Taiwan

Saturday, Jan 30
I went out with a friend late Friday p.m. downtown. We went to Dunkin Doughnuts to chat a while then watched a movie. Sarah Jessica Parker took a swipe at Sarah Palin and the couples confession of their “mistake” of sleeping around turned me off. Other than that, it was a good movie and good company. My friend drove me to the bus station. I took the 2 a.m. bus to Incheon and arrived about 5:30 a.m. for my 9 a.m. flight. Upon arriving at Taipei, I took the bus to the city and sat behind two talkative people, quite annoying if you ask me. I went to the tourist information center and asked where were certain sites and information on train tickets. I went straight to the National Palace Museum. On the bus to there, I met people from the UK who were working in Hong Kong. This museum is famous because it has a lot of artifacts from China. There were many tour groups from the mainland (China) and other westerners. It mainly had pottery, carvings, and things from everyday life. Next, I went to Shinil night market. This market is famous so I though I’d check it out. There was a Christian band playing on the stage. There were stands that would juice up any fruit or vegetable, so I chose star fruit, which was quite tasty. I ate a small bowl of rice and chicken I think. It was getting late afternoonish so I went to Taipei 101 (tallest building in the world or used to be). It was a bit cloudy so a little hard to see. I took a taxi to my hostel. My driver was watching Taiwan's version of American Idol on the tv. He let me out at the MRT station close to the hostel, but he didn’t tell me where it was. I had to ask several people before finding it.

Sunday, Jan 31
I got up early and went to Chiang Kia Shek Memorial. My hostel MRT goes directly there, which is much easier than taking a bus. There were several elegantly designed buildings. There was a courtyard which was surrounded by the buildings. I went in one with many steps and displayed a statue of Shek. Upstairs was pictures and other memorabilia. In the MRT underground I met a group of students who wanted to show me a magic card trick. The student said she wanted to find someone who is handsome and is over 150 cm (I am 180 cm). She wanted me to sign my name, so I wrote it in Korean. They couldn't’t believe I could write in Korean.

Monday, Feb 1
I took the slow train to Hualian early Monday. I met a guy from Austria at the tourist information center at the train station. It turns out he is studying in Hong Kong. He kept saying that Taroko Gorge reminded him of the mountains at his home, ie the Alps. The first city bus to the gorge wouldn’t leave for another two hours or so, so we decided to take a taxi. The taxi driver stopped at every site for a few minutes. We took pictures and took in the scenery. Some of the gorge pathway was closed because of rocks falling. Everyone had to wear a hard hat before entering. I heard someone was killed when a rock fell on their head a day earlier, they were not wearing a hard hat. Although, I don’t know how much a hat would’ve helped, probably just extended their life another few seconds. After a day at the gorge, Erwin and I took a bus into town to the night market. The girl at the tourist booth said they’re having a really big market for 15 days leading up to Lunar New Year. The market was set up like a fair with tents lined up. There were vendors selling food and trinkets and there was a big stage across the way too. When I was in Kaoisuing, we watched a singing competition from Hualian on that stage I believe. I bought a couple of trinkets that the Aborigines made. We came up to a stand selling hot dogs (corn dogs to us). Erwin bought one and I asked what the brown liquid in the water bottles was. That’s when a 20 year old girl came up and started talking to us. She lived in Singapore for 6 years. She knows English decently enough. It turns out it was black tea, sweat at that. Can you believe it? I got a cup, I should’ve bought a liter but didn’t have a way to carry it. Erwin, from Austria had to get back to the train station to get back to the airport later. We tried to get on the bus at the market, but he didn’t want to take us. We finally convinced the second driver to give us a ride back to the bus station. From the station, we took a taxi to the train station. My train didn’t leave until 9 p.m. so I got a snack from 7-11 and sat a spell. I took a train to Taitung in order to go to Green Island the next day. My train arrived about 12:30 a.m. and then I took a taxi to a motel. For some reason some people don’t want to try to communicate before they call the English help phone number. I go to this motel late at night and the lady is asking me stuff. I just want a room, there is no conversation required. I give you money, you give me the key. But, she called the English help line, the guy was helpful. I told him I wanted a wake up call the next morning and could she call a taxi for me. I went upstairs, but the lights weren’t working. I went back downstairs to try to express “no lights” and point at the light in the ceiling. She got the picture and flipped the switch.

