Busan Central Hotel

As of Tuesday last week I was reluctantly resigned to spending the only three day weekend (Chuesok) until Xmas holidays here in Uijeongbu due to a serious lack of funds. Well it would not really be to bad as I had a liquor box full of coins that I planned to get me through the weekend. I sorted it out over a few nights placing the Yen, CAD, Yuan, and USD aside to single out the WON. James came over later on Tuesday and helped me sort it into specific piles as the bank would not take it ...

After a bad first impression of Busan, my second look didn't really change my opinion much. Like any massive industrial area it's smelly and well, industrial looking and the salty briney air that would otherwise be refreshing and bracing in a seaside resort was just stale with rotting fish. To escape the stiffling heat I decided to traverse the city using the strange underground shopping walkway which stretch for miles below the ...

... br*ke the entire time. I me*n, we've *lre*dy st*rted this trip. No stopping now! I plug my e*rs into my iPod, *nd resume my *bruptly interrupted sleep from the morning. 4.5 hrs of ro*d l*y *he*d of us. And we're off. We stop only once in the middle of the trip to m*ke * pit stop. I show Kolin the "in's *nd out's" of *ll th*t comes with * rest stop. How the sinks work *nd the so*p *nd driers, etc... Wh*t p*rts of the vending st*nds to hold your ...

... get everyone all riled up...I hate that...when people get riled up about those things... I've realized that I don't have to plug my ears and hum anymore. I can handle hearing about those things, and that I feel wiser for it. I know I can't save everyone, but I can learn from what's going on, and contribute in the future.



Going home to all the changes that has happend in the U.S.--the economy, a new president, debt...well ok, debt has ...

... is well behind the mountain around 4:30pm when I leave school, so it's a rather chilly walk home.



A few weeks ago, I had a dream that it snowed. I told everyone the next day...cause that's what I do... Everyone told me I was crazy. "It doesn't snow in Busan!" They said. "It's so rare!" They said... Well, sure enough, two days later, it snowed. Not for very long, but it was fun! The students were in the ...

I am bored tonight. My mind is relatively clear. I did find a sweet North Face rain jacket for about 30% off the price in the states, so, that makes me happy. I have been in Korea for close to a month now. I havent done much and I am kinda hoping/thinking it stays this way. I want to save money, as much as possible, so, with the Won the way it is that might be hard to do. I wanted to get an XBOX, that might be out. I wanted to go to Japan and China ...

... boys. The students did give the staff a run for their money, but I think the staff won. The P.E. coach showed off quite a bit....he's pretty cute too. Popsicles and Gatoraide was the theme. It was fun...

The funny thing about Koreans is, if you give them a theme, they RUN with it. Espeically with athletics. For example, if you see a group of bikers...they might not actually be riding bikes--they're sitting around a ...

... organizations at one of the universities. We met the students, then went out to dinner in a really nice area of Busan. Sometimes Busan reminds me of San Diego--with all the hills and views... It's really pretty. We ate a traditional Korean meal on mats on the floor with the servers wearing the traditional dress. I gotta admit, I can never get comfortable sitting on the floor.... :) The restaraunt ...

... Worry' Bank I had a problem with my bank card shortly after arriving back from Japan. The timing was cruel, as we'd just received our first pay from camp and we were looking forward to being able to access our money for the first time without having to pay fees to our bank in Canada to do so. All attempts to access our new Korean money failed so we returned to the bank the next day where, not ...

... been done and indeed one tomb, Cheonmang (Heavenly Horse Tomb), is open to the public. I would like to say that it was our thirst for knowledge of Silla burials that lured us into Cheonmang, but if truth be told it was the glorious air conditioning inside that had us scampering in. It was actually fairly interesting, with replicas of the treasure on display. Our next few stops took in the Far East's oldest astrological observation tower, the ruins of a fabled ...