Goodbye!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
This Blog is Done.
Hello my little chickens from across the globe,
this blog is done.
I am no longer living in Seoul, Korea, but instead in my hometown of Vancouver, BC, Canada.
See feet on left, touching Pacific shores again.
I went on a great big 5-month long saucy Pacific-to-Pacific trip, enjoyed every second of it, got back to Canada safe and sound and I am now getting on with life.
I have a separate travel blog, which now that I'm home I am also not writing anymore on, but if you are considering airplane-free world travel (which I highly recommend) and are curious, please leave a comment with your email address and I will send you the link.
If you wrote me a comment asking for info of some kind, and included your email address, I will get back to you now that I am off the road. Sorry for the five month delay. If you didn't include your email address, what the fuck dude! Sorry, I cannot send you a damn thing.
Thanks for your interest and your comments, good bye! ¶ 19.1.08 0 comments
this blog is done.
I am no longer living in Seoul, Korea, but instead in my hometown of Vancouver, BC, Canada.
See feet on left, touching Pacific shores again.
I went on a great big 5-month long saucy Pacific-to-Pacific trip, enjoyed every second of it, got back to Canada safe and sound and I am now getting on with life.
I have a separate travel blog, which now that I'm home I am also not writing anymore on, but if you are considering airplane-free world travel (which I highly recommend) and are curious, please leave a comment with your email address and I will send you the link.
If you wrote me a comment asking for info of some kind, and included your email address, I will get back to you now that I am off the road. Sorry for the five month delay. If you didn't include your email address, what the fuck dude! Sorry, I cannot send you a damn thing.
Thanks for your interest and your comments, good bye! ¶ 19.1.08 0 comments
Friday, August 10, 2007
Today is my last day of work at Kids' Club.
Tomorrow I am leaving Korea.
Nara is driving me to Incheon International Ferry Terminal.
I am going to China, for about a month.
I want to visit Qingdao, Shanghai (to see Hot Sexy Clever James), Xian, Lhasa and Beijing.
Then, I am taking the Trans-Mongolian train from Beijing to Moscow.
Then, I am spending a couple of weeks in Moscow and St Petersburg.
Then I am meeting Tom Erik in Helsinki.
Then we are going back to Oslo together, and I will stay about a month in Norway, eating reindeer sandwiches and drinking beer.
Then I am going to England.
I am getting on a trans-Atlantic cruise from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
It's only a day and a half Greyhound ride to New York, where I am going to visit Sarah. We are going to have a lot of catching up to do.
Then I am going to Montreal to stay with Patricia (for snuggling and brownie-baking) and see my old friends there.
Then more Greyhound to Winnipeg, where I get to see my fairy aunt Leah and (fairy uncle doesn't sound quite as lovely) Jeff.
Then freakin' Calgary, where I am going to stay with Marcy and visit Michael and his girlfriend Mae.
Then from Calgary it's only a short jaunt (ten hours on the Hound!) to being home, I'll be in Penticton visiting my family for as long as possible.
It'll be December by then.
Bye!! Thanks for reading! ¶ 10.8.07 9 comments
Tomorrow I am leaving Korea.
Nara is driving me to Incheon International Ferry Terminal.
I am going to China, for about a month.
I want to visit Qingdao, Shanghai (to see Hot Sexy Clever James), Xian, Lhasa and Beijing.
Then, I am taking the Trans-Mongolian train from Beijing to Moscow.
Then, I am spending a couple of weeks in Moscow and St Petersburg.
Then I am meeting Tom Erik in Helsinki.
Then we are going back to Oslo together, and I will stay about a month in Norway, eating reindeer sandwiches and drinking beer.
Then I am going to England.
I am getting on a trans-Atlantic cruise from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
It's only a day and a half Greyhound ride to New York, where I am going to visit Sarah. We are going to have a lot of catching up to do.
Then I am going to Montreal to stay with Patricia (for snuggling and brownie-baking) and see my old friends there.
Then more Greyhound to Winnipeg, where I get to see my fairy aunt Leah and (fairy uncle doesn't sound quite as lovely) Jeff.
Then freakin' Calgary, where I am going to stay with Marcy and visit Michael and his girlfriend Mae.
Then from Calgary it's only a short jaunt (ten hours on the Hound!) to being home, I'll be in Penticton visiting my family for as long as possible.
It'll be December by then.
Bye!! Thanks for reading! ¶ 10.8.07 9 comments
Thursday, August 02, 2007
I'm getting my new blog ready for my life post Seoul.
I don't plan on posting the address.
I have my reasons.
If you want the address please shoot me a comment! Send me your email, or if you are a blogger, leave me a link and I'll send it to you straightaway.
(i.e. anonymous comments get nothing)
(ps don't be an idiot - if I actually know you, you will be hearing from me!)
¶ 2.8.07 11 comments
I don't plan on posting the address.
