It's been a while, but Im back.

I know it has been quite a while folks, but I am happy to say that I am posting for a special occasion. Also the holidays are coming up, so I might as well provide some new stories of ye ole Korea. What has sparked the revival of this blog are the events of tonight. In order to convey these events, or do them justice in anyway, I will do it in the form of a short story.

It was 11:34pm on a dreary Thursday night in Pyengchon Korea. I found myself submersed in the computer as I usually am around this time. As always I was eating whatever leftovers I cooked from the previous night's home cooked cuisine, and talking to Stephanie about the various woes of her college life.

Dinner consisted of left over rice I had prepared for an important meeting with the CDI elite, which consisted of myself, the beloved Bryan Bucco, Tracy the totalitarian Nguyen; aka "My Boss", Nikki "the angel in disguise" Pena, Gabriela "the broad" Hill, Steven "the dirty deed" cooper, and our house maid Sydney.

Little did I know that the events set forth that night would shape the next 36 hours of my life. Dinner was fairly normal, "The Elite" were discussing the upcoming seminar in which we would put on a play, or should I say "spectacle" that would rival the Radio City Music hall "Christmas Spectacular!!!"

It is very rare to have so much brilliance gather in one spot at the same time, but somehow we made it happen. By the end of the night a script that rivaled Shakespeare's best was created, and we were ready to rehearse. Tracy, the wise and beautiful boss she is decided that the best place to practice this revolutionary script was on an out door stage in the busiest area of our neighboring town; Beomgye. The only problem was that unlike tracy who was born half super model, half genius, and well.... half bear, we all lacked fur coats to protect us from the 30 degree weather Wednesday night. Still, we kept on trucking because thats how we do it here in Korea. After a couple hours of rehearsing our "spectacle," and shivering we called it a night.

Come Thursday afternoon our product was ready, and we put on a show for our fellow teachers, staff, and the head honcho, or should I say head...ache Jefferson; the Manager of our Branch. The play was met with critical acclaim. The immediate reaction was laughter, followed by tears, and culminating with the greatest Kiss ever witnessed in history between myself, and the 2o some girls we work with at my branch. (alright that part may be a bit embellished, but this is my story, so deal) OK where was I? ahhhh yes "the end of "The Spectacle"

After the show we had a normal night of teaching, and then I returned home, which brings me back to the beginning of my story. So, it is 11:34 pm, my dialogue with Steph is reaching a highly intellectually stimulating point when a phone rings. "nananananan wee weee weee woo hoo beep" went the phone. I answered, and on the other end was the distressed cries for help from none other than Bryan himself. "Alex!!! I need your help" he screamed. I replied, "ohhh did you forget you wallet again, and can't pay the Korean masseuse for you "massage?" He replied,"no dummy, the 10th one is always free." After some quick laughs he immediately began to explain the bind he had gotten himself into.

Now, many of you may be thinking what could have possibly happened. Was he kidnapped? Was he sick? Was he lost? Was he caught cross dressing again, and needed bail posted? No!! This was something much funnier. He began to tell me how he was on his way home, and realized that rent was due, so he stopped to get some money at Shinan Bank, which is right downstairs from our apartment. Just when the ATM released that sweet scented Green won, the automated security system activated, locking all of the doors, and removing any chance of getting out. Needless to say he was trapped inside.

What makes this particularly funny was the fact that the bank is surrounded by glass on 2 sides, and is located on a busy street. What this means, is random Korean pedestrians got to walk by the bank and peer in at the babo meegook (Korean for "Stupid American/Bucco) stuck in the bank. By the time I arrived Bryan had already spent 30 minutes failing to figure out ways to escape, all the while suffering the indignity of being laughed at by various onlookers. I myself could not hold back some laughs of my own. Finally after some time had passed I noticed a push-pad security lock, which I purposely typed a false password in in-order to trigger the silent alarm, so that a security guard would come. The security guard did eventually come, but not until after Bryan had called all of his korean friends here in Pyengchon asking for help.

