Elfing around

I know it's been pretty much a month to the day since my last post but since its the holiday season I gave my PR people a little time off. So, here is a quick recap of the past month in no specific order.

The continued headache of North Korea and South Korea continuously going back and forth has come to the point that I have just decided to not pay attention anymore. I have come to the conclusion that it isn't worth worrying about and until I see people running for the hills I am going to go about my business the same.

Secondly, I have actually been using the gym membership that I purchased last month. I haven't transformed into the macho gym rat that we all have grown to adore but I do try and go a few days a week just to make sure that I don't do too much harm to myself living in this box of an apartment. There is even this really cute girl that works there that I'm too afraid to talk to which keeps me always coming back for more. My Korean is coming along and I do know enough to spark up a simple yet important conversation with her but I think in the heat of the moment I might say something really stupid or better yet say something that means nothing I wanted to say. So, for now I will just let my sexy workout moves do all the talking.

Lastly the Christmas season has come, sort of...In Korea Christmas is celebrated but not quite like we do it back home. They refer to it as more of a lovers holiday, one for you to spend time with a significant other or at least trying to score one. With that being said my overall love for Christmas hasn't been down played but I can't deny the passion has dwindled some. Even here on Christmas Eve I find myself almost in disbelief that it is here. Where does the time go? I feel like I just got here and before you know it winter will be over and Christmas an after thought. I guess that might be a little good and bad. Feels good to get the sting of being lonely on the holidays out of the way but at the same time I don't want my time here to go too fast.

Until next time.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Thanks

Thanksgiving is here. And even though Koreans don't celebrate our traditional Thanksgiving holiday and Thursday, November 25th, is just another day here I thought I'd take a minute to say thanks for everything in my life as if it doesn't already deserve a constant thanks.

I am thankful for such a loving family. You guys have always been there and supported me in any and everything I've done. Without each and everyone of you I don't know where I'd be, especially with giving me the courage to move halfway around the World. I'm thankful for my friends, over the years some friends have come and gone but the ones that stick around are pretty awesome. From busting my balls about something dumb I did the night before to the occasional inebriated conversations about something bigger than ourselves. I'm thankful for all the opportunities I've been given in life. From the ones that seem irrelevant and trivial to those game changers that everyone seems to have even though they might not recognize them at the moment. I'm thankful for this years UNC football team, this season hasn't been perfect but they've stuck together to make it an interesting season to say the least. I will be even more thankful if they can beat the shit out of dook. I'm thankful for Skype, keeping me in touch with everyone back home.

Lastly I'm thankful for such a blessed life, everything that comes with it, the good and bad. The things that seem to happen behind the scenes, the ones you tend to have no control over. Being healthy and safe, trying to make the most out of what has been given to me. Making mistakes, learning from them. Trekking the hard path of understanding what it is I want. I am thankful for all of this. God has been good to me.

Thanks.

While you were sleeping...

Hey fans,

I just wanted to give everyone a quick hello and let you know that I'm doing good. School is good, we're about to start a new semester and I look forward to seeing how my new classes turn out. I finally joined that gym I had been talking about and since its across the street from school I will actually use it. The Korean class is coming along too, slowly, but its really coming together. Turkey Day is only a few days so thats really exciting...for ya'll. It will just be another day here hopefully.

Also I just wanted to give everyone some assurance that I am in no immediate danger following the N. Korean attacks that took place while you were sleeping safely in your beds. This is probably the first time I've even thought about 김종일 since I've been here. It's been more than six months since "N. Korea didn't sink" that S. Korean Naval ship and I think it was just time to stir the pot. We will know more in the up coming days but for now the President is working to try and relieve some of the tension after the two exchanged artillery for over an hour today.

Hope everyone has a good, safe Thanksgiving and I'll be thinking of you guys.