I have my reasons.
If you want the address please shoot me a comment! Send me your email, or if you are a blogger, leave me a link and I'll send it to you straightaway.
(i.e. anonymous comments get nothing)
(ps don't be an idiot - if I actually know you, you will be hearing from me!)
¶ 2.8.07 11 comments
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Lunch with Jin
During my holiday I had lunch with my boss Jin in Apkujeong.
She's not my boss anymore, because she resigned from Kids' Club . . . . but you know. After almost 3 years, she's still my boss in my mind!
It was tasty and friendly and a good time.
It was Jin's treat, so thanks Jin!
We had several delicious dishes at Zen Hideaway (a pan-Asian joint), the best of which was this salmon salad. Yummy!
¶ 31.7.07 0 comments
During my holiday I had lunch with my boss Jin in Apkujeong.She's not my boss anymore, because she resigned from Kids' Club . . . . but you know. After almost 3 years, she's still my boss in my mind!
It was tasty and friendly and a good time.
It was Jin's treat, so thanks Jin!
We had several delicious dishes at Zen Hideaway (a pan-Asian joint), the best of which was this salmon salad. Yummy!
¶ 31.7.07 0 comments
Thursday night I went out to meet Shaner and Cameron Dean in Itaewon.We had some beers and some Mexican food at that new Mexican place across from Three Alleys.
We had a pizza there and nachos. The pizza was tasty! The nachos were not!
The company was outstanding though. ¶ 31.7.07 1 comments
Monday, July 30, 2007
I feel like I'm in the South Park episode waiting for the Nintendo Wii. I keep waking up and looking at my watch and it's still 11.01.
Now it's 11.31 and it's taken me forever to get here. ARGH!!!!!!!! ¶ 30.7.07 0 comments
Now it's 11.31 and it's taken me forever to get here. ARGH!!!!!!!! ¶ 30.7.07 0 comments
Cameron Dean and I had a great night out on Saturday. We met on the subway and headed to Jamsil to the baseball stadium, where the Hyundai Unicorns were playing the LG Twins. We sat on Hyundai side of course. And cheered for Doosan Bears. Actually, we cheered for OB Bears, like it was the badass old days.We got some cold KFC burgers (yuck) and some cold BK fries (double yuck) and some cold OB beers (tasty cold perfection).
We were early and in plenty of time to scope out the best spot in the stands for Cameron Dean to catch a ball, so we sat a few rows from the wall. But Cameron slipped off his shoes and relaxed and he did not succeed in even getting up off his ass when the one and only ball came our way. During the 6th inning stretch we walked around and stretched our legs. Look how handsome he is in his matching shoes and shirt :)
Hyundai started out strong but eventually lost 10-5.
¶ 30.7.07 0 comments
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Cameron Dean and I were good last night. I can't be arsed to post any pictures yet (but the chest hair one is coming) and I didn't take enough pictures of some of the lovely people we met so there are only a few, and I'm not posting any, because I will probably go back to bed now.
I said goodbye to Cameron Dean I think by trying to pour booze in the open window of his taxi as it drove away. That's good right!
¶ 29.7.07 0 comments
I said goodbye to Cameron Dean I think by trying to pour booze in the open window of his taxi as it drove away. That's good right!
¶ 29.7.07 0 comments
Saturday, July 28, 2007
In two weeks, I am going on a crazy ass long trip. Two weeks from today Nara will be driving me out to Incheon ferry terminal. Two weeks from today I'll be leaving Korea.
Leaving my apartment. Leaving home!
Saying goodbye. ¶ 28.7.07 1 comments
Leaving my apartment. Leaving home!
Saying goodbye. ¶ 28.7.07 1 comments
Friday, July 27, 2007
삼청동
Nara and I met at Express Bus Terminal earlier today for some lunch and a day of wandering. First, Nara helped me find a few traveling items in the Shinsegae Department store. I wanted a money belt and a pocket knife (in Korean it's called a Macgyver knife, 맥가이버 knife ha ha!) and we looked around. Shinsegae is nice, but I hate the way it's organized, there are no real departments, just the kiosks of all the different brands. So we went up and down, from sports to kitchens to women's wear (?!) according to the directions of all the different kiosk clerks. Finally we gave up on the 맥가이버 knife but I got a sweet little money belt.
Then we got on the subway heading for Anguk Station and Samcheong dong. 삼청동 is a really nice area of shops and restaurants and museums and galleries. It's behind Gyeongbuk Palace, which is under a huge amount of restoration right now. We walked around and looked in a few places until we got hungry and too warm in the humid air, so we went to eat at the most famous sujaebi place in all of Seoul. 삼청동수제비집 is famous for good reason! We had 파전 pajeon, a yummy little eggy pancake with onions and ham and shrimp. The side dishes were all tasty too, the kimchi and the other kimchi. The pot of sujaebi was huge, and we barely made a dent in it, even though we ate until we were bursting.
