kcs seoul

New Blog

2009-06-28T17:53:00.001+09:00

http://giantbluemonkey.wordpress.com/

I'm trying to swap over to a new blog.
I shan't be posting here anymore, methinks.

kc

30mm 1.4 lens

2009-06-08T20:44:00.003+09:00

a new purchase.
to better my future financially?
hardly.

Destruction

2009-05-26T00:16:00.004+09:00

Wandering about
I found an area that is being demolished.
To what end, I'm not sure.
I'm sure that things were definitely coming down, though.

kc

Socks for Sale

2009-05-18T21:54:00.003+09:00

Socks and stockings
on sale
in the back of a truck
in Itaewon.

kc

Ceremony for Dead Kings

2009-05-11T07:39:00.005+09:00

While i appreciated the ceremony and the colors
for this festival which celebrated the dead spirits
of kings, i cannot say i was much impressed
with what it says about humanity.

As long as we continue, as humans, to perpetuate
scenarios that elevate certain humans over others,
I have little hope for the future of our species.

Social hierarchy is an animal kingdom phenomenon
that we, i believe, we must evolve beyond.

kc

The National Cemetery

2009-04-18T17:31:00.007+09:00

Some 20,000 graves.
headstones, headstones, headstones.
red flowers, yellow flowers;
rows upon rows.
red flowers, yellow flowers;
rows upon rows.

kc

Statues

2009-04-18T17:05:00.007+09:00

Ascending... Descending...

2009-04-18T16:59:00.001+09:00

여의도의 Cherry Blossoms

2009-04-14T00:19:00.006+09:00

4.14.09

Cherry blossoms by night.

Cherry blossoms by day.

kc

ps - double clicking any image enlarges it.

River, River

2009-04-14T00:09:00.006+09:00

4.14.09

One of Seoul's best features,
i believe,
are it's bridges and river areas.
They're revamping them now, too,
so i think they see the potential value in them, too.

kc

Around the river near spring

2009-03-23T00:27:00.009+09:00

3.23.09

A walk down to the river this weekend
was a pleasant outing.
a few plants showed the signs of spring.
i'm looking forward to the coming color invasion.

kc

New Class, New Kids

2009-03-23T00:08:00.007+09:00

3.23.09

A new year,
a new class.
Breaking them in,
them breaking me in.
teaching,
learning,
living.

kc

Graduation

2009-02-28T14:59:00.004+09:00

2.28.09

Graduation does seem silly
as a ceremony for 7 year olds.
whatever.

kc

More Around the House

2009-02-17T07:37:00.009+09:00

2.17.09

Since I'm not getting out for pictures right now,
here're more indoor things (and not just from my home).

kc

Construction through Fog

2009-02-09T23:56:00.003+09:00

2.9.09

This is a good hike from my apt.

Telephoto lenses, indeed, have purposes.

The Sun in My Apt

2009-02-07T01:27:00.003+09:00

2.7.09

I like in the afternoon, when

(if my window is open)

the sun lays a heavy hand across the wall.

Around My Home

2009-02-07T01:18:00.004+09:00

2.7.09

I like my home.

PSA - Mercury Class

2009-01-17T11:10:00.007+09:00

1.17.09

Co-teacher.
Good co-teacher.

Kids.
Good kids.

kc

Snow

2009-01-17T11:04:00.005+09:00

01.17.09

I wonder how it would feel -
the snowflake I chose -
of the millions
that fell past my window,
to know I watched it
spiral slowly
past,
twirling
down,
down,
until
it disappeared
into the gray base
the adjacent building offers;
or how I feel now
that this snowflake,
hovering in an eddy,
circling
just beyond the glass,
has chosen me,
like some being
peering into a monkey cage,
curious, and
free
at any moment
to walk away.

kc

1 Month at Home and a New Year

2009-01-01T00:25:00.008+09:00

12.31.08

Just about time for "happy new year."
I had a good month home.
Cheers.

-kc

Yard Sale

2008-11-09T19:24:00.007+09:00

11.09.08

At a friend's 'yard' sale.
Although, there's not really any such thing as a 'yard' in Seoul.
So, really it meant selling the things in her house
from inside her house.

kc

Halloween at 30

2008-11-09T19:18:00.005+09:00

11.09.08

Halloween on a rooftop.

kc

Inner-City Temple

2008-10-08T23:22:00.004+09:00

10.08.08

A temple near a gigantic mall.
A gigantic Buddha, to boot.

kc

Seoulland

2008-09-28T20:02:00.005+09:00

9.28.08

Seoulland.
A small amusement park, though
there wasn't too much to be amused at when our school went.
A crummy play and a poor attempt to teach the kids
how rice is harvested and prepared for consumption.
It was nice to have a day away from the school, however.

