Loren Christopher

As some of you may know, Seoul was host to the 1988 Olympic Games.  This was a great source of pride for the country since it did not always have an easy and prosperous economic past.  When referring to the year 1988 in conversation or for whatever reasons, Koreans will often say “1988 Olympic” as an extension to the date.

Olympic Park is just a 15 minute bus ride away from me.  I hadn’t really been to this stretch of 1.5 million square meters (click here for a map) during my first few months here, mostly because it was too cold!  But, once things started blooming and warming up, I eventually made my way over to check it out.  The community that I live in isn’t as hussle bussle as many other parts of Seoul, but there are still enough buildings and pedestrian traffic that make me want to escape city-life every now and then, even if for an hour or so.  So Olympic Park is a great option for a quick getaway…..like I had today.

Also, having my new camera has inspired me to get back into photography…so I hope you’re enjoying the pictures as well!  I hopped on the 3412 bus with camera and iPod ready to go.  Surprisingly there weren’t that many people there today….maybe because of the pending rain that is forecast.  I thought it was just perfect though, cool enough to walk around without sweating, but I was still wearing shorts and a T-shirt.

There’s lots to do in the park.  You can rent a bicycle and ride around, have a picnic in the picnic garden, go swimming, listen to music, there are often concerts and shows at night, see the sculpture gardens, walk some of the little nature trails….lots of stuff.  I on the other hand, didn’t have too much time.  And seeing as how most of my friends were busy this morning or live too far away, I went by myself strictly to play with my camera.

Walking around (and I only walked half of the park) made me realize that I need to frequent this place more often.  These past few weeks I haven’t had much time to hang out in/around the city, what with being away in China and then having the summer intensive classes.  Plus the sense of urgency is on now that it is slowly beginning to cool down (and I mean slowly, we’re still a ways away from winter).  I want to get my outdoorsy fix before it’s too late for the year!

Also I got to thinking while I was strolling through the park and observing people….now maybe it’s because there weren’t really any parks in Pensacola.  And by any, I mean practically none.  The few parks they do have in Pensacola are kind of run down and can be a little sketchy.  My point is that Koreans really seem to appreciate being out in nature more.  Older Korean businessmen were perched on benches here and there just staring out at the greenery around them…soaking it in.  They often speak of nature and the elements as being good for the psyche, which is knowledge in almost any culture I think, but here it seems more stressed as a necessity?  I hope that makes sense, haha.  I’m rambling so that’s my cue to sign off.

I am lucky enough to have a little slice of heaven just a 10 minute subway or bus ride from where I live.  It’s a Korean BBQ restaurant that one of my Korean co-workers introduced me to a few months ago.  Now, I’ve had my share of Korean BBQ since I arrived in Seoul almost 7 months ago…it’s a treat, but this place knocks the others out of the ballpark in my opinion!  

It’s located in Cheonho-dong, a district near my home which is featured here on the right.  They’ve got lots of bars, restaurants, shops….one big Hyundai Department store which is I-don’t-know-how-many stories tall, complete with an international foodcourt in the basement level which is outstanding.  Long story short, Cheonho is a close place to visit and hang out for me, so I frequent it a lot.  When I DO head over there though, I always make sure I have an empty stomache and someone to go to this restaurant with me….like I had today!

The fact that I’m making a post about this place should speak to it’s mouth-watering food, but I’ll try to do my best and explain it.  The thing to order here is “galbi”, which is marinated pork meat.  They bring you an earthen pot with hot coals in it, place it down in a pit in the center or the table, and slap a couple grill plates on top.  This was also the first place I’d had bbq at a place in Korea that used coals instead of a gas grill.  As usual here in Korea, you are brought a wide array of side dishes.  Kimchi is one of them of course, others include a lighter lettuce kimchi which has not been fermented and is kind of sweet, red bean paste, pickeled radish strips (I think?), rice, spicy spicy crab, salad mixed with a sweet sauce, garlic, curdled blood soup with spinach (it sounds disgusting, but it’s spicy and I love it, haha), and I’m probably forgetting something else.

Also you’re provided with an apron in the event that you show up wearing white (as was the case with my Korean friend shown here, Woon Ha).  What happens next?  You just pick up the pork and toss it on the grill, munch on some of the side items while it’s cooking.  When it’s almost finished you can cut the meat with scissors (also provided of course) and start going to town.  This BBQ is basically for making lettuce wraps….oh yeah, so they bring you a big plate of different kinds of lettuce as well.  You can pretty much put anything inside the lettuce, with the meat…wrap it up and eat it whole.  The major components however, would be the galbi meat, garlic, red bean paste, and some of the salad with sauce mixture.  It is incredible…really I wish you could fly over and have some with me!

