Living in South Korea!

Korea: A Year Later

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:45:00 +0000

It's been a year since I left Korea and it's time for an update. Three weeks after leaving Korea I went to China with my family and had an incredible experience. Since I shared my experience of living in Korea I've decided to share our trip to China as well. You can go to that blog by clicking here y'all.

After China I settled back to Tennessee and tried to figure out what to do next with TL. It was difficult to figure out what to do because I felt like I was looking at everything after getting new glasses. Things that used to be important to me, worrying about high gas prices for example, no longer were. Things that I used to take for granted, open green space, I no longer did. (If you're a former expat or service member you know what I'm talking about. If you're reading this and you're in one of those two groups and are having trouble adjusting shoot me an email. If you're around Nashville, we'll meet up and the first round is on me).

That adjustment wasn't the only difficulty I had. Trying to fit back into a domestic life wasn't easy while having to answer the only two questions everyone wanted to ask. The first one being, "So when are you getting a real job?" The second, "Well if you're not sure then when are you going to grad school?" The truth is both are not easy to accomplish when you return. You have to understand the type of job you want to apply for or you have to be prepared to invest the time, energy and money for grad school. One thing we "Recessive Millennials", my term for those of us that graduated from college in 2007-2010, have learned is that having a degree doesn't guarantee a job. You have to be specific in your skill set to obtain a position in the career you want to work in.

All of this combined made TL and I realize after the summer that we were no longer a good fit together. It was difficult, and it took some time, to move on but I've grown to love Nashville and I'm a better person because of our break-up. My time in Korea taught me a great many things about maturity and being self-aware and it highlighted my love for travel and writing. My time here in Nashville has given me the opportunity to apply those lessons.

Couldn't pass up taking the lil bro out to a Preds game for his 21st!

One of the things that I kept thinking about and talking about, as I moved on from our break-up, was traveling and exploring. Clearly, I'm someone who's always been interested in going to new places but also to learn new things. I enjoy reading about a new discovery or seeing a new place we humans have gone to. So that is what I've decided to do. I've joined the Peace Corps and am teaching English in Macedonia. Check out my adventures here.

Leaving Korea

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 21:15:00 +0000

Well this is going to be my last blog post in Korea. Korea was everything I wanted but nothing I expected. It's been an incredible year and one I'll remember fondly for the rest of my life.

If there was one thing I wasn't prepared for it was saying goodbye to my students and coteachers. I'd told my kids that I was leaving a good month in advance so they wouldn't be surprised. It would be easier to transition between myself and the new teacher if the kids felt a part of the process. So, all the classes knew who the new teacher was before she came and were excited to meet her. She taught in America so I was relieved that I only had to teach her our system and not how to manage the class too. I gave her the reins Thursday and Friday and she was great. After she taught, each class gave me some cards they had written and it was overwhelming to receive them.

Typically focused Korean students.

Kenny being awesome.

Here we're having our Oreo party.

Here's another class that's just chatting with me.

Group shot. The boy on the far right told me, "Teacher I want to blow up all the planes in Korea so you can't leave." That's high praise coming from him!

One of my TOEFL classes wrote on the board.

Here they are. The most frustrating but rewarding class in the whole school. They weren't bad just middle school girls. Trying to figure out their moods was like trying to predict the wind.

The other TOEFL class and my Wolfpack. Teaching them was the highlight of my Tuesday and Thursday's.

This is a typical ending to their class.

Some of the Elementary kids wrote on another board.

One last group shot with all the teachers. Mi Eun is on the far left.

Now for all my thanks to the people I met here. First, I have to thank my boss Mi Eun. I heard some horror stories about other Hagwon's but I had nothing but a great experience working at Jisan Hangil. All the teacher's were excellent and fun to work with but her professionalism, positive attitude and love for her students set the bar. Secondly, my coworker Joshua. He was a great guy to hang out with and work with. Always prepared but never stressed, I loved sharing ideas about what we could do to get our students excited for class. Next, to all the people I met in Gwangju. Jonathan, Graham, Phil, Maggie, Jack, Kezia, Leanne, Iris, Travis and Erin y'all made this year. To Tim and Tony at First Alleyway you guys were my Western Food anchor. Our conversations were always interesting no matter where they led. To Song at German Bar thanks for showing me the Gwangju behind the curtain. To Ji Hae and YoungChung at Cafe Florida your coffee was incredible and your company even better. To all the rugby boys, you helped me settle into Korea and start living here. James Ewen you are my Enkidu. To my friends and family back home thanks for all the letters, cards and gifts. They did a great job keeping me in good spirits while covering my atrocious wallpaper.

Last but certainly not least I have to thank The Lady. It wasn't easy following this road away from you but having your support was like having matches in my pocket. You never made too much light to blind me nor distract me from seeing the sights but you always gave me enough to keep me on the right path. I can't wait to see you and start walking together on our own journey.

My Last Rugby Tournament

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 03:15:00 +0000

The weekend before last I went to Busan for my last rugby tournament. It was our best showing as a team I had a great time playing with the boys. After watching and practicing a lot of rugby I finally began to take that knowledge and apply it at gamespeed. For example, we were playing Busan and their outside centre, outside linebacker-ish, kept jumping to come after me and cut inside. Well, our flyhalf, comparable to a point guard, a New Zealander, saw that last week and told the inside center to loop me and break the line. I knew to cut inside and draw the aggressive defender with me, freeing the looping IC. Loui, the flyhalf, kicked a perfect grubber, a bouncing forward pass, the IC looped me, I cut inside drawing my defender, the IC easily broke the line and scored a beautiful try. The best part was the defender who followed me realized when Loui kicked the ball what happened and said, "Oh F*&k." Game over.

Waiting to sub in.

Flyhalf getting ready to throw the ball.

And there he goes.

Filling my channel.

A fantastic day of rugby with some solid blokes. I couldn't have asked for a better team to join, nor wished for more support from the experienced guys.

            Afterwards we cleaned up, I went to the same hostel, Wow Guest House, I stayed at during Lunar New Year, we went out to enjoy St. Paddy's and watch some 6 Nations Rugby. For a great video showing the highlights of the day click on this video link:  Jeonnam Aliens. I make my appearance from 3:45-4:10.
            I will miss the guys and playing very much. I'm lucky to have learned how to play a great game from the people who spent their whole lives playing it. If rugby had been in East TN when I was growing up, I wouldn't have played anything else. Be sure to check out the team's website: Jeonnam Rugby.
            Here are some links for proper rugby sites: Rugby Dump, Rugby Buzz, ESPNScrum and PlanetRugby to start.

Going To The DMZ

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:07:00 +0000

One of the reasons I chose to teach in Korea was to visit the DMZ. I decided that if Landon came to Korea before going to China then I would take him with me as a birthday present. I was pumped it worked out we would experience it together. We left late Friday night and made it to our hotel by 3am. We grabbed a few hours sleep and went off to catch our bus. Taking the advice of Maggie and Graham I booked our tour spots a month in advance. You can go on a tour to only see the DMZ but I wanted to see it and go to the border. I used Tour DMZ to go on both tours and I recommend you do the same. They were easy to work with and the tours went smoothly. Click here for their website: TourDMZ.