Pepero Day

Happy Pepero Day! For everyone who isn't out there celebrating Pepero Day get with the program please. In all seriousness Pepero Day is celebrated every year by giving your friends but more importantly your girl/boyfriend Pepero. What is Pepero?...Pepero is a long thin bread stick similar to a pretzel dipped in chocolate and can be topped with an assortment of other goodies. Being the curious cat that I am I started asking around to find out more behind this day of chocolate sticks. I heard a few different reasons including one that explained Pepero day as a day to wish for young girls to grow up tall and thin. I guess its just wishful thinking on the Koreans part but I knew that this was shit and I went searching for a more logical explanation. It didn't take long as one of the women that I tutor explained that it always occurs on 11.11 since the date resembles the 과자 (that's snack for all you idiots who don't know Korean.) This then led into foreseen explanation of how the Pepero companies formed this holiday as a ploy to push thousands of chocolate sticks down the throats of all Korean men, women, and children. You gotta love that good ole' American Capitalistic spirit!

Side note: I can't imagine what next year will be like...11.11.11 spells PEPERO HEAVEN!!!

Scatter brain

I was going to try and write a Halloween inspired article but I decided that was too much work so instead I am just going to shoot from the hip and mention a few note worthy things from the past week or so.

First of all I am still enjoying every minute of every day here even though I have become increasingly busy with teaching, tutoring, and taking Korean classes. This is good and bad, I like the fact that I am structured and staying busy but at the same time it'd be nice to able to have some more free time every once in awhile. Also I am starting to learn how to save some serious money here which is awesome.

Lastly I just want to say that with another month gone and the US holidays approaching quickly it has crossed my mind as to how different this holiday season will really be. Even here in Korea I am reminded sometimes of how lonely life can be around the holidays. Korean culture is a very group oriented culture which calls for close relationships and lots of emotions being displayed. It is such an inviting culture and it just makes you just want to go and hug everyone, I love it, but at times it is bittersweet, especially during the holidays.

Another day in the Gu

It's Sunday night here and I've been doing some extra work that I was suckered into but thought I'd take a quick break and write a short post.

October has come and is almost gone, I don't know what it is about living here but everything seems like its in fast forward. I guess partly because I am a day ahead of everyone at home so it gives me the illusion of it being faster or maybe its just the fact that since I'm in a new place it has that same feeling you get when you travel...that wow it's going by so fast that "I feel like I'm not going to get to do or see everything I want" kind of feeling. Regardless I guess this feeling is good compared to it being a slow dragging process that I felt like I had to claw my way through.

With October comes the amazing weather. The weather here is great in the fall and it also offers some of the clearest skies and most beautiful days of the year. Hopefully this weather will continue into mid to late November before a cold winter sets in. I am afraid that winter will eventually give me a lot less desire to want to be out and about so I need to soak it all in over this next month before I go into hibernation.

I have also started taking Korean classes on Saturdays. I have been learning through friends and co-workers for the first couple of months but for me to really conquer the language I sought out some real professional help. The classes are offered for free and are small in size to guaranty the one on one time that you need. Also the classes are held at Korea University which surprisingly enough looks like a typical American University with all of its beautiful Gothic architecture done in stone. Just being on the campus makes me happy and gives me that itch just wishing I was back in school.

In closing I'd have to say it's been another good week and I look forward to the next but all in all it's just another day in the Gu.

falling behind

I know that I have been lacking in the blogging department and I know how much everyone craves to read my next blog so I apologize a million times. It's just so hard to blog when you're busy shaping the leaders of tomorrow. But I guess it is only fair for me to take a few minutes to feed the masses with my beautiful literature.

Since my last post about Chuseok, I have been getting busy. I have been starting to gather some early Christmas presents for my friends and family, if you're reading this you're probably not going to get anything, which has been really fun. I love going to the different markets and seeing what hidden treasures I can find for everyone, maybe now I am starting to really get the feel for the whole "it's better to give than receive" thing. I have also decided to shave my head and become a Buddhist monk. I will not be returning to America ever, nice knowing all of you.

No I'm just kidding, I think it would be wild and an incredible journey of enlightenment but I for one don't think I have the patience to do so much inner evaluation. But on a serious note I did get to check out some pretty cool stuff last Saturday. I went to the HiSeoulfest, this festival is put on a few times a year and brings together all people from Seoul to experience non verbal performing arts from different cultures around the world. And even though it rained most of the afternoon I still got to see some pretty amazing stuff and I plan on catching the closing ceremony on Sunday. Be sure to check out the pics on facebook they'll be hot fo' sho'.