Tuesday, Feb 2
Early the next morning the phone rang, but no one said anything. I figured it was the clerk calling to wake me up. I went downstairs and the taxi driver was waiting for me. He drove me to the ferry port of Taitung. From here I would take a ferry to Green Island. It turns out that the taxi driver w From here I would take a ferry to Green Island. It turns out that the taxi driver was related to or friends with a lady who ran a little restaurant there. She is from Singapore and has been in Taiwan for 6 years now. She negotiated for me in buying a ferry ticket and booked a hotel room for the night. There were many boats that have seen their fair share of fishing duty. Most of them small either blue or red colors on them. I met a family knew some English and translated for me from time to time. I got on board the ferry and climbed to the top deck. I have been on ferries before, albeit much bigger than this one. This one was rather small, hence the ever present barf bag. We had our share of ‘turbulence’ but nothing too major like on the ferry I took to the Hebrides in Scotland. The ride was only about an hour or so. A guy from the hotel met us at the ferry terminal. He drove us to the hotel in a golf cart. This guy knew some English, but not a whole lot. I wanted to rent a scooter, but after trying it out, decided against it because I couldn’t balance it. I opted for a golf cart. It cost 300 New Taiwan Dollars, not a bad deal for two days. I took a load off in the room then started driving around the island. I stopped and took some pictures. There was a lot of volcanic rocks strewn about on the coast. I saw some fisherman on the rocks, no doubt hunting clams or other animals that liked to cling to something. I also bought a ticket to the hot springs. This is famous because there is only about three in the world. There is one on the beach and one in a shelter up the beach a ways. I drove by the infamous Green Island prison. This is where Taiwan’s political prisoners were sent back in the day. Now, it is a memorial and museum to those people. I stopped at the Family Mart and got some lunch and then I headed over to the hot springs. I went to the one in the shelter because I didn’t have any sandals and also a kid told me it was dirty. Her mother corrected her by saying it had seaweed in it. It was 26 C and rising. It was relaxing. I drove back and drove through the main drag in town. I spotted a street vendor that caught my attention so I pulled over. I picked up fried chicken and fish, it was fresh and quite tasty. I went back to the hotel lobby and ate there. The lobby had wi-fi, so I perused the net. I asked the guy from the hotel if I can use the phone to call my friend in Taiwan. He dialed the number and I talked to Julie for a bit. The next morning I knocked around and noticed a new shipment of people from the ferry just arrived. I saw these two people who were hobo-ing it. This guy had dreadlocks, and he was white. I passed by them and asked if wanted a lift. It turns out they are from Australia and on a month long backpacking trip through southeast Asia before he starts work in Canada. I drove them around the island and had lunch. He said he would like to travel around the U.S. and see bands play and go to the ‘burning man’ thing somewhere in the south west. This has to do with spirtualism, new age stuff. The boat ride back was uneventful. The family I met earlier gave me a lift to the train station. It turns out that they live in Kyoushung, where I’m heading in a few days. They said maybe they’ll see me there. I got a ticket to a city and then I have to take a bus down to Kenting. Kenting is a popular beach, but trains don’t go there. It’s always interesting playing charades with people. It’s much easier in Korea, maybe because the hand gestures aren’t the same in Taiwan. Before I got on the train I met two university students who help me with directions. They gave me their digits so they said they will show me around their city, Donggang. One girl is in the Air Force university majoring in airplane maintainence. When I arrived in the city I asked where the bus stations was, and the guy pointed past the 7-11. There was so many 7-11s, especially in Taipei. There was one on every corner, it was just insane. And contrary to Korea, they do have slushes. I asked some kids which bus I should take, so they motioned I should get on with them. I wasn’t sure how long the bus ride would take so I asked the driver a few times where I should get off. After an hour or so, he said ‘hello.’ That was my cue. The street was bustling with street vendors and young people walking about the street. I found this hostel in the travel book, a catholic hostel at that. In the rooms there was a crucifix over the bed, kind of creepy. This was the nicest hostel I have stayed at. It looked like a hotel, but no towels. It was a good thing I brought my super absorbent towel. I got it at a outdoor store in Daegu before leaving. There was every conceivable food and trinket shop lining the main drag. I thought it was interesting that KFC had several magazines for your reading pleasure. I decided to get a neck/shoulder massage. This guy put some cream on my neck and began to really work it in. It was painful at times.