kc

Olympic Park

2008-09-13T23:17:00.010+09:00

9.13.08

God bless the wide-angle lens.
That shot of the sun is real, by the way.
Odd, eh?

kc

Rooftop Chess

2008-09-09T00:02:00.001+09:00

9.9.08

A pleasant Sunday endeavor.

kc

New Digs

2008-08-28T23:13:00.004+09:00

8.28.08

More pictures to come,
but this is my new place.
Very, very happy with it.
Sun and view are abundant.
행복하다.
Ah, yes...
the elephant is a toothbrush holder.
God bless the cartoon-loving Asian culture.

kc

Cambodia - Sihanoukville

2008-07-29T12:28:00.002+09:00

7.29.08

A beach side community.
Jungle type fauna right up to the beach.
$10 rooms. Great weather.
Rented a scooter and saw the town a bit.

kc

Cambodia - Phenom Phen

2008-07-29T12:24:00.004+09:00

7.29.08

The road down was six hours by bus.
At a stop along the way
people were selling bbq'd tarantulas.
No, I didn't try one.

On the ride, there was a tv playing Cambodian karaoke
and Chinese films with dubbed in Cambodian.
Hideously bad. I'm convinced
that one girl did the voices for all the different girls in the movies.

Phenom Phen is a city like many others,
but poorer. We only stayed a night.
We saw the killing fields
and on the way back saw a huge hog
cross the road with no fear of traffic whatsoever.
Ballsy.

More fantastic food.

kc

Cambodia - Siem Reap

2008-07-29T12:20:00.004+09:00

7.29.07

Siem Reap.
Clean air and the healthiest blue skies i've ever seen.
Temples.... amazing.
Sun... deadly during the heat of the day.
Landscape... think Vietnam war movies.

Our tuk-tuk driver was a good human,
and helped us get between the temples
and to some good buildings to eat at.

Cambodian food is fantastic.
Fantastic.

Only bummer was that the camera broke,
but given the surroundings,
and another camera i was able to buy locally that night,
it was taken pretty well in stride for me.
A shame, though was that 2 of the coolest temples are not on my film...

kc

Flea Market

2008-07-16T23:03:00.005+09:00

7.16.08

Teaching kids commerce.
Buying.
Selling.
The works.
Hooray, Capitalism.

kc

일요일 저녁

2008-06-29T23:18:00.002+09:00

6.29.08

a pleasant Sunday evening.

kc

공부하는 일요일

2008-06-29T23:15:00.006+09:00

6.29.08

Afternoon in a coffee shop.

kc

cool kid

2008-06-26T23:43:00.003+09:00

6.26.08

2nd time Kevin's been in this blog.
Kid's photogenic.
Too bad he's a crier, too.
This is on the way to the kimchi museum.

kc

coffee shop

2008-06-22T23:20:00.006+09:00

6.22.08

Spending a lot of time in coffee shops lately
studying korean with koreans.
There certainly are some killer, quaint places here.
This one has a little area that's perched above the rest of the place
and the people outside.
Kinda makes you feel mighty like a cat on a fridge.

kc

한국에서 축구있다

2008-06-22T23:06:00.004+09:00

6.22.08

N Korea vs South Korea.
(Kim Jong Il not in attendance)
I've seen a football match in America,
but certainly this was better (despite the 0-0 tie).

kc

Mops and Murals

2008-06-19T00:15:00.006+09:00

6.18.08

In Hongdae.
Interesting art.

kc

Love and Sex

2008-06-18T23:52:00.006+09:00

6.18.08

Xs clearly indicate that Johnny no longer loves sex or Jen.
This is some cool cat spray painted on a wall.
Glad to see one of the cooler areas in Seoul thinks Bush is worthless, too.

kc

Acoustic Guitar

2008-06-18T23:39:00.003+09:00

6.18.08

A new acoustic bass is pleasant for park playings.
It's louder, too, and better than the one Gibson gave me a few years back.

kc

Coworkers

2008-06-15T13:24:00.005+09:00

6.15.08

Brendan and Ian.
Can't put horizontal and vertical photos together on this website.
Seems to be a visual catastrophe.

kc

Some Homes Look Different

2008-06-15T13:14:00.002+09:00

6.15.08

God bless the wide-angle lens and its ability to get this whole building in one shot.
Keep in mind, different people probably live on each floor. This isn't really "one" home...

kc

On the Tops of Homes

2008-06-15T13:05:00.005+09:00

6.15.08

Rooftops in Seoul are certainly a pleasant way to spend mild weathered Saturdays. It's amazing how traffic noise turns to a pleasant murmur at a greater height. We ate flaming cheetos with chopsticks so as not to sully our hands with that ever-soiling read gunk they're made of, and took in a dinner of galbi at an eatery around the corner. Cheers to a good day...

kc

ps - unfortunately, i got the camera out at the end of the meal, so this is what it looks like when you're finished eating galbi (barbecued meat).