I also went to a pretty serious alt party this past weekend. I was invited by a friend of mine and I met him down under a bridge where they had set up lots of indie stuff. We're talking abstract art, graffiti, eccentric music, and skin tight jeans. I felt like I was in Brooklyn. All joking aside it was actually a pretty fun party, I met some cool people and got to see some of the underground scene that you might only be able to experience in a big city like Seoul. I will totally be interested in going to another one of these shindigs in future.

In closing I guess I will briefly reflect on my time here and just reiterate how much I have enjoyed living here. Even though things are slowing down and I have found myself settling into a routine there is always some new right around the corner, be it new people, new experiences, or just a new way to look at things. Can't believe I'm already two months through. Until next time...

p.s. that picture is from my rooftop and I thought it was a pretty badass view.

평하

Best Chuseok Ever! part 2

So after getting back from Seoraksan I had a day to rest up before I had my first visitors...I have a friend named Emilie who I was introduced to before I came to Korea because she was coming over at the same time. Emilie lives in Gwangju which is about 4 and 1/2 hours south of Seoul and since her and her friend Laura had nothing better to do they decided to come check it out.

They arrived in the early hours of Tuesday morning and after getting a little sleep we headed out to meet my friend Ahyoung. Ahyoung is a college student who works at the old OLA campus and we have kept in touch ever since. She was nice enough to show us some of the hidden gems of the city but the weather had other plans, raining us out completely and making us take cover within the COEX. The COEX is the largest underground shopping center in Asia and also houses a start of the art convention center. The G20 summit will be held there in November and none other than Obama is making an appearance.

Luckily Wednesday's weather held in check and we were able to venture out and participate in some traditional Chuseok festivities. First we watched a traditional Korean Musical performance that was out of this world. Then we worked our way over to the National Palace where we got to see lots of traditional games and arts & crafts. I even made a box with traditional Korean rice paper patterns. After that we popped some silk worm pupa and headed to Itaewon for some long awaited Mexican food. After almost two months of Korean food some wanna be Mexican was pretty badass.

This Chuseok holiday was great, I had a chance to get out of the city and see some amazing landscape, I enjoyed the company of a familiar face, and I got to take in some of the traditional aspects that Chuseok has to offer.

One more thing I got from Chuseok was that feeling of family even though mine is half way around the World. Just being out and seeing all the families spending time together, some looking anxious to get away and play with friends while others embraced the short times that had together it reminded me of something familiar even if it is only September. Happy Chuseok everyone!

Best Chuseok Ever! part 1

Sorry I haven't really done a good job the last week or so with keeping up on the blog. Even though I tend to have a good amount of down time for some reason it still seems like I never find time to write and it doesn't help when most of my week is pretty repetitive with work. This week I have lots to talk about though because it was Chuseok. For those of you who aren't up to date on your Korean holidays, Chuseok is viewed as an equivalent to Thanksgiving. We got Monday-Thursday off and I made tried to make the most of it.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to travel anywhere really exotic for the holiday, mostly because I had such a short window of opportunity to plan a trip and traveling during the holidays is a real pain. So I decided to get out of the city for a bit and took a weekend trip up to Seoraksan National Park. This was my first travelling experience in Korea and I did it solo. There were a few minor bumps along the road but everything worked out fine and I had an amazing time there. Seoraksan turned out to be even more exotic than I could have ever dreamed. It could very well be the most beautiful place I have ever seen, the mountains are outrageous and the valleys and streams just multiply it tenfold. On top of all that there are a few Buddhist temples and villages scattered throughout the park which made it that much more mesmerizing.

I even hiked up one of the peaks and crawled into a cave where Buddhist monks come to meditate. After almost dying from the hike and backing out due to some of the super sketchy trails that seemed to lead you to your death I reached my destination. Being up about 5,000 ft, sitting in a cave that has been used for centuries as a place of worship and looking over the mountain range can be pretty humbling and breathtaking. Even for someone who knows practically nothing about their religion it is not hard to see why they search for peace in these mountains.