Wednesday, Feb 3
I set out to go to the aquarium. I got on the bus and headed out that way. The place was just ok, nothing special. I just beat the hordes of tour groups from the mainland. I forgot to mention that Julie said to be sure that you have fresh fruit juice. There are many stands that juice it. I had strawberry juice several times. It was amazing during the day the street was deserted. I walked down to the beach and took some photos and saw a ubiquitious 7-11. I headed over and got a tv dinner Taiwan style. The great thing about getting it at a convenience store is they heat it up for you. I never would’ve thought of going to a ‘gas station’ for lunch, but it’s quite easy and convenient. I asked the lady at the hostel if there was a washing machine. She led me to a sink in the courtyard and showed me how to rub the clothes together. That wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. But, I was out of clean clothes so I had to do it. Then she showed me the ‘drying machine’ which was basically a spinner. It had no heat, it just spun around.

Friday, Feb 5

I took a bus f rom Kenting to Donggang (1 ½ hours) to meet Dora. I got there early so I tried to find an ATM. I went in this one building, but it looked like they were trading stoks. Dora rode up on a scooter wite her mom and her friend arrived in a few. Then, we went to find a bank. The American card worked but not Korean one. 7-11 doesn’t take Korean ones. The 2 girls led me through the market and we ate. We had fish soup with sliced pork and rice cake, surprisingly good but I couldn’t finish it. This place had 2 parots chained up by the ankle and a budha shrine. Dora and I got on bus where we met a Chinese woman who just got back from L.A. She lived in the US for 30 years and she had an opinion on US politics and war. It’s easy to have opinions when you don’t live there. So, she translated for me to Dora. Dora is in an Air Force University and majoring in airplane maintenance. We met Tracy (from Taitung) and another girl at Kyuoushung bus station. We took the bus close to the harbor. I tried ‘buba’ tea, not bubble. We got on the boat for $15 for a short boat ride. There was random vendors along the coast. We stopped in a handicraft store and they bought me stuff. We went in the tourist building to ask about a hostel I saw in the travel book. We went to a big market. It was really crowded with people and vendors. The girls said this restaurant there is famous for its dish ‘bo pi.’ It had chicken/steak with noodles, fried egg and corn soup. It was excellent and cheap, only $100. So 100NT = $30USD, not bad eh. Dora saw her friend there, turns out this guy runs marathons. He offered to give me a ride to the hostel. Taiwanese are the most helpful people of anay country I’ve been to.

Saturday, Feb 6
A French guy came in the room really late and was still asleep when I left this a.m. 7:30 or so. I tok the MRT to K main station and ate a sesame seed flaky sandwich (KFC) and looked at a tourist map. I decided to check out the basilica and fish statue. I was disappointed in the basilica, not much to look at. I walked down the river front. The city had decorations for Chinese New Years out. I cam upon a big area with tables and chairs, even better there was wi-fi. I stayed there an hour or more. It was quiet until Chinese tourists descended, but they left soon there after. It was getting towards 2 p.m. and I haven’t eaten lunch yet, so I took the MRT to the shopping district. I went in a department store and took the escalator up all 15 floors. The first 7 were women and they had Korean food for sale on the top floor. The girl didn’t know any Korean, but they dressed up in traditional Korean dresses. The food court was B2 and I had ravioli and omelette, strange combination I know. It had fries too and corn soup, always good.

