I think Gyeongju is becoming what Santa Fe was for me in the States. Whenever I have time and it's going to be nice weather, I just head over to Gyeongju. It's beautiful. This last weekend was my fourth time there. It's been different every time.
Anyway, I just got back from a run. It is really getting pretty in Daegu. A lot of flowers and trees. It's really getting green. Also, there was an awesome thunderstorm this week. Apparently there are no thunderstorms in Daegu (just like there is no snow in the winter [there is]) but there was a really bright and loud one going on outside the window while I was teaching. This weekend I think it's supposed to rain, so we might be staying in.
Here's a link to the latest photo album I put up on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.636478954349.2158366.43804181&l=562dc6d31c
Friday, April 29, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Cherry Blossoms!
Emma, Yeonjeong, Brent and I went to Gyeongju this weekend for the beautiful cherry blossoms. Also, to just get out of town again.
Here are the pictures:
Here are the pictures:
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| Drinking some Pocari Sweat (good hangover cure) |
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| Anajpi Pond with cherry blossoms |
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| Cherry blossoms |
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| Ssambap: A local food in Gyeongju |
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| Enjoying the awesome weather and nice day |
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| Cherry blossoms |
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Practicing To Be a Tour Guide
Man, the viewer ship has gone down on this thing. I don't mind at all. I basically write this blog for three reasons: 1. Give my parents news updates (and anyone in the family), 2. To avoid telling the same story a million times (I point anyone who contacts me on facebook saying "how have you been?" over to this blog). 3. To keep a journal (outside of my real journal, which is full of happy or angry ramblings and streams of consciousness) that I can look back on and see all the places I have seen and the cool things I did. Either way, I'm glad to have this tool of contact with my family and I won't stop writing.
Last weekend Yeonjeong, a friend of ours, came down from Seoul to visit and hang out with Brent, Emma and I. It was her first time in Daegu and we tried to show her a good time. When she got here on Saturday night, we went out to dinner at a Canadian place. Then we got some coffee and went out on the town for drinks. It was a fun night and we definitely saw the sun come up. On Sunday morning, I made french toast and eggs for everyone. Then Brent, Yeonjeong and I went down to a historical house where a poet named Lee Sang-Hwa lived. It was kind of strange being at an anti-Japanese exhibit at this point in time (the earthquake destruction). Then we wandered around Yangyeongsi (Traditional Medicine Street) for a while before meeting up with Emma for Vietnamese food. After that we went to a place that is famous for tea. It was awesome tea and I am excited to know that it's there. I am totally heading back again. Then we decided to go to a random park up in the northeast corner of Daegu. It ended up having a really pretty reservoir with dinky little motorized boats in the shape of ducks. So obviously, we went boating! We stayed until sunset there and then took Yeonjeong back to the train station. I think she had a good time.
Anyway, next weekend we are planning to see some cherry blossoms. Spring!
Last weekend Yeonjeong, a friend of ours, came down from Seoul to visit and hang out with Brent, Emma and I. It was her first time in Daegu and we tried to show her a good time. When she got here on Saturday night, we went out to dinner at a Canadian place. Then we got some coffee and went out on the town for drinks. It was a fun night and we definitely saw the sun come up. On Sunday morning, I made french toast and eggs for everyone. Then Brent, Yeonjeong and I went down to a historical house where a poet named Lee Sang-Hwa lived. It was kind of strange being at an anti-Japanese exhibit at this point in time (the earthquake destruction). Then we wandered around Yangyeongsi (Traditional Medicine Street) for a while before meeting up with Emma for Vietnamese food. After that we went to a place that is famous for tea. It was awesome tea and I am excited to know that it's there. I am totally heading back again. Then we decided to go to a random park up in the northeast corner of Daegu. It ended up having a really pretty reservoir with dinky little motorized boats in the shape of ducks. So obviously, we went boating! We stayed until sunset there and then took Yeonjeong back to the train station. I think she had a good time.
Anyway, next weekend we are planning to see some cherry blossoms. Spring!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Too Much To Do!
Seoul was super fun! We had some tea in a bird house basically, climbed to Seoul tower, had some 'good' Mexican, found some good German local brewery, hung out with Joe, Jojo and Shawn. We also stayed in a super fancy hotel that we didn't spend too much time in. Then last week was just a whole bunch of work. This last weekend there was an acid rain warning, so we tried to stay in as much as possible. We ended up eating brunch downtown, having cocktails at a fancy hotel, some beer in a cabin, some japanese food and finally ended up at my friend's bar playing some games. Needless to say, I have been having fun. I promise to post pictures when I get a new memory card (my last one was stolen). Next weekend: More rain? Two weekends from now: Cherry Blossoms.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Still Alive...