After, we walked around and looked in some accessory stores and Nara looked at very expensive shoes. When we had made some space, we went to another famous place, 빈스 빈스 Beans Bins for 아이스크림 와플 ice cream waffles! The waffle was really good. After we got in there and sat down we saw there was a huge line and we were glad to be seated already!
After that we headed back south by subway to Express Bus again. We bought matching bracelets in the underground arcade, and ate some tasty sushi on sale! All the food in the basement is on sale after 7.30, if you didn't know already it's a pretty good deal. Usually it's pretty expensive there, but we got two trays of sushi for 13.000W. Then we were both exhausted and now I'm home and I'm going to sleep.
Good night! ¶ 27.7.07 0 comments
Nara and I met at Express Bus Terminal earlier today for some lunch and a day of wandering. First, Nara helped me find a few traveling items in the Shinsegae Department store. I wanted a money belt and a pocket knife (in Korean it's called a Macgyver knife, 맥가이버 knife ha ha!) and we looked around. Shinsegae is nice, but I hate the way it's organized, there are no real departments, just the kiosks of all the different brands. So we went up and down, from sports to kitchens to women's wear (?!) according to the directions of all the different kiosk clerks. Finally we gave up on the 맥가이버 knife but I got a sweet little money belt.Then we got on the subway heading for Anguk Station and Samcheong dong. 삼청동 is a really nice area of shops and restaurants and museums and galleries. It's behind Gyeongbuk Palace, which is under a huge amount of restoration right now. We walked around and looked in a few places until we got hungry and too warm in the humid air, so we went to eat at the most famous sujaebi place in all of Seoul. 삼청동수제비집 is famous for good reason! We had 파전 pajeon, a yummy little eggy pancake with onions and ham and shrimp. The side dishes were all tasty too, the kimchi and the other kimchi. The pot of sujaebi was huge, and we barely made a dent in it, even though we ate until we were bursting.
After, we walked around and looked in some accessory stores and Nara looked at very expensive shoes. When we had made some space, we went to another famous place, 빈스 빈스 Beans Bins for 아이스크림 와플 ice cream waffles! The waffle was really good. After we got in there and sat down we saw there was a huge line and we were glad to be seated already!
After that we headed back south by subway to Express Bus again. We bought matching bracelets in the underground arcade, and ate some tasty sushi on sale! All the food in the basement is on sale after 7.30, if you didn't know already it's a pretty good deal. Usually it's pretty expensive there, but we got two trays of sushi for 13.000W. Then we were both exhausted and now I'm home and I'm going to sleep.Good night! ¶ 27.7.07 0 comments
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
I don't know what the temperature outside is, but I know what it feels like. Hot wet woolen blanket air.
¶ 25.7.07 2 comments
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Eating and Drinking Everything That's Left
My Mecca Cola and whiskey. HAAAAAAAAA!! ¶ 24.7.07 4 comments
My Mecca Cola and whiskey. HAAAAAAAAA!! ¶ 24.7.07 4 comments
Monday, July 23, 2007
Quote from My Russia Lonely Planet
"Life expectancy of Russians continues to fall: at current rates the population will decline to 123 million by 2030. Much of this is due to the population's staggering health problems. Alcoholism is rampant - as you may notice when it seems as though everybody over the age of ten is wandering around with a beer on a warm day or clutching a bottle of vodka on a cold day. According to the Russian Ministry of Health, Russians consume on average 12L of pure alcohol a year, which is three times the average for the rest of the developed world. Besides the many health problems inherent to a diet high in alcohol and fat, accidental deaths due to drunkenness are frequent. On a warm summer weekend people drown in the rivers and lakes at a rate four times greater than anywhere else in the West, primarily because of drunkenness. The average life expectancy for a Russian man is 58 years, for a woman 71."
¶ 23.7.07 4 comments
Yay Vacation!
By 8.45 this morning I was on my way to do my errands for the day, riding the subway around Seoul. I got three phone calls from my kindergarten students before 10am. June phone to chat at 9.15, and asked me what I was doing today. I tried to explain - but her vocabulary doesn't include stuff like "embassies, travel visas and documents" so I said "grown-up business for when I leave Korea" and she said "aw. I don't want to let you go." I was on a crowded subway platform at Seoul station and I was on the verge of tears. I had to say goodbye as I walked through the turnstile leaving City Hall station, and she said she will call later in the week to tell me about her dolls. "Rachel OK, Rachel? Izzit OK, Rachel?" Of course I said yes.
Then as I walked to the Russian embassy down the leafy street, I got another phone call. Amy called to ask what I was doing in my free time. I said "yeah, I'm busy doing grown-up stuff." and she said "Rachel, oh, that's too bad, HA HA Rachel I am playing with my dolls and my mommy said I can have a cola for lunch HA HA Rachel! OK Rachel bye!!"