Sports Day

2008-05-01T22:15:00.003+09:00

5.1.08

(Sunny) Tim.
Elin.
Alice and Calvin.
We had sports day today at 양재 park.
Fun, fun.

kc

음악 연습실 있다

2008-04-24T23:30:00.002+09:00

4.24.08

Music rehearsal space.

kc

Constructs

2008-04-19T21:48:00.002+09:00

4.19.08

A particular building I'm fond of.

kc

Sprung

2008-04-19T21:46:00.001+09:00

4.19.08

White blossoms on a tree.

kc

Spring Again

2008-04-17T18:31:00.006+09:00

4.17.08

남산공원에서 더 사진을 찍었어요.

kc

Spring

2008-04-17T18:28:00.003+09:00

4.17.08

In my neighborhood.

kc

New Toy

2008-04-13T21:50:00.002+09:00

4.13.07

What fun.
Neither my desk,
nor my opinion of my new lens
has changed since yesterday.

kc

내 탁자 위에

2008-04-13T01:13:00.003+09:00

4.13.08

My table contents:
lamp
Great Gatsby
iPod
wine
electric bill
Siem Reap guide book
lens cap
ibuprofen
medicine
Kings of Convenience ticket stub
pen
gig stick
id wallet
voter registration card
and two fairly anonymous books stacked on the back left corner

the Kings of Convenience were excellent tonight.
Best show i've seen from a band in many, many years.

kc

Wide Angle

2008-04-13T00:34:00.008+09:00

4.13.08

Inside a coffee shop
after the wide-angle lens purchase
with my photo-shy korean friend
and camera consultant
Rose.

kc

Inklings of Spring

2008-04-06T11:21:00.005+09:00

4.6.07

The 1st week of foliage.

kc

The artist

2008-04-01T21:18:00.003+09:00

4.1.08

If this kid doesn't grow up to draw or paint or sculpt amazing things,
i'll be shocked (assuming i'd ever even find out).

kc

Nightly

2008-04-01T00:04:00.001+09:00

4.1.08

A bit of fence.

kc

A Handle

2008-03-25T23:41:00.003+09:00

3.25.08

starting to get it...

kc

3 Bills

2008-03-19T20:34:00.002+09:00

3.19.08

These are the three bills currently employed in Korea.
1000 is essentially $1.
5000 is $5.
10,000 is $10.
Makes for fairly simple mental math.

This year they are supposed to get a few larger bills added.

kc

My Workspace

2008-03-19T20:27:00.002+09:00

3.19.08

Notice, if you will, the 'cloud' wallpaper.
And, yes, i sit on the floor.

kc

Banana Milk and Chocolate Covered Almonds

2008-03-19T20:12:00.002+09:00

3.19.08

I appreciate this country's love of milk and variant flavors thereof.
Banana milk and chocolate covered almonds make for a pleasant snack.

바나나 우유 맛있어요.

kc

Photo Exhibition

2008-03-08T20:33:00.007+09:00

3.8.08

These are a few postcards from a Korean friend's photography group's exhibition I attended today.

kc

Words

2008-03-08T13:09:00.004+09:00

3.08.08

Even at their best
words are always less
than reality's most simply dressed.

kc

Yearbook

2008-02-26T23:08:00.005+09:00

2.26.08

We've got a yearbook.
From top down it goes like this:
my class (Orion) and co-teacher,
my 'individual' shot,
and half of the staff photo
(was too big to get both pages in one shot).
New school year starts next week for the kids of Korea.
New co-teacher and kids for me.
Co-teacher seems nice.
Joy.

kc

Truth

2008-02-24T12:26:00.008+09:00

2.24.08

Sometimes you must burn lies in effigy.
In your own sink, mind you.

kc

공부하는거 좋아해요

2008-02-23T23:34:00.006+09:00

2.23.08

This is what my cable bill looks like.

kc

Bass

2008-02-23T23:10:00.004+09:00

2.23.08

The white-walled wheels were really ready to roll,
but gretta's keys in the grass seemed highly unfindable.

kc

Bjork

2008-02-16T22:06:00.006+09:00

2.16.08

Bjork in Korea.
Fantastic. Saw her five months ago in Atlanta.
This show was excellent, too.
Happy to've seen her twice.

kc

Kim Jong-il

2008-02-03T01:25:00.000+09:00

02.03.08

This is on my wall. I copied it out of the Seoul English newspaper, colored it, then laminated it. Quite easily the greatest thing that has come out of North Korea was the caption under this picture that read:

"The North Korean media has reported that Kim Jong-il had 11 holes in one the first time he played golf."