The night came to an end, and Bryan was released by a confused but friendly security guard that looked rather entertained by the 2 foreigners looking at each other from opposite sides of the glass, much like you would see in a conjugal visit at a jail. We returned home, and the adventures of the night were over, but I imagine this will not be the end of the many surprises Korea has to offer.

Thanks for peering in at the blog, all ye who remain faithful. I miss everyone, and I will try to keep more regular posts up. I will be home in March, and want to give some shout outs to Scott, Steph, Mom, Mom #2, Janelle, Kirby, The Bean,"The crew", the Bedles, and more. I miss and love you all. Can't wait to se you in 4 months.

**** Pictures****

1) Bryan stuck in the bank. ( taken from the sidewalk)

2) Bryan stuck (taken up close.)

3) Myself at Seoraksan the highest mountain in South Korea

4) One of the many water falls Seoraksan has to offer

5) The beautiful fall that south Korea provides

World cup week God in heaven I love this place

Dear diary, ( you happy now Steph)

Korea has become what can only be described as a city wide party. Thousands of Koreans were pouring on to the streets to watch Korea play soccer. Pretty incredible site to see. I myself joined Suzy, and a few of my coworkers to watch the game at City Hall, where 60,000 people were cheering and dancing. Before the game I had the distinct privilege of watching some of the finest Korean bands play. This included After School, one of the huge K-pop groups here. before I move on I would just like to mention that Korean music is Abysmal, and I simply cannot understand how it is doing so well. Watching the game was one of the most incredible things I have ever experienced. I sang danced, and was asked to take pictures with tons of Korean people who were ecstatic to see a white guy cheering in Korea for their beloved team. The game was a draw, but by the way the crowd reacted you would have thought they won a war. After yet another all night session in korea I went to class to teach with a lost voice, but loads of energy from the night before. Come Saturday night I was excited to watch both USA, and Korea play in what i thought would be my best night here. As usual the night started off amazing. This time the pre-game show in Coex featured "2pm" one of the biggest groups to come out of Korea, and the first K-pop I heard when i got here. It also started to rain really hard out, but we all bought ponchos, and the rain just made it better. Needless to say the night was looking awesome. My group of friends and I were even filmed cheering, and were asked a few questions about the game by a local News station. This was the fourth time I was on camera since I have arrived. Naturally as promised I gave a shout out to Steph. As you all know Korea lost, and this was just the beginning of my night going down hill. We moved the crew over to Itaewon, a big foreigner area in Korea to watch U.S. play. The whole night we were sitting next to this couple that was cheering for Ghana and pissing everyone off at the bar. This only added to the annoyance I felt when America lost. It was still fun to watch the game, and Korea really showed me a great time this passed week. I guess I can't complain. This weekend I'm off to deokjok- doe island for a July 4th party with about 20 co-workers and friends, so expect a good post next week.

***

1) Awesome old guy in full blown devils attire

2) Korean friends for the night

3) My crew at the tail end of a great night

4) Saturday night Korean game. My co trainiees

5) Myself, Bessy, Omari, Laura, and some adorable Korean kids that I want to steal

Let the good times roll. Yet another crazy 2 weeks.

