Twitter

Just so you know, always be sure to check my twitter feed on the right hand side of this page. It's updated a lot more, because I can add photos from my camera phone to it. It's much easier than adding here. So please, check back every so often, and take a look.

Coffee Time

As you can tell, I like going to cafes. The pictures below are from my new favorite cafe. I'd like to share with you a story from that cafe.

I go there one day, and there is this 40 something man in a power suit sitting at a table. He has a nice attaché case, a few pens and he appears to be working very hard on something. He's got a rather large piece of paper, about the size of a poster board, but it's just paper. I thought, maybe he's doing some design work or something.

I see that he's got three or four other papers arraigned very neatly around him, and he keeps looking at them. Blue print specs maybe?

Finally, I go up to the cafe counter and I see what he's doing.

The three or four papers are covered with zigzag scribbles, each different colors. And the huge piece of paper? It's nearly completely colored.

I ask the owner about it, her English ain't so good. She grabs her Korean to English dictionary (everyone has one on their phone). The Korean word for "crazy" and "annoyance" show.

Turns out, he comes every few days, sometimes for up to 5 hours.

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

Well i just had my birthday, and here are some photos to prove it!




This would be my very own coffee flavored cake. Which was given to me by Hyun Jin, who runs a nearby coffee shop. She said she choose that cake because I'm a "Coffee Monster."



Always the Farwell Eagle, even far from home.



Soo (my 친한 친구,feel free to use google translate if you want), lighting my candles. Each long candle is for 10 years, the shorter ones... well I turned 30 so who needs them?




And finally Hyun Jin preparing to give me my awesome gift. Not only does she run a cafe, but she's studying graduate level courses in Beauty Sciences. It's actually a very popular field of study here. And it's pretty serious.

16,000th Photo

I went for a bike ride and I took this photo. I rode outside of the strictly "urban" area, and found this little bit of rice. In the background you can see some smaller buildings, a couple churches, and those big buildings in the back are the kinds of buildings that must Koreans live in. Interestingly, this was exactly the 16,000 photo I've taken with my camera. Yay!

추석 잘 보내세요!

Wow, this might be my favorite photo of all time! So I know what you're most likely wondering, why are these kids dressed up like that? Because it's Chuseok.

Chuseok is Korean Thanksgiving. It falls on what we'd call the harvest moon. As is the case with many Korean holidays this is based on the lunar calender.

The kids are wearing hanbok. Click here if you're interested in learning more.

For most of us Native Speaking Teachers Chuseok is notable because we get a day or two off. I got Friday off, so that was cool. And it's also notable because today, the day of the harvest moon, there isn't anyone around. Korea is a busy place, but everyone has gone home to be with family. It's kind of cool, but is quite odd.


Here are some more cute photos. Enjoy!

Drunken Tiger

I may not post for a little while, I'm a bit busy at the moment. So please watch these videos of Korean Hip-Hop Superstar Drunken Tiger while you wait for new photos. It's not that I haven't taken the photos, I have. It's that I'm too darned lazy to post them. And showing Korean music clips off youtube is much easier than uploading photos.

Don't worry, both songs are in English for your enjoyment. Sorry if this isn't your style grandma.


Oh, and little story. One time, shortly after I came to Korea a new restaurant opened near my apartment building. I walked in and there wern't any photos and the menu on the wall was all in Korean so I didn't know what they had. So I did what I figured anyone would do. I'm in Korea, at a restaurant, so I ordered Kimpbap. The lady laughed at me. Turns out, it was a Chinese restaurant.

And that is the funniest story I have ever told. At least that's what a lot of Koreans tell me. Ahhhh.

Transportation

One of the really great things about Korea is the public transporation system. There is a new bus in town that takes me from my town to central Seoul, with zero stops. It is awesome. Check out the photos below. We've got cup holders, adjustable seats, and maps in English! Yay!