Killer. You're lucky, Mr Woods, that Mr il has a country to oppress...

kc

Nothing to Say

2008-02-02T16:24:00.000+09:00

02.02.08

I met a girl who's heart was a dying star.
I was lonelier with her than i was without.

kc

Broken

2008-01-28T07:40:00.000+09:00

1.28.08

The picture is of a thick pane of broken glass.

Si vous m'aimez vraiment, vos actions sont incorrectes. Vous me transformerez en le monstre qui vous mange et puis vous demandez, de mon ventre, d'où je suis venu.

kc

Someone Else's Words

2008-01-26T16:31:00.001+09:00

1.26.08

"...in truth, there is no God-seeking because there is nothing where one could not find him."

-Martin Buber

Happy '08

2008-01-07T07:56:00.000+09:00

1.07.08

Just thought I should post something after how the last heading reads. No snow that's 'stuck' here so far. Hopefully soon. That will be fun to take pictures of. Hope 08 is a good year for humanity. We could stand to have a good one. Regards,

kc

Between Two Notable Days

2007-12-31T01:35:00.001+09:00

12.30.07

Gone to the Han river a few nights during this vacation and taken pictures. Got a new tripod and been trying to figure out how to use it, as well as how to take night photos. Tomorrow is New Years Eve. Excitement abounds for all, no doubt. I've always been a fan of the even numbered years, for whatever reason, so I'm looking forward to '08.

kc

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T14:53:00.000+09:00

12.25.07

Merry Christmas. This is my first Christmas living alone and being completely away from family. Not as rough as one might suppose. Christmas revelry is not as rampant in this part of the world, so there's not as much to feel that I'm missing since advertising and vacation time for most people here is minimum. I think it would be tougher to be in the states but away from home.

Spent the evening with some Korean friends last night. Quite fun. Jenga was in order. This culture is an enormous fan of it, for whatever reason. Someone also brought a Barry White dvd which was, perhaps needless to say, a little odd (or unexpected, maybe). The end of the night was capped off with some viewing of American Idol and Bridget Jone's Diary. Neither of which do i care boo about, but in the company of friends it was endurable. All the best....

Japan

2007-07-31T01:53:00.000+09:00

7.31.07

Fukuoka, Japan – adult-packed arcades, cars driving on the other side of the road, melodies announcing every crossable crosswalk, infinite beverage vending machines, cartoons everywhere and on everything, graphic novels, capsule hotels, $6 starting-fee taxis, $5 coins, real sushi, double-priced electronics, and god-knows how much more.

Between a hostel the first night and a capsule motel our last night, my roommate david and I were resolved to ‘bum-shelter’ when every hotel (of about 15) was full Saturday night. We ended up staying in a half-finished motel for half the night until we freaked out and moved to some park benches later, only to be eaten by mosquitoes and assailed by the deafening noise of mate-searching cicadas. All in all, a very good trip.

Mountain Tops

2007-06-01T07:51:00.000+09:00

6.1.07

Happy birthday, Kate. Yesterday, after work, i made it to the top of a mountian by my apartment and found another buddhist temple. This was the largest one i've seen. In the pictures about, there are seven stone buddhas to a shelf. In this open courtyard there was a wall about thirty feet high the went around in a half circle probably thirty yards across. There was a freakin lot of stone buddhas. They all have names on them so i suppose they signify donaters. Being as i'm still not fluent in korean (and hardly proficient), i didn't know why they were there other than to be impressive in their numbers....

kc

Buddha's Birthday

2007-05-21T22:18:00.000+09:00

5.21.07

Buddha's birthday is coming up this thursday and we managed to make the oversized parade they have every year last Sunday. There were lots of things to see, including this abandoned balloon animal. It was a day of wandering around the city hall area of Seoul and even sitting in one of the few areas where the city has actual grass. Pictures on Flickr.com if you're interested....

kc

2nd Retreat

2007-05-06T23:35:00.000+09:00

5.6.07

We took another school employee retreat this weekend to Nami Island. It was beautiful, but extremely crowded seeing as we went on a holiday weekend. The trip would've been a little better, I think if we'd stayed overnight like the last one. Everyone drinks a bit and the Korean teachers seem to loosen up a bit and everyone gets closer. Because of a few Foreign teachers' complaining about having to go we made it only one day.

