last night's feast

A couple of weeks ago (the night I bailed on the expat plans and hung out locally - I blogged about wanting to "yogi-yo" rather than be in an English bubble), Tom and I met these great great Korean folks, who invited us to join them at their table for drinks. Turns out they recognized me, I had been to their restaurant for lunch earlier that week, with teachers from my school. The lunch was dolsot bap, one of the traditional and more bland Korean dishes.

These guys invited us to come back to their restaurant, and dreading the dolsot bap, it took us about two weeks to actually get around to going. We went last night. Turned out to be fantastic samgibsal (korean barbeque). We ordered 3 orders of beef, one for each of us (Chris was with us too). Then, deciding that wasn't enough, we got some pork. And they decided to bring us free dolsot bap, too. No word of a lie, there were actually about 25 side dishes laid out on our table, plus the meat and the actual dolsot bap. I do not know how we actually consumed so much food, but we did make a dent, because we didn't want to be rude. Dolsot bap is literally "stone bowl rice". You take the rice out of the stone bowl, and with whatever rice is left in the bowl (burned to the sides of the bowl) you pour some steaming rice water in, put the lid back on and let it steam. This becomes the soup that you finish your meal off with. Interesting, and a taste that I am slowly acquiring... still bordering on very very very bland.

We had the best service ever, they were so happy we came to their restaurant! The owner and his wife looked after us themselves :-) They barely speak any English, but are so so kind. We plan to go back soon - they've told us we will eat for free if we help them with their English! Regardless, the beef barbeque was AMAZING. Reason enough to return, even if the owners hadn't been so sweet!

Have I mentioned that Koreans are the kindest people ever?

I took pictures with my phone, but they got messed up, didn't save properly. Sorry! Next time...

Tomorrow is a "school festival" so I've spent the last 6 hours preparing posters and such "all about Canada". Amazing, getting all "Canadian" has not made me homesick at all... just excited to share this stuff with the students and with my colleagues.

And a side note about the photocopy guy at school - he is totally my new best friend! We now have a secret language that involves a lot of signals, gestures, smiles and bowing. Woooo!

I (accidentally) climbed a huge mountain...

So yesterday, I was planning to take it easy, go out to see Paraeso, a waterfall in the mountains in Southern Ulsan. (clear across the city from my place)

We ended up in Eonyang, the part of the city where we could catch the bus to the waterfall - and found out that there was no way to get to Paraeso, unless we wanted to "climb (Mt.) Sinbulsan, go across the mountain ridge, down the other side, and hike for about an hour..." - or we could have taken a very expensive cab. We decided to cheap-out and climb the mountain.

Now, you know that I don't pay attention to details sometimes, especially when I'm hatching a hair-brained scheme... these are the details I now know about Sinbulsan:
- it is one of the 100 Most Beautiful Mountains in Korea, selected by the Korea Forest Service (in a country that is 70% mountains, that means something)
- it is the second tallest mountain in Ulsan
- it is 1,209m

After hiking for about a kilometer, we did get to see a waterfall. It wasn't Paraeso, but...


If only we had realized at this point that the grade of this waterfall is not dissimilar to the grade of much of our upcoming hike! (ok, I'm exaggerating a bit)

Anyways, the hike was beautiful, steep, and at times a bit techincal for the likes of me. This was my first time using ropes to climb a mountain (the ropes were in place and secured on the trail). There were a couple of moments where it was absolutely concerning, I will admit... I paused for a moment while climbing up this vertical sheer rock face (is that what it's called? it was like climbing a wall that had no footholds, just holding onto a rope to pull yourself up). Bad idea. Do not pause and look down when you've got two feet planted flat on a 90-degree vertical sheet of rock, with no harness or safety equipment whatsoever. Talk about a moment of terror - the only thing keeping me from falling off the mountain was my grip on that rope...

This photo kind of shows the ropes, a random hiker is about to decend. Doesn't really show the steepness of the decent though!