I know Korean food may seem bizarre and mysterious to many of you.  Heck, I didn’t have a clue what they ate here until a few months before I came over.  So I’ll try to make some more installments of my favorite Korean dishes as time goes on.  I figured I’d start with this one since it is by far my favorite.  In case you’re wondering…this meal filled us up to the point of exhaustion and was 20,000 won (20 USD), so the price isn’t bad either.  And that’s actually on the more expensive side for eating out!

Mmm, I’m smiling just thinking about the lunch.  A meal like this goes perfectly with the traditional alcoholic drink of the country…Soju.  I’ll have to leave that item for an entirely separate blog entry.  We didn’t have Soju this time because I had to work after, and of course that would not be a good thing.  Funny side note…I have actually heard stories of foriegn teachers who party a lot coming to work while being intoxicated.  Or even bringing it into the classroom with them!!  Can you imagine?!?  Alright, well that’s enough for now.  Here are some thumbnail pics to click on if you should so desire:

Although it’s largely a Christian country today, the culture of Korea revolves around the Confucian doctrine of hierarchy, knowing your place amongst others in society, addressing them according to their position to you, and so on.  If you’re not familiar with Confucianism, you can read up on it a little on the religious tolerance website.

Now, I’m not here to get into a discussion on religion.  This blog is about shedding some light on my life in Korea, and this religion has major impacts on the country that are visible in everyday life.  It’s really one of the things that fascinates me most about my new home….how such a modern and developed country can be based around these archaic (for lack of a better word) structures, yet still manage to find a harmonious balance between the two.

Now, I knew that you always address your elders with respect in Korea.  The grammar and vocabulary of the language is really centered around this concept, which makes learning it all that much more difficult!  But even if someone is just a few months older than you, you are expected to greet them in the appropriate regard.  For example, I always greet store owners and adults I encounter on a daily basis with “Anyonghaseyo” (hello).  Although if a child says hello to me, I reply with the shorter and less respectful greeting of “Anyong”.  This is also the way good friends can greet each other, but only when their relationship has reached a high level of comfort with one another.

I once made the mistake of saying “Anyonghaseyo” to a little girl in the convenience store, and everyone around me had a good laugh (myself included when I realized why they were giggling)….because it’s unheard of to address a junior that way.  No biggie though, I can always play the foreigner card and get off the hook with these cultural misunderstandings.  It’s important to know a person’s age if you’re talking to them, so a common first question upon meeting someone is “How old are you?”  This may seem rude and off-puting to us Westerners, but here it is almost a necessity for continuing the conversation in the appropriate manner.

In the workplace it’s the same way.  It’s customary to buy small gifts for your co-workers when you start working for the company…or maybe when you go away on vacation and come back.  I’ve done this upon returning from Japan and China.  Unfortunately though, I was unaware that you should buy a bigger and little bit more expensive gift for the boss.  They should receive something “more special” than the rest of the employees and must be shown the most respect.  Clueless here again, I returned from Japan all proud of myself for picking up some small Osaka Cake Rolls to give my collegues.  Maybe I even joked to myself about how “Korean” I’m becoming now….haha.  Well, I handed one to my boss….straight out of the same box that everyone else had been choosing from, *gasp*!!

My boss is really sweet, and of course she didn’t say anything.  I hope it didn’t hurt her feelings too much….she’s used to working around foreigners anyway so it’s not such a big deal I guess.  But I made sure to remember this little cultural quirk the next time I went on vacation, and happily gave her a slightly BETTER gift the next time!  I used both hands to give it to her….this is another custom, using two hands when giving or receiving things to/from another person.  I got that one down pretty early on though.  Again, greater care is taken when giving a gift to a person of authority whom you should respect.  Be sure to bow a little more than normal, arms at your side, etc.  Weddings and the most sacred occasions will demand a full bow in which you bend down and your head touches the floor.

Funnily enough, my position as a teacher is seen with a surprising degree of respect by the parents.  Every time I’ve been introduced to them or met them, I was a little taken back by how far they bowed to me (a slight bow, like a head nod almost, indicates a smaller degree of honor…..the bigger the bow the greater the respect, etc).  Then again my occupation in Korean is said with the honorary add-on word “nim”, which indicates a more respectable career.  Teacher is included with doctor, lawyer, and others of the like…haha.