I am so happy that I decided to go and push myself to make that journey to the top. It was definitely a once in a lifetime kind of experience. Hopefully I can make it out to Seoraksan again this winter and get another opportunity to have one of those moments that you will never forget or regret.

Address

I have had a couple of requests for my address so below is the address to my school. I think it is the safest bet because that way I won't have to worry about being present to sign. Also if anyone does decide to send me anything from a letter to a care package just know that if you do it via US Postal Service that once it crosses international borders the tracking number doesn't mean anything and if lost it might never be found. FedEx and UPS both ship here and can be tracked all the way to my door. One more thing it takes about 10 working days to send stuff so please not send live pets.

Taylor Southerland

Ian building 5th floor 563-16

Mangu-dong Jungnang-gu Seoul

S.Korea

131-810

If you are confused by this address please write it down exactly as you see it and they can help you at the store.

Play ball

I finally made it to my first baseball game of the season. I can't believe that I waited this long to go but at least I waited for a good one. Tonight the Lotte Giants came in town to play the Doosan Bears. These teams are two of the top teams in the league and with playoff time right around the corner it made for an exciting atmosphere.

It was like American football meets European soccer meets baseball. There are hundreds of vendors selling tallboys outside the stadium and its b.y.o.b at these games which is awesome. There are cheerleaders shaking their pom poms all around and the crowd is constantly singing and chanting nonsense at the opposing teams fans. Its perfect, I didn't even know who I was pulling for until the third inning but I didn't care cause the beers were cold and the chants were inviting. To anyone back home that thinks baseball is a slow moving boring sport with a lot of down time has never seen Korean baseball. I look forward to the playoffs and hopefully Doosan will make a run at the SHIP.

Howdy

So I have officially been in Korea for a month. Part of me feels like I just left but at the same time I am starting to get the feel of working the grind. I guess thats good and bad, good that I still feel some of the excitement of learning something new and good that I am becoming comfortable but bad that I am falling into that abyss everyone has but no one wants; the daily grind. I'm realistic and understand that there will obviously be quite a few days over the next 11 months that will fall under the daily grind category but to make sure that this trip doesn't just turn into the same old shit just a new place it will take a conscious effort on my part.

This is where the blog gets pretty dry...I am going to have to research some of Korea's hidden gems so I can make the most of my weekends instead of always going out to the bars, sometimes just a day trip to a market or going to see some live music will be more than enough to keep things interesting. Also utilizing my vacation days by hopping over to a near by island or country will very key. Then on a day to day basis I need to really focus on being productive before classes. These afternoons will be the key to a successful year...I am in the process of joining my first gym ever and when I'm not busy pumping iron and flexing my new muscles I'll need to make sure I put in a good hour or so on my Korean. If not my next year could consist of sleeping in till noon and bullshitting around my empty apartment which I think I've done enough of during the first 23 years of my life.

As far as my new neighborhood and school go...I'm happy here, it's quiet and laid back but only a 15 minute subway back into the belly of the beast. The apartment is starting to shape up but still has quite a bit of work to do. I like the school, its not as hectic as the last one, I like my kids except for a few punk asses but I guess you'll get a few of those in every bunch. My co-workers are nice, they're from Colorado. All three of them went to College together which tags me as the outsider but they are very nice so I don't feel get that feeling at all really.

SO overall I would say things are going really good. I am still happy and still having fun. I look forward to the upcoming fall weather and getting a couple of chances to explore some different parts of the country. The only bad thing right now is that I lost my diploma and a notebook today when I was at the store. Hopefully someone will return it to the academy since it was still in the envelope with the address on it. If not oh well I guess I will just have to start college all over again once I get back to the States.

I promise I will try and make the next post a little more interesting.

New Beginnings

I am officially moved into my long term school/apartment. All in all it's pretty much the same. I have a bigger bed and a bigger room but the room was dirty when I got to it so that sucked. It was also a little bit of a pain to have to pack up again and move all my shit half way across Seoul but now I can finally settle in and call something home (Cajun guy: "home is where you make it" Me:"What you like to see homos naked?") The school is somewhat nicer than the last one and definitely not as crowded which is a plus. Besides that I don't really know too much else about my new neighborhood yet. I'll be sure to update after this weekend though...