Sunday, Feb 7
I stayed at a hostel in K. The neighborhood all looks the same. I got up and watched the first half of the super bowl, then rode with Melissa (hostel manager) and her parents to their church. We got there a few minutes early. There was a handful of foreigners there. No one even acknowledged I was there until I was ready to leave, some church this was. I went to the shopping district MRT stop and went in the department store. I kept going up the escalator and saw a door leading to a balcony of sorts. There was a good vantage poing from about 14F. Then, I came upon a huge bookstore. I started reading ‘Yes Man.” I was not even 30 pages in and I already noticed differences between the book and movie.



Monday, Feb 8
I took the high speed rail to Taipei. It was good to be back in familiar territory. I booked the same hostel as before. There is a big downtown area close by. My train came in about 12, so I went to see what was playing at the movies. I bought a ticket for ‘From Paris with Love.” It’s another shoot ‘em up movie, but at the beginning of it the guy’s partner lays into the French, ‘we saved your tails in 2 world wars and you still hate us.’ I checked into my hostel, then walked a bit downtown to find some grub. I saw a pushcart for ‘helal.’ It had meat cooking on a huge skewer. I finally found the stand awhile later. Man, was it tasty, especially with freshly squeezed strawberry juice. Back at the hostel I watched some kung fu movies with 2 fellow Americans. One as it turns out is from Taylors. He lived in Silverleaf, Riverside and USC. It was all good until our conversation broached politics. Apparently he is a liberal and can’t see why people don’t like Obama and his politics. He hates Sarah Palin and the only reason he gave is “she is conservative and christian.” And to top it off both guys say that Keith Oberman is logical and unbiased and Bill O’Reilly is illogical. I though it a bit humerous when we talked health car that a guy from Norway was in the room, which has universal health care. He said Norway has gone crazy with government control. May I present exhibit A of what happens when government start to take over more and more programs.

Tuesday, Feb 9
I went to McDonald’s for breakfast and ordered on 1F. They make it on 2F and send it down the choot. I went to the MRT station to get directions. I wanted to go to ‘Bongos’ that I saw in Lonely Planet. The directions were not good to say the least. Finally a civilian walked with me to the place for about 20 minutes. We turned here and there, it was definitely not straight as I was told. I read this place sells used sci-fi books as well. I ordered chicken quesodillas with peach ice tea. They put the salsa and sour cream in the same little ramican. It turns out the owner is Canadian. He had a whole lot of books. I got 2, one by heilein “Glory Road” and another random sci-fi book. As I I walked out Taipei tech university was across the street. I decided to walk a bit and find a place to sit and read. I saw tennis courts ahead and plopped down. Those guys had horrible form. I cam back to the hostel then went to the infamous snake alley. I was disappointed from all the stories I heard about it. There were snakes but in cages. No snake handling or offering tourists snake blood to drink. I cam back downtown and to the subway. I met an Australian couple from Brisbane at the subway sandwich shop that is. They were on a cruise from Malaysia.

January and beyond

I have been teaching an intensive winter session at school. I had reading/writing. I assigned them journals everyday. So, the first part of class I checked their writing and corrected it. I always find it difficult to explain why you use one word instead of another. For example, when to use ‘while’ and ‘during.’ Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t remember learning grammar rules, I can tell you which is correct but maybe just by practice. My students know the name of parts of speech and some grammar rules, more than what I learned in school. I diagrammed sentences in just one class, 8th grade in Mrs. Dowling’s class. I bring in articles from Wikipedia and ask the students question about it. I have gotten some random topics, like parachuting, backpacking, hurling, texting, and others. I have one talkative class and one super quiet. Some of the students told me about games they played in high school. It’s a good idea to ask them, because my idea of a fun game doesn’t always turn out that way. Students here are not very creative. I found that out when I played mad libs. That is where I write a sentence and leave blanks for noun, adjective, verb and see what funny sentence you get. Yesterday my coworker and I combined classes and played “mafia.” It’s funny, I really didn’t like that game growing up, but now I found out that students are familiar with it so I play it. Oh well, things come in cycles I guess. I have a vacation in February before starting spring semester. It seems all of the teachers are going somewhere, either back home or vacation, although one is just staying here. I don’t try to figure people out, you mean you don’t want to see your family, I’m thinking. I’m going to Taiwan for almost two weeks, then I’m going to Jeju Island to help with my church “winter camp.” It’s like VBS, but in Jeju. The children’s pastor asked me to help out, they are paying for me. I am looking forward to it, although I will have to teach 10 year old kids lessons. Oh well sacrifices are a part of life. I started to take Korean class again at church. I last took class in September perhaps. I’ve learned a lot since then, but not necessarily book material though.