It was still fun, but it could've been a better, more bonding experience. In the picture is Jay. He's holding a teacher named Sally's baby boy. Jay's dream is to travel to the states and see a baseball game in every major league park. Not a bad dream....

kc

Movie Shoot

2007-04-22T10:23:00.000+09:00

4.22.07

My roomate, David, and i went to Korea University to take pictures yesterday and stumbled upon a scene being filmed for a movie. In the picture above there were massive stadium lights in midday shining on this area of the campus and they were pouring down fake rain from a large sprinkler system hung overhead. The girl is about to run straight ahead and make as if she's thrilled to be out in the rain without an umbrella. Don't know what the movie's called and am not extremely concerned, seeing as the 'happy in the rain' scene is well-worn territory at this point, but it was neat to bump into, for sure....

kc

Olympic Park

2007-04-16T23:11:00.000+09:00

4.16.07

Took a solo trip to Olympic Park today. It was nice. It's in the South Eastern part of Seoul and it was made, i suppose, for the Olympics (which were held here at some point in the 80's). There are several large stadiums here for cycling and gymnastics and a few big ones down the road for soccer, baseball, and the like. It was fairly peaceful and as Spring is slowly budding things every so often there were bits of color here and there that were pleasant to look at. Weather is pretty much ideal at the moment. Rock.

kc

ps - have posted some new photos on the flickr page. Link on the right. Tons more posted on my facebook account.

Happy Easter

2007-04-08T21:52:00.000+09:00

4.8.07

I got a new camera and it's great. I can get close, crisp shots of things now. It's one of the semi-pro cameras where you can change lenses and such. Assuming, anyway, that you have any lenses to change. I have just one lense as of now, but more will come I assure you. Well, barring global warming killing us all prior to that purchase. As for life here: more city travels, more language studies, more cramming English into little Korean kids heads, and more good food. We get next Monday off from work. Ah, the little things....

kc

The Ides of March

2007-03-26T22:49:00.000+09:00

3.26.07

March is, quite clearly, almost over. The fabled 'yellow-dust' should be descending upon this little country soon and i am interested in seeing it. Apparantly at this time of year a tremendous amount of wind blows sand from the Mongolian desert across the body of water between Korea and China and creates a bit of an 'atmospheric' disturbance as far away as Japan. It gets hazy and a little more difficult to breath. I've already bought a little mask you see doctors wear in amercia, or people on news reports in other countries who fear SARS.

The girl in the photo above is a Korean coworker named Gina. About six of us went about town the other day taking photos of a rather brown-grassed, bare-tree'd Seoul. It will be a little nicer when we hit spring, i suppose. Other than that, I suppose i've got nuthin'

kc

All New Classes

2007-03-06T10:18:00.000+09:00

3.6.07

The picture's a mess of goldfish. We visited the aquarium the other day and saw some sharks, too. It wasn't a huge place, but there were some otters there that i've got sub-par footage of fighting (or wrestling, perhaps, is a more accurate word). Tomorrow is all new classes for me (and the rest of the teachers). All the classes i started with are now gone. I still have a few of the students (which is either by good or bad luck), but it's an all new rest-of-my-existance here. Fun. Or not. We'll see. It's cold again. Been snowing the past two days. Saw that there's a cold spell in China too. Weather's funky, funky, isn't it?

kc

Live Octopus

2007-02-25T08:27:00.000+09:00

2.25.07

Interesting experience Friday night. Some of the roommates and I ventured to Hyehwa so that they could eat live octopus. Relatively live, anyway. A woman pulls the octopus from a tank brimming with the little fellows, stretches it several times (ripping it's head off in one of the stretchings), dices it up, adds a few peppers and garlic, puts on plate and serves to eager (or not-so-eager) mouths. They ate (and i filmed) from a street vendor in one of the little tents next to one of the four subway exits. Jay, our Korean friend and coworker, hosted the experience. I have it on video if you go here:

http://youtube.com/profile?user=giantbluemonkey

Other than that, we had the kindergarten play today. It went pretty well. I think english kids are that difficult to understand, too, when they're five or six years old and on-stage. Ah, the people in the picture above (from left to right) are Rob, Jay, David and Scott. All of whom, I might mention, have been, or are my roommates other than Jay. Hasta

kc

Valentine's

2007-02-12T20:22:00.000+09:00

2.13.07

I don't have any idea who that is in the picture. I just tried to snap a quick one as i walked by. It seems i'm not the only one who takes an interest in the Han River. I've been going there regularly lately. Well, once every week or two. Sundays, mainly. There are bikers, walkers, joggers, runners, strollers, rollerbladers, basketballers, soccer goers, kite flyers, photographers and me. I grew up on the coasts and apparantly water is a bigger deal to me than I thought, barring, of course, my still-constant and irrational fear of sharks appearing in any body of water (indcluding small ponds and pools).