We got on the bus and I saw a friend, who went on the Hwacheon Ice Festival trip, Amanda and her mom. It's a small world we foreigners live in, in Korea. I won't go into depth about the history of the DMZ for that click here: DMZ History.

Our tour guide made sure to emphasize not to stray from the tour group nor take pictures unless we were allowed. Looking over the Han River she explained there was barbed wire fences along the riverbank. They're there to keep out defectors and spies. Anyone caught trying to cross the river will be shot. After an hour on the bus we made it to our first checkpoint. We stopped and a South Korean guard checked our passports.

The first checkpoint.

Our first stop was at the Dorasan train station. It's the only place in South Korea that you can see Pyeongyang as a destination. It was opened up 10 years ago as part of South Korea's "Sunshine Policy". However it's now closed because of the high tensions with North Korea.

To Pyeongyang.

All South Korean guards near or at the DMZ have to be over six feet naturally or with lifted shoes.

Notice the guard's shoes.

If anyone could travel through North Korea then I could leave from Gwangju and end up in London three weeks later.

Next, we went to the Observation Tower overlooking the DMZ. It was incredibly cold but crystal clear. I could see for a dozen miles and that's extremely rare up at the border. Looking over the DMZ I was astounded to see how bare North Korea was. There was not a blade of grass or a standing tree. Everything had been cut down so the North Korean people could eat the bark and use the timber for firewood. The Propaganda Village was to my right and empty. The only movement coming from it was the massive North Korean flag. It's the third largest flagpole in the world and the flag was so heavy it couldn't move. To my left was a village that was occupied and after looking through the binoculars I was astounded to see North Korean children playing soccer at their school.

You couldn't take pictures past the column.

Notice how clear the air was and how bare the land is.

Not a tree on the mountains.

The green is the DMZ and the border is where the green stops.

Leaving the Observation Tower we went to the Third Tunnel dug by the North Korean's under the DMZ. Only four tunnels have been discovered by South Korea and it's military thinks there are two dozen more. The tunnel we went to was large enough to transport 30,000, very short, troops in an hour. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the tunnel.

Getting the hard hat on.

Hard.

Landmines above the tunnel.

Also around it.

This monument was made in the hope for the two Korea's reuniting.

I'm trying to help.

Freedom Bridge.

Freedom Bridge, also called the Bridge Of No Return, was the last place soldiers and civilians could choose if they wanted to live in North or South Korea after the cease-fire was signed.

Here people have written notes and letters for family members in North Korea.

Landon checking it out.

The bridge was returned to ROK in 2006.

Try and imagine choosing to leave your family to live in South Korea. Or what if you made that choice but didn't make it in time before the bridge closed.

After visiting the Freedom Bridge the first tour was done. We got on another bus for our tour inside the DMZ at the Joint Security Area. Our new tour guide reiterated that we couldn't go anywhere without him nor take pictures unless told to. He also informed us to follow his instructions and he wasn't responsible if we got hurt, i.e. shot.

This is the JSA, the building in the sunlight is North Korea's visiting center.

The center guard never moves.

Look at the concrete line going through the snow. That's the line between North and South Korea.

Neither Landon or I were in a smiling mood.

Guess which side of the line we're on.

This is where talks are held. The guard is standing just inside the South Korean border and I'm on the North Korean side.

This guard is in front of the North Korean door. They wear sunglasses so the North Koreans can't tell where they're looking. All parties must schedule a time to enter the building. Also, the guard's are always in a taekwondo stance ready to defend themselves.

Like I said, you didn't feel like smiling here.

If I stood next to the guard he would've taken me out without a warning. I doubt he'd left me conscious.

Last shot of the DMZ and North Korea behind it.

This used to be where you could go to North Korea. That changed in the 1970's after two American soldiers were killed trying to prune a tree. That incident nearly put the two countries back into war. It's why everything is so tightly controlled now.

The South Korean flag flying in Freedom Village. Unlike it's North Korean counterpart people actually live in it.

Going to the DMZ and JSA was an incredible experience. It really hit home how the two Korea's are still at war. One side is a modern country and the other cannot even grow trees. I've had a lot of great experiences in South Korea but I'm glad that I waited so long to go. It gave me time to get perspective on South Korea, our (America) role and what both think of North Korea. However, the best part was being able to share the experience with Landon. Lastly, here's his blog so you can check out his experience of living in Beijing: Dug That Hole To China.

My Brother Coming To Korea

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 12:43:00 +0000

A couple of weeks age my brother came to visit me. Being 6 1/2 years older than him has made it difficult for us to do a lot of things together. So I was excited for us to have the chance to hang out and do some new things together. He came to Korea to visit for a week before heading to Beijing. He's studying Chinese at a university there for six months. I'm proud of him for having taking advantage of the opportunity to study abroad and can't wait to visit him there too. If you want to read about his experiences then check out his blog: Finally Dug That Hole To China.

It was awesome hanging out for a week together. For the first time we were able to relate to one another and share some great stories. I taught him how to play darts and I enjoyed seeing his reactions to Korea. Like TL, he was surprised at seeing all the coffee shops, clothing stores and cell phone stores. However, the funniest reaction he had was to what's unavailable here. He couldn't believe the limited selection of beers, the high prices of imported good, the tiny meal portions, that I don't have an oven or dryer and how my shower is never hot. He started to understand how things are really different on this side of the world and he'll have more experiences like that in China.

I took him to my school and the kids flipped out at seeing him. They couldn't believe how similar we are. That reaction wasn't limited to my school because a lot of Koreans would do a double-take at us when they passed us on the street. I'm sure that for nearly all the Koreans who saw us it was the first time they saw foreigners who were related, walking together.

He's one of those sneaky photographer's.

Making some friends.

Catching up on missed times.

It wouldn't be the same without Jonathan and a random Korean girl!

Lastly, my laptop died this week. I'm pretty pissed because I'd been working on our trip to the DMZ and making it into a polished video. Now I'll just post the pics and videos I've got on my iTouch as best I can.

Being Visited By A Coffee Girl

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 02:30:00 +0000

Last Friday night I was hanging out in my apartment, catching up on the Linsanity going on in NYC, when I heard a knock. I thought that someone was visiting my neighbor and was loudly knocking. I was shocked when I heard my doorknob turn and when I looked at it I saw my door open!

I jumped up and met the stranger as they swung my door fully open. They turned to look at me and I saw it was a woman. She looked at me, shrugged her shoulders, and started to take her shoes off. I told her, “Aniyo!” Confused she looked up at me, asking if I ordered a coffee. It was when she showed me the coffee that I knew who she was. I told her “Aniyo coffee-e juseyo” (That’s as close to “I didn’t order coffee” as I know how to say) and pointed to the hallway. She apologized and quickly left. After she walked out, I looked out my window and saw her get on a scooter, was yelled at by the driver and then they drove off.