Gyeongju

Wednesday last week I went with a Korean friend from church, her boyfriend, and her friend. We met at the bus terminal in the morning. The bus only cost 3,900W, so it is really cheap. The bus up there was roomy and comfortably unlike the one returning to Daegu. The bus took an hour to get there. I chatted with a Korean who teaches at an elementary school. Her English is pretty good, for the most part. I was asked the usual questions: where are you from, how old are you, and why did you come to Korea? It was rather cold this day, no doubt minus Celsius. Once we arrived at the bus terminal, we walked over to the tourist information booth. We picked up some city maps and got directions for the various temples and the like. We took the bus to Bulguksa temple. We had to pay to get in. There were several Buddhist images in the temples with “no camera” signs at the entrance. Behind one of the temples, people stacked rocks on top of each other. Supposedly it brings good luck or grants a wish. But, what happens if the stack of rocks fall over? Does it bring you bad luck? Also, people stuck coins in the bark of a tree nearby with the same theory in mind. There were coins from different countries, such as Korea, China, and Thailand. Next we went to Seok guram grotto. We had to pay again to enter. There were brightly colored balloon looking things hanging at the edge of the cliff. They also had them inside the temple. My friend said you buy one and your offering goes to Buddha.

Saturday walk about

Last Weekend I decided to explore around Camp Walker and Camp Henry. These are two U.S. Army bases in Daegu. Henry is further out, but within walking distance. It took me probably 30 minutes to walk. I got off at the subway close to Camp Walker, then turned right and kept walking and following the signs to Camp Henry. I had only been there once before, and that was in a taxi. I was following the road signs along and finally did see Camp Henry. I was looking for any western stores or restaurants but to no avail. I saw a sign for a temple about 50 meters. I walked down and there was a tour group at the temple. I took some pictures. I thought ahead this time and brought a granola bar and bottle of water. I turned back and decided to follow the wall of Camp Henry and hoped it would take me back to Camp Walker, I was way off course. I walked through a market of sorts. Hajumas were selling produce on the sidewalk and there were more stores behind selling everything from winter coats to trinkets. I finally came upon a flea market. There were tents set up selling clothes, coats, shoes, mostly for women of course. I walked the length of it and window shopped as it were. I noticed two Korean girls were selling hot dogs, but these were not big sellers. I decided to try some Korean food. This food was dough that was soaked or cooked in fish juice and skewered. There were three of them, and I managed to eat one and half. As I was eating the “Community Chief” introduced himself. He asked me how the food was. He spoke in English, which is surprising. But, even more aggravating I think is that I said hello in Korean and he spoke in English.

Daejeon and Seoul weekend

Daejeon and Seoul weekend
Saturday morning I took the KTX up to Daejeon to meet up with some friends before heading to Seoul to see “Nanta.” I arrived in Daejeon a little early, so I decided to walk about downtown. It was really cold and windy, which made it even worse. I was surprised to see I still about 7,000W left on my Daejeon bus card. I always find it interesting that no one ever gives me a flier, only Koreans. In busy areas of town, people stand in the street or sidewalk and hand out advertisements for restaurants or what not. I rarely get one. I can’t read it because it’s in Korean. I had lunch at New York Hot Dog and Coffee. Unusual name I know, but the dog was tasty. I wanted to stay inside and out of the weather, so I went in a coffee shop. I had a large blueberry smoothie. That is the first for me. I’ve had peach and mango, but never blueberry. It was strong and pungent. I used the Internet as they had wi-fi. So I used my ipod touch to check some stuff. I saw some foreigners in there, I suppose they congregate in those types of places.

