Going, going...

Another good friend is off for worldly travels. Tonight is Raymond's going away dinner and "Blissful Goodbye" party. He has set some deal with the Bulgarian restaurant in Itaewon for a smorgasbord of food to be available for about 14 people. Lately whenever we have met up for dinner with Raymond it has been in this place where the food and ambiance are amazing.

From there we are off to the new Bliss (the makeovers are almost finished) for some drinks. It should be a fun night and I wish Raymond the best of luck on his travels. When I first met Raymond I had heard a lot about him through the grapevine and seeing as he was sold to me a fashionable, snobby New Yorker who was raised in Ireland I wasn't sure if we would get along. We are very different but while he can rub some the wrong way I love him for being the way he is and the stories he has.

The guy knows how to use his weekends to their fullest and when he isn't out traveling all around Korea and Asia he will meet up for drinks or random concerts. He is off to travel by train from Singapore up into Thailand, across Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam before hitting China, Mongolia and the whole of Russia. Eventually he will make it to his grandparents in Ireland and then back to the US. From there his plans are open and I hope he makes it back to somewhere in Asia soon.

Seollal, Lunar New Years

While the kids were cleaning up from the lemonade party and settling into the last twenty minutes of Kung Fun Panda I was busy packing my bag, tidying up my desk at getting ready to bolt. Friday night was the beginning of my ten day long holiday and I was ready to lounge about. To help the holiday off a group of us booked ourselves into the Hyatt for the night. It was Seollal (Lunar New Year)here and so car, bus, train and airplane loads of Seoulites abandon the big city for their hometowns. This means there are amazing deals to be had at the big Hotels.


View of Namsan tower from our room.


View of the residents below Namsan Mountain.


Heading down for dinner and drinks. For a hundred dollars a night each we got the room, unlimited finger food and drinks from 5:30 to 7:30 -we pushed it to 8:15 thanks to Joon-, access to the skating rink, swimming pool, sauna and a free breakfast buffet.


Tony trying to smile at dinner. Being from just back from New Zealand he was definitely worried about the news we were off to skate in -10 weather.


The skating rink below. Thankfully it was free because there was no way I would pay 17 dollars to skate on it.


Saejin skating (read walking) on ice.


Joon just after he beat up a little kid for use of the skating aide.


Proof of how cold minus 10 really is. (I don't care if it was -40 at my parents house, minus 10 is bitterly cold.)


Tony had a hard tumble on the ice. The next day his shoulder left him out of any bowling that we did.


The crew just after the rink closed and just before we went crazy in the Karaoke room. All in all it was a nice start to a long weekend.


View from breakfast.

Making Lemonade

These last three weeks I have been doing my best to work. Half days. It's at these moments that I love my job. It's winter camp time and kids can come to study if they want (read parents force them). This year they changed it up a bit and put two age groups together (6th/5th grades, 4th/3rd, 2nd/1st) for one week intensive studying of a hard 3 hours straight. I do like it better this way. We have a lot more time together do to a lot of stuff. Skip this part if you don't want to know what we do. The first hour is phonics/reading time, followed by the lesson and finishing off with a fun activity/singing and the all important 15 minutes of a movie.

On Fridays we spend the last hour making fresh lemonade and having a party. It has been a great success. The kids pretend to like it and I don't have to teach. Win, win.


I give them the ingredients and then take them through it step by step.


The good groups pay attention.


I then go around sampling the (sour!!!) product.


And choose the one that asks for more sugar.


Two minutes after I got this groups picture they spilt their lemon juice all over the top of the computer and all over the floor. Tomorrow is the last time we try this but even if they also dump their work all over the floor I know that I have a week off work for Solal(?) aka Chinese New Year.

Seoul City Hall Ice Skating Rink

Working half days the past three weeks has led to many, many social afternoons. One can only bowl (it's no longer a hobby, it's a sad sad hobby) so much. Chan Young came up with the idea of meeting up for some ice skating. Now, I am not great at it but when your Canadian father takes it upon himself to build a rink each winter in the back yard there is a childhood love for the sport.


In front of Seoul City Hall (now under renovation) they always place a rink. For a mere dollar you can rent skates and go to town for an hour doing laps on the dullest blades ever. This is the best view from the rink of of Seoul Plaza Hotel.


Chan Young and I waiting for our hour on ice.


Chan Young resting after (seriously here) 3 laps. This was only his second time on skates but he did a great job. (My second time on skates had me being encouraged to push a baby wooden chair around our rink.)


Look at me now.


Chul Gyu and Chan Young doing their best couple skate.


Chul Gyu and I "racing". I won but would like to thank the competition for coming out.


Kim Yu Na (Korea's top figure skater- a top five skater now out there), has triple Sal chowed (I think only boys do this) or toe loop jumped (don't ask how I know these terms, I'm Canadian) her way to international fame on the figure skating circuit. Chan Young will never be famous for skating but his impersonation of figure skating is uncanny. 9.7 from the Canadian judge.

Seoul International Photography Festival

When I first came to Korea, I had to land at Gimpo airport. The place was small, dark and going from the international to the domestic building I was sardined on a bus not 100 percent sure where I was off to. I was doubting my reasons for coming here. I was also starving and couldn't read the menus and besides hearing about Kimchi I knew nothing of Korean food. The "hamburgers" they were selling all looked like 7-11 versions of a burger and I just prayed when I made my connecting flight I would find a better Korea. Luckily I did and since then have come to love the place (even Gimpo know that it has been updated.)

Seoul Station used to be housed in a gorgeous old building (it's now housed in a gorgeous modern one) and about four(ish) years ago they closed it down. The place has since sat empty and gone to ruins inside. When I heard that an International Photography festival was being housed there I was super excited to check out the art but more importantly to me the station itself. A couple of weeks ago I convinced Saejin it would be fun to check out. The art was great but seeing the place was even better.


Don't quote me but I believe the Japanese built this place and even though Korea was under occupation, I love this building.


The first floor was made to feel museum like and I hope they get enough money from the festival to fix the structure from the art up.


Half of upstairs was remodelled and looking great. This was my favorite photo in the exhibition. The apartment captured here had different things going on in each room from mundane normal life to the kinky world.


Upstairs and Saejin's favorite photo of the day. (Not the picture in the background but his own personal picture.)


A Korean photographer whose stuff I really liked.

Korea the bad, Korea the Great

#1: This weekend some annoying Korean, who I have always said is a pain to be nice to, decided under a storm of drink to take my cell phone along with Saejin's which were sitting at our table. The guy was super drunk and while on his way home called the last number I had dialed which happened to be Joon who was sitting next to me. He saw it was a call from me and because we had by then discovered the phones gone he told the guy to bring the phone back. Drunk head then said he had no idea what we were talking about because this was his phone (even though it was my number dialling Joon's phone.) This is Korea the bad.

Korea the Great is that because my phone is registered under Saejin's name he went into a shop explained what happened and they gave us both loaner phones free of charge. These loaners are used phones but because this is Korea they aren't more than a year old. We can return the phones when ours show up or if they don't we can have the phones for good again for no charge. For me it's no big loss if the guy doesn't return the phone but Saejin's phone is a brand new top of the line model. The drunk who took it is a friend of Chan Young and goes to his bar often so hopefully by this weekend he will of sobered up and hand them back. Unfortunately he isn't answering his phone to admit he screwed up. We will see.

#2: I just got back from immigration and things there were as annoying as always. My Visa expires on Friday but now that I have the Vulnerable Sector Search (VSS) in hand the last piece of my paper work was done. I was told all I had to do was bring it in and I'd get my year long work Visa. I went alone because my supervisor is on holidays and in Korea that means she is busy taking some professional development class. I went there with my certified VSS, passport and ID card and many prayers they would understand what was needed. (Not many of the workers speak English.)

I sat around waiting for my number to be called praying I wouldn't get stuck with one of the older men because their English tends to be the worse. It wasn't my lucky day and I was stuck with the eldest one of the bunch, so in both pidgin Korean and English we set to work on figuring out what we both needed. He insisted I needed a contract but I told him mine was there in the computer and the VSS check was the only missing document needed to make my Visa more than a four month long temporary one. He sat back took in this information, returned to looking at the VSS and then said, "Don't need VSS. You old Criminal check ok. Law change one more time." After four months of stress and wasted money sending and purchasing documents I show up at immigration only to find out my Visa was fine all along. Korea the bad.

After asking him if he was serious and he seeing my annoyance he did the Korean apologetic smile and started printing out stuff and working to avoid a confrontation. He quickly finished up my paper work and gave me a number to wait for my Alien card with my new expiration date to be added. Korea the Great. I get to stay until the end of my contract and am glad the past four months of unknown are behind me.

Winter Camp

Winter Camp started today and it's a little different from previous camps. This year the school decided to have the kids come for five days of intensive studying (three hours straight of English). It worked out alright today because it was the fifth and sixth graders but who knows how the first and second graders will take it when it's their week to come. I also got to work with my new partner teacher for the first time and she seems nice. She hung out at the back of the class and mingled while the kids worked so it should work out well. After a week off it was tough getting up this morning but because winter camp time is only half days it was all good.