This weekend we have a five day holiday. I am very ready for it. It's for the New Year. They celebrate it twice here. Western and Eastern. I think this one is supposed to be more family oriented. Tomorrow is Valentine's and today i'm going to have my kids decorate tissue boxes with construction paper so we can drop little notes in them. I will buy some chocolates for them, too. Chocolate is good.

kc

ps - happy valentines....

5 Months Since

2007-01-28T01:59:00.000+09:00

01.28.07

It snowed again this weekend but didn't stick. I'm used to the cold now so scarves and skull caps are less necessary. Bummer. I'm already mourning this winter's death. I'm afraid i'm going to melt come summer. Went back to Suwon today to see the fortress again. This time, however, my roommate Rob and another coworker, Ashley, came along. Snapped a few pictures... after we sorted out my hour long detour of selecting the wrong bus. Learning experiences when you're alone; embarassing when you're wasting other's time. But they were, of course, very gracious about the whole thing.

Things are going well here. I can form some rudimentary Korean sentences on my own now. There's joy there. My Brittish roommate who finished his contract with my particular school at the end of November and went back to England for a bit has returned. With the end of January, I am nearing the halfway point of my year contract and still need to explore the city and country a bit. Some of my coworkers are braving a trip to North Korea in a few months during the short period when the border opens to Americans (Meegook, we're called). I'm not so brave. Anyway,

kc

ps - posted some more pictures on the flickr page, which is linked on the right....

Mid January

2007-01-14T22:50:00.000+09:00

01/14/07

Firstly, thank you to everyone who has posted comments. I enjoy reading them and am happy that anyone stops by to 'check' on me. Secondly, the picture above is near the Han river. I walked around the area again today. The river divides the city into a North half and a South half, the richer half supposedly occupying the Southern portion. Suyu (my district) is in the North. Third, the characters on the left part of the picture are Chinese and not Korean. Fourth, I'd like to address the 'bowing' thing....

I love it. It is so freakin respectful. I've done it subtly through my life, but people here do it frequently. As I said, I love it. And it's entirely different than the head that nods upwards - the 'what's up' gesture in Western culture. I would like to note that many of the animals in nature make themselves appear larger at times to stave off danger (the peacocks feathers, the lions mane, cats arching their backs, puff fish, bears standing on hind legs, etc). When you nod upwards, you are making yourself appear larger (however subtle the gesture) and when you bow, you are exposing yourself to danger (theoretically). Therefore, i find it infinitely more respectful to bow than to 'what's up' someone. Hasta

kc

Happy New Year!

2006-12-31T21:31:00.000+09:00

12/31/06

Here's a sweet dragon car (that totes sightseers around) I took a picture of today while walking around the Suwon Fortress. It's an enormous guard wall that stretches around a portion of Suwon, a suburb to the south of Seoul. I don't really know why the wall was constructed, nor do i really care. I do know i had enough time left in the day to walk half of it and i plan to go back and take more pictures soon. The area, about an hour+ sub ride from Suyu (my suburb), has a lot of neat things and i even saw a mexican restaurant i plan on trying out.

On the way home I stopped in Jonggak to get a book and there were firework vendors on the streets shooting their products up in the air. Apparently everyone likes colorful explosions. Not feeling great and had a few drinks last night with my high school friend, Jeff Potter, so I probably wont be going out. A calm night in for the New Years. I know i've been dissapointed since high school about how new year's parties go. It always feels like it's a big build up to a big let down. Perhaps i'm hoping for something that doesn't exist. Wish i knew what that was. Hasta

kc

First Sticky Snow

2006-12-19T09:53:00.000+09:00

12.19.06

This is what it looked like a few days ago when i woke up. Now most of it is gone or slinking around in those parts of the city that are shadowed all day. It's encouraging for a white christmas, though. Haven't seen one of those in the last several trips around the sun.

kc

2006-12-14T00:38:00.000+09:00

12.14.06

Tried to post this once then accidentally deleted it. Here it is again with less text, which is probably better for all involved...

kc

Andy Warhol

2006-12-10T23:17:00.000+09:00

12/10/06

Today we went to Insadong. It's a touristy strip of shops that is fun to walk through. It's mildly humorous that a lot of the stuff in Korea says "made in China", too. There was an Andy Warhol tribute thing there where people who had made similar art posted in the little area. These odd looking blokes are a few of the pieces. Sitting next to them is my new roommate, David (aka So Cal). Behind him you can see blue umbrellas hanging from wires that were painted to look like a lightly cloudy sky. Not a big Warhol fan, but some of the stuff was kind of neat. Got some chicken on a stick (roughly shishkabob) which was really good.

