Noblesse Jangan Hotel Seoul

... not anything to write home about (oh, wait...). We both had the Korean meal for dinner, consisting of Bibimbap, a dish where you mix up rice with veggies, meat, and chili paste, which was nice, some kind of yellow pickle we can't yet figure out which was okay, and kimchi, spicy pickled cabbage, which neither of us really liked. This is unfortunate because kimchi is ubiquitous here.

But is was a nice uneventful flight. Since this was a "day flight" - leave at ...

... past with all of the best technology from the late 80s. Justin took me to Starbucks, which I haven't been to in months. It was like a little trip home to be there with him and even though I know it sounds silly, it was great.
That afternoon, Justin did several of his TEFL units while I worked, and then met up with me and some friends outside of my school when we got off. We went to a local bowling alley and ended up having to take ...

... are many foods availabe here that we would find quite bizarre such as partially developed duck embryo, live octupus (there are stories of it climbing back of peoples throats haha), silk worm larvae (this is a popular snack and can be found for sale in many street carts), sea snail, blind sucker eels, and many other interesting foods. I will elaborate more on the foods later...

... a few things that I have been thinking about recently. Let me relate briefly what my dream was about.


Basically, I was this kid in this foreign land (it doesn't matter which one). I had something like three sisters or such. I think I was an 8-year-old boy (or possibly even a girl) in the dream. And my sisters and I were orphans or kidnapped or something in this place that was selling us to men as ...

... 668 ; Silla , 57 BC – 935 AD, and Paekche, 37 BC – 660. Each dynasty was centered out of a different region of the country. It was the Silla of SE Korea which unified all of Korea.

One of the elements of his shared knowledge that I found interesting was that much of the information is archeological and regional. The Japanese would pioneer archeological excavation in Korea and took some of the materials back to Japan and won't return ...

... only had it once before, but yes....it is definitely my favorite!) Shabu Shabu is a meal that comes in phases. First, a communal pot of fiercely boiling soup is brought to the table and placed over the flame at the table (no chairs here.....remove your shoes and sit on the floor!). This soup is the entire basis for the meal. It is a spicy (duh) broth that mingles with the flavors of the Korean vegetables and leafy plants added to the pot ...

... out the various business attires and outfits  , I have taken to the subway nappers. Surely after a full day of work, or a night of drinking, or 14 hours at school/work/whatever, during their commute home falling asleep sitting up (sometimes standing up), is a skill many Korean subway passengers have learned to master. How to know when to get off at the right stop? That's what I asked. Some say it ...

... any dealings with paypal. A lucky escape... With the model teaching over, I was able to spend a lovely weekend with Eun ju, initially getting some much-needed fresh air at Sky Park. It was nice being outdoors and we strolled around for a couple of hours, stopping occasionally to admire the view across Seoul. As I've said before, I prefer having more local friends, not least because they can provide useful information, e.g. Eun ju introduced me to the terms "ajumma" and "ajoshi ...

... Korean BBQ meal. We also spent an afternoon walking in downtown Seoul and climbed Namsan Mountain (South Mountain). On top of the mountain sits N'Seoul Tower. We took an elevator ride to the top of this tower which was 350 meters above sea level. From here you can get a 360 degree bird's eye view of Seoul. There is a Teddy Bear Museum (strangely enough) in the base of this tower and we regret to inform you ...

... I hit the streets as soon as I managed to ditch my bags in my hotel room and went straight up the nearest incline I could find – Seoul Mountain – which had sgnal beacons at the top just like the ones in Lord of the Rings (well, not identical, but you get the drift...). The view was nice and it was a good opportunity to do some people-watching. While the climb uphill (in the middle of a Korean summer, which is stinking hot and sticky) might have put me ...