Long story short, two out of the three of us made it to the summit (?) and sat on the rocks up top, just taking it all in. (The third decided to hang back(!) deciding the last part of the climb was too tricky/steep)

Here's footage from the top of the mountain:



beautiful, eh? Took us about 5 hours, up and down, but we weren't exactly speedy. When we finally got back to Ulsan (downtown) we ended up going for Indian food (!). It was quite good, but somehow not the same... and pints at mackenzies etc. Chris came down to meet Mark and I at mackenzies - it turns out he was climbing a "really f@ck%ng big" mountain, at the same time as we were, and funny thing here, it was a different side of the same mountain that Mark, Alex and I climbed. Ha ha ha. Clearly we all deserved beer. What Chris did not mention is that he'd hit the soju with his co-climbers before coming to meet up with us, which made for an amusing night for all. Somehow we all ended up at the WA bar, back in Hogye... somehow, we always do...

So much for taking it easy. Today, I'm only leaving the house to go out for dinner.

traditional dress

A quick photo of Liz and I in traditional dress - taken during Chusok, when I was "vacationing" in Gimhae. (I am not sure a less flattering angle is possible, but whatevs)

comments

Sorry about the "comments" problems, I'm still trying to figure this whole blogging thing out - and I think I accidentally switched something off or changed a setting yesterday. I don't know, because when I log on at work, blogger is entirely in Korean. (I am used to this, all of the programs on my work computer are entirely in Korean, of course!)

Now that I've cracked the mystery of my kids conversation class, it's rockin'. I cannot tell you how happy this makes me, I literally felt sick with dread every time I had this class, because I couldn't figure out the right mix of stuff, and the activities I had thought would be fun, they hated (and vice versa). We talked about our families yesterday and I wanted to bring photos, but the only photos that I had access to (on my work computer) were the ones online from Vegas... (here are a few photos for those who haven't seen them ). Um, Jess, Bry, those photos of us were completely unusable. Just visit the album, you'll see what I mean...

This weekend, I think I will be at home convalescing, so you can look forward to some more updates with photos, including "katrina's first six weeks in korea, part 2" and stuff on the nukes, and korean culture...

a new cold (some comfort food) and a new friend

I have a cold. I am low-energy and have a sore throat. I am sniffly and surpressing the urge to whine, whine, whine. I may look up some phrases so I can whine in Korean. Teaching, with low-energy and a sore throat is not fun. I am not the only one who's sick though - Tom's had this cold for the last month. (I suspect that I either got this thing from him, or from Liz - thanks guys!)

Anyways, Tom and I went for some comfort food last night... all the way downtown to a fantastic little tuna place he had discovered about a month ago. Since yesterday was pay-day (in theory) we splurged a bit - 30,000 won each - and ate the most wonderful fish (both raw and cooked). The presentation alone was spectacular (sorry, no photos) and it was one of those meals where, every time you think it's over, there's something else that appears. Raw tuna (different parts of the tuna) and swordfish, tuna cooked in bulgolgi sauce, tuna cooked in another way, miso soup, potato pancakes, japanese salad... each item served individually, not once were two items served at the same time! A nice, three hour meal.

And a new friend... well, not really, but a teacher who speaks excellent English (he's an English teacher, who I actually teach with!) who has been, well, a bit less than friendly with me for the last few weeks. Do you know how frustrating that is, to have someone who speaks English so well, not want to talk to you? Well, frustrated no more, I have somehow won him over. I am not really sure how I accomplished this feat, but he's smiling like mad at me every time he sees me, and is friendly and joking around all of a sudden. I think something happened where he's not afraid to speak English with me anymore. Who knows what... but now, its unstoppable - I'm hearing all about everything! That's freakin' fantastic (although truth be told, I'm not so much of a baseball fan).

And on the subject of "afraid to speak English with me", I'm becoming pretty skilled at recognizing the look of terror in peoples' eyes (omg, here she comes, will I have to speak English with her?) and I can honestly say, it is reducing significantly. I do try korean every so often, but I really don't know enough for any meaningful communication...

Anyways, off for a nap in the teachers' sleeping room. (yes, we have a room dedicated to sleeping)

one down, eleven to go!

According to the tourism literature, Ulsan has 12 scenic sights that every tourist MUST see. So, I have decided it is my mission to see all 12 scenic sights by the end of my contract. That's one scenic sight a month. I'm a bit behind schedule, as I finially made it to my first one yesterday afternoon. (I thought I'd been to one earlier, the black pebble beach at jeongja coast, but it turns out I was actually at sinmyeong coast...).