We had a new staff guy that started working at my school about a month ago.  I could tell he was kind of nervous (but excited) to meet me, the foreigner.  He kept bowing a lot to me during his first week there….even when I passed him in the hall or walked by the main desk where he works, he would awkwardly stop what he was doing and nod deeply.  It was cute and funny at first, but then annoying because I had to bow back every time, haha.  I told him the next week, “It’s ok.  You don’t have to do that when you see me.”  I let out a laugh, gave him a good ole’ American pat on the shoulder, and nipped that in the bud straight away!

Hmm, there are probably some more interesting things related to this that I’m forgetting here…but it’s a little late.  Hope you enjoyed…..I heart Korea!

I had a 3-day weekend!  Friday was Korea’s 60th birthday as an independent country from Japan (back in August of 1948).  I had big plans Friday with friends to do things around the city…unfortunately the weather didn’t allow it so that was a bit of a bummer.  Ah well, we beat the rain by just staying inside and making the best of it.

So, much to my dismay, I haven’t been traveling around Korea as much as I should.  It’s so easy to hop on a train or bus and see some of the countryside….and there are so many different things to see here.  Finally I hopped on that bandwagon yesterday with a friend and we headed out to a coastal city called Samcheok.  It was so beautiful!  Unfortunately though, haha, we got rained on a bit there too…but I managed to take a few pics when it WAS clear.

It was really pretty, and nice to be near the water again!  Sooo, we just hung out in the small town and had a nice time.  It was cool to see a different aspect of Korean people, they’re friendlier in the countryside I think (at least they were more open to trying to talk to me).  It’s not all that common to have people coming up and talking to you in Seoul (same with any big city in the world, people are busier doing their own thing).  I came back to Seoul inspired to get out into the country more on the weekends….so I’m already planning another small trip.  This city of Samcheok is on the other side of the Korean peninsula, but it was only 4 hours by bus, and a nice/cheap bus at that.

Alright, well in the meantime it’s back to work for me tomorrow.  Three more days of summer camp…woohoo!  Oh geez, do I have enough powerpoint games and stickers to last?  I think so!!

One of the things about living and teaching abroad is that you get so many people who contact you asking questions about your life and work, because they are considering doing the same thing.  Since I moved here, I’ve had so many questions….and a few people asked me if I would make a video talking about some of the good and bad points of living and teaching English here in Korea.

I waited a while to make the video because I wanted to have a bit of experience under my belt first.  I hope you find it interesting, and more importantly, I hope it doesn’t come across that I’m bragging.  Life here really is easy and enjoyable, and I wanted to stress here that you can have an amazing time if you really are critical of which school you choose.

(Remember you can always click on these pictures to view a larger version)  Wow.  What a time I had in China!!  I’m not sure where to start really.  Beijing was much cleaner and less crowded than I had expected (contrary to the above picture), which was surprising to me.  Everyone was so excited about the Olympics coming up that it was really cool to feel that in the air everywhere, you could really feel the pride of the people.  And the people were so nice!  I won’t know until I go back whether or not it was just a facade before the big games, or if that’s the way they really treat foreigners….either way I enjoyed it.

So the first big thing we did was the Forbidden City and Tienamen Square in Beijing.  They were both really huge and I got a little impatient with the heat (soo hot!), but of course it was beautiful and great to finally see all of this in person.

To think that this place was closed off to the public for 500 years, it’s amazing to be there walking around and envision the emperor and so on living there!  We were a little beat from all the walking around, so we figured what better way to revive ourselves than to try some of the street food at one of the night markets?

Yes yes, it all looks innocent enough, but beware:

Yes my friends, I did in fact eat scorpions….3 of them!!  It started as a friendly “I dare you to do it” conversation and then the next thing I know we’re all standing there holding a skewer of 3 of these little critters deep fried and salted saying, “You go first!”  ”No, you go first and then I promise I’ll try it right after you!!”  Oddly enough, they didn’t taste bad at all….kind of like greasy chicken skin.  Well no, exactly like greasy chicken skin actually, except for the flakes of exoskeleton you’re still left with after the first few swallows (nothing a little swish of water can’t take care of!!).  We joked that a bag of scorpions would be the perfect accompaniment to a movie, or maybe even as a quick snack on the go.  The last picture I’m tearing off a piece of sea snake wrapped around a skewer.  It wasn’t as good as the scorpion, a bit too chewy for my liking but the sauce and spices they glazed on it was pretty good!  *sigh* Once you’ve eaten freshly-killed squirrel fed to you by a wild Thai man in the northern jungle, you just can’t say no to scorpion and snake I suppose, haha!