I'm just letting everyone know that I'm still kickin. It's been an interesting couple of weeks. After I got my stitches out of my foot last Tuesday, Emma and I got hit really hard with food poisoning. Then, the next night when I came home from work I realized that my apartment had been broken into. They didn't take anything major, just some old coats (name brand North Face and Marmot stuff), and a memory card. So I have been dealing with that and the first two weeks of a new term at school. Busy, busy, busy.
Chuck, Brent, Emma and I are heading to Seoul tonight. My personal agenda for the trip is to find good Mexican food and good beer. I will update when I get back... hopefully with pictures (I need a new memory card).
Chuck, Brent, Emma and I are heading to Seoul tonight. My personal agenda for the trip is to find good Mexican food and good beer. I will update when I get back... hopefully with pictures (I need a new memory card).
Monday, February 28, 2011
A Whole Lotta Whatever I Can Manage
I hate doing nothing. I hate being friends with people who say they are going to do something and not do it. It's a waste. I have never planned something with someone, gotten turned down at the last minute, went anyway, came back and had them say "Man you should have not gone! We had a blast hanging out here complaining that there is nothing to do." That was a weirdly hard sentence to write. Anyway, what I'm getting at is that I like to do things but when I am on crutches I have a limit on what I can do. These last couple weeks I have tried to test that limit while letting my foot heal.
During the work week I couldn't do much. It takes me a while to get anywhere (and my arms will be superman-strong when I'm off of these things). A couple of nights I went to Traveler's downtown for a beer and veggie burgers (recommended). Brent and I went down to see a movie last weekend, which is pretty sweet here in Korea. They have nice theaters and cheap beer and popcorn combos. I have tried to spend as much time out of the house as possible. I actually spent a lot of time enjoying the nice weather outside the convenience store across the street from work.
Emma, Brent and I left for Busan after work on Saturday. Getting to the train wasn't much of a problem even though it was a bit exhausting. Brent and I loaded up on cans of Hite at the convenience store before the ride (mmm train beer). When we got to Busan we headed to meet my friend Paul from Denver at the Seomun subway junction. Once we met up with him, we ventured to the barbecue place where we had dinner. After a big meal of grilled mushrooms and kimchi (there is not much to eat for a vegetarian at a Korean BBQ), we went to an awesome German style brewery. We drank our weight in heavy beer. Then we walked/crutched to the next place where the nights festivities started. It was Paul's last night in town and this was his good-bye party.
On Sunday, we went down to the Jagalchi fish market down by the water. We ate some octopus that was still moving in our mouths and some other fresh fish (for those of you who are confused about my dietary restrictions, I am a pescetarian. That means that I eat a vegetarian diet except for seafood). It was a strange and delicious breakfast. Then we just walked (crutched) around and hung out in Busan for the day. We had an awesome dinner at a traditional style place that made their own soy sauce and kimchi. Then, completely exhausted, we came back to Daegu and I crashed out hard on my bed until this morning. It was a fun time. It was a hell of a lot more fun than just hanging out at this apartment all weekend!
During the work week I couldn't do much. It takes me a while to get anywhere (and my arms will be superman-strong when I'm off of these things). A couple of nights I went to Traveler's downtown for a beer and veggie burgers (recommended). Brent and I went down to see a movie last weekend, which is pretty sweet here in Korea. They have nice theaters and cheap beer and popcorn combos. I have tried to spend as much time out of the house as possible. I actually spent a lot of time enjoying the nice weather outside the convenience store across the street from work.
Emma, Brent and I left for Busan after work on Saturday. Getting to the train wasn't much of a problem even though it was a bit exhausting. Brent and I loaded up on cans of Hite at the convenience store before the ride (mmm train beer). When we got to Busan we headed to meet my friend Paul from Denver at the Seomun subway junction. Once we met up with him, we ventured to the barbecue place where we had dinner. After a big meal of grilled mushrooms and kimchi (there is not much to eat for a vegetarian at a Korean BBQ), we went to an awesome German style brewery. We drank our weight in heavy beer. Then we walked/crutched to the next place where the nights festivities started. It was Paul's last night in town and this was his good-bye party.