You might be wondering why I told her to get out so sternly and it’s all because she had coffee with her. Here in Korea you can order coffee from a 24 hour service and a cute Korean girl will bring the coffee to you. She’s there for “companionship” but you can negotiate other “services”. Yup that’s right she was a prostitute. This is a huge business in Korea. You’ll see lots of guys driving scooters with a pretty girl sitting sideways and texting on the backseat. Don’t be surprised by this as infidelity is a huge part of Korean marriages. With all the sex motels and coffee girls it’s very easy for a guy to cheat on his wife. What’s sad is that most of these girls are orphans and have no family to support them.

Now the million dollar question is why did the girl come to my door? I figure it’s because some guy in my apartment building called her and then found out his girlfriend or wife was coming home early. So he frantically told her a different number. Or maybe she just got the numbers confused. Regardless, it’s certainly something I wasn’t expecting nor do I want to experience that part of Korea again.

Lunar New Year-Yonggungsa Temple

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:15:00 +0000

After heading out the previous night we got up, ate our breakfast and set off for Yonggungsa Temple. It's a Buddhist temple just outside of Busan and it's built right on a cliff overlooking the sea. It's a beautiful setting and a place that Frank Lloyd Wright would appreciate.

Some statues guarding the temple entrance.

This guy is just cool looking.

Chinese Zodiac statues. For luck you put a coin on the statue. If you throw it and it sticks you'll have a great year.

This lady was collecting all the coins. Not sure if she worked for the temple or not.

I waited but she wasn't moving. Anyways, my zodiac year is the Ox.

Here's what you see after climbing down a flight of stairs past the zodiac statues.

The video below is showing the temple and how close it is to the sea. It was a gorgeous setting for a temple. Be sure to notice what the temple means to different people. Most are there to pray, others' are taking pictures but not praying and some are just checking their phones because they're bored. It goes to show that people are the same the world over.
Yonggungsa Temple

Another statue to pray at.

A dragon head guarding the temple entrance.

Inside the temple. Look at the exquisite artwork behind the Golden Buddha's.

Here's the massive Buddha statue outside the temple.

Pardon the bad lighting but that's a dragon and you can put Budda dolls underneath him in prayer.

Here's the view of the temple from the sea.

The temple guardian. He's the only cat I've seen in Korea that wasn't afraid of people. I wonder if a sincere Buddhist believes he's a monk.

The white spots on the ocean behind me were waterfowl. They'd dive and catch a fish or crab. It was cool to watch.

Everyone warming up on the rocks.

I really enjoyed going to the temple as it's one of the few that's on the ocean in Korea. I also enjoyed watching Korean's either treat it with reverence or as a tourist spot. I even caught some Thai tourists trying to sneak a picture of us on the rocks! So of course I waved and they laughed knowing I caught them. It was a nice ending to our Lunar New Year trip. The next week my brother was coming to visit me before heading to China. More on that later.

Lunar New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:33:00 +0000

After the trip to Hwacheon, I was eager to get out of Gwangju again. Fortunately, Lunar New Year was the following weekend, so I joined the gang and went to Busan. Busan is on the southeastern coast and is the second largest city in Korea. It's also the only city that wasn't captured by North Korea during the Korean War.

When we got to the city we quickly dropped our bags off and went to Beomeosa Temple at Mt. Geumjeongsan. It was a beautiful place and the setting reminded me of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We then climbed up the mountain to see the North Gate of Geumjeongsanseong Fortress. Afterwards, we had some dinner and checked out the local watering holes.

View from the temple.

Place of worship.

Here you can stack your stones for luck and prayer.

The North Gate of Geumjeongsanseong Fortress.

A smaller wall than I was expecting.

Part of the gang hanging out.

Our hostel was fantastic! Phil did a great job booking it.

The next day we got up, ate Quiznos (mmmmmmmm) and went to the UN Memorial. We started by watching a video on the memorial and what it was for. The video did a great job mentioning all of the countries that participated in the Korean War, save one. The United States wasn't mentioned and I can't figure out why. I assume that it's because we are technically still at war and the US government didn't want to have a memorial for a still active war. Or maybe the main US memorial is in Seoul. I don't know but it did get under my skin.

The flags represent the countries who participated in the war or have buried soldiers in the cementary.

The cementary covers over 35 acres.

Since there's no formal memorial, this wall lists the US soldiers that died. There were 33,870 US deaths.

Here's the list starting with TN.

To show you the scale of the wall here's a picture of me taking the above picture.

Even though there wasn't a formal US memorial I feel that the best memorial for the them is South Korea itself. It's success is because of their sacrifice.

Following that we went to the Jagalchi Fish Market. I was blown away by it's size and diversity of goods. However, Phil was the only one who bought anything and he just got a bag of peanuts.

They're just hanging out.

These octopus's were massive!

You could get goat, frog, seal, eel, several kinds of fish, squid and dog.

The market is right on the bay.

A tank full of nurse sharks.

The market was filled with shops like this. It felt like I was walking through a collage of seafood.

Here's a video showing you what the red meat on the bottom left of the above picture is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ0lizmte6g&list=UUKDXca5tGIuTZjYeDu3hbag&index=2&feature=plcp

The place was huge! I love the guy's expression too.

We had to be careful where we stepped.

These puffer fish were 18inches long! Also, they're the second most poisonous verterbrate in the world and a delicacy in Asia.

Next we went to Busan Tower to soak in the sights and watch the sunset. It was an incredible view and I highly recommend it for anyone that visits Busan. Before we got there we were on the subway when I noticed that Phil had forgotten his bag of peanuts. I grabbed them and without thinking said, "Phil you forgot your nuts!" Everyone started laughing and it brought on all the puns we could think of including, "Phil, what do you do if you lose your nuts when you're on a date?" "Or do you ask her to hold your nuts while you get a condom?" This next one made me cry I laughed so hard, "Phil, what happens if someone eats your nuts by accident?" Good stuff for sure.

Leanne, Phil, Jonathan and I

The sign on the glass says, "Please don't sit."

Just after the sun went behind the mountains.

Afterwards, we went out again for pool, darts and EPL games.

501.

Don't mess with the Nutcracker at the bar. You better do what he wants Phil!

The next morning we got up and went to Yonggungsa Temple. It's a fantastic Buddhist temple that's located just outside of Busan. I'll show that in my next post since I have so many pictures up already.

Getting out of Gwangju Part 2- Hwacheon Ice Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:52:00 +0000

The next day we got up and headed off to Hwacheon for the annual Ice Festival. It's the largest winter festival in Korea. It lasts for three weeks, hosting over 1,000,000 visitors. Being only two hours from Seoul it makes a great day trip for anyone living or staying in the city.