This coming weekend we have the school's New Years Eve party. Two weeks early. Not really sure why we can't have it closer to the actual new year, but whatever. Free food and drinks are not something i scoff at. Not too much else new. Learning the language slowly, but with progress here and there. Or 'yogi' and 'chogi', to speak in Hangul (Korean). Figuring out the names of all the foods i like. The dumplings are great. Fried. Boiled. Whatever. Christmas is coming soon, obviously, and i've got all the gifts for the folks. Gotta put them in the mail tomorrow. That's it for now,

kc

First Snow

2006-12-01T10:01:00.000+09:00

11.30.06

The first snow flakes of winter fell this morning in seoul. Shop keepers swept the trees' leftover leaves into yellow piles on the street so sidewalks would retain their muted colors - shades that don't steal attention from bright, new winter coat window displays and shiny sale signs....

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-26T12:55:00.000+09:00

11.26.06

I'm a few days off for wishing anyone 'Happy Thanksgiving', but we didn't even have the meal until last night, so i guess it fits. The dinner was delicious! I didn't think a Korean Thanksgiving would be good, but the cooks did a spectacular job. Kudos to them. I pulled my usual stint of hovering directly over the turkey, dressing and rolls, devouring anything and everything i was allowed to.

I realize the picture above isn't really Thanksgiving appropriate, but i like it. That's my Boston roommate, Rob. Also, i didn't end up taking many thanksgiving pictures. I was too food oriented. Sad to see my Brittish roommate leave this week, but he'll be coming back to Seoul to teach more (at some other school) in a few months.

I have a video of several of us in the street the other night kicking a soccer ball. I'm in the middle of trying to get Youtube.com to send me a confirmation email so I can upload it... Wierd game, though. There was a machine on the street with a soccer ball attached to it. For the equivalent of a dollar, you would get about 10 kicks and after each kick it would rank the strength of your kick in points. They should have these machines in every bar district. Incredibly fun.

kc

November ECC Retreat

2006-11-12T20:45:00.000+09:00

11.12.06

This weekend we had an ECC retreat somewhere North East of Seoul. About two hours away by bus. We played soccer, tug-0f-war, kick ball, had a jump rope contest and a team vs team chicken fight. The food was great. Saturday night, the boss provided copious amounts of alcohol, as is apparantly Korean culture, and everyone loosened up a bit. {retty good group of people, I work with. Today we rode ATVs. It would've been fun but we had to follow guides and never really got to let loose. After that, we drove back and had a very nice meal in Seoul that the boss covered (roughly $32 per person). I'm incredibly sore and tired, but very glad i went. Successful weekend, to be sure.

Winter is starting to settle in. I've already gotten to wear a scarf several days. Nice. My britt roomy moves out in half a month and then we're inheriting someone else. We're trying to have that someone else be a guy already here named David who currently lives alone. Another Monday tomorrow, but the weeks are all starting to truck along a little faster. By December I'll have been here 3 months. A fourth of my tenure. All for now,

kc

ps - posted some new pics

Halloween

2006-10-31T22:12:00.000+09:00

10.31.06

Halloween. In Korea. Odd, for sure. They don't celebrate it, generally. Some of the bars had costume partys last weekend, but definitely not all. Teachers at English Hagwons (private schools) had to dress up, so i went as the terminator. My Brittish roommate went as a zebra and got some funny looks from people on the street. We're already the odd-men out and then he went and did something like that. Posted some pictures from the school version of Halloween on the flickr site. If you have an account on Facebook.com, i have a much more exstensive photo collection there.

Not too much new. We got a Popeye's about ten minutes from our house now, though. Rock. We found the market where everyone sells anything and everything (and usually for dirt cheap) last weekend. We may head back this weekend to see if there are any deals to be had. Had a full-band practice with a few members from my school at a rehearsal space last weekend. Definitely not the next 'thing', but it was fun to attempt some music. I had more to say earlier, but now i cant think of it. Bummer....

kc

Old Friends

2006-10-16T21:54:00.000+09:00

10.16.06

That's what our kitchen looks like sometimes. The little yellow thing off on the right of the sink is a rice cooker. Awesome. Should have 'em in the states, but they run a pretty buck or two (i.e. are fairly expensive). I inherited this one from Mike, a fellow who left at the end of September. I saw a friend i haven't seen since college last weekend - Jeff Potter. He's been here 4+ years. It was good to see him and I plan on spending quite a bit more time with him.