I decided to head back to the train station. I was on time, but the other folks I was to meet came just minutes before the train left. Kristine came straight from work. While I was waiting at the track, two foreigners came up to me and asked me “you’re a teacher right?” How’d you guess? One girl asked me if there is good shopping near the bases in Daegu. Shopping, um not that I know of. Apparently she did not want to hear this. Shortly, the entourage arrived and we boarded the train. We had “family seating,” which means two seats face two seats with a fold up table in the middle. It is cheaper but you have to buy ahead of time as they fill fast. Kristine, Donald, and Kimmie had some food from Lotteria. I started reading a new book “Time For the Stars.” It is interesting, it features telepathic twins. It kind of reminds of Star Trek with Counselor Troy. We read and shuffled cards just pass the time. I taught them to play Rummy. The train takes only an hour or so from Daejeon to Seoul. We went to the subway station and I had to add more money on my T Money card. This is the bus/subway card that Seoul uses.

First, we were going towards the hotel that the rest of the group was staying at. So, we took the subway close enough for them to take a taxi to the hotel. Gia and I were going to meet them at the theater. So, we got back on the subway and got off at the stop closest to the theater. For the next thirty minutes or so we asked several people directions and walked all around, but to no avail. Finally, we ask a policeman. Lo and behold he knew where to go. It was completely the opposite direction. We were supposed to get out at exit 6, not exit 5 which we took. I wrote down directions from exit 6. It said go straight for 50 meters and turn left at the Teenie Weenie store. We walked down this really crowded street full of street vendors and people walking about. We thought we’d get there before the other folks, but were we wrong. We met them at the door and we hurried inside to get our seats. We got there just a few minutes before it started. The show was a mix of banging sticks on the tables and juggling and a little cooking for good measure. They called me up on stage. So, I go up and they give me a bowl of soup. It was a cream corn soup. It was super creamy. They put on this little hat, like a birthday hat. After the show we met two guys at the subway station then went to eat. We had golbi at a restaurant. It was quite tasty, succulent. We had the traditional Korean side dishes with kimchi, noodles, soup, mashed potatoes, and what not.

After dinner we went for coffee at a place down the street. Coffee houses here can be three stories high. We chatted awhile enjoying being out of the cold. The rest of the people had a place to stay, either a hotel or with a friend. So, the folks were nice enough to help me look for a motel to stay at. We found a guest house in a back alley. It was really nice inside and for 40,000W it was a good deal. A guest house is a building that has several bedrooms run by someone that lives there. The lady made breakfast for us in the morning. It was a little odd in that all the people who stayed ate breakfast together around the table. We exchanged names and where we lived. We had toast. It consists of shredded cabbage, sauce, and toasted bread. It was a little too spicy for me. The lady kept saying it is tomato sauce, ketchup, but I don’t buy it. I said no it has peppers. I left the guest house after she zipped my coat all the way up. She reminded me to wash my hands because influenza is in Korea. I walked towards the subway and followed the wall map to Itaewon. We were meeting some people there for lunch Sunday. I started walking about, but it was too cold and windy. I took some pictures, but finally settled on Starbucks. I got a apple cranberry muffin and a hot chocolate. After reading a bit, I walked down the street and found some little shops that sold souvenirs. I got some postcards and other random oddities. I received a text to meet with the group at the subway in a few minutes, so I started walking that way. We went on some side streets and went in an Irish pub. I had Shepherd’s Pie which is tasty, but I don’t think mozzarella is traditional.