To be honest I wasn't prepared for the scale of the festival. It was massive and there was plenty to do besides fishing. You could go sledding, build snowmen, ice skate or ride ATV's and go-carts! How the festival organizers didn't make you wear a helmet is beyond me but that'll change after a lawsuit or two.

This was our hotel, Petit France.

Good thing the ice is two feet thick!

This wasn't just for Western foreigners but Chinese, Japanese and Thai too.

I started out by just sitting.

I call this piece, "Still Sitting".

I got tired of that and went after a more proactive approach. The water was so clear you could see the bottom and anything teasing your hook. It felt like I was fishing in an ice aquarium.

I finally got one! It's a Sancheoneo or wild trout.

Julie shamed us all by catching six!

After catching our fish we had them cooked and enjoyed our lunch. Next, we walked around and checked out the other events.

Graham and Maggie setting off.

Not a bad size hill.

Here are the ATV's and go-carts I was telling you about. I'm filming this while waiting in-line.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EAKRY61dvQ

A cool dragon sculpture.

Here I'm walking through the ice tunnel behind the dragon sculpture.

I had a great time going to the festival. I recommend it for anyone living in Korea or visiting during January. Sadly, it was Graham's last weekend in Korea before he left to go back to England. He was going back for a job interview. I found out later, while visiting Busan, that he got the job! Congrats man and I'll talk about my trip to Busan next time.

Getting out of Gwangju Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:41:00 +0000

Since Christmas things haven't been too eventful. Our school schedule changed so I've been working new hours with different classes and new challenges. Josh and I have been preparing tests, grading papers, and trying to get things organized for the new ESL teachers for when they arrive in March.

After the strain of the holidays and adjusting to the new workload I was ready to break out of Gwangju. The perfect opportunity came to go to an ice festival and do some fishing. As you'll see this festival wasn't a small event. Now, I didn't go to the festival alone but went with a small group led by Pedro Kim. He runs his own tour business and I highly recommend him for anyone in Jeollanam-do.

Pedro set up the tour to the ice festival as a two-day event. First, we would drive up and get settled in our hotel and then head to Naimi Island. The following day we would drive to the Hwacheon Ice Festival.

After our six hour drive I was pleasantly surprised to see that our "hotel" was based off a French town. Actually, it was called Petite France and was a Korean tourist trap. I, however, felt more at home there then anywhere else I've stayed in Korea.

This was the view from our front door.

A man taking a picture of a man taking a picture. M. C. Escher would be proud.

They kept pointing at me so I took a picture of them.

I thought we weren't smiling. The joke is on me!

His name was Sir Charles and he didn't like to be bothered.

Didn't I just say he didn't like to be bothered!

In due time I'll take this picture at the real Eiffel Tower. Not at a fake one in Korea.

We quickly dropped our bags and headed off to our destination, Naimi Island. It was a tiny but uberpopular Asian destination. It's famous for its romantic setting, eclectic attitude and relaxed atmosphere.

This was our ferry to Naimi Island. Foreigner's only paid 8,000won but Korean's had to pay 10,000.

The group after landing on the island.

Yup that's a statue in a Mrs. Claus' outfit!

I give you Graham and Maggie Short.

Neither one of the figure's were wearing clothes.

And now you know why it's weird.

No this Emu didn't escape from his cage, he never had one to escape from.

The island was named after General Naimi, a man who was condemned a traitor and murdered. He was later proved to have been double-crossed and named a hero of Korea.

Here's his tomb.

I love these signs.

He declined our requests for interviews.

We never saw those wascally wabbits.

I warned you about the eclectic art!

They even made it into a huge statue!

No way I was going to be the only one scarred by this.

One of the reasons this island is famous is because of a Korean drama called, 'Winter Love Song'. Sadly, the gentleman on the left took his life in 2003.

This is his memorial.

Now how did that get there?

What was amazing about the place was the complete lack of safety guidelines. A couple of signs here and there were all I saw. Again, Korea's mindset is that of the 1950's. If you're stupid enough to piss the Ostrich off you deserve to get bitten. I don't know how else to explain it. It's refreshing, especially after living in DC.

Afterwards, we had some dinner, enjoyed great wine and had some fantastic conversations.

In my next post I'll describe the Hwacheon Ice Festival.

Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:10:00 +0000

Well Christmas has come and gone here in Gwangju. I had a great time hanging out with some good people, eating some great food and enjoying a white Christmas. Before the weekend started I went to trivia and watched Graham and his team win. It was pretty cool since it was his last trivia before heading back to England. The next day I went to work with some candy and my Santa hat. The kids loved seeing me in the hat and it was fun handing out candy.

On Christmas Eve I went to a dinner hosted by the First Alleyway restaurant. Everyone paid in advance and showed up ready to chow down. One thing I noticed was that the bartender was late because of a migraine. So I volunteered to get behind the bar and pour some drinks. After everyone had a drink, I helped move some wine cases. When I reached down to pick up a case, hearing everyone's worst nightmare, my pants ripped.

It's always funny unless it's you.

As you can see this wasn't a little rip. This was a seismic rip down the seam. I have to blame rugby and trying to do a proper squat when picking up the wine case. Fortunatly the food came just after this so I was able to sneak out and grab a taxi to get home. Obviously I wasn't in the mood to chat with a taxi driver but that meant I was going to get the chattest one in Gwangju! He certainly did talk my ear off by asking the classic Korean questions. For example, "Oh you prum America?" Ne (Yes). "Ohhhh you so handsome!" Kamsahminda (Thank you).

After his last comment I realized that he had a speech impediment. I thought to myself, "You're bitching about some ripped pants and this guy is proud to be working and getting the chance to practice his English on a foreigner. Quit being a douche." So I started asking him questions, making jokes and by the time I got to my apartment we were laughing our heads off. Once home I got my money out to pay and he said, "Discount." I thanked him and gave him extra what the original tab was and told him, "Merry Christmas." It really is better to give than receive.

Afterwards, I went back to First Alleyway and enjoyed the food. Later on, I met up with Graham and the crew and watched the snow fall.

Santa at First Alleyway.

It was Kyle's birthday too.

It was quite a feast.

Snowing on Christmas Eve.

Two hours and two inches later it was still coming down.

On Sunday I got up, made some mashed potatoes, and headed off to German Bar. There were a dozen or so people who showed up for a potluck dinner. We hung out all day, played games, sang some songs and had a great Christmas day. Afterwards, I skyped TL and the family to bring it all to a close.

North Korean Cognac.

Setting up.

A cosmopolitian spread.

I had KFC, rolls, mashed potatoes, mexican beans and rice, pasta, Korean rice, curry and bulgogi.

Hilarious.

Graham, Brian and I.

It was weird experiencing Christmas in a culture that doesn't get into it. They might go to church but there's no big dinner and all the stores stay open. I'll never forget it but I don't want to repeat it.

Christmas Stories

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 11:46:00 +0000

One of the fun things about teaching is reading the stories that the kids write. This week was no exception as my coworker and I had them write Christmas stories. We decided that the topic would be "Santa has a problem". They had to make up a solution for Santa too.