So let me begin by saying that I will definitely be taking a couple week hiatus from the drinking scene. It has been an incredible 2 weeks. First I was given a raise and now teach a series of upper level classes that all have been going well. My most challenging, but interesting class is master debating and persuasion. Yes I am now a teacher of master-debation. I have head that joke so many times, that it has officially been ran into the ground. The class is amazing though. It has given me an opportunity to really hone in on my teaching abilities, and to work with kids that are arguably smarter than I am. LOL To the fun stuff. My friend Chau had some friends from Cali visiting, and I pretty much spent my passed 2 weeks hanging out with them, and doing all in my power to show them the time of their life. Truth be told I succeeded, but at the expense of yet another couple of weekends of abusing my body with the night life Korea offers. On the bright side I have managed to continuously lose weight because of my steady diet of Korean food, and the fact that I spend at least 6 hours a weekend dancing. I think Im actually starting to get pretty good, either that or the alcohol has taken a worse toll on me than I thought. To sum up our time spent together, myself, Chau, Nguyen, and Thuy spent the passed 2 weeks singing, dancing, laughing at each other, and then waking up the next morning and regretting it. All of the girls were troopers, and Nguyen is like a 4'10" ball of chaotic energy. She parties with the best of them. I took everyone out to my to place here in Korea; Hongdae, and we barred, and clubbed until the sun was out on more than one occasion. It was awesome. because of my complete lack of desire to drink I saw Nguyen, and Thuy off on saturday morning and after some tears I went camping with the "new crew" This consists now of myself, Chris, the lovable Angie, S-Suzy, and our new edition from Colorado Kyle. He was stuck homeless for a couple days so he crashed at the casa de Alex, and witnessed the damage that Korea can do. The camping trip was awesome, and much needed. We played camp games, volley ball, and a little frisbee, and then retired to a sleepless night cuddled on out hard wood floor tent in our 2 MM thick sleeping bags. Still It was a humorous night being yelled at by Korean families to keep it down, and being virtually hated by all surrounding parties. disclosure- We apologize to all Korean families for any pain and suffering we may have caused you on saturday night. As for the Agima's, cry yourself a river. lol Korea continues to amaze me and the good friends I have made here will prolong my desire to leave this place for quite sometime. Thank you to all parties included.

*******

1) Noreabong with Chau, Thuy, Nguyen, and Johnnie Mains my Canadian Coworker

2) Backup dancing for Chau and Nguyen

3) Hongdae street, yes that sign says "Sexy, Booby Booby Party"

4) getting down with Nguyen

5) 630:am after 8 hours of partying.

Master debating. Do it to long and you might go blind?

Yeah that's right I spent my saturday judging my schools first ever debate competition. In all honesty it was a lot of fun. The competing kids were the highest level kids that Chungdahm has. We call them our Masters. They are some of the most brilliant kids I have ever seen. They were truly impressive during their debates. The 2 topics assigned; were should the government regulate video game use, which is a huge addiction and social problem here. The other, was should Korea go to war. The kids were not only well spoken, but argued extremely well on their given side. After that, was dinner with the head honchos of my job; My Faculty Manger travis, and The head of the Branch Jefferson. They treated us to a ton of pizza, and then it was off to my place where I mentally prepared myself for Suzy's favorite club; Black Music club aka MC. (yes that is the actual name) lol. The club is always a great time, I went with my close friends Chris "the train wreck" Amoss, "Sassy" Suzy, my friend samantha, and Suzy's friend Michelle. Later on, Julie, Chau and her friends from home met up with us for one hell of a crazy time. Needless to say it was a great fun. I danced for 6 hours off and on, and highlights of the night were 1st, Michelle unbuttoning the top button of a Korean girl's shirt, and watching the korean girl freak out. 2nd, Samantha's boob coming out while being lifted into the air by 2 metro sexual gay men. Lastly one of those same metro sexual gay men literally grinding on me on the dance floor. One of my more awkward experiences here, but funny none-the-less. Sunday, myself, Chris, Suzy, Julie, and Michelle took a trip to Itaewon, reenacting Night of the Living Dead due to our hangovers. Itaewon is an awesome place with tons of American stores, and places to eat. We went to American Restaurant, which is a diner style place, but it's in Korea so it is way better. After some burgers and fries we called it a day. It was a relaxing end to a crazy weekend.

I will conclude this by saying my experience in Korea is one for the history books. I love my time here, and though I miss home, my friends, and a special vampire that is dear to me (inside joke), it saddens me to think that this will end one day, and I will have to return to reality. My students have been awesome, my friends here are great, and the culture never ceases to amaze me. This is my last week of the term, so sorry for the sappiness. I am going to miss my first classes. Pictures of them are soon to come.

