Friday, June 29, 2012

Sorry for the Lack of Blogs

I've been busy trying to plan out my next few months.

Basically it's looking like this:

My last day at Reading Town will likely be July 27th. My next job, with nearly a month of extra vacation time and a $400 raise doesn't start until October 29th. That's a long time without a paycheque. However, I have enough saved to get through and actually have a bit of fun before I start, but it does mean that I may have to put my linguistics course on hold until February, which I REALLY didn't want to do, but heck I got in so I guess starting 6 months later isn't the end of the world.

I had talked to my current employers about an extension but the lack of planning and communication has been horrific, with way too many in management and no one talking to anyone. One boss is writing an extension for me the same day as another one is interviewing for my replacement, and neither one knows what the other is doing. The lack of respect towards me and inability to get a straight answer have all but made up my mind to just leave and get my big payout August 4th. If by some miracle they stick an extension in front of me I'd probably take it, but I'm also applying for summer camps as I'd take those if they became available. However I know that I'm moving to a place that with finance my MA and really, is 11 weeks holiday THAT terrible a thing?

With that in mind I have booked a trip to Fukuoka, Japan with Mike this summer (July 31st - August 5th). Here is the background info on Fukuoka. With a couple of side trips it should get me a good look at the island of Kyushu.

After that I'll return to Korea to sort out my visa for the coming months and do a camp if I get one. After that I would like to return to Vancouver for a visit but may do so via Beijing or Tokyo/Kyoto, something like that. I also haven't totally ruled out visiting my sister in London (AFTER the Olympics) but that may be stretching it financially.

Finally, a few changes here with people and Geoff is opting to move back to Canada for a while after three years abroad and Kris moving to a gig up in Seoul in three weeks when his contract is up. It's been great having a friend from Uni here and also great having two co-workers who I also call friends (I haven't really had that in Korea before) so I'm a bit sad for the change, but also excited to start the next chapter of my life here.

As to my future, my new job will give me the finances to pay for the graduate program I was accepted in to this year and vacation time to enjoy my holidays. When I'm finished it I can teach esl in Canada or else at universities in non-English speaking countries (where my salary would eventually more than double). I sometimes do wonder what the hell I'm still doing in Korea after 3 years, but I also think that if I did stay 5-6 years and walked out with an MA, a solid nest egg or my debts paid, travel stories to last a lifetime and maybe a second language it would not have been time wasted. It's all in the air, but for now I'll be focused on from here til October.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Tongdosa and Daegu

On Saturday morning I got up early to meet Mike and head out to Tongdosa, a huge temple that supposedly has relics of the Buddha enshrined there. We got up early and took a bus from the bus stop closest to Dong Daegu subway stop (there is no sign that says Tongdosa, but you can get a bus from there). 100 minutes later we made it to Tongdosa rest stop. This is actually a fair ways away from the temple entrance and the street signs aren't really all that clear, but if you just walk through the rest stop and down the road behind it you will find the temple.

You start with a long trail through the mountain that takes about 15-20 minutes to walk. Actually on a warm summer day it is very nice.

our walk in


You then come to the temple, one of the largest in Korea. I have actually been here once before way back in 2009 when I still lived in Ulsan (has it really been that long). 

on the way in

carvings outside the temple gate

inside Tongdosa

a bodhi tree (I think)


The temple itself is almost 1500 years old, though as with most things in Korea it has been rebuilt over the centuries. You can read about the temple itself here.

After that we tried to make our way back towards the bus terminal but there we realized that we were only about a $10 cab ride from Eonyang KTX train station (the new station that brings KTX service to Ulsan). This didn't exist when I lived there, but it does now and boy do I wish it did when I lived there. I can now get to Ulsan in 25 minutes (though it's a ways out of town and another 20 minutes or so on the bus). But that does make life easier.


We got back to Daegu and had time to rest before Ange and her boyfriend Chris came in. Mike and I then met them downtown and we had a few patio beers, some food, introduced Chris to makgeolli and had an overall good night out. Other Kris joined up from his trip to Seoul where it looks like he's landed a great job for when his Reading Town contract is up. Yet another friend who has moved to Seoul :P

The next day I got up and had my much awaited lazy day before meeting Ange and Chris again for dinner before they got their train up to Cheongju. 

Next weekend is Geoff's last in Korea so Sunday we will be hanging out. Otherwise a quiet week ahead.


Monday, June 18, 2012

Shaping the Kim Dynasty

I found this article talking about how media has been shaping Kim III in the 6 months since his ascension to the throne of the DPRK. It is an interesting read both in that it shows clearly just how obvious the media's creation of these monarch's image is and the simple fact that this sort of thing can exist in the 21st century. With mass media and internet I just can't imagine another state like this once the north's dynasty finally collapses.

An interesting evolution of this odd Marxist monarchy anyway

Bobby in Town

With Geoff's departure imminent Bobby decided to come down for a last visit. He got here around 10 and we decided to go hiking after grabbing some Japanese food. Four hours later we were back and showering. Bobby wanted to nap so i met Geoff, got new sandals and had a beer. We then went down to meet with Mike, Kris and a friend of their named Greg. We hung out on Sangin for the night, grabbing food along the way. Around midnight Bobby and I were tired (a 4 hour hike will do that to you) and Geoff came with us as he was crashing at my place.

Sunday they left and I spent a few hours waking up.

I am sad that Geoff is taking off so soon, but it's nice to see him off with a proper party.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Summer Weekend in Daegu

This weekend was not especially amazing, as in some ways nothing really happened, and yet it was eventful.