On Sunday, we went down to the Jagalchi fish market down by the water. We ate some octopus that was still moving in our mouths and some other fresh fish (for those of you who are confused about my dietary restrictions, I am a pescetarian. That means that I eat a vegetarian diet except for seafood). It was a strange and delicious breakfast. Then we just walked (crutched) around and hung out in Busan for the day. We had an awesome dinner at a traditional style place that made their own soy sauce and kimchi. Then, completely exhausted, we came back to Daegu and I crashed out hard on my bed until this morning. It was a fun time. It was a hell of a lot more fun than just hanging out at this apartment all weekend!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Jeju Island and the Hospital
Last weekend, we made plans to head out to Jeju Island after class on Saturday, and then get back to Daegu Monday at 12:00pm (I work at 3:30). Everything worked out totally fine, and the island was awesome and weirdly dead because it was the off-season. I like trips during the off-season (look through my pictures in Nova Scotia), so it was awesome for me. Everything was really cheap and readily available with no lines or screaming children. We saw all the sights that we wanted to see (photos at this link: My Facebook), and we got to stay in a nice hotel for cheap. The next day we woke up totally refreshed and ate a huge breakfast. When we arrived at the airport, we suddenly realized the exhausting day that we were about to embark on.
We walked up to the Korean Airlines counter and their was NO one in line. It didn't really dawn on us why until the counter lady had a terrified look on her face when we asked her to check into our flight to Daegu. This was at 10:15, and our flight was to be at 11:10. She couldn't tell us that our flight was cancelled, so she typed a bunch of stuff and called her colleague over to break the news. Chuck ran to the bathroom when we heard this news. We all had to be at work at 3:30pm. We needed to get off of the island and to our town in the middle of the country in 4 hours. We checked flights to Busan (one hour train ride to Daegu)... cancelled. The next flight to Seoul (Gimpo) with Korean Air was at 12:49. That wouldn't be enough time to get to Daegu. We frantically started to check other airlines. We found one plane that was leaving for Seoul in 30 minutes (it was 10:30 now). They sold us tickets and we had to run to the gate. The departure time for the flight from the southern most part of South Korea to the northern most part of the country was at 11:00. The ticket said the arrival time was at 12:05 (this must be some kind of miracle right? No, its just that the Korean airlines don't take an hour to leave the gate and they don't take an hour taxiing to the next gate). We landed at 12:05 and we were in a taxi by 12:15 heading to the KTX train station. So far so good.
At the KTX train station they had the next two trains, 13:00 and 13:30, listed as sold out. We NEEDED to get on that 13:00 train. We were contemplating getting on and just playing dumb but Chuck talked to the ticket counter. It was 12:51 at this time. They sold us standing room tickets (we had to sit between the coach cars [inside of course]). We ran and hopped on the train. The arrival time for Daegu was 14:49 (2:49pm). "We'll make it!" At 1:00pm I called Young and asked him to grab a work shirt for me out of my apartment and bring it to work with him (we were all clean and pampered because of the fancy hotel that we stayed at the night before). We got to Dongdaegu KTX station. I ran to the subway. It was a straight shot to work on that subway line. I said "bye" to the other three. They were going to make it, too. I showed up to work at 3:30. Perfect. I was on time, and had time to make my print-outs. Except something went horribly wrong.
I showed up to a flustered mess at work. They had been stressing about me and trying to get a hold of me. "Why didn't you call?!?!" They had cancelled my class. Someone had caught wind that the Daegu Airport closed and assumed that I wasn't going to make it. My phone was dead, so they called and called. I called Young using Emma's phone at 1 to ask him to grab a shirt, but didn't think to call anyone else. Why didn't I call anyone else? Because I had spent my whole day ensuring that I was going to get there in time, and I did. If I was stuck up at the airport in Jeju, I would have had time to find a phone charger, charge it up and let them know that I was going to miss class. I didn't call because I was going to make it. I'm not going to call work to let them know that I am going to make it on time today... That leads me to the next development this week:
I ruptured the tendon that leads to my big toe on Wednesday morning. I was cooking breakfast and I dropped the bowl that I was mixing the eggs in. Somehow the bowl landed and broke into 4 pieces on my foot. One of the pieces sliced my foot, deep. I hopped to the bathroom and spent 30 minutes trying to stop the bleeding. I called Brent. He was at the hospital, so I asked him to bring me some gauze and tape. He showed up to what looked like a murder scene in my apartment. We got the bleeding stopped and cleaned the wound with alcohol. He suggested that I go to the hospital, so I did. I hobbled down to the hospital (about a 20 minute hobbling distance). When I showed up, they were closed for lunch. I had to go back at 2:00. So I staggered back home and made it back at 2:00, dressed for work (again, I had to work at 3:30). The doctor was nice and speaks decent English. He immediately said that my wound needed to be sutured. When he started the surgery, he noticed that my tendon was ruptured. After making me look at it (::shudder::), he sutured the tendon up with 13 stitches, then 26 stitches on the top of my foot. They got me in a splint and a boot and I am now on crutches.