*******

- My Korean male dance partner

- Samantha seconds away from exposing herself

- The debate judges left to right- Cooper, Julie, Lowell, Samantha, Myself, Suzy

- Jefferson, and travis presenting one of the winners with his award.

- The master-debaters .... never gets old

From the Bungie to the Barbecue... Korea kicks ass

Where to begin. Well I had one of my best weekends yet here. Great week of teaching, and I had the distinct privilege of teaching 12 year olds about ergonomics, and design. Oddly enough they loved it. Thursday was my company dinner, and there is nothing more entertaining than seeing your bosses hammered. Then seeing your bosses sing Karaoke, and then see them hung-over in the morning. Cheers to Luke and Travis for being awesome. Saturday I went to Gangnam which is in inner seoul. A lot of nice stores, and very "NY like" in my opinion. I bought some new kicks for 45000 won which is like 40 dollars, and the girls left to get there hair done. Boring I know, but this post gets better. We then went toward Boondong for our bungie jumping experience. After an hour of train we found out they were booked, and had to return the next day. I was a little disappointed, but Suzy was damn near infuriated. We all went back toward Gangnam where we went to doctor fish. This is a coffee shop where you order some java and then rest your feet in water where fish swarm around eating the dead skin off your feet. There were 2 tanks, one with small fish; this one felt great and was relaxing. The other was bigger fish; these were tickling the hell out of me, and one of the strangest things I have ever felt. Also the lovable Angie's mom was visiting, and she hopped right in as if she had done it a million times before. I wasn't going to allow Angie's mom to show me up...... I guess she did looking back she did anyway. We ended the night with Hookah, and some casual drinks. Then it was off to bed. Sunday aka Buddha's birthday I went Bungie jumping with 4 friends. I myself was actually not all that scared and opted to go first. I loved it, but was a little disappointed. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. Then Suzy went and she had a similar reaction, as a matter of fact she barely made a noise. My friend Lana eventually gave in and refused to jump. I think I can coerce her into going through with it next time. Now the best was connie who screamed bloody murder all the way down, and even cried a bit. Her scream was so loud that the kids in the park actually got upset and cried. I, along with the rest of the crew, which included Connie's boyfriend Dan laughed hysterically. After a nap in the park we met back up with Angie, and her mom along with Tan, our new friend from NY; to watch the Lantern festival. This is a celebration for Buddha's birthday where large numbers of monks and Buddhist followers parade through the city with lanterns, accompanied with big light up floats. It was an awesome time, and one of my favorite things I have seen so far.

* doctor fish with the crew

* Hookah Bar

* My Big Jump

* One of the many floats

* Some of the thousands of monks parading

Gwanaksan hike, and another weekend living the dream.

The weather has been finally getting nice, so I am able to do the things I love once again. Because of this I am finally starting to see all the great things Korea has to offer. Saturday I went hiking with Suzy and Samantha, at Gwanaksan mountain which is 5 minutes away from my apartment. The views were incredible, and when we reached a look out point a bunch of Korean kids were yelling hello to us. They were so excited to see us foreigners on a hike. Naturally I saw this as a great photo op. The climb was a great time , and I even got to do a little bit of bouldering. All in all it was a great day. After the hike all of us went to the park and basked in the glory that was us. I played a little badminton with one of Suzy's many Korean guy friends, and then called it a day. You will be proud to hear that I did not do much drinking at all. I had 2 beers with a couple coworkers, and that was it. I think I have successfully weaned myself off of the devil's juice. LOL I will end as i have in the past; optimistically. I am still looking forward to my year here and what sort of shenanigans are in store for me.

