell, they all served the exact same overly expensive clam bake. After paying what I consider outrageous prices for these slimy critters to sizzle and pop on an open flame, I have decided, I ain't a fan. Nope, I don't like the texture, or the bits of sand that are sometimes still ingrained. And to be perfectly honest, the flavor pretty much doesn't agree with my tongue either.


We had fun though, which is what counts. Despite the failed attempt at seeing the lighthouse, while open and at sunset, and besides what I considered a not so great meal, we had fun seeing friends and hanging out. All in all, it was a successful trip!

Cherry Blossom trip (part 2)

If you read part 1, part 2 will make much more since :)

We found the lake without too much hassle and it was delightful and even had blooming cherry blossoms. However, once again we took the wrong way turn around the lake and discovered, that bikes were not allowed in the commercial area: Our solution, ice cream. Ice cream solves everything.

After the lake the plan was to head home. According to our map, it should have only taken an hour. Of course, we went the WRONG way again, because evidently having a Korean with us, access to a map on an iphone and an ill-proportioned map did little to insure that we actually took the right turn. Our mistake unfortunately was extremely painful, and as penance by the God of Maps, we were forced to climb the never-ending hill. And by never ending, I mean that we were at least climbing for thirty minutes-to an hour. I don't actually remember as I lost consciousness and allowed my body do all the work while my spirit floated above laughing at our struggle.

The ride lasted forever, and once we arrived at the hostel, five minutes after 7pm, I thought I might topple over. My bum ached as if it had had the beating of it's life, and I dreaded another day of riding on that hard bicycle seat.

At dinner, I could hardly keep my eyes open, and by 10:30pm I was sound asleep.

This is a crazy building we saw on the wicked hard hill. In case you can't tell, it has a giant hole in the middle in the shape of a traditional tower. Kinda weird looking, very expensive, very Korean!

Sunday, after nine hours of zzzzz's, I woke refreshed all except for my bum. I understand now, the purpose of those butt padded shorts. Had I known the pain I would be in every time I sat that I couldn't help but making a pained noise, I would have searched out these specialized shorts which have the effect of making your butt look adorned with a tumor.

My bicycle stood there mocking me and my sore bum as I walked with trepidation towards this torture machine.

Luckily, the only uphills we had to brave was the steep demon hill to the most famous temple in the area. The one temple we were told couldn't be missed. It also just so happened to be the first road we were destined to ride. The temple was amazing, but honestly, once you have seen one temple in Korea, you have seen them all. They are almost all the same, except for small detailed differences. And as far as I know, none of them are the originals.

(the temple's garden)

These kids were so done with having the stinkin foreigners wanting to take their pictures!

Our friends Su and Danielle just chillin under a Cherry Blossom.

Our path back to the bike shop was along the highway, but rather than ride with the crazy Korean drivers who must all take lessons from the same insane asylum fugitive, we rode along the concrete paths of the rice paddies. Riding on flat land is so much more enjoyable that the uphill torture paths we rode Saturday.

The only other event worthy of note was running into our Polish American friend.

After returning our bikes, we found ourselves needing to waste an hour before we were supposed to meet back with the group. Walking along the streets searching for tourist shops an urgent voice calls out, "English speakers!"

A tall, broad shouldered white guy dressed in kakis, collared shirt, tie and red vest stops us in our tracks. His face was not quite desperate but his excitement was bubbling over and spilling all over his shoes. He looked as if he hadn't seen a familiar face in years. In fact we were to learn over tea and milk shakes, that this Polish Catholic guy raised in New York, schooled in South Carolina (just imagine the accent here) was fresh off the boat. (Not literally) He had just arrived in Korea for the first time not three days before. He had casually looked into teaching abroad, sent out a resume and found himself in a foreign country, in a small town far outside of Seoul (where anyone who is anyone lives) in about a months time. However within those three days, he had found a church and gone to an Easter service, found a gym, and found new friends with whom to spend the next hour. I think he should do just fine in this country. The first few months are the hardest because you really have to put yourself out there. Shyness and timidity gets you nothing in this country.

And then we returned to the bus for the long ride home. It was a fantastic trip. I was extremely appreciative that at least a few cherry blossoms bloomed for us. The beginning of spring is upon us. Patience is my friend. I can wait. I can, I can!