Friday night I was down on the Sangin Strip with Kris and Mike. We were getting dinner and stayed out for a few drinks. It was starting to get late so we were getting ready to head home when across the street in a place called Beer Kaiser a full blown brawl erupted. I'm not totally sure what happened but at one point the kitchen staff were involved. By the end it seemed that one girl was in hysterics (Kris pointed out that she would have been taken to a mental hospital in Australia, like childish tantrum. The police showed up but were amazingly relaxed (we all agreed that if a brawl like that had broken out in Tampa/Melbourne/Vancouver there would have been mass arrests and clubs out). Eventually the girl, after kicking one officer, was forcefully taken by three who tried to put her in the van. Her hysterics were something that I can only describe as the worst temper tantrum I had ever seen, and we all agreed that back in Canada/USA/Australia she'd be off for a psych evaluation. Anyway the boyfriend decided that this was the time to stop the officers from man handling his psycho girlfriend. Thirty seconds later he had a boot on his neck and was being cuffed. The two of them were driven away and that was it. The other friends, one of whom had been involved in the brawl SAT DOWN AND RESUMED DRINKING. I couldn't believe that they weren't all being dragged away. Talk about not being held responsible for your actions. We then walked home chatting about how different it would be if you behaved like that in the west. Actually I thought it was shameful that there were simply no consequences for that sort of behaviour. I'm sure that girl will be out this weekend doing the same thing.

Saturday was more low key. The three of us again headed out to Anjirang, where there is a whole row of bbq tables (from Korea at its worst to Korea at its best in a day). The meal of choice was Gop Chang. Spicy organ meat. I can only do so much of it but for what it is it's actually quite tasty. We then proceeded to hit up WaBar and a small hof in the Sondangmot area.

Sunday I got up and met Geoff for coffee and to do a test run of Civilization 4. I maintain it is better than 5 but Geoff seemed unconvinced of this. After he left I met Mike for dinner and we discussed a trip to Fukuoka for our summer break.

Monday after the gym we booked that trip.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Korean Memorial Day

Last Wednesday was Memorial day in the ROK. It is a holiday set on the anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War and commemorates that event. For us it's a public and holiday and we spent it how everyone spends Memorial days around the world. Sleeping in and then going to a BBQ, drinking and generally forgetting why there is a holiday in the first place.

We had grabbed the meat the night before at Homeplus, so Mike set up a bbq on his roof and we spent the day watching baseball on the laptop and cooking meat. It was a lot of fun and I'd love to do another bbq up there this summer. The neighbours didn't seem to mind too much, though no one seemed interested in joining us (a couple looked like they had commemorated the war the night before at a beer and soju place).

It was a great day and wrapped up by 10.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Up to Cheongju

This weekend was a busy one.

It kind of started on Thursday night when, feeling very sore from three consecutive days of intense gym I opted to take the night off and I went to Mike's place to watch the classic film 'The Room' (universally hailed as the worst film ever). Between Tommy Weseau's "oh Hai Mark" and playing football in tuxedo's it is a classic. We are trying to get the students to start talking like Wiseau, but so far it hasn't taken off ( picture 20 kids running around going "oh hai teacher").

On Friday I was out with a few coworkers for food and drinks. Mike and Kris were there, along with our co-teacher Remi, who is always a lot of fun and who's spoken English is simply amazing. We had solid bbq and planned for our random Wednesday off. I wasn't super late but I wasn't batting 1000 when I got up Saturday to head up to Cheongju to meet Ange and her new boyfriend Chris. Geoff and I hopped on the KTX to transfer at Daejeon and grab the slow train to Cheongju. It is actually much faster than the bus, which was surprising but nicely so, as I'll always take train travel over bus travel. We hung out in Ange's new place, which is huge and great for hosting (we have our own bedrooms). We chatted with Chris, a great guy from San Francisco, on a few topics and showed him Civilization 5.

After a while we opted to head to a friend of Ange's to hang out on her roof and enjoy the sun. Liz was a wonderful host and had the makings of a great garden on her rooftop patio. Chris had to go early as he was on his way up to Seoul to meet a friend who's flight was arriving that night (Seoul is only an hour or so from Cheongju) and the rest of us hung out for a few hours. Around dinner time we made our way out for Korean bbq and then went to a few places in downtown Cheongju for Makgeolli and patio beers (the best part of Korean summers is that it's 22 degrees at midnight, very nice to sit out in). Along the way we met two great girls from the U.K where we chatted about everything from sports to food to the Diamond jubilee and Canadian republicanism (for which I got more support from the Brits than from the Canadians..... apparently all parents want their kids to move out of the basement by the time they hit 160 years old). Geoff and I were taking it fairly easy at this point, with our water consumption outpacing our liquor. We had talking hiking in Cheongju on Sunday but clearly by 2am we were the only ones still thinking like that. A few of us wanted to head to a bar that catered to expats there, but five minutes in there had me thinking that I may be a bit hard on Daegu's expat bars and restaurants. It was brutal. Fortunately Ange and Geoff agreed to we hopped a cab back to Ange's place. She passed out and we played Civilization and found a solid collection of classic rock before sleeping.

The next morning we had a great breakfast that Ange made and ate to Bad Company and Journey. I was ready for a move to a mountain but apparently I was the only one so we opted for food and a roof instead before Geoff and I hopped the train back to Daegu. We had planned to head out to Sangin but Geoff opted to sleep so I went home, got cleaned up and met Mike and Kris for a drink in the park (yeah, we can do that here). I got home and slept well.

It was a great four days but after all that meat and beer I'm going to have to work extra hard at the gym this week. Wednesday is a holiday so I'll have a chance to relax properly then. Unfortunately Hyo Jung is working that day, so I'll have to wait until later in the week to meet her.

Overall a great weekend.