It's been an interesting week.
We walked up to the Korean Airlines counter and their was NO one in line. It didn't really dawn on us why until the counter lady had a terrified look on her face when we asked her to check into our flight to Daegu. This was at 10:15, and our flight was to be at 11:10. She couldn't tell us that our flight was cancelled, so she typed a bunch of stuff and called her colleague over to break the news. Chuck ran to the bathroom when we heard this news. We all had to be at work at 3:30pm. We needed to get off of the island and to our town in the middle of the country in 4 hours. We checked flights to Busan (one hour train ride to Daegu)... cancelled. The next flight to Seoul (Gimpo) with Korean Air was at 12:49. That wouldn't be enough time to get to Daegu. We frantically started to check other airlines. We found one plane that was leaving for Seoul in 30 minutes (it was 10:30 now). They sold us tickets and we had to run to the gate. The departure time for the flight from the southern most part of South Korea to the northern most part of the country was at 11:00. The ticket said the arrival time was at 12:05 (this must be some kind of miracle right? No, its just that the Korean airlines don't take an hour to leave the gate and they don't take an hour taxiing to the next gate). We landed at 12:05 and we were in a taxi by 12:15 heading to the KTX train station. So far so good.
At the KTX train station they had the next two trains, 13:00 and 13:30, listed as sold out. We NEEDED to get on that 13:00 train. We were contemplating getting on and just playing dumb but Chuck talked to the ticket counter. It was 12:51 at this time. They sold us standing room tickets (we had to sit between the coach cars [inside of course]). We ran and hopped on the train. The arrival time for Daegu was 14:49 (2:49pm). "We'll make it!" At 1:00pm I called Young and asked him to grab a work shirt for me out of my apartment and bring it to work with him (we were all clean and pampered because of the fancy hotel that we stayed at the night before). We got to Dongdaegu KTX station. I ran to the subway. It was a straight shot to work on that subway line. I said "bye" to the other three. They were going to make it, too. I showed up to work at 3:30. Perfect. I was on time, and had time to make my print-outs. Except something went horribly wrong.
I showed up to a flustered mess at work. They had been stressing about me and trying to get a hold of me. "Why didn't you call?!?!" They had cancelled my class. Someone had caught wind that the Daegu Airport closed and assumed that I wasn't going to make it. My phone was dead, so they called and called. I called Young using Emma's phone at 1 to ask him to grab a shirt, but didn't think to call anyone else. Why didn't I call anyone else? Because I had spent my whole day ensuring that I was going to get there in time, and I did. If I was stuck up at the airport in Jeju, I would have had time to find a phone charger, charge it up and let them know that I was going to miss class. I didn't call because I was going to make it. I'm not going to call work to let them know that I am going to make it on time today... That leads me to the next development this week:
I ruptured the tendon that leads to my big toe on Wednesday morning. I was cooking breakfast and I dropped the bowl that I was mixing the eggs in. Somehow the bowl landed and broke into 4 pieces on my foot. One of the pieces sliced my foot, deep. I hopped to the bathroom and spent 30 minutes trying to stop the bleeding. I called Brent. He was at the hospital, so I asked him to bring me some gauze and tape. He showed up to what looked like a murder scene in my apartment. We got the bleeding stopped and cleaned the wound with alcohol. He suggested that I go to the hospital, so I did. I hobbled down to the hospital (about a 20 minute hobbling distance). When I showed up, they were closed for lunch. I had to go back at 2:00. So I staggered back home and made it back at 2:00, dressed for work (again, I had to work at 3:30). The doctor was nice and speaks decent English. He immediately said that my wound needed to be sutured. When he started the surgery, he noticed that my tendon was ruptured. After making me look at it (::shudder::), he sutured the tendon up with 13 stitches, then 26 stitches on the top of my foot. They got me in a splint and a boot and I am now on crutches.
It's been an interesting week.
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