On a side not this up coming weekend marks the start of college football. I am truly going to miss this annual party. I know the Neer's are going to take care of Biznazz and I'm just hoping that the Heels will show up with half their roster.

Tips on Living Alone

So as most of you know I'm living alone here in a foreign country and sometimes I get lonely. Not anymore though with the help of my friend Dr. Steve Brule. Check out his video on how to fix those lonely times.

The good, the bad and the ugly

Just finished my second week here in Seoul and I'm still experiencing something new everyday. This blog focuses on some of these experiences and categorizing them accordingly. I'll start with the good...

Good

1. Korean women love to wear high heels and little clothes. I know that this may make me sound really shallow but I'm thinking more about it in a more functional manner...they can look sexy while giving their calves a strenuous workout.

2. Just like high heels, the metro cards are multifunctional. These cards can be purchased at your local convenient mart for a few bucks and then you add money according to your needs. Not only do these rechargable cards work for the metro they can be used for taxis, buses, and buying goods at the local family mart.

3. Phone chargers, I know that this may sound odd but Koreans have come up with an ingenious way to stop the age old problem of dead cell phones. If you are like me you tend to never have your charger when its needed most. In Korea this isn't a problem though, the chargers here are universal with a seperate adapter that correlates to the model attached to that phone. This way you'll never have to worry about ending those late night sext sessions at the bar due to a dead battery.

Honorable Mention: South Korea is the most connected country in the world. Within the next two years the average Korean household will have internet speed 200 times faster than that of an American home. Ironically I think I might be the only person in the country who still has to come steal internet from the local coffee shop.

Bad

1. Cigarettes are only like $2.25 here and they smoke them everywhere which has me starting a pretty nasty habit. Mom if you're reading this don't worry I dont smoke I'm just trying to act cool.

2. Blood Sausage, I'm sure that this is available back home but the way that they present/prepare this horse penis doesn't make it appealing at all. Its 4 am after a night of drinking and I am ready to give the street meat a shot. My friends decide as a right of passage I need to have a serving of this treat first. Needless to say I didn't enjoy chewing up this almost raw mystery meat.

Ugly

Fortunatly there is only one thing that falls into this category. Unfortunatly, it deals with bathrooms. I'm assuming that Koreans do this because of bad plumbing systems but they don't flush toilet paper. Instead they "neatly" dispose of it in the trash can. You can only imagine how disgusting this makes public restrooms. Also, lots of bars offer you a snack when you purchase a certain amount of alcohol. I like this alot but be careful not to ask for more salsa...Salsa here refers to something totally different (its related to the early subject from this section.)

Until next time.

Not in Kansas anymore

I thought I'd write a quick entry on a few funny things that are obviously different so far. First of all when I got to my apartment I had to take cold showers the first few days because I didn't know how to cut on my hot water. Turns out you have to cut it on and off everyday via a remote on the wall. Secondly, when you're walking down the street and someone older than you needs to get by they will just push you...its normal here no big deal, no need to say sorry or excuse me. While on the same street I noticed a hospital, the odd thing about the hospital is that patients are allowed to just walk around outside with their gowns and IV's hooked up. Sometimes they will be down the street eating outside or smoking a cig while just carrying around an IV. The health department back home would have a heart attack.
Another odd thing is that at my school if you want to use toilet paper its in the office hanging on the wall...You can only guess what the person will be doing with that wad of paper they just grabbed. Also the bathrooms in the school are public so someone off the street might stop in for a minute.
Last but not least I witnessed the funniest thing I've seen in a long time...on my walk to the market there was a stray dog barking at this Korean man and at first the man just stopped and looked at the dog in disgust. The dog kept barking though so the man stopped, turned around, picked up a handful of rocks and began throwing them while cursing the dog. Fortunately no one was hurt but it was pretty amusing at 8 in the morning. Obviously there are more things that stick out such as the dried seaweed snack that I was just given by one of the Korean teachers while writing this post(not that good) but for some reason these resinate more. Until next time.