Gigi (the mountain bike) and I headed out to Dong-gu, where the Daewangam Songnim (pine forest) is located... it's about 15km south of my place, if you don't get lost. The pine forest was absolutely beautiful, and since I was taking my photos during the magic hour, they are all pretty darned good. (I will not subject you to all 70 photos that I took). Needless to say, in the middle of this heavily industrialized coast, (hyundai heavy industries - one of the most major shipbuilding yards in the world, with the biggest cranes EVER - actually kind of surrounds the pine forest, if you look at a map), there is a breathtaking pine forest. No, not breathtaking because of the pollution. Because of its beauty. Before we get to the beauty, Hyundai heavy industries, which I biked by for, oh, say a kilometer or two (at least).


Here's the actual proof that I made it to one of the 12 scenic sights of Ulsan - and I'm not just faking these shots or something! This sign essentially says that this was an important area in the Silla dynasty, and that kings would spend quality time hanging out here. Also, that the view from the point is the second best view of the East Sea in Korea. (it did not say who ranked it as the second best)


Now, before actually getting to this sign, I went through this small little area of food kiosks and super old-school cheesy fall-fair type stuff, like what's in this photo:


okee, time to see the beoootiful pine forest and the sea! (and hyundai heavy industries - a different campus than in the photograph above)



and trees, trees, trees!


After (b/h)iking through the forest for a bit, I came upon this classic (and huge!) example of the "workout stations" that are everywhere here in Korea.


This stuff all looks very bizarro when you first happen upon it, but it's SO much fun! (I am forbidden to use any of this stuff though - a lot of it is flexibility stuff so because my joints are pretty loose and hyperflexible, if I use it, weird things happen - have happened - like I hyperextend my elbows - something I do sometimes when I bike, too, believe it or not! - or my knee gets really slippery and slidey). Here's a shot of Liz and Chris using one, when we were hiking up a mountain:


The views were absolutely amazing from the pine forest! And the rocks were fascinating, so smooth, and dotted with people fishing (I don't know that I'd trust any fish caught that close to the Hyundai plants but whatever).

(me on the bridge, with Gigi) - did I mention that everyone who cycles here wears pretty hi-tech cycling clothes with really sweet gear? It's really funny, my first time on the trail, I was so impressed that there were all these seemingly hardcore cyclists, and there's me in my skirt and t-shirt flying by them, leaving many, many baffled Korean cyclists in my dust. Apparently, fashion is everything here, when cycling!


and one shot of the endless horizon...


Anyways, so on my way home, I kind of got a bit lost, and turned what was a 30 km ride into something like a 40 km ride. Actually, I'm not sure how long the ride was supposed to be, or how long it ended up being. It may have been closer to 50km? But I'm in pretty bad shape right now, cycling-wise, so I can't judge by the time it takes me... sigh.

So, when was busy getting lost, I did find a foreigners bar in an area called Bangeogin - all the foreigners in that 'hood are not teachers, but Hyundai employees, or workers sent by other multi-nationals to work at Hyundai's many many operations in Dong-gu. It's kind of fun, because they're all really nice men who speak German (and English), so I get to practice my mad German (and Germish) skillz with them. Whodda thunk that I'd be here in the middle of Korea, concerned about how well I'm speaking German! Anyways, this horrible photo is for Liz, to prove that (after our fruitless hunt a couple of weeks ago) I actually made it to the Korean Union bar:


Because all foreigners bars are SO hard to find, we have a theory that it's on purpose, and only those who are worthy - or lucky! - are allowed to find them. Seriously, you would think that bars especially for those who do not really speak the language, who are not originally from the city, area or even country, would be a bit easier to find, would be well-marked, or at least give somewhat useful directions or maps. But no. (Ev and Urs, did you guys find this, too, or are we just directionally challenged?)

Anyways, off to do laundry, ironing and some lesson planning!

victories all around!

In the battle of Katrina v. The World, it would appear that Katrina is winning.

Woooo! Today, my after-school kids conversation class was amazing! These kids, who are all different levels (and all different grades) REFUSED to speak in English, the first few weeks of the class. I dreaded Tuesdays and Thursdays because of this class. But I have somehow happened upon a method of tricking them into actually speaking English, and speaking TO EACH OTHER. Not just their friends, but to everyone! We played two card-based games today, both from www.mes-english.com (big town and yes/no) and they were both smashing successes. I'm actually planning to use big town a couple more times, building upon the basic game that we played today- and perhaps I'll even get the kids into designing their own card-based game. It's so great to be excited by my classes like this!