Here are some of the things that I learned from the student's papers.

Earth Santa helps out Mar's Alien Santa once every 10 years.

Don't ever get into Santa's bag. He'll kill the reindeer that's in the bag and the Elf that tries to jump in the bag too.

If you put an Elf in a present and then throw him in a fireplace, it'll be ok because the wrapping paper will protect the Elf.

If you steal Santa's sleigh he will eat one of his magic cookies and the sleigh will explode in midair. True story.

If Santa needs help he will pray for Jesus and Jesus will help him.

If Santa disappears it's because he's chilling in Hawaii.

If Santa gets sick with the flu then his grandchildren, Santino and Santina, will deliver the presents.

The Elves don't help Santa they work for him. And if Santa don't pay them, they don't make the presents.

And my favorite:

Santa's clothes are red because he got in a fight with Rudolph and Rudolph's blood got in Santa's clothes.

I've also included pictures of the best stories from each of my classes:

Merry Christmas!!

Kim Jong-Il's Death

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:44:00 +0000

What a year it's been for the world's madmen! First, Osama Bin Laden was killed, then Moammar Gadhafi and finally Kim Jong-Il died from a heart attack. In North Korea, Kim Jong-Il was known as the "Dear Leader" but he was anything but that. He consolidated his power by stressing the military first, feeding his people second and stimulating the economy last.

However, I didn't know that he died until I got on Facebook. I wasn't sure what to expect from South Koreans but by all accounts it was just another normal day. There was, and has not been, any celebrating. It is all over the news but I get the feeling most South Koreans are to busy living their lives to care about him. Now, there are three reasons why they might not be making a big fuss about it here in Southern Korea. First, people were expecting him to die sooner than later. Second, I live in Gwangju, not Seoul, so people aren't worried about a military threat. Lastly, I'm a foreigner and might not really know what people are thinking. It's probably a combination of the three with the latter taking the lead.

I've included some links covering North Korea but the one you must read is the first one. It's about the journey North Koreans travelled on to escape from Kim Jong-Il's rule.

North Korean defectors:
http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/north-korean-defectors-kim-jong-ii/

Korean Herald, English newspaper based in Seoul: http://www.koreaherald.com/

Video released by North Korean media:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pSWN6Qj98Iw

Story about Kim Jong-Il's successor, his third son: http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111219/ap_on_re_as/as_nkorea_kim_jong_un_profile

Homesick In Korea

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:38:00 +0000

I haven’t written anything for the past two weeks because I haven’t wanted to. I felt like a shadow was hanging on to me and I couldn’t figure out what it was. After this past weekend I realized that I’ve been really homesick. It is one thing to miss Thanksgiving but quite another to miss out on Christmas and its buildup. I finally figured it out when I went to Starbucks just so it would feel like Christmas.

Now that I know what I was feeling the shadow is no longer hanging on to me. From now to New Year’s I’ve got a full plate of activities. I’m going to Busan this weekend for our last rugby games and then trivia to start next week.

Following that, I’ve got a teacher’s dinner with my coworkers and then for Christmas Eve I’m going to a huge dinner at the First Alleyway restaurant. I’m really looking forward to both dinners. On Christmas Day I’ll Skype my family, have another dinner and Christmas party.

However let me show you what I’ve been up to the past couple of weeks.

Maggie and Graham enjoying her birthday dinner.

A Western style restaurant that was delicious.

Our first snowfall.

Mr. Song taking Jonathan and I out to lunch.

Haha.

Mr. Song took us to Soswae Garden, which is over 500 years old.

Koreans chill too.

This is the view they were looking at. It started snowing just after we left and I know it would've been gorgeous to see.

Gina, Rachel and Ruby. William, like all cool kids, doesn't want to be in the photo.

Lastly, I want to congratulate my cousin Rachael and her husband Nick on their first child, Owen. I'm looking forward to being an Uncle when I return home!

Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:00:00 +0000

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love that it's about being with your family, friends and eating great food. While I wasn't able to be with my family I did get to hang out with friends and have some American dishes. The two main Western restaurants/pubs in Gwangju teamed up to host a Thanksgiving dinner. It took place at Speakeasy and I have to give my thanks to the guys that helped put it together. Everyone brought their favorite dish, so I made mashed potatoes and Oreo balls. The turkeys were incredible and there was American Football on all day. It was great being able to have the tastes, smells and sounds of home, even if it was only for an afternoon.

Having some good scotch.

Cleaned up and ready to go.

I'm ready.

Carving one of the three turkey's we had.

Thankful.

It's not Thanksgiving without sleeping on the couch after eating.

Supporting Movember.

Brian and I at German Bar. Brian's from Kingsport TN!

Weekend Update

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 02:47:00 +0000

This past weekend was pretty fun for me. Friday night I went to the new location for Tequilaz. It's a Mexican restaurant that moved from one part of Gwangju to downtown. I met up with Darrell and Brooke. They're the couple that organized the Gwangju FC soccer game TL and I went to in July. Here's the link for that:
http://livinginsouthkorea.blogspot.com/2011/07/gwangju-fc-soccer.html

Also, James finished up his contract on Friday so the rugby guys came in from Suncheon, Saturday, to celebrate. I met up with them at Yangdong Market to check out the foreigner flea market and then I went downtown to do some shopping with Dan and Gerry. Following that we went back to their friends place so they could get ready. We hung out for a bit and went to First Nepal to eat some Indian food and celebrate a birthday for a good friend of the rugby guys, Katherine. I had the delicious mutton tikka, grilled Lamb, and then we went to one of the coolest places in Gwangju. It's called Ethnic Bar and it's the last thing you would expect to find in Korea. You go underground and the whole place is stone, with a water pond in the center, candel's everywhere and no chairs. Instead you lounge around on pillows. It's a great change of pace from the traditional Korean and Western restaurants here.

A margarita with no lime.

The flea market was on the roof at Yangdong Market.

Ethnic Bar.

My serious moment for the night.

Found this racquet on my way home. It's four feet tall and I looked for the huge tennis ball that went with it but couldn't find it. Very random, very Korea.

Living in Korea is a great experience but you have to adjust to the fluidity of the job. You'll get close to people but their contract will end before yours and they're gone. Some people think that you shouldn't get close to people because everyone leaves at different times. I feel the whole point is to give 100% to what you're doing and who you're with. Otherwise, you'll regret the moments that slip away because you didn't focus on that moment, its setting and the conversation that took place.

Next time I'll talk about having Thanksgiving in Korea.

A Quick Update

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:24:00 +0000

These past couple of weeks have been a lot of fun just hanging out in Gwangju. I've been going to trivia, playing darts and cooking some dinners with the owner of German Bar. Furthermore Josh, my coworker, showed me a great website that teaches you Korean. It's called Talk To Me In Korean and it's fantastic to use. Here are some pics showing what I've been up to:

That's called, "The Robin Hood" shot.

