Monday, January 4th, 2010

A massive snow storm hits Seoul...one unseen in ~40 years. Seoulites have no idea what to do with all this snow; they respond by acting normal...driving normally...walking normally...trying to work normally. Alas, I believe the snow won.

A video on my walk to work, immediately after being told to go to work, but immediately before being told that work was cancelled. If you catch my drift, I was annoyed...:

A Buddhist Monk's Chant

It is a surprise that Buddha does not wake up.

This was on the way home from a snowboarding trip (my first time!). It was amazing.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Hey everybody,

So, it is that time of year. Time to stress out about Christmas cards and Christmas gifts. Except, imagine being half the world away from the people who are the most important to you. It kinda sucks...but, I will end the pity party here. I guess on the bright side, I had to get all my shopping and mail done really early!

I received one gift from home...from Emily Gorman, Amanda Foster, Matt Jolly, and Hannah Hergenrather(naught/y). Thank you again for the gift. My kids loved the Toy Story candy...and I love the Life Cereal. =)

I took a few videos today (Friday) of the Hedgehogs. I think they are adorable and hilarious, so I thought I would share. These are the kids/people I spend the majority of my time with here, in Korea.

First up, we have a video of Woody doing his story-telling contest speech...he wrote this story himself and was a little bit nervous in front of everyone, but he did a good job...and the story was fantastic (when he was not nervous):

Second, we have a video of Woody and Nancy going crazy and singing. This is the energy that us teachers at 2nd campus of S.E.A. have to deal with everyday...but we love it (forgive the awkward starting picture...I did not plan that):

Also, please notice how Odette is relatively unphased by everything...she just keeps coloring. She will never break a law in her life; whereas Nancy may cause some laws to be written.

Third, we have a video of the Hedgehogs just doing their thing...they love arts and crafts...and I delivered bigtime for them this week by finding a Christmas Tree craft. They loved it. Odette is a better drawer than I will ever be in my life, Woody just loves putting things together and Nancy can lose anything--any size or shape--it is like a magic trick, I swear to god:

That is all for now...happy holidays and I hope that you are happy with whatever you are doing. I am off to bed now to try and get some sleep...I hate being sick.

Alan

My (New) Apartment

So, long story short, I had to move apartments to accommodate a couple that my school hired. The couple is not getting here until later December, but once I knew I had to move...I wanted to move ASAP. Also, they told me that I had to move on my birthday. Thanks, school.

One and a half months later, I finally moved. I tried to find my own apartment, in some misguided sense of spite towards the school, but in the end, I moved to their last open apartment.

Overall, I really do like this apartment. I am spoiled with my appliances and the setup is pretty fantastic. The space is used perfectly for me, and this brings me joy like you would not believe. Check out the video below, it is long--I warn you. PLEASE PLEASE comment if you watch the video. Thanks.



Alan

Andong Folk Village and Banpo Bridge

Hey everyone,

Last week, a few co-workers and I headed towards the Banpo Bridge at night to drink some wine and watch the bridge's light and waterworks show. It was entertaining and it was good company. We have to enjoy some of the outdoors while we still can, