Seoul Plaza

... center. We no sooner got down in the subway and immediately someone decided to attach themselves to us, and became our unofficial tour guide. We do not look that helpless, and I always know where I am going, but Koreans love to entertain Americans. They don't like soldiers, but they never think we are soldiers, they always think we are English teachers. Anyway we were going the ...

... don't do it, you get fined. i'm not sure exactly how one would get caught. anyway, you know i'm all for the environment but the compost bins are really, really nasty. like crawling with flies. i'm petrified to open the lid because of the ungodly smell that will be released. not to mention the preposterous fear i have in my head that a million maggots will come flying out and attack me. maggots don't fly ...

Hello Readers,<br><br>Happy Labor Day weekend to all those lucky enough to celebrate. I hope you all enjoy your long weekend and good luck to those who are starting a new year of either teaching or being students :). <br><br>Summer has officially ended here and we are back into the full swing of things. A couple new things have started with my teaching. I am now only employed at two schools. My High School wanted to keep me five days a week, instead of 3, so ...

I'm just sitting in my homestay waiting a few minutes before my last foray into Seoul. I'm going to go this antique market again and spend my last won :)<br><br>Overall, my trip to Korea has been great. I didn't do as much as I had planned to do. I had wanted to go out to the country more, but I don't like traveling alone (which is odd since I ...

... following it up with another twenty on Saturday! It was a real marathon, but I felt a sense of achievement afterwards, and I could finally look forward to Sunday...<br><br>All week, I'd been boring my students with talk of Oasis as the countdown was on, and finally the day had arrived. After my relationship with Lee fell through, I decided to ask my Korean friend Chester if he wanted to join me - he was overjoyed as he'd never been to a festival before. So ...

... finally a Customs. When we got off the plane and went through the different check points there men/women with surgical masks and taking our temperature. It was a bit of a sci-fi experience looking at this large group of people with masking on and their electronic thermometers.<br><br>On arrival we met up with 2 other groups &#8211; 9 participants who flew out of Atlanta, and 6 out of LA. We then waited for 2 more groups. Interesting &#8211; the ...

... not there to meditate; I was there to eat. The "grandfather" at our school (the director's 80 year old father) went and spoke with them one day, telling them that I was vegetarian and asked if I could eat with them, as there is little I can eat from the school's lunches. Initially I felt very uncomfortable doing this, asking for food, but I went anyways. I learned what to say and how to ask and made the trek to the temple. They greeted me warmly and quickly prepared a ...

... Joo Shin (aka Patrick), picked me up at the airport and I was immediately presented with a cultural difference I had been told about.....Koreans often don't talk to others and can come across as unfriendly, but can be warm if they let you in. It's abnormal for me to just sit and be quiet, especially in the company of someone new, but I reminded myself that this is just part of their ...

... Of course there are several things that are not spicy (so don't worry!), but chilies are everywhere and present at every meal. This city doesn't sleep! Just like Vegas. Actually there are tons of random street vendors that only pop up at night time. About an hour after sunset, these tents pop up with vats of oil and they are all deep frying or boiling something wonderful....battered beef, battered chicken, strips of pastry, crabs ...

... a chance to get some more photos including a couple of one of my major landmarks, Gwanghamun man, all dressed up for Christmas. We tried to have a quiet day on Christmas day because Boxing Day was reserved for skiing. The alarm was set for four thirty (and after a long shift at the airport it didn't make for an easy wake up for me) and by 5.15am we were on the bus and making our way towards Yongpyong resort. Our bus ...