Check out the beautiful fall colors.

No that's not a misprint, it's just a knockoff of The NorthFace.

This little guy watches me every morning I'm at the gym. Later, I watch him try and catch the pigeons on the ledge without falling off.

Ahhhhhh good beer for a decent price.

A delicious lunch at work.

I let the little kids write on me if they do their homework during the week.

This is our practice field in Seocheon. The mountains surrounding it are gorgeous even if the field isn't.

No words.

Turns out Van Gogh is the spokesperson for Home Plus.

Also, I've been reading about the Penn State scandal and I'm shocked. Being around my kids it really hit home how horrific the actions of Jerry Sandusky, and the inaction of those who knew about it, truly are.
More to come after the weekend.

All Hallows' Eve

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:57:00 +0000

Second only to Thanksgiving as my favorite holiday, Halloween is a night of mystery, fun and costumes. It’s been a bit surreal for me lately because the leaves are changing, the weather is absolutely perfect but I haven't seen any Halloween decorations. Also, there haven't been those huge sales for candy. So to help get myself in the mood I had Halloween lessons for my kids and explained why it’s so important to Western culture, as our main harvest holiday and not just because of today’s modern partying. Also, some of our most famous American stories are based on Halloween, the changing of the seasons and the coming winter. These include Rip Van Winkle, Sleepy Hollow and any ghost story centered on that creepy house in your town.

Moving on, it was great going out and seeing how much effort people put into their costumes and I had one of my favorite nights in Korea.

Mr. Potato Head and Bob Ross

Jammin it out at German Bar.

Adding some touch ups.

She wanted a picture with me because Bob Ross is used in a Korean commercial. Who knew?

Yup that's a Korean Colonel Sanders.

Busy October

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:48:00 +0000

My apologies for not posting during these past couple of weeks, but allow me to update you on what I’ve been up to. After my first trip up to Seoul, I returned the following weekend for another rugby tournament, and it was on the American Army base. This time we had no trouble locating the field. We won two games and then lost the last one. It was nice being back in “America” with fast food places everywhere, hearing only English and there was even a prom going on for the high school kids. However, as much as I appreciated being there I do prefer living in Gwangju and having a true Korean experience.

Richter getting in on the action.

Making a run down the wing.

Trey with the tackle.

In rugby a throw-in is where one, and sometimes two, players from each teach is lifted up and they try to grab the ball from each other.

The two Americans on the team, Trey and myself.

I stayed the night up in Seoul and ended up having my wallet stolen, again only in Itaewon, so I dealt with that the next morning, cancelled all my cards and headed home. TL, my boss and James really came through for me on a Sunday morning and I appreciated their help very much.

The following week was my vacation, so I had plans to go to Busan and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Because my Alien Registeration Card (ARC) was in my wallet I couldn’t go to the DMZ and I didn’t want to travel with only cash and my passport. So I stayed in Gwangju, hiked up Mudeungsan Mountain, went to a KIA Tigers game and reapplied for my ARC.

This is the map I used to get up the mountain. Actually it was a sign and did a decent job helping me get around.

A nice stream to start at.

Part of the town at the base of Mudeungsan Mt. which is only a 15 minute bus ride from my apartment.

Getting started but most of the climb was this steep.

I don't think these are burial mounds since I saw some Koreans having a picnic on them later.

That's right we have don't feed the bears signs and they have don't feed the squirrels signs.

A soju and makgeolli (rice wine) pit stop provided by some Korean men I talked to.

Decided to climb up the hillside.

Finished the climb to Seoseokdae Column which is the largest rock column, inland, on the Korean Peninsula.

This is the view from my school of the mountain. The iTouch isn't the best with long distance but in the foreground on the far left is the Pagoda I climbed on my night hike back in April. In the background is Mudeungsan mountain and on the top right is Seoseokdae Column. You can't climb to the top left peak because there is an army base on the other side of the mountain.

Great seats thanks to Graham and his buddy on the KIA team!

Having some Korean barbacue after the game.

The next weekend we had our home rugby tournament in Suncheon, which is about an hour from Gwangju and is one of the most scenic bus trips in Korea. It’s like traveling through Western North Carolina but the mountains are more majestic and there are no West Virginia state flowers covering the hillsides. We ended up winning the tournament, no one scored on us and after a slow start I held my own on the wing.

Let's go.

Afterwards we watched some Rugby World Cup games in Suncheon at San Antonio’s bar with all of the rugby players from each of the visiting teams. It was a blast and definitely turned into a late night. One of the things that I like about San Antonio’s is that the owner is from Mexico so I can practice my Spanish with him.

I've realized from living here in Korea that most other foreigners, especially the South Africans, can speak at least two and sometimes three other languages besides English. It's really put in context for me how important it is to be able to communicate with your neighbors and I'm going to focus on improving my Spanish when I return home.

All the rugby teams hanging out.

This past weekend was a lot of fun just staying in Gwangju, taking advantage of the beautiful fall weather and going to German Bar. I love hanging out at that bar after working all week, and this past weekend it was slammed. I’m guessing that all the new people who started their contracts in August are done traveling around Korea and are now hanging out in Gwangju.

On Sunday I watched the Rugby World Cup final between New Zealand and France at Speakeasy and it was a great game. I was pulling for the All-Blacks since the tournament was in New Zealand and they hadn’t won since the first Rugby World Cup in 1987. Also, the only team that has beaten them in the previous two RWC's is France creating an incredible atmosphere around the game. New Zealand pulled out the victory 8-7, and it was great being able to appreciate the game after playing for the past couple of months.

This week I'm getting my new ARC, preparing for Halloween, No-Shave November and in two weeks we have one last rugby weekend. All in all, I’m pretty excited about what’s coming up and I’ll be sure to do a better job keeping you updated.

The Halfway Point

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:18:00 +0000

Well it’s hard to believe but this past week was my sixth month here in Korea. It’s certainly been an interesting time for me and I’ll go through some of the things that I’ve learned in my time here.

Ne means yes and Anieyo means no.

This sums up how different Korea is from Western languages. It sounds backwards to our ears and is a good indication of how Korean culture is. Now I can hear Korean and it makes sense to me but it took a while for my ear to start listening and understanding Korean and its unique rhythm.

Kimchi and rice is to the Korean diet as hamburgers and fries are to our own.

Americans, specifically Southerners, have some of the largest personal-space bubbles in the World and those bubbles are going to get popped in Korea.

Get used to it y'all and get over it.

Superficially Koreans dress like Westerners, are just as obsessed about current technology as we are, love their music and movie stars but culturally are still in the 1950’s.

This took a while for me to get used to as they dress very preppy, they love their black-rimmed glasses, their smart phones are attached to their hands but the genders are very separated. Think MadMen but without the beehive hairdo’s or slick hairstyles.

Speaking of MadMen if you’re a Korean man you smoke, drink Soju, dress well and always, always act like you know what you’re doing.