The Russian embassy was easy peasy (it being my return visit) and there was no line, it took me less time in there than it did to buy my bottle of water at the little mart down the street. Plus it was so nice and cool in there.
Eugene called as I got back on the subway again going to the Mongolian embassy in Hannam to remind me, I better not forget, that he's packing his toys for the family's move to Canada, and seriously, I will be able to see them when we meet in Canada. Because he's only bringing the best toys.
These kids are all on vacation also, and today's only the first day!
After talking to the kids, I went about the rest of my business. The Mongolian embassy in Hannam was easy to find, thankfully, but their consular "reception" room was freakin' packed and sweaty as fuck. I got in what appeared to be the line, while at least six (I lost count) different people (tour agents I presume since they had piles of passports and applications) just straight up pushed me out of the way and cut in front of me. Given the line, and the "lining procedure" I grabbed an application form and glue stick and filled it out propped up on my backpack while standing in the line trying to keep my sweaty toes touching the backs of the shoes of the dude in front of me so nobody else could slice in front of me. Once I finally got to the window (after waiting in line for about 30 minutes - less than I thought) the clerk just took my stuff and gave me my receipt marked Wednesday AM/수요일. The window part was under 15 seconds. Funny eh!
So after Wednesday - na na na na na na na, I'll have two visas, na na na na!
¶ 23.7.07 0 comments
Then as I walked to the Russian embassy down the leafy street, I got another phone call. Amy called to ask what I was doing in my free time. I said "yeah, I'm busy doing grown-up stuff." and she said "Rachel, oh, that's too bad, HA HA Rachel I am playing with my dolls and my mommy said I can have a cola for lunch HA HA Rachel! OK Rachel bye!!"
The Russian embassy was easy peasy (it being my return visit) and there was no line, it took me less time in there than it did to buy my bottle of water at the little mart down the street. Plus it was so nice and cool in there.
Eugene called as I got back on the subway again going to the Mongolian embassy in Hannam to remind me, I better not forget, that he's packing his toys for the family's move to Canada, and seriously, I will be able to see them when we meet in Canada. Because he's only bringing the best toys.
These kids are all on vacation also, and today's only the first day!
After talking to the kids, I went about the rest of my business. The Mongolian embassy in Hannam was easy to find, thankfully, but their consular "reception" room was freakin' packed and sweaty as fuck. I got in what appeared to be the line, while at least six (I lost count) different people (tour agents I presume since they had piles of passports and applications) just straight up pushed me out of the way and cut in front of me. Given the line, and the "lining procedure" I grabbed an application form and glue stick and filled it out propped up on my backpack while standing in the line trying to keep my sweaty toes touching the backs of the shoes of the dude in front of me so nobody else could slice in front of me. Once I finally got to the window (after waiting in line for about 30 minutes - less than I thought) the clerk just took my stuff and gave me my receipt marked Wednesday AM/수요일. The window part was under 15 seconds. Funny eh!
So after Wednesday - na na na na na na na, I'll have two visas, na na na na!
¶ 23.7.07 0 comments
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Met Heids and Cameron Dean(again) in Itaewon tonight for dinner. It was to be our last dinner all together, since now Heids is off to camp, then Cameron Dean goes to Canada, then Heids and I are both leaving the peninsula (in opposite directions!) in August.We had the buffet at Chakraa and then went across the street to Bungalow for a drink. I love that bar, it's just so cool. We all felt very relaxed and tropical. We were pretty laid-back (grossly full really) and just enjoyed being together one last time. Cameron Dean and I felt hells better after each having afternoon naps, but it was still a slow moving evening. Suddenly it was 10pm and Heidi had to go home to pack for her early morning departure so we called it a night. After a cordial handshake on the street Cameron Dean and I got into a taxi. Good luck Heids have lots of fun at camp! Uhh, and, Cameron Dean, have fun with no friends.
¶ 22.7.07 2 comments
Going Away Party
Friday night Heidi and I had our going-away party. Cameron Dean, Saejin, Heidi and I met up at that galbi joint in Hongdae where we used to go with James, the one with the big wooden benches. After some meat and rice we were full of energy for the night ahead!
Our first stop of the night was at Rocky Mountain Hongdae, where we also met with SJ's cousin Mi-jeong, who stayed for one round with us.
After six consecutive (at least) awful techno versions of pop songs, we decided to try another venue. So we went downstairs! The bar on the ground floor had a street-level patio which gave us a perfect vantage point for any fight outbreaks on the street. Boheon and his friend Byongsoo came to meet us there after a while. They were both wearing the same cologne and smelling fine, and strong! We could smell them from across the table - ha ha! From our comfy seats we could see a hilarious fight in front of the 7-11 across the street. Two of the guys were taken away in a cop car, and one of the guys left behind tried to grab on to the cop car by pounding on the passenger side and hanging off the side as the car drove away. Imagine! Grabbing onto a moving cop car ha ha!