We saw the pandas at The Beijing Zoo.  The first exhibit was a little depressing, concrete rooms where they had little room to move around.  But they had just built an “Olympic Panda Exhibit” that was a little better…I bigger room with like 8 pandas wobbling around and being fed by one of the zoo-keepers.

Cute as can be!  It was truly special to see these guys!  Alright, well we’re off to The Great Wall of China.  Now, this has been near the top of my list of things to do in my lifetime (climb the Great Wall), so I was really excited about it.  It delivered on all counts!!  We ended up taking local transportation and then hiring a couple drivers to take us to one of the best parts of the wall where there aren’t many tourists and it’s the most scenic.  I’m so glad we did!  I was a little worried cause it was raining all morning, but then finally cleared up when we got there which made everything cooler and greener.

I uhmm, yeah don’t really know what to say here.  It was just more amazing than I imagined.  We kept looking around us in awe and all agreed that this was one of the most incredible things we’d ever seen/done in our lives.  It helped so much that there were hardly any people there, no one to bump into or get in your photos, nobody trying to sell you cheesy souvenirs, etc.  It was perfect!

We also went and checked out the Olympic stadium and grounds.  They were doing lots of security drills at the time and there were thousands upon thousands of young Chinese security guys marching around in a line so we got a few pictures of that as well.  I would have liked to actually have gone INTO the park, but they’re not allowing visitors until the games actually begin this week.

Unfortunately I didn’t take many pictures in Shanghai because it rained the first day, and the next two days were solely designated for shopping.  They have more than one H&M in Shanghai, what was I supposed to do?!?  I did get a nice heavy cashmere winter coat tailor made, and a 3-piece black suit tailor made (only $200 total!), and a good amount of clothing to take back with me to Seoul.  Also got some Christmas gifts from the big souvenir market, where you have to bargain with the best of them.  They had some cool communist and Mao memorabilia too.  Shanghai was definitely different from Beijing.  It seemed bigger and grittier, lots of construction and less of an image that they were trying to portray.  I felt like I experienced more of the “real China” there….although the country is so huge I would have to go back for a while to really get a handle on it.  I did stay long enough to gain a strong admiration for it though….it’s probably one of my favorite countries in Asia so far!!

So, after taking ridiculously cheap taxi rides, foot and body massages, getting a special candle shoved in my ear to suck the dirt out, lots of good Peking duck and dumplings, a massage with glass bulbs that they light on fire to suction your skin up inside them (I still have enormous red circles all over my back, lol)….I have returned to Seoul rejuvenated, inspired and ready to get back to work!  I’m teaching extra hours this week and next for a summer camp we’re doing….so the schedule will be a little tight, but I’m getting paid extra so I won’t complain too much.

I’ll leave you with a few more pictures:

Not what I expected!!  I guess I thought of it as this huge hub of cars, traffic, buildings, crowds upon crowds of people, but it hasn’t been like that so far.  Things are busy I guess, but coming from Seoul it’s a piece of cake walking around.  It’s amazing to walk on a sidewalk in a fairly central part of the city, and be able to go at a normal pace, not worrying about dodging the on-coming traffic of people, haha.

Well, we did Tienamen Square yesterday which was interesting to see finally.  Such a tragedy what happened in ‘89.  Of course here they don’t give tours or information regarding that “incident” as I’m sure it’s not something they want to draw attention to….especially considering that the Olympics are just 12 days away!  You can definitely feel the pride of the country here right now…..and the enormous amounts of money they’ve spent on preparing for the Olympics are visible almost everywhere you look.  They have people lined up on the popular streets to offer you help from one destination to the next.  Everyone is very friendly and we’ve gotten so many “hello’s” and “can we take a picture with you?”.  Koreans are very nice as well, but there’s a more laid-back aspect to the Chinese that I hadn’t expected.

We also went to the Beijing Zoo and saw some pandas.  The new “Olympic Panda” exhibit was nice….they had about 8 of them in this environment and you could watch them waddling around, eating on their backs….the trainers would walk out their with them and play with them, etc.  It was so neat to finally see them in person!