안녕히 가세요 (stay in peace)

first impression

I made it. It was a pretty easy flight and Korean Air actually has some really spacious planes so it worked out well for me. After I found my driver we drove about an hour or so with traffic to my temporary apartment. The best way to describe it would be barren, I have a small mattress on the floor and a desk. Not much else to it but it takes care of my needs for now. Once I move in to my permanent apartment I will try and make it alittle more homey.
After spending a few minutes of unpacking I heard a knock on my door, not any knock but a loud one like someone was pissed off. I was hesitant to answer the door but I thought maybe its someone from my school or the landlord or something so I waited and they knocked again even louder. Of course I answered it this time and in front of my door is a Korean guy screaming at me about how I had been sleeping with his girlfriend. I was so taken back that the only thing I could muster out was "hey man, what's up?" He burst into laughter and my friend Dylan popped his head around the corner. Dylan who was a friend of mine at ASU has been here teaching for about a year now and used his Korean connections to try and freak me out within my first hour but I was so out of it I didn't even process that this guy was trying to scare me. What a friend he is.

I will update more about my first week later on but for now I'm having to use internet at a cafe close to my apartment.

Goodbyes

If anyone wants to come by on Saturday, July 31st, anytime after 5 pm we will be having an informal get together with food and drinks. Please feel free to come by say hello, goodbye, or just have a few drinks.

He's at it again

So if you hadn't heard by now Kim Jong IL is at it again. Recently Hillary Clinton has let Kim Jong know that she's not taking shit from anyone, including him. If I was him I'd think twice before crossing ole' lary cause we all know she can be a real bitch. On a more serious note I haven't let these recent events deter me from my travels but I will be keeping a close eye out and will be sure to keep everyone updated. In the meantime enjoy this beautiful solo by Mr. Il himself...after all he is just so ronery.

The Original Soul Glo

I should have done this earlier but I need to set one thing straight and give credit where credit is due...contrary to popular belief the URL for my blog isn't an inspirational play on a spiritual presence but a play on one of the most classic commercials of all time. R.I.P Jheri Curl 1982-1991.

Skyping 101

By popular demand I am posting a link to Skype. For those of you new to the 21st Century Skype allows you to contact someone via Internet for free as long as both parties have a Skype account. A webcam will also be needed in order to make Skype work properly. There is a link attached below that should take you to the Skype website and just follow directions from there, if for some reason it doesn't work just do what everyone else does and google the shit.
http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/

Daily dose of Americana

Given that yesterday was the fourth of July I thought it was appropriate to write an entry since my time here in the good ole USA is about up. This fourth was unlike any other that I've ever had before. Partly because of my up coming voyage and partly because of the events over the last couple of days. It was everything that is great about this country; the friends, the family, the cookouts, the random people that you meet along the way. It is at these moments that you take a step back and realize what this holiday really represents. Luckily for me I got to get one more taste of Americana before I leave. On a side note I want to give a shout out to my grandparents Mickey & Dixie, this weekend our family got together to celebrate their 50th anniversary. I just want to say that your love for each other is undoubtedly an inspiration to everyone you have touched and I am so glad to have both of you in my life. Love y'all and Happy 50th Anniversary.

Moving to Seoul

This is my first official post and as you can see from the title I am moving to Seoul. I start on August 12th so I have a little more than a month to get everything together. A month doesn't seem like too long when you have to prepare for such an adjustment but I look forward to this new chapter in my life. Since I made up my mind about a week ago, various friends and family have continuously wished me luck but have often asked why I wanted to do such a drastic thing. And to be honest I'm not entirely sure why I'm doing it. Maybe it's just to get away and experience something totally different than anything I've done before, or a great opportunity to explore parts of the world that I may never have another chance to see. Perhaps its just one of those times when you look at yourself in the mirror and you're unsure of who you really are and what the hell is really going on. For me, I like to think of it as some sort of mix of all these and probably more but what I do know is that I am excited and nervous all at the same time for this opportunity that may never come again.