We ended up sitting at the darts bar for quite a while. Cameron Dean and Heidi had their usual battle to the death, and Boheon and I showed our awesome skills. Awesomely bad. We had a good time cheering (booing) each other on.
After Heidi and BH and Byongsoo left, I might have cried a little, so, Cameron Dean and SJ and I did a round in the 80s bar, where we danced like fools and requested lots of awesome tunes. We were the only customers in the bar!
CD and I were given permission by Saejin to stay out past our 8 drink limit and we did our best to stay good.
This is how we ended the night, in Tinpan Alley II. We made friends with this guy and his very short friend (not pictured, but trust me) and I also made friends with some altogether too young and good-looking breakdancers who pretended I was cool and let me dance with them. Oh, in total we were so good.
I crashed with Cameron Dean. The only trouble we really got in (surprisingly, I mean really) was in the Family Mart in his building where we may have rumbled over the late night snack decision, pizza vs sandwich. He didn't even eat his pizza, so I guess I was right after all. Sandwiches rule! ¶ 22.7.07 0 comments
Our first stop of the night was at Rocky Mountain Hongdae, where we also met with SJ's cousin Mi-jeong, who stayed for one round with us.
After six consecutive (at least) awful techno versions of pop songs, we decided to try another venue. So we went downstairs! The bar on the ground floor had a street-level patio which gave us a perfect vantage point for any fight outbreaks on the street. Boheon and his friend Byongsoo came to meet us there after a while. They were both wearing the same cologne and smelling fine, and strong! We could smell them from across the table - ha ha! From our comfy seats we could see a hilarious fight in front of the 7-11 across the street. Two of the guys were taken away in a cop car, and one of the guys left behind tried to grab on to the cop car by pounding on the passenger side and hanging off the side as the car drove away. Imagine! Grabbing onto a moving cop car ha ha!
We ended up sitting at the darts bar for quite a while. Cameron Dean and Heidi had their usual battle to the death, and Boheon and I showed our awesome skills. Awesomely bad. We had a good time cheering (booing) each other on.
After Heidi and BH and Byongsoo left, I might have cried a little, so, Cameron Dean and SJ and I did a round in the 80s bar, where we danced like fools and requested lots of awesome tunes. We were the only customers in the bar!
CD and I were given permission by Saejin to stay out past our 8 drink limit and we did our best to stay good.
This is how we ended the night, in Tinpan Alley II. We made friends with this guy and his very short friend (not pictured, but trust me) and I also made friends with some altogether too young and good-looking breakdancers who pretended I was cool and let me dance with them. Oh, in total we were so good.
I crashed with Cameron Dean. The only trouble we really got in (surprisingly, I mean really) was in the Family Mart in his building where we may have rumbled over the late night snack decision, pizza vs sandwich. He didn't even eat his pizza, so I guess I was right after all. Sandwiches rule! ¶ 22.7.07 0 comments
Saturday, July 21, 2007
The only thing holding Cam and I together was the thought of cheese fries. It was a long ass subway ride from his place to meet Heidi this morning. Morning? Afternoon I guess. It might as well have been 7am for all that we felt rested.I think we might have considered the possibility that being drunk on the subway the morning after was uncouth. I mean, subway!? What were we thinking?!!?
¶ 21.7.07 0 comments
Thursday, July 19, 2007
This Fuckin' Box. I mean, thanks Marilyn!
Marilyn's drugstore shopping arrived for me today and I was gleeful to get it, but then once I opened it . . . I feel like I was tricked because she sent it in this same stupid box. This box has crossed the ocean five or six times now, between the two of us. As you can see, it is very beat up now. Well-used. I am conniving and thinking of what I could possibly shove back in it to send back now. . . .
The cutest part of the package was the little notes and travel advice Marilyn wrote for me, channeling her mum.
¶ 19.7.07 3 comments
Marilyn's drugstore shopping arrived for me today and I was gleeful to get it, but then once I opened it . . . I feel like I was tricked because she sent it in this same stupid box. This box has crossed the ocean five or six times now, between the two of us. As you can see, it is very beat up now. Well-used. I am conniving and thinking of what I could possibly shove back in it to send back now. . . .The cutest part of the package was the little notes and travel advice Marilyn wrote for me, channeling her mum.
¶ 19.7.07 3 comments
Thursday's Art Project
While I had my mothers' conferences two weeks ago, my class made these chickens with one of the Korean staff. Ben came by and gave his to me (as he is wont to do). I tried to throw it away today and my class freaked. They said "Ben gave that to you! Don't throw it away! That's bad manners!" Little shits, using my golden rule against me! So I waited until they were gone and chucked it. I bet you one of them will remember tomorrow though and bust me. They're tricky.