Family visit

Ok, my brother Lee and dad came to visit last week. It was a whirlwind trip that lasted a week. They flew in to Incheon on Sunday afternoon then took the KTX fast train down to Daegu and I met them at the train station. I had only took the bus 937 one other time to scout out the way, apparently I should’ve taken it more because I got off at the wrong stop. So, we had a good long walk through campus, but we finally came to my apartment. Lee and dad looked rather tired and worn out, and we hadn’t done anything yet. They crashed at my apartment for a few minutes until they started saying they were hungry. So, I thought we’d go to a restaurant across the street from the main gate at my university. This place has marinated pork (golbi) along with five or more little side dishes and kimchi of course. This was their first time to use metal chopsticks. Lee did ok, but dad asked for a fork. After dinner, Lee and dad were tired and wanted to crash, so they came back to my place and got their bags then checked into a motel. Monday they went to Seumon Market, which is the largest traditional market in Daegu. They spent the whole afternoon at the market, just perusing the various food stalls and linen merchants. I met up with them downtown after work. Downtown is pretty big, so we just walked about for a while. We ate supper at Gorilla Burger. This place had pictures of famous celebrities on the wall, including Mother Teresa, Bruce Lee, and Obama. Then, we went to play Billa bowl. This is a combination of pool and bowling. We came back to my apartment for a respite. Then dad and Lee wanted to sleep on my bed, all three of us. I told them I don’t think we can all fit, but dad kept insisting. But, eventually I convinced them my bed was too small and to go back to the motel. The next day Lee and dad went to Gyeongju, which is the birthplace of Korean culture and kings. I have never been to this city, but I hear Korean revere it. It has kings tombs, museums, and other exhibits of early Korean life. So, I will let dad and brother tell the goings on. They had a time getting back to Daegu and to my school as they didn’t get off at the right bus stop. So, we finally left for the train station at around 7pm to head to Busan. We took the KTX which took about 50 minutes. My co-worker gave me a tourist map of the city with a few things marked. I wanted to check out Vesta Spa, which is a junjubang. This is similar to a bath house, but you can also stay the night. So, the three of took a taxi to Vesta, but the it was dark inside, but our driver knew of another one nearby. We went inside and well we had “cultural confusion.” We were supposed to take our shoes off before proceeding, remember this for later episodes. So, the man comes down off his perch and yells at us to take our shoes off. The man takes my shoes and puts them in a little locker and Lee follows suit. Then we go up to the counter to see how much it is and all, it turns out there is one price for a bath and another to spend the night. She said they don’t have vacancies to spend the night, but then they did or something like that. It turned out there were no rooms left, which meant we would sleep on the floor. But, after we paid we all decided we were hungry and wanted to walk down to McDonald’s. So, we had to get the key back to get our shoes. The workers were a little befuddled about what we were doing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyeongju

After sliding down to McDonald’s we went back to the bath house for the night. I didn’t take pictures of it well because there was naked guys walking around. You put your bag in the locker and then go take a bath. Either you can get in one of two hot tubs or the sauna, or take a stand up shower. The soap and shampoo is provided. After we had our fill of the hot tub, we put on the ‘bed clothes’ they gave us and walked over the bridge that went over the road to the room where we sleep. There were no vacancies for rooms, but we could sleep on the floor. Dad and Lee slept on these reclining massage chairs and I had the floor. I used a few mats, so it wasn’t too bad but definitely not comfortable.