The language is getting so much easier, too. Things are just starting to click. Words that I've heard only a couple of times are starting to seep into my vocabulary. It's a great, great thing. I'm still not able to eavesdrop on conversations, but sometimes now, when people speak Korean to me, I can kind of, a little bit, understand the general idea of what they're saying. It's a big thing - it's frustrating to live in isolation sometimes, and I don't want to be one of those expats who comes abroad and hangs out with only expats. Especially when Koreans are (all) so so nice and friendly.

It was explained to me on Saturday night (by some Koreans that we met at the WA Bar, but that's another story) that the underpinnings of Korean society are the seven themes of Confucian thought. (as a sidenote, there is a Confucian school in Gimhae, which is labelled on the map as the "confusion" school. ha ha ha!) Anyways. I've been doing some research on this, it really does help to figure out how people (and the language) work. I'll write more about the concepts once I've got a greater understanding.

Will post more (with photos) soon - tomorrow we're going to Ulsan Park, but I'm going with the Grade 2's (who I don't teach) so I'm not going to know too many of the kids very well...

a quickie... or not...

They've told us that there are four stages of cultural adjustment when you're living in a foreign country. The first stage is the "honeymoon" stage. Everything is new and shiny and so very interesting! The second stage is "culture shock" - when things just get frustrating, there's a feeling of isolation, homesickness and loads of stress at the little things. The third stage is "gradual adjustment, humour and perspective". That's when the molehills that you've made into mountains return to their natural molehill state. Things get easier and things start to actually make sense. You start understanding the culture. The fourth (and final) stage is "adaptation and biculturalism". It's when the foreign country becomes home. You're able to function fluently in the culture (not necessarily the language, though!).

Those of us who came over through the EPIK program (employed by the government, teaching in middle schools mostly) have started speaking in a bit of a code... "Oh, I'm in stage 2 today!" or "I'm going back and forth between stages 2 and 3 this week...". We're quite lucky that we've got a strong network of native English speakers across Korea who are experiencing the same challenges and the same issues. It really keeps things in perspective and makes it all easier.

I'm somewhere in between stages 1, 2 and 3. I haven't spent much time in stage 2, but I've definitely had my moments! The first time I went grocery shopping was wholly overwhelming. After about 20 minutes of wandering around aimlessly and confused, recognizing (really) only some junk foods (like pringles) and ramen (which I can't eat) I ended up buying an apple and leaving. Fruit is really expensive here, by the way. So much for "an apple a day"! I didn't return for 2 days, but was much better prepared for my next trip - armed with korean recipes and an ingredients list. It took forty-five minutes (most of the items weren't labelled in english, surprise!) but I got everything that I needed to prepare both "ddeok bok ee" and kimch'i fried rice. Welcome to stage 3! I can now navigate the grocery store without fear and (for the most part) understanding what I'm seeing, what it's used for, and what I need or don't need to buy for different dishes. My first cooking experience:

I've been really lucky, too, though. My co-teacher (the teacher who is assigned to assist me with getting set up here in Korea) has been an absolute angel, helping me with all the major stuff (like bank accounts, alien card, cell phone, etc.) I also met two native English teachers here in my little Hogye-dong, within my first week or two of being here. (I have friends - wooo-hooo!). One of them is as new to this whole "Korea" thing as I am - the other one is new to Ulsan but has been teaching in Korea for 6 years or so. The first week or two he was like a cultural reference dictionary for me... still is! It helps A LOT to understand why things are the way they are. (if there is even a reason!) Context is everything.

Learning the language though, I think that's going to be the key to this whole thing. There are people who have lived here for 5 or 10 years that cannot string together more than a rudementary sentence in Korean. It's possible. I can understand how. Learn enough to get what you need done, done. I hold no illusions of any degree of fluency, but i am hoping at the end of this year I will be able to have a simple conversation. It can be wholly overwhelming to sit in the middle of a conversation and have no idea what's being discussed. The teacher who's desk is beside mine, the two of us are "teaching" each other. It's fantastic, instead of giving up if we can't explain ourselves, we (both) use the naver.co.kr dictionary or babelfish or both and find ways to actually talk about _things_. It's not at all fair to expect everyone to speak in English to me all the time. The other day, I was knitting a sock at school (yes, Urs, YOUR sock!!) and teachers kept coming up to me, asking what I was making... yangmal! Sock. Just popped out of my mouth. It really is about the small victories.