Hmm, I’ve been taking lots of pictures and will be sure to post them soon.  We also went to a massage place and got hour-long foot massages for $12, and did an ear cleaning thing where they put a candle in your ear and it sucks out all the dirt and grime.  It felt amazing!!  So today we had planned on doing the Great Wall, but I’m not sure cause my friends are still asleep right now.  May go tomorrow instead and just see more in the city today.

Alright, that’s all for now.  Having a great time, and it’s nice that it feels like a real vacation this time!!  Going to Fukuoka and then Osaka, that was nice, but I had the visa issue looming over my head the whole time.  Now I’m able to just relax and really take in a different country.  China is turning out to be a very pleasant surprise so far!!

As you could imagine, this is quite a touchy subject in South Korea.  It’s one I haven’t even really brought up with my Korean friends, even those I’ve known since just after I arrived.  I HAVE asked my students about it in a writing assignment though….they’re less offended by such topics.  I believe I asked something to the effect of “Do you think North and South Korea should be united?”  The responses were interesting and for the most part what you would expect.  Most students said yes, that “we” are KOREA….brothers and sisters, we should be one.  Some wrote about how they think North Korea is evil because it has nuclear weapons and wants to kill everyone, and even said they are against reunification because the North Korean economy is in such despair that it would be difficult for the South to take such a heavy hit.  (Not in those exact words of course, haha)

And it was sad to hear from a few students who have grandparents and relatives in the North whom they’ve never met, and how they wish they could visit them.  On a separate assignment for homework….one question asked “If you could be any animal, what animal would you be and why?”  One girl wrote that she wished she could turn into a bird, so she could fly over the border to North Korea and find her grandparents.

I will tell you….that living in Seoul I honestly don’t think about North Korea all that often.  It was surprising to visit the border and realize just how close this frightening country is to me!

Our trip began EARLY in the morning….we got to the meeting point in Seoul and hopped on the bus.  It was overcast and dreary outside so the weather fit the tour.  After leaving Seoul, we looked out the windows at the increasing barbed-wire fencing and blockades passing by us as we listened to our guide tell the story of her parents crossing over the border.  She was just a baby at the time, and her mother and father wrapped her up as they crossed the frozen river at the border and into the South.  They would never again see or hear from their brothers, sisters, fathers, or mothers.  I cried a little upon hearing this story because I could feel her passion and anger.

We arrived at the JSA (Joint Security Alliance) and after being turned away due to the unexpected arrival of some dignitaries, we were finally allowed in after a few hours.  It was creepy right away, riding up to the arrivals building we were told that the area around the road we were driving on was scattered with land mines.  Also, photography was strictly prohibited at this time….we were told that we were being watched (while riding on the bus!).  Once we arrived on the base, we signed a waiver saying that we were aware that we were puting ourselves in a certain amount of danger (yeah yeah, I’ve read/signed these things before) and then we were off.

A North Korean guard watching our every move with binoculars.

We made our way into this tiny blue building you can see, which was built half in South Korea, and half in North Korea.  The back door of the building was protected by a guard, because as we were told….if one of us decided to walk out the back door into the North Korean side, we would be shot instantly on site.  Kind of creepy.  It was especially erie to be told repeatedly that “they are watching us”, and then see them peering through small windows with binoculars at us.  Our guide cautioned us constantly not to make any big gestures or make any inappropriate faces, etc.  Well, here’s what the inside of that little blue building looks like:

They only recruit the tallest men for this guard post, and they are required to stand with clinched fists and sunglasses in order to perpetuate the look of intimidation.  It works when you’re standing next to them, let me just tell you!

Here I am actually standing in North Korea folks!  Lol.  Notice the “shoot-on-site” door behind me…I was too scared to get any closer to the guard, I’m a wuss…I know!!

So then they took us to a couple different “look out” points where we could view the propoganda village.  One of them we could even pay 25 cents to view through binoculars over into N. Korea.  It was so interesting to see people walking around and riding their bikes….no cars, no paved roads.  They must know they’re almost always being watched by foreigners if they’re outside walking around because it was a really small village.  We couldn’t take pictures at the point, but later on I was able to get a shot of me with the “Propoganda Village” behind me:

That flag is enormous by the way, I can’t remember the stats but we were all astonished when they told us.  It’s one of those “mine is bigger than yours” games that North Korea is playing.