Seonyu-do Bike trip

First let me begin with a few negatives about Korea. First I would just like to say that the couples wearing matching outfits has lost it's novelty to me already, and every time I see a Korean couple wearing matching shoes, shirts, and jeans it makes me want to do such terrible things. Also The Ajimas (younger Korean grandmothers) continue to piss me off with their constant pushing, shoving and horrible manners. LOL, now that that is over let me begin with my weekend, which was awesome. I finally had a chance to get out of the pollution here in Seoul, and to the islands just off the coast. I spent the weekend with my closest friends here, which are all girls, ironically. We enjoyed some biking, hiking, and kicking back. The Islands were incredible, and it was a very poor area, but the scenery was magnificent. There were dozens of small Islands all around the main island we were on. The first day we biked for a few hours all around the 2 square miles island we were staying on, which had a population of 1200 people. The only crap part of the day was when my bike chain snapped off, and i had to walk it back to the rental shop which was a mile or so away. Once I got there the people that were renting the bikes didn't know how to fix it, so I had to. Still, it was a great time. The day was topped off by Suzy and I daring each other to jump off of a cement dock, and into 38 degree water. Suzy would not do it in less I went first, so i did. Then she was afraid to do it by herself so i did it again. Both times were equally shocking, exhilarating and oh yeah; cold. Then it was off to dinner, which was awful so we left and got our own Korean barbecue. The next day I went to the beach to catch these shell fish that reminded me of small gooey ducks. Later on I had the distinct privilege of eating it. It tasted similar to oysters. Then I went on a hike with my friend Lana, and had the chance to see one of the best views ever. Once I reached the summit of one of the islands I was looking out on all of the small islands, and the breathtaking nature all around me. Also our hike was mostly led by a stray dog that took a liking to me. He was both friendly and mangy, however when he realized we were too slow he ran off ahead never to be seen again. This was the sad part of my day. Either way Korea still continues to amaze me, and I find myself loving more things about it everyday.

*****

1) Myself and the crew ready for our day

2) Fixing my bike chain...... Pain in the ass

3) The Shell fish we caught and ate.

4) A bunch of Ajimas rocking their standard issue hiking gear and visors. How I am beginning to loathe them

5) A view from my hike

Fish and Strip???

Sorry for the delay I had a bit of a late weekend. This weekend was pretty eventful yet again. I went out friday night with some coworkers, and the very much missed Charles (aka: "The Korean pimp). The destination was a club in the city of Anyang that played all western hip hop. It was packed full of Koreans, and I was one of maybe a dozen foreigners there. I danced the night away, and spent most the time feeling like I was a rock star, or someone high profile. Koreans have a way of making foreigners feel like they are on top of the world. The night ended pretty late, and I went to bed only to wake up to another long day. Myself and a few co-trainees all went to the Coex aquarium, which is one part of the Coex mall. The Coex mall is the biggest underground mall in the world. Believe me it is an absolute maze to navigate. Even with a map, myself and a few coworkers had trouble navigating it. The aquarium was pretty entertaining, but I have seen better to be honest. The mall however was amazing, and I was able to find really cheap jeans, which I needed after ripping a hole in one of my few pairs. The jeans were 28000 won, so about 24 dollars. They are one of the nicer quality pairs of jeans I have ever purchased. The store I got them from is called Uni Qlo, and apparently is a really trendy clothing store similar to H&M apparel, but with nicer higher quality clothing. I then went out to Korean barbecue with some more trainees because it was my friend Melissa's birthday. We then went to the bar, and then naturally ended at another club. Based on my recommendation we all agreed on Guerilla, where I lost my stripping virginity. This time however it got a little more out of hand. Some crazy drunk Korean girl pulled my pants down exposing a couple bits of me that I shall leave anonymous. I was pretty pissed, but no one really saw so when I told her to stop she tried to pull my shirt off. As intrigued as I was by her persistence I finally submitted, and gave her dominance over the pole we were sharing. All in all it was a fun time, but I will be taking it a bit easier for a while. I have a quiet weekend planned for next week, and a biking trip planned for the following.

*****

1) My favorite part of the aquarium..... Manatees

2) One part of the exhibit at the aquarium where they incorporated fish tanks and aquariums into every day household appliances.

3) The coworkers and I at club MC

4) The birthday girl and I tearing up some stage

5) A few of the trainees making fun of my Jersey roots by fist pumping. Damn you Jersey shore I will never hear the end of you.