One more thing. The foreigners' bars. There's one here, Benchwarmers, that is really fun. But when Liz and I went a couple of weeks ago, it was so weird. We walked in, grabbed a table and a couple of beers. The Tragically Hip was on the stereo, all conversation was in English, the bartender was from Cape Breton. It felt like Canada (but with lousy beer). Nothing - absolutely nothing - would indicate that we were in Korea. So strange. I hesitate to go too often. I actually prefer Korean haunts. Being the only westerner(s), not a big deal. I'd rather remember that I'm here in Korea, yell out "yogi-yo" if I want service, smile, bow, and use my Korean.
(Below: a shot of Liz eating REAL nachos at OBriens - an expat pub in Busan - see the Canadian flag in the background?)

As I write this, I'm debating whether to go downtown tonight ('bout 20 mins by bus), meet up with a whole group of westerners who I don't know very well (or at all) to do the "foreigners' bar" thing, or whether to stay here in Hogye-dong and chill at the local haunt. I think though, after reading what I've written, it's pretty clear that I'd rather "yogi-yo" than have western-style table service.

a short summary of the last 6 weeks (part 1)

Please have patience with me. I have never blogged before. I am, however, notorious for incredibly long-and-babbling phone messages, emails, msn messages, text messages, etc. And record-setting run-on sentences. SO if you are expecting brevity when reading my posts, please, I encourage (nay, strongly advise) you to turn back now. I will not be offended! But you will miss all the pretty photos!

Like this one:

This is called "bob" 밥 (more accurately pronounced as "bab" or "bap") the korean word for "rice". Because yes, it is a hamburger. But instead of a sesame seed bun, or whatever north american nutters put their hamburgers on, this burger is sandwiched in between 2 thingys of sticky rice. It's the new thing at Lotteria (the korean/japanese version of mcdonald's) and it pretty much tastes how it looks, maybe a little bit better. Great food for traveling (?) but I prefer kimbap any day... (the korean version of a california roll). And kimbap is only 1,000 won for a roll - that's about the equivilant of $1.00. Woooo!

Continuting on the subject of food - I've had the pleasure of trying many many different foods, and some foods that are the same, but just more fun here. For example:

Now, yes, that's shrimp. They don't peel it here, and koreans are totally able to peel them gracefully, with dignity, and using chopsticks (or in their mouths). Me, I prefer to play with my shrimp... I mean, it still has its eyes on it... so it can talk to you!! And you can make it talk to your dinner companions, funny voices!

This particular meal was at a korean raw fish restaurant. I got to play with LOTS of my food at this dinner, and some of it played back with me. Check out the following footage:



Um, in explaination, yes, I ate that and it was quite good. As you can tell, it was also quite fresh. The following footage shows exactly how I managed to "chase" the octopus. Also, when eating this you need to chew very very well, because it DOES suction to your mouth (which tickles) and you can cholk if it suctions to your throat on the way down.




That's Tom in the video, he's another cannuck who lives here in Hogye-dong (a neighbourhood in Ulsan).

Right. So since arriving in lovely Ulsan, I've been getting up at 6:45 or 7:00am every morning. I've been leaving for work at 7:50am, and arriving, bright and ready to go, at 8:10am. I swear, I'm not some Katrina-like clone, it's really me. I'm teaching in Cheonguk Middle School, in Northern Ulsan. My classes are all Grade 1 (which is Grade 7 in the Canadian school system) and they are one-part adorable and one-part teenager. There are approximately 40-45 kids per class. (aaaarrrrggghhh!) They are fascinated by my piercing(s) and will literally walk up to me (or say to me in class) "Teacher! Piercing!". How they know the word "piercing" is beyond me, but then again, I've learned that the correct response in Korean, to answer all of their questions about it is: "anapayo". That means "didn't hurt". Or "not sick".

On to the subject of Korean phrases I have mastered. Basic greetings (anyonghasseyo, etc.), thank you (kamsahamnida), I'm sorry (myanhamnida), A pint please (seng mek-ju chuseyo), two pints please (seng mek-ju du-gey chuseyo), and how much is that (oemayayyo). I am trying to learn, but it feels a bit like I'm learning in isolation, believe it or not, because my korean is not good enough to actually (really) make a sentence, just to parrot phrases. I probably have about 100 words in my vocab?

