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

Holy Hell What a Weekend!!!!! #2

Ok so.... Saturday I go back to Hongdae where if you remember I first met the "Asian connection" and charles the trilingual pimp. This time, myself and 8 friends were dragged off the street and into a club because we were told that it was 10,000 won for 7 Shots of tequila. AKA 9.50$ American. Turns out this was not a fabrication. So 6 shots of tequila and a few beers later I found myself at yes... another club which was nuts, and a great time. Then we all left that club to go to another club, which was way more nuts and packed, but was 95% americans which sucked. I danced my ass off yet again, and even did a bit of singing with my friend Julie, and the Lovable Angie. I got back to my place at 4ish after an insane cab ride that turned a 20 minute trip into a 10, all the while listening to tainted love by the Eurythmics. I passed out and woke up for a day in Myengdung, or the korean equivalent to Rodeo Drive, but packed with thousands of people. My camera was dead so I will post pics next time I go. What's next..... oh yeah, so my closest friend here Suzy'z brother is visiting so we all hung out today. I began the day by giving chocolates and cards to Suzy and Angie because it is the korean holiday "White Day" this is a holiday where men buy women love theme gifts like valentines day. However valentines day here is where women give gifts to men, so each sex has a holiday. We went to a Mondue place= Korean dumplings. Ate some yummy food, and then to Happidus, our "Cheers" if you will for some drinks and poker. Then Suzy, Myself, Phil (her bro), our coworker Chou, her BF Jake, and our new Korean friend Kim, or as i named him Vladimir.... No joke he responds only to that now, all went to a Noribong/Korean karaoke place. This is where things got funny. Noribong is different than Karaoke because you do it in a private room just with your friends. There are no spectators, so it is a bit less pressure. Needless to say we rocked the hell out. I belted some Backstreet Boys, Sugar Ray, Stevie Wonder, and much much more, and had the distinct pleasure to see my coworkers sing and dance. PS: Kim/Vladimir has the voice of an angel, and was dominating the Eagles, and Bon Jovi.

*****

1= club one with the coworkers and suzy's brother

2= club 2 with Julie and some more friends here

3= same club just showing how packed it was

4= Noribong- me singing superstition with chou and suzy as back up dancers

5= Jake singing Kung Fu fighting, and all of us doing what we call kung fu dancing

Holy Hell What a Weekend!!!!!

This will be in 2 posts because I have fallen behind. I will get back to my weekly updates every Sunday. Alright, so where to begin. To start my coworkers are slowly teaching me that drinking and going to clubs is the only thing to do here at night. It has been one of the most alcoholic months of my life, and I will be slowing down. Still, it makes for a great story. We'll start with the boring stuff. I have been loving teaching, and my kids are funny as hell. We have a part of class called the (Critical thinking project) where the kids create a skit based on the lesson. The assignment was to create a mock-blog about a scandal that happened in class. They agreed on forcing the teacher to give A's with the use of a water gun because real guns are "not nice" The pic they drew rocks, and will be posted. It has a naked korean boy with a small penis holding me up with a poorly drawn water gun. This gets me to the next point BEWARE OF RANT!!!!- This countries education system is way less strict, and less politically correct than America's. For this reason they are all more entertaining because they get to use there imagination without being ridiculed if it's to violent or to politically incorrect. Sorry for that rant. I have eaten some good food, and found good pizza here. Moving on *****We will first begin with friday I went out for a number of my coworker's birthdays. It was awesome. We started with a casual bar and moved to this kick ass club that reminds me of the jersey scene hard core. I danced with just about every girl I work with, and a couple dudes as well, and loved every minute of it. Everyone got trashed and then myself, and a few friends went back to my place where we all crashed. This was rough though because I still have no furniture so we all divided up my floor, and got, what could only be described as a torturous nights sleep. Props to my friends here for toughing it out.

*** The street I work on in Pyenchon ,

The first bar with my coworkers and the ever lovable Angie,

The club dancing it up with some friends and coworkers ,

Some friends and coworkers dancing

The aftermath, Joe, Mark, and Priscilla passed out on the floor.

My apartment

Yes, I was able to find and move into an apartment in 2 days. My rent is 650 plus utz. Its a decent size, and is wide open. As of right now I have no furniture. So yes you can see my kids bed on the floor. It was 20 bucks and will have to hold me over. My neighbors are also very fun. There is Joey he's like a total meat head type. Rachael... she's a shop-aholic, Monica the chef who used to be fat, Chandler the fun, but cute with an alcohol problem type, and of course the neighborhood nerd; Ross. By the way I am sitting on a hard wood floor typing this to you. Also tell me what you guys think; I am torn between 2 themes, either a sex/work out dungeon, or a kids style ambiance. Sorry this is such a boring post but some people were curious.

* my place