If you’re a Korean girl show your legs, wear your heels, have your compact mirror so can constantly check to see if you look cute while making sure you don't look too hot.

You don’t want to show too much self-confidence or you will scare off 90% of Korean men.

The public transportation here is incredible.

I love getting on the express buses, taking the subway or getting around town on a local bus. It’s so cheap, efficient, clean and safe to use any of the three, even in Seoul. It’ll probably never be like that in the US because we’ve put much more emphasis on our independence via our cars. Remember Korea is slightly larger than Kentucky so it makes more sense for it to push viable public transportation.

Most of the foreigners here are not here to experience another culture but to continue to live like they’re in college.

Of course this isn’t true for a lot of people that I’ve met here and hang out with but for those on the periphery it certainly is. It’s been pretty frustrating for me to sit and listen to people whine about their schools, living situations, their fellow teachers, other foreigners but it’s been a great learning experience for me. In no way am I in-step with most of the foreigners here but have learned a tremendous amount about other Western countries, their grudges with one another, their different mindsets, what’s important to them and that they don’t give a damn about American football. Personally I can’t wait to watch a rugby match in Australia, South Africa or New Zealand. Furthermore, I do hope that I have represented my country and my area properly and that due to meeting me or talking with me they’ll have a positive image of where I’m from.

What you love as a child is what you will enjoy doing as an adult.

Goes back to my belief that being happy is rooted in following your passions.

If you can’t explain it to a child then you don’t understand what you’re talking about.

This might seem like an oversimplification but give it a try, you’ll learn just as much as the child.

This has been the most difficult and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.

It’s given me an incredible perspective on what I’ve done, where I’ve been, where I’m from and what I want to continue to do in my life. Lastly, I’m excited about the next six months here and what they will bring.

Seoul Part 2-Rugby Matches

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 11:44:00 +0000

The next morning I woke up, roused up James and Jonathan and we were off to get some breakfast. I had realized that I’d forgotten my mouthpiece so Jonathan and I walked around some department stores and after jumping some do not enter signs we finally found a store to buy one. We rushed off to find the fields and slowly realized that we didn't know where the fields were because even though we were at the right park, we were on the wrong side of the park so we missed the first game. This is Seoul and the park was at massive, at least 6 miles long. We finally made it to the fields, loosened up and played the next game. I had some first game jitters but it was awesome playing out there.

Now before I describe how it felt playing throughout the day I’ll go ahead and explain the rules of rugby. Watch this video for a great visual on the basic rules and how to score.

So now that you know how the game works when I played in the second game I did much better, read the game better, thus played faster and scored my first try (similar to a touchdown). The third game was the best, even though we lost, because I was in the middle of it all. Hitting guys, pushing them back, chasing down their fastest player to prevent a try, reading where the ball was going to go and being there to stop the giant of a man running full-speed at me. We might have lost by one try but I learned so much in that game that I hadn’t from the other games when we had dominated. Jonathan also played because of injuries to some of our regular players and I was pretty proud of him for getting in the middle of it too.

Ready to go.

On the way home James and I had another fantastic conversation about life, liberty and your passions. I feel that a person’s happiness comes from the pursuit of your passions. He agreed but pointed out that without controlling your passions then you'll miss out on the moments in life that remind you to enjoy life. While we were talking we met a Korean girl who had just finished college in Texas. It was pretty funny listening to her complain about how Koreans don’t apologize for bumping into you, that she didn’t like Kimchi and how much she missed Mexican food. But when James and I asked her what type of job she wanted and why she couldn’t tell us. We asked what she was passionate about and she couldn’t answer that either. So we told her that when she could tell us those things we would take her to the one Mexican restaurant in Gwangju. To date neither one of us has heard from her.

How about you? Can you answer those questions that we asked her and if not will you try to?

Seoul Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 08:21:00 +0000

This past weekend I was finally able to get up to Seoul and visit one of the largest cities in the world. I was going up to play in my first rugby tournament and was really excited to do both in the same weekend.

I met up with Jonathan, James and Jonathan’s buddy Leroy, yes like the song, and we took the train. Of course we were swapping stories but Leroy definitely topped us by describing what it was like being in Egypt as the revolution took place. He talked about sitting at his hotel’s pool and looking up to see mortar fire and tracers flying overhead and across the city.

The next morning he went to the airport to leave, was going through the screening process when the one of the guards said, “That’ll be 100 dollars.” Leroy didn’t know what he was talking about but quickly realized that if he didn’t pay he wasn’t going to be able to go into the airport. I’ve looked up some stuff online and found many similar stories because the police were in the streets trying to quell the revolution.

Getting on the train.

Beautiful country.

Would love to climb that.

Catching up on his missed Z's.

Seoul is the second largest metropolitan area in the world.

Once we made it to Seoul Leroy split off to meet with his buddies and we went to Changdeokgung to visit the Changdeok Palace and Biwon Secret Garden. We wandered around debating if we wanted to eat Korean or Indian when I saw a Subway. I headed straight for it, walked in and relished in the familiar smells of roast beef, freshly baked bread and American cheese. It was glorious eating a sandwich again that was toasted with Oregano, black olives, plenty of veggies and three kinds of beef. Ah it was fantastic just fantastic.

After fueling up we got our bearings and went to the palace. It was definitely one of the coolest places I’ve visited here in Korea and had some beautiful places to walk around in or sit down at. The Palace was built in 1405 was burned down in 1592, rebuilt in 1609 and was the official residence of Korean kings until 1926.

Entrance to Changdeok Palace

Please excuse Jonathan's hat placement as he's from Miami.

Main gate that leads to the throne room that you can see in the distance.

Walking up.

At the throne room and the ceiling was easily 50ft high.

Biwon, the Secret Garden.

Really great pond with an island.

Another view.

Could definitely run those every morning to start my day.

This is an awesome water clock that has the zodiac, calendar, harvest times and daily time.

The ceiling of a Pagoda at the garden.

My favorite spot was Bandoji, or Peninsula Pond. It's shaped like the outline of the Korean Peninsula and I really enjoyed having my deep meta-thoughts there.

Next, James and I went to Iteawon, Jonathan left to meet up with his girl, to watch the New Zealand and France rugby teams play in a big Rugby World Cup game. Rugby isn’t that big in the States but to the rest of the English-speaking world it’s huge. The passion and emotional investment by the fans is on par with fans of college football back home.

The bar we were at was packed.

Check out this video of the All-Blacks pregame tribal war dance called the Haka:

New Zealand won the game and we left to clean up and meet the rugby guys. Iteawon is the foreigner part of Seoul, has a red light district that started up when the Japanese occupied Korea and feels very much like you’re in a Western city. It’s over commercialized; the Irish pubs are run by Koreans and the foreigners there are not my style. However I had a great night going out with the rugby guys, Jonathan ended up meeting with us too, and was ready to play some rugby the next day.

Finishing the night off with some great kebabs.

I’ll tell you about playing in my first rugby game in my next post.