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Ok, skip to today. I had a fever and sneezing fits last weekend. It could’ve had something to do with my apartment freezing, but not to worry it is nice and toasty now. An exchange student from Oklahoma Univ. went to Home Plus and got some Campbell’s Soup Chicken Noodle and Cream of Potato. That’s the first I’ve seen of chicken noodle here. They are crazy about New England Clam Chowder and mushroom soup for some reason. I am giving writing tests in two weeks, then week after is final exams. This semester is really flying by. I have a 2 ½ week break over Christmas before starting the January semester, it’s like Maymester but in January. I went out to Papa Johns with Ben and Ava (OU). I had a coupon for buy a large and get two free salad bars. Their banana pudding is like what North Greenville used to make. Mayo does not belong with bananas. There was several noodle casseroles, tuna, and other random meat in there. We got a pitcher of Coke Zero, that stuff tastes like Diet but without the saccharine. It’s worse than Pepsi One, which according to the radio tastes like lizard spit. I got up at around 7:30 and turned on the clemson game on the radio waiting for it to start. I tried to find it online to watch, but to no avail. Although I finally found it at the end of the 1st quarter. I only had a few minutes to watch before I had to leave for Korean lessons. Thankfully, our coffee shop had wireless, well sometimes. So, I checked the score and Clemson came back and won. Rob is going home in 2 weeks for 2 months then returning to teach at a univ. in Gumi. So, we are going to eat and hangout at Outback this Saturday. Rob lives in Chilgok, it’s where I used to live. Pete, who is stationed at an Army base in Daegu, his father preached in service. He said he is the ‘ruling elder’ at his church, whatever that means. Church is having a thanksgiving lunch the Sunday before thanksgiving. I was going to lunch with Rob and we took the stairs and heard some commotion in the next room. So, I looked in and guys were playing ping pong and invited us to join. So, we played doubles for a while. That was a lot of fun, and it turned out they are there every Sunday playing. Where have I been that I’ve missed it? When I got home I had a message from an acquaintance of an acquaintance to go to a live show in Seoul on Saturday. After talking it over with some friends, I decided to go spend some time with her and go to Seoul. The show is called 'Nanta.'

http://nanta.i-pmc.co.kr/

Weekend in Daejeon

Last weekend I visited a friend, well more of an aquiantance perhaps. My mom works with her mom, so figure it out. I took the ktx train (the fast train) to Daejeon which is 50 minutes. Jennifer met me at the train station and we proceeded to get on the subway en route to meet up with a couple of her friends for supper. One friend was a Korean Canadian and the other a Chinese American, their parents are Korean and Chinese respectfuly. And come to find out neither know a great deal of their parents native language. We decided to dine at an Indian restaurant. We were still waiting on a friend who was kept after at her hagwon. So, we ordered four different types of curry, and yes dad it was very good. It wasn’t too spicy or have usual flavors, but maybe food in India is different. So, we had nan bread (Indian bread), which is like a flat bread. So, after Kristine came, we left and went on a walkabout just talking and trying to decide what else to do that night. We decided to get some ice cream at Baskin Robins, which was a nice respite.

Oh, and I’ve never seen advertising like this before, but there were flyers taped to the road everwhere. The road was covered with flyers. We went to a DVD room downtown. They had many DVD’s on shelves on the back wall. As usual we can’t make a decision, luckily we had 20 minutes to ponder. We eventually chose “Yes Man,” with Jim Carrey. I first saw this movie on the plane coming to Korea. He goes to a Korean class in the movie, so we had a good laugh from that. By this time it was after 1am, so we were looking for a motel so I could spend the night. But, the only one we found did not have any vacancies, so I slept on the couch at a friends apartment. So, the roomate came strolling in at about 8am the next morning. So, the next morning I walked about the area and met up with Jenny and Kristine to have lunch and what not. We settled on a chicken golbi place. The server handed out aprons for us to wear while eating. Maybe we look like sloppy eaters, who knew? Then we went towards downtown. Jennifer knew of a “fish doctor,” which sounded intriguing. This is basically where you take your shoes off and put them in a pool and let little fish bite the dead skin off your feet. Let me tell you, it didn’t hurt so much as it tickled.

Then we went to a not 3D but 4D motion ride, like the ones in Disney World complete with the 4D glasses. For supper we dined at an Italian restaurant and we ordered the family dish. This had a salad, pizza, and pasta, and one fountain drink. It was plenty to eat and yes we shared the Sprite, this is Korea don’t you know. But, we have to maintain separate straws for some reason. At that the girls accompanied me to the train station and I bought the ticket with about five minutes to spare before departing.