Ulsan has "12 scenic sights" that they advertise in all of their tourism literature. I am aiming this year to see all 12 - that's one per month. So far, I've only seen the "jeonju coast - black pebble beach", on the coast of the east sea. It's lovely, but hardly something to write home about. (well, I guess it was something to write home about because it did get a mention here!) I'm a bit concerned that they call it a "black pebble beach" too, because the pebbles were not black. There were some black pebbles, granted, but more grey ones than black. It was a lovely afternoon though, my co-teacher and I just sat on the rocks, looking out to sea and talking about all sorts of things. I have no photos, so I will have to revisit it... perhaps in the winter... beaches are always so dramatic in the wintertime!

Since landing in Ulsan, I've gone up to Busan (the next city over, which is about the same size as Toronto) 3 or so times. Busan is a beautiful city... these shots are both at Haeundae beach (different days - the first one is actually taken on the beach, and the second is of Liz and Ryan, who we randomly met in the subway in Busan - he wasn't up to anything that afternoon so we invited him along with us.

Anyways, Liz and Ryan and I hiked all along the trails by Haeundae. You can see the little mountains in the background of the first picture, that's where we were hiking. Haeundae is apparently the longest beach in the country, and in the summertime it fills up with sunbathers and swimmers practically stacked on top of each other. My photos don't show it, but we really are still in the heart of the city at this point. We were able to take the subway here. Also, Haeundae is where Liz and I are going to swim with sharks, sometime in the new year. Seriously. At the aquarium.

But I think my favourite spot so far in Busan is Gwangalli beach, which we discovered at dusk. Twas a wonderful evening, just discovering things and enjoying the vibe. We set off firecrackers on the beach, ate silkworm larvae that we bought from a food cart (see photo below), drank soju and Chris shook hands with an octopus (a live one!).
We spent the night in a jinjeban (?) - a korean sauna - on the beach. It's the strangest thing. for 7,000 won ($7) you get a locker, two towels and an outfit that looks like a gym uniform. Had we not been tipsy, and had it not been 4:30 am when we checked in, I would have had the presence of mind to take photos of Angela and I, we looked like we were in high school phys. ed class, with our matching teeshirts and shorts! So there's a girls floor, and a boys floor, and a floor in between, where people go to sleep or nap. The girls floor and boys floor are essentially public baths... everyone's walking around in various states of undress (or completely nude) and hopping in and out of showers, saunas and swimming pools. The co-ed napping floor was the strangest thing I've seen in a while... imagine walking into a room at 5am, and seeing more than 100 koreans wearing the same clothes (boys had blue accents on their gym uniforms, girls had pink), all sleeping whereever they were able to pull up a patch of floor, covered in identical blankets. I was waiting for someone to bring out the koolaid or something.

Gwangalli beach also had live fish markets that were several stories high:




The video doesn't really do the "discount fish market" (as the name translated) justice... the idea is that you select your dinner from the live fish vendors, they skin it for you (and do a bit of prep, but not much), and you take your fish upstairs to eat. I love raw fish and I'm quite looking forward to trying this out, but some of those fish were a bit peculiar-looking...

The same weekend that we discovered Gwangalli beach, we also checked out the Busan Biennale, at the Museum of Modern Art. There were some quite interesting and quite political pieces. Here's a shot of Angela enjoying the art with her eyes closed.

Enough on Busan though. It's a fantastic city, and it happens to be right in between where Liz, Angela and I are all living, so we do go often and you'll certainly be hearing more about it!

Next time I write, I'll talk more about Hogye-dong, Ulsan and the nukes. Seriously though, there's about 4 or 5 posts on Liz's blog that talk about what I was up to all last week - so visit, she's much less babblier than I am, and takes terrific photographs! www.documentarist.blogspot.com

... cell phone, blog, what next?

ok, people, I now own a cell phone which I LOVE. I have just started a blog. I msn people all the time. I have come to Korea and apparently am a shell of my former modern-technological-communications-hating self. I daresay I am no longer a luddite. That's right, you wouldn't even recognize me - but it sure is easy to track me down and find out where I'm at/what I'm doing! (here's a photo of me at Busan Tower - after 3 weeks of cell phone use - do you recognize me?)



anyhow. Will soon be uploading three short films and writing more about some of the nuttier things that have happened here in Korea... (you no longer have to check Liz's blog for random photos that may or may not involve me! woooo! but still check out Liz's blog, eh!)