¶ 19.7.07 0 comments
While I had my mothers' conferences two weeks ago, my class made these chickens with one of the Korean staff. Ben came by and gave his to me (as he is wont to do). I tried to throw it away today and my class freaked. They said "Ben gave that to you! Don't throw it away! That's bad manners!" Little shits, using my golden rule against me! So I waited until they were gone and chucked it. I bet you one of them will remember tomorrow though and bust me. They're tricky.
¶ 19.7.07 0 comments
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Dinner with 진서
진서 and I met in Hongdae earlier for some meat. We ate on meat street at some yummy little place that had tables on the street.
After that we walked around for awhile to work off all the calories. I saw so many new things! I mean, god damn Hongdae has cleaned up! There are so many new cool-looking bars and restaurants and shops. The whole street where HITW Bar used to be is all flashy now, new bars, new shops, new buildings (!), instead of dingy and familiar and lined with 감자탕 restaurants.
Here are some places on meat street and their silly names.
We stopped and had a couple of beers at a nice patio down one of the tiny streets. 진서 ate many corn snacks.
¶ 17.7.07 0 comments
진서 and I met in Hongdae earlier for some meat. We ate on meat street at some yummy little place that had tables on the street.
After that we walked around for awhile to work off all the calories. I saw so many new things! I mean, god damn Hongdae has cleaned up! There are so many new cool-looking bars and restaurants and shops. The whole street where HITW Bar used to be is all flashy now, new bars, new shops, new buildings (!), instead of dingy and familiar and lined with 감자탕 restaurants.
Here are some places on meat street and their silly names.
We stopped and had a couple of beers at a nice patio down one of the tiny streets. 진서 ate many corn snacks.
¶ 17.7.07 0 comments
Linda's Going Away Party!
Friday night our bosses Mr and Mrs Oh took everybody out for a going away dinner for Linda, who is (sadly) leaving Korea to (happily) live with her fiance in America. We went to a restaurant around the corner and ate meat and drank beer and various jus.
Good bye Linda! Good luck, happy travels and lots of love to you and Preston! See you when I come to sleep on your couch and eat your 김치찌게.
Here are the pictures of the dinner and most of everybody I work with. High representation of the people I actually like of course!
Jamye Lee and Beaks (who made it all the way from his "new" digs to the dinner). Benjamin, Shelly and I. Shelly and I (making the same face in every picture).
Beaks and Shells have fun with my camera while I'm off pouring 백세주 for everybody. Linda and I laughing. Linda and I being seriously pretty.
Justin (activating his grumpyface technique). Justin, Angela and Sunny (kimchi pot in foreground). Angela and Sunny.
Beaks and Sunny. Linda, Justin and Beaks. Sunny and Shelly.
Benjamin (showing his dinner). Lena and Beaks (showing his, err, little beard). Paviola, Shells and I.
Lena and Yunee. Myself, Shells, Raegs and Linda. Shells and Raegs.
Mr Oh and I. Mrs Oh and I (who I may have confessed love to). Angela my partner teacher (who is leaving LCI a few days after me but totally lied about to me until her secret was blown!) who I don't hate, even though she is a goddamn liar!
Linda and Preston, her husband to be. The Ohs and Linda. Linda and I conspiring to get everybody knackered.
After the restaurant mostly booted us out Linda, her fiance, Jamye Lee, Lena and Sunny and I sat outside on the curb goofing around.
¶ 17.7.07 0 comments
Good bye Linda! Good luck, happy travels and lots of love to you and Preston! See you when I come to sleep on your couch and eat your 김치찌게.
Here are the pictures of the dinner and most of everybody I work with. High representation of the people I actually like of course!
Jamye Lee and Beaks (who made it all the way from his "new" digs to the dinner). Benjamin, Shelly and I. Shelly and I (making the same face in every picture).
Beaks and Shells have fun with my camera while I'm off pouring 백세주 for everybody. Linda and I laughing. Linda and I being seriously pretty.
Justin (activating his grumpyface technique). Justin, Angela and Sunny (kimchi pot in foreground). Angela and Sunny.
Beaks and Sunny. Linda, Justin and Beaks. Sunny and Shelly.
Benjamin (showing his dinner). Lena and Beaks (showing his, err, little beard). Paviola, Shells and I.
Lena and Yunee. Myself, Shells, Raegs and Linda. Shells and Raegs.
Mr Oh and I. Mrs Oh and I (who I may have confessed love to). Angela my partner teacher (who is leaving LCI a few days after me but totally lied about to me until her secret was blown!) who I don't hate, even though she is a goddamn liar!
Linda and Preston, her husband to be. The Ohs and Linda. Linda and I conspiring to get everybody knackered.
After the restaurant mostly booted us out Linda, her fiance, Jamye Lee, Lena and Sunny and I sat outside on the curb goofing around.