Food Poisoning

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:21:00 +0000

We’ve all been there out having fun, hanging out and getting something to eat oblivious to the destruction occurring within our bodies as we finish the last of that glorious chicken. Within a few short hours we’re quickly aware of what’s happening to our digestive system and we are not happy about finding out either.

That’s exactly what happened to me Wednesday night and it was a long night for me. I’ll spare the details but I will say that it’s the first time since I’ve gotten here in Korea that if a plane ticket was offered to me to go home or stay here and fight it out I might’ve taken that damn ticket. The next day I showered up, drank some water and headed to work. A more accurate description is that I dragged myself to work because I didn’t want to call my boss and ask to have the day off so I could sleep. I’m a firm believer that you don’t quit until the ref blows the final whistle and I wasn’t going to let my boss think that I was just hung over and didn’t want to come to work.

Well I made it to work, went to my classroom I share with my co-teacher, Josh, and promptly fell asleep at my desk. An hour later my boss woke me up, asked what was wrong, I told her and she immediately took me to the local pediatric clinic. Now I think that this is an excellent example of how efficient Korea is at something but completely useless if you don’t speak Korean. We walked up to the clinic and within 30 seconds I was seeing the main doctor. There was no medical background check, no major questions about my diet or medicinal use, all the Doctor asked was if my stomach still hurt, “No” I answered, and if I was still experiencing some symptoms. “A little” I answered again.

Fortunately my boss was there to translate for me and after his examination he successfully concluded that I needed a shot and an IV line to rehydrate. I understood the IV but I asked my boss, “Why the shot and what’s in the shot.” She translated to the Doctor and he said that it an anti-viral shot. Now I’m no medical expert but I am one of those annoying people who asks the Doctor exactly what I’m putting in my body and for what purpose. Even though I could barely walk I still knew that food poisoning was bacterial in origin and that if a true anti-viral shot exists then the common cold would be eradicated.

But it was better than a steroid shot so I took the shot, in the cheek and not the one on my face mind you and then laid down to let the IV do its work. Later my boss came and got me and we went back to the academy and she decided to let me go home and rest. I expressed my gratitude got a ride home from one of the secretary’s and promptly passed out once I was on my bed.

I don’t know if it was the shot, sleeping for a day, or the IV and drinking lots of water but the next day I felt much better and was ready for work. To date here in Korea that was the most isolated I’ve truly felt. I had no clue what to do, who to talk to and then how to recover. There’s no jell-o, no applesauce here and I was eating watered down rice and green bean soup instead. Those aren’t exactly comfort foods and I hated lying in bed all day with barely the energy to go pour some water. However it would’ve been much, much worse if my boss and her secretary hadn’t helped me out, so I’m very grateful to them for putting color back in my cheeks, but on my face this time.

Anyone else have any experiences similar to this and for all of you medical experts out there I ask what was in that “anti-viral” shot I was given?

26th Birthday!!

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 11:41:00 +0000

This past weekend had the good luck of my birthday falling on Saturday night. Clearly, this birthday was a bit different since I’m not home in the States but I decided to make the most of it by bringing a little bit of home out with me.

First, I was fortunate enough to get some birthday packages in the mail from friends, family and TL. I have to say thank you to each of you who sent me a package, card, email card, Facebook post and Skype call to wish me a happy birthday. It means a lot especially since I haven’t seen anyone, TL excluded, since March.

My boss bought me a White Chocolate cake and it was delicious.

Inappropriate birthday cards for inappropriate wallpaper.

My new Kindle or Crackbook because I am already addicted.

Now that you’ve seen my atrocious wallpaper and how I’m trying to cover it up I’ll fill you in on what I did on my birthday. It was a beautiful day and I took advantage of it by going for a run, buying some groceries and deciding that I would wear an outfit to celebrate my 26^th year on Earth. So I bought some tight jeans, a flannel shirt and a proper cowboy hat to complete the ensemble. I cut the jeans into jorts, ripped the sleeves off the shirt, added some orange to support Pat and voila I brought some of the South to Gwangju.

Birthday Suit

I met up with Jonathan and his girl and we went to the Gwangju World Music Festival. There were some pretty cool shows but the best one was a Korean band. I was very impressed with how good the band was and how charismatic the singer was. Remember the culture here is similar to the US in the 50’s, so when you see a Korean singer here in Gwangju that absolutely tears the stage up without being popish you take notice.

After that we went to German bar to hang out with one of the coolest guys I’ve met here, Song. He’s an officially licensed German brew master who started his own bar here in Gwangju, named appropriately, German Bar. I always have a good time hanging out with him and his bar was the first place I took TL to as I knew she’d love it too.

Of course he has a matching cowboy hat since that's how he rolls.

Next I went to another foreign bar and met up with Dan Henrickson and James. We threw’em back, played some games and then I finished the night a couple of hours later.

To end I want to congragulate Josh and Kali Righter for their wedding this weekend. I know I'm missing out on a great wedding but I love you guys and have fun.

Go Vols!

FanDeath: The End Is Next To Your Face

noreply@blogger.com (Logan Monday) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 12:21:00 +0000

One of the most interesting things I’ve ever heard in my life has happened here in Korea and it is that you can die because of a fan in your room. Yes, you read that right Koreans believe that you will die if you leave a rotating fan on overnight. No it’s not because the fan will transform into an evil Decepticon and stab you but there are several theories on how a fan will kill you.
The first one is if a fan stays on too long it will chop up the oxygen molecules in the air and you will die from carbon monoxide poisoning. No, Koreans are not selling fans that have laser-sharp fan blades that can rotate near the speed of light but every single fan in the country cannot be sold unless it’s on a timer. This is taking an urban legend to new heights when capitalism is affected by it.

Be afraid be very afraid.

The second theory is that if you fall asleep the fan will severely lower the temperature in the room and you will die from hypothermia. You may now want to pick your jaw off the floor because I know you’re thinking that in the South that is the exact point of having the fan run during a hot, summer night.

You have been warned.

Lastly, if you leave your fan on and all of the doors are shut and your windows then you will die from suffocation because the fan will create a vacuum removing the air from your room. What’s funny to me is that it is probably theoretically possible for all three of the Fandeath’s to occur just like it’s possible for Superman to travel back in time by reversing the Earth’s axis. I mean sure anything is possible, right?

It's probably one of those things that came about because running fans cost money and parents didn't want their kids running a fan all night so they said a fan will hurt you if you leave it on so the kids wouldn't run up a high electric bill. It's similar to how our parents told us if we stared at a TV for too long and were too close then we'd go blind. However, this Korean urban legend has gone to a whole different level.

Here are some links to websites about FanDeath and articles in Korean newspapers attributing a person's death to overexposure by the fan.

So true, Korean style.

http://www.fandeath.net/

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1245/will-sleeping-in-a-closed-room-with-an-electric-fan-cause-death

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/07/30/korea-fan-death-and-your-belief/