Well….all in all it was a fascinating experience, and one that I could write a lot more about.  Truthfully I have mixed emotions about North Korea.  I feel sorry for the people, yet I’m confused by their ideologies and the extent to which they really believe that their leader Kim Jong Il is in fact a heavenly avatar with superhuman powers.  Hmm, well anyway.  I hope you found this interesting….I’d like to write more about it at some point.

In lighter news, I bought a very special gift for myself yesterday!!

It’s my very own Canon EOS Digital Rebel.  I’m so stoked to have a DSLR finally!!  I’ve been playing around with it a bit and LOVE it so far!!  I’m teaching extra summer camp hours for two and a half weeks next month and will be paid almost double, so it was a good time to splurge.  AAaaannd, I’m going to China in less than 48 hours!!

It’s a Saturday morning, just video-skyped with my folks and I figured I would tackle the task of giving the long-awaited update.

Korea feels like home now….that transition is always amazing to me because I’m never quite sure when or how it happens, but before you know it, it already has. Just walking around my little community during the day I find myself in these moments where I think to myself, “This is MY street. This is my home, etc.” I can’t really describe that feeling, but those of you who have lived abroad for an extended amount of time will certainly know what I’m talking about. It’s a good feeling though.

On the other hand, some days as I’m bussling through the crowded subway stations or streets, towering over a sea of shorter people, all with jet black hair….I think to myself, “Holy crap, I’m in ASIA!!” Those moments are by far the most sureal ones, albeit they are also good. It is rewarding though, to finally have discovered so much of this place that before was always a big mystery to me. The far East…the Orient….Asia. Now that I’m so comfortable here it seems almost silly to think of it as such a great mystery.

Life is good though. Work had me stressed out for the first few months until I finally resigned myself to the fact that I’m not really here to teach English. I’m mainly a status symbol for the parents, and seeing as how I only see my kids once a week….I am supposed to have fun with them and play games, etc. So, my teaching, or “edutaining” as it’s often called in Korea, has reached a very satisfying point now that the pressure is off. I’m enjoying my kids a LOT more now and actually look forward to going to work each day. Here’s a little comic strip one of my classes made (with the help of my macbook):

The boys are just a tad bit obsessed with fighting and killing. All those video games they play I guess. And there is certainly much to do around Korea. I took a trip to a small island with some friends not too long ago, and my summer break is on the 26th. I’ll be going to China for 10 days!! My co-worker Ben and I are visiting Beijing and Shanghai and we could not be more excited! It’s fascinating to me to discover the differences between the Asian cultures, and how different they actually are. It will be cool to be there so close to the Olympic games also….I’ve read that Chinese university students are hanging around the McDonald’s in Beijing just waiting for a foreigner to come in so they can practice their English, haha.

Some people have asked me about what it’s like to live as a foreigner here….and I have to say it’s not as difficult as I imagined it to be. Not sure what it is I imagined exactly, people running up to me as though I were an alien from another planet? Perhaps. Nowadays in Korea a foreigner doesn’t draw THAT much attention, although I can assure you I don’t go anywhere unnoticed. Occassionally I will hear someone shout “Wae-gookin!!” (foreigner), but it’s mostly younger people or kids.

My favorite instances of “foreigner shock” are with really little kids on the subway. The family gets on the subway, and the only empty seat is the one next to me. Now, in Korea people will let really young chidren take the seat….so naturally the parents start directing the child over towards me and that empty seat. At this point the kid hasn’t seen me yet. Finally, the moment is about to come….so I get a big smile on my face and try to look as disarming as I possibly can. “Sit down in that seat” the parent says (in Korean) while pointing next to me. The child whips around happily, ready to hop into the seat and then upon seeing me…..BAAAM. Frozen. Eye contact. Jaw drop. Can’t move.

It almost never fails, hehe.

Well anyway, I will write more later about my trip to the DMZ and other things you’ve missed out on and so desperately want to know about my fascinating life here. In the meantime I will leave you with a few more pictures.

Well I’ve been having a blast here in the city! Went to the DMZ this past weekend and it was quite a sobering experience. I’ll write more about that later as I have lots of pictures and a lot I want to say about it. My apartment has no more free wireless from my neighbor so it’s been touch and go with the updates. In other news…it is spring here in the city and I LOVE the warmer weather!

I went out around the city with some friends recently and took some video to show you, so enjoy!