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Happy Constitution Day! Today is a holiday - which is why I've been online all day, uh, instead of going out. Happy Constitution Day Korea, I love you! Here are some flowers to celebrate!
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Last Saturday Night with Shells and Heids
I love my girls!
We met up at Rocky Mountain Tavern in Hongdae, which is new and situated conveniently across from where old US66 was. We got inside and ordered our first beers, upon delivery of which our boy the waiter informed us of the free drinks for ladies until 10pm. It was 9:35 at that time. So we diligently ordered as many rum & cokes, gin & tonics and vodka & cranberries as we could drink in 25 minutes. We did pretty good. I think we got about 6? It obviously started to get fuzzy after that. The bar was virtually empty so we were dancing around our table and downing our drinks happily all three of us together. We poured some out for Jes who couldn't make it. Then suddenly there were tonnes of people in the bar dancing and drinking and it was really crowded, and we were ready to dance so we left. Uhhh, and went straight home. Chastely and soberly. ¶ 17.7.07 3 comments
We met up at Rocky Mountain Tavern in Hongdae, which is new and situated conveniently across from where old US66 was. We got inside and ordered our first beers, upon delivery of which our boy the waiter informed us of the free drinks for ladies until 10pm. It was 9:35 at that time. So we diligently ordered as many rum & cokes, gin & tonics and vodka & cranberries as we could drink in 25 minutes. We did pretty good. I think we got about 6? It obviously started to get fuzzy after that. The bar was virtually empty so we were dancing around our table and downing our drinks happily all three of us together. We poured some out for Jes who couldn't make it. Then suddenly there were tonnes of people in the bar dancing and drinking and it was really crowded, and we were ready to dance so we left. Uhhh, and went straight home. Chastely and soberly. ¶ 17.7.07 3 comments
I just had a very strange and wonderful telephone conversation with an old friend of mine from Montreal after losing touch for more than seven years. It's funny how things change and stay the same.
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The Cat in The Background
This used to be my cat! Tzyggy is her name. She's fat now! But she's in good hands I am glad to know. It's been seven years since she was adopted. Apparently she is too fat to jump on counters like she used to which is good, I guess.
The cat in the foreground is Minou her sister by marriage.
Good cats. ¶ 17.7.07 2 comments
This used to be my cat! Tzyggy is her name. She's fat now! But she's in good hands I am glad to know. It's been seven years since she was adopted. Apparently she is too fat to jump on counters like she used to which is good, I guess.The cat in the foreground is Minou her sister by marriage.
Good cats. ¶ 17.7.07 2 comments
Sunday, July 15, 2007
I'm really sick. I've wasted away two beautiful clear sunny days! What a bummer.
¶ 15.7.07 7 comments
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
I'm updating my address book. If you want postcards from anyplace I get myself to, email your mailing address right now. I mean EVERYBODY! Send me your address!
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Tuesday, July 10, 2007
EVERYBODY!
No more pansying about now, I have just paid money and got the first step of my (many-stepped) Russian tourist visa, dated September 7th 2007!
More visas coming! Yee-HAW! ¶ 10.7.07 0 comments
No more pansying about now, I have just paid money and got the first step of my (many-stepped) Russian tourist visa, dated September 7th 2007!
More visas coming! Yee-HAW! ¶ 10.7.07 0 comments
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Friday, July 06, 2007
It was darker than any night had ever been, even on nights when there was no moon . . . It was darker than a pitch-black panther, covered in tar, eating black licorice at the very bottom of the deepest part of the Black Sea.¶ 6.7.07 0 comments-Lemony Snicket, The Ersatz Elevator
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Going Through Pictures
and I found this gem:
The involved parties will surely remember. ¶ 5.7.07 2 comments
The involved parties will surely remember. ¶ 5.7.07 2 comments
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
I'm hoping I'm cruising by something this spectacular on the train through Mongolia on such a clear day! It's so amazingly beautiful! It'll be mid-September by then, I wonder how the weather will be.
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I have had many occasions in the last few weeks to wonder about the junk I have collected over three years in this deceptively tiny apartment. This might be the cake-taker. It's so ridiculously useless.
¶ 3.7.07 7 comments
Monday, July 02, 2007
It is now July, and it's for fn'g real. I was issued my passenger ticket for the Weidong Ferry to Qingdao, China today. August 11th cannot come soon enough!
¶ 2.7.07 2 comments
Picture Journals
These are the hilarious picture journals my students drew on Friday. Our topic was the previous day's talking test, and for the pictures accompanying their journals they each wrote speech bubbles. Some were accurately hilarious, real snippets of our talks, and some were fabricated hilarity.
June's was the funniest - she wrote this:
Rachel: What comes out Max's nose?
June: It's blood.
I was prompting her to think of words beginning with bl blends.