Other potential interesting tidbits - a girl from school bought a football and when we were throwing it last night, three different people stopped (for multiple minutes each) to watch us throw. Not a whole lot of football here, apparantly. I tried pig intestines today at lunch. My recommendation? Don't do the same. Bowling is very cheap here. Played thursday and friday night with a mix of western and korean teachers. About $6.20 for shoes and two games per person. Not to mention, the machine that gives you your shoes spits them out after you deposit two coins in the machine with your size. Very neat. That's all

kc

Chu-Sok

2006-10-09T00:48:00.000+09:00

10.9.06

The Chu-Sok holiday ends today and we start teaching again tomorrow. From what i understand, it's the equivalent of Thanksgiving. Didn't do too much this week and i enjoyed every not-doing bit of it. Explored the city a little (saw the river) and designed several poor album covers for the upcoming oddibe cd. Also learned a little more korean. I can now say things like "don't mention it", "okay", "to the left", "to the right", "soon", "quickly", "slowly" and a few others. I'm obviously dominating the language at this point. Published poetry works in korean soon to come. The picture above is fairly self-explanatory. And probably far more interesting than me typing words about it. Hasta

Meditation

2006-10-01T21:23:00.000+09:00

10.01.06

Rob, my roommate, and I walked to the buddhist temple today. I wanted to see what the deal was with meditating there - open to anyone? We happened in just as an english session was starting so we sat in and did a chanting meditation for thirty minutes and then listened to the presiding monk tell stories and answer questions. Very nice. I expect I'll be there more often now. On the way there we passed a tiny little dog that seemed too confused or worried to bark at us. That's the little guy up above this text....

kc

ps - i should mention that i now have the ability to acquire refried beans. They're between 2 and 3.50 a can, but it's worth it. And it's worth the forty minute subway trek to itaewan to get them, too. I've made nachos and fajita quesadillas all week. Home away from home.... ahh....

Palace Visit

2006-09-17T21:06:00.000+09:00

9.17.06

We visited a palace in a part of Seoul today that i wont butcher by trying to reproduce here. Fun. We watched a changing of the guard, a king's escort, and had a good laugh at the fake beards the twenty-something guards had pasted to their chins.

Afterwards, we walked down a street in Insadong that's covered in touristy shops and restaurants. We sampled foods from a few of the various and very present street vendors. There's a lot of that here. I suppose people like to snack and/or eat on the go.

I'm learning some of the names of foods i like and I'm feeling that I might be able to venture alone into a restaurant soon. Have some new pics on the link. Can only upload so many a month, though, which is kind of a bummer. Will have to find a better site or settle for only so many pictures. Have got to get moving on some oddibe artwork. Am such a procrastinator. That said, expect big things from me towards the end of life. Right.

Oddities

2006-09-12T23:05:00.000+09:00

9.12.06

Happy birthday, mom.

There are a lot of bizzare things here - naturally, as I'm a foreigner. However, some of these things defy logic. For example:

no one really uses paper towels. At work, in restaurants, people use either beverage napkins or toilet paper. This sucks when cleaning a spill or wanting to quickly and effeciently wipe your hands and/or face.

There are literally hundreds of karaoke bars between my apartment and work. If you've seen Lost in Translation, there's a karaoke part. Apparantly that's one of the 'in' things.

People wear the strangest things. Koreans really like t-shirts with English writing. Almost as often as not, however, there are misspellings and phrases that make virtually no sense. We keep trying to photograph them, but it's a difficult thing to do discreetly. Also, fashion spans several decades and is mixed and matched without hesitation. I saw a girl with a denim hat on the subway the other day. Really.

People are constantly running into each other and getting in each other's way in the city and in crowded stores. This, however, is countered by the fact that no one seems to get upset. Everyone apparantly brushes off rather easily. Either that or this country harbors the one of the most intense internal rages of our generation.

Too Many Pictures for Not-Me's

2006-09-10T01:12:00.000+09:00

9.10.06

Here's what it looks like out my window when it rains. Well, I've posted more photos. I doubt I'll say when I'm posting more photos from here on out, since I expect I will put copious amounts of pictures on the internet. Maybe if I'm really excited about a particular batch. Anyway, have a go if you like. I've got a link to my photos on the right under the picture of myself. Played Texas Hold 'em tonight. I'm out. They're still going. I wonder if Texas really has a hand in working out this version of poker. Dunno. Last night we went to a novelty club called the Ice Bar. You wear a parka and it is entirely ice inside the bar. We didn't stay that long. Don't assume anyone does or would even want to. Fun for the brief part of the evening it was, anyway....

Pictures Available for $2000 Won (aka two bucks)

2006-09-06T22:31:00.000+09:00

9.6.06

a few pictures availabe for absolutely free viewing. Well, costs only your time and perhaps a minute amount of attention:

http://flickr.com/photos/78812807@N00/sets/72157594271660048/