Im Sorry Mom, but Im a Stripper???2

I had a pretty timid week at school, and have found that my new favorite passed time in class is teaching my kids funny American songs. I started this week with "Kung Fu fighting," and "Rappers Delight." Both were well received. Friday night I am embarrassed and emasculated to say that I watched Sex and the city with three girls. I was not a huge fan of the movie, but found the evening entertaining none the less. I then had the privilege of going to Costco Saturday morning, which was huge cluster-you know what. It is 2 times the size of the average Costco, and is 2 stories high. I imagine if you cut the roof off, and took a picture from a helicopter it would look like a few hundred thousand black dots with one brown, red, and blonde dot moving around aimlessly. The colored dots were myself and 3 friends, and it was a mad house there. Either way I was able to make a few purchases. Now for the more entertaining stuff. I went out to Hongdae to meed 20 of my fellow trainees. We grabbed a bite and then headed to one of the ten, Ho-Bars in Hongdae this is not what it sounds like, its just an ironic double entendre. We got our drink on, and then we all split up and I moseyed on over to the Guerilla club for yet another crazy night. The club was a hole in the wall, but was one of the best I have been to yet. Then at around 1:30 am I blinked my eyes, and when I opened them I found myself wrapped around a pole, and a Korean girl making only what could be called a spectacle. This was simply put, one of the funniest, most crazy things I have ever done. It was a blast, and mom I'm sorry, but it puts food on the table. LOL I've decided my true calling is to be a Chip-n-Dales dancer. I'm going to give up this whole teaching thing, and donate my body to the night. Either way I spent the whole night dancing with my new Posse which consists of "Sassy" Suzy, "The Lovable" Angie, Chris "The Train Wreck" Amoss, and Myself Alex "The Alex" Winters.

****

1) The trainees and I

2) Hilarious signs leading up to guerilla club

3) My new Korean lady friend, and I getting down

4) Angie and I getting down

5) Angie, Suzy, Chris, and "The Korean Wheres Waldo" as we named him

From a day of naked galavanting to the best St. Patty's day ever.

So... as usual there is never a dull moment here in ye ole Korea. We had a couple visitors this week, there was Phil, Suzy's brother, and Jake, Chau's boyfriend. We all had a great week together, and decided that the best way to end it was to go to a korean bath house. We would have never predicted that we would spend a few hours naked with a couple dozen koreans, but hey that's Korea for you. Either way after we got over our nakedness we had a good time going in and out of different mineral baths that ranged from 90 to 110 degrees fahrenheit. We also went into a sauna that was 88 degrees celsius, and was the hottest thing I have ever experienced. Then we capped our highly, homo-erotic evening with something manly...... eating live octopus. If you are wondering whether or not it is good, it isn't. It was snotty, salty, crunchy, and wiggled in my mouth all at the same time. Also when it entered my mouth it's suction cups would hold on to the side of my cheeks for dear life. All in all it was a great time, and I will never do it again. Well at least until my friends get here from the states. Saturday was also very eventful. I went to an all inclusive party at this irish pub right smack dab in the middle seoul. The last thing I ever expected to find in korea by the way. If you are wondering if there was a korean U2 cover band, yes there was. They were awesome. The night progressed, and some beers, and a few rum and cokes later I was dancing the Irish jig in a circle with 30 or 40 inebriated foreigners. We were dancing for 5 hours, and it was one of the times of my life. I met a number of englishmen, and a few people from the U.S., that like me saw nothing wrong with doing the jig for hours on end. Also surprisingly there was a triplet of river-dancers that were performing throughout the night. To my utter shock I found out none of them were Irish, but from Sweden. Go figure Today I relaxed and went to this market area about an hour away from me that had a ton of shops, and great gifts that I may have to buy for a lucky few.... Lastly, to for warn you, there is a picture of me being held up at gun point for an A in a class. Sadly he wasn't one of my students, and I could not help him so he agreed to shoot an old guy on the street instead of me. This is horrible, I know, but Korea can be a rough place. LOL