Max wrote:
Max: my birthday.
Rachel: No I don't.
Which makes absolutely no freakin' sense, and he defended it proudly knowing that.
¶ 2.7.07 0 comments
These are the hilarious picture journals my students drew on Friday. Our topic was the previous day's talking test, and for the pictures accompanying their journals they each wrote speech bubbles. Some were accurately hilarious, real snippets of our talks, and some were fabricated hilarity.June's was the funniest - she wrote this:
Rachel: What comes out Max's nose?
June: It's blood.
I was prompting her to think of words beginning with bl blends.
Max wrote:
Max: my birthday.
Rachel: No I don't.
Which makes absolutely no freakin' sense, and he defended it proudly knowing that.
¶ 2.7.07 0 comments
Sunday, July 01, 2007
덕적도
We had a lovely day on the beach. Deokjeokdo is everything it was cracked up to be, calm and beautiful. I got a fantastic sunburn and had a great time!
We stayed at this place - Hanul Bada Pension. The lady picked us up at the ferry dock and drove us back too. It was so cute, and the rooms had a great view and all the amenities. It was only a short walk from the beach!
¶ 1.7.07 0 comments
We stayed at this place - Hanul Bada Pension. The lady picked us up at the ferry dock and drove us back too. It was so cute, and the rooms had a great view and all the amenities. It was only a short walk from the beach!
¶ 1.7.07 0 comments
Best Translation I've Heard in Ages
동생들이 너무 반갑게 맞아주어서 기분이 좋았다.
Younger brothers were correct and happy to be so glad. ¶ 1.7.07 0 comments
Younger brothers were correct and happy to be so glad. ¶ 1.7.07 0 comments
Friday, June 29, 2007
It's the rainy season now. It will rain every day for the next month or so. In between the rains it is humid and sticky and gross. Then it rains so hard it feels cooler but the torrents of rain make me lose my shoes walking down the "river" of the sidewalk.
Today I got a hit from a search for "girl with long hair all soaken wet". Why is everything porn!? ¶ 29.6.07 0 comments
Today I got a hit from a search for "girl with long hair all soaken wet". Why is everything porn!? ¶ 29.6.07 0 comments
Thursday, June 28, 2007
My life is awesome. Every single person I care about knows it. I am having the time of my life all the time. Some people I love I get to see all the time and it's easy to feel they know; some people are far away. Don't you forget it: I love you. And you know it.
¶ 28.6.07 2 comments
This is a summer of changes at LCI Kids' Club Seocho. Among many other changes, my boss Jin is leaving. Jin and Shelly and I had lunch last Friday. Jin is the third supervisor I've worked with here, but the longest serving. We've been working together for over two years. Two years and eight months? It's hard for either of us to imagine the school without each other. Today during my parents' conference with June's mom, June's mom started tearing up when we were talking about my upcoming departure. Jin and I smiled sadly and had to look away. And cool it down a bit. It's really hard to imagine myself leaving the front doors for the last time, especially when Jin will have left a freakin' month before me!!!!!!!
OH MY GOD IT IS GOING TO BE REALLY HARD. ¶ 28.6.07 2 comments
Little Ones
I see so much of their mom and dad's faces in them - how can that happen? They are so little! I love getting pictures - I love being connected and getting pictures. Big fat beautiful twins!
Marley on the left!
Tuula on the right!
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I see so much of their mom and dad's faces in them - how can that happen? They are so little! I love getting pictures - I love being connected and getting pictures. Big fat beautiful twins!Marley on the left!
Tuula on the right!
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Monday, June 25, 2007
I can't explain what a good friend Nara has been to me, or what a good time we have. But I will say that when her babies come to Canada I will take excellent care of them.
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Sunday, June 24, 2007
Nara: Happiness is waking up on a rainy day, not washing my face, eating ramen and watching old favourite movies.
Me: Happiness is waking up on a rainy day in a room with a view and eating yogurt in my robe.
How about you? ¶ 24.6.07 3 comments
Me: Happiness is waking up on a rainy day in a room with a view and eating yogurt in my robe.
How about you? ¶ 24.6.07 3 comments
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Nara and I are now getting ready for our posh dinner at one of the fancy hotels along the beach. We checked out the Paradise, the Westin Chosun and the Novotel Ambassador (which used to be the Marriott) and decided on the buffet at the Seaside at the Ambassador. The menu is seafood and wine and that sounds like heaven. We made a reservation for eight pm and we are going to wash up and have a rest and wander over there later. Good thing I brought a real shirt and not just beach wear :)
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Nara and I are in Busan! Our fantastic hotel room (in the Grand Blue hotel, which I highly recommend) overlooks the aquarium at Haeundae Beach.We already spent a few hours on the beach and had delicious sushi for lunch downstairs (in our suits still!). It's only 1pm! We still have the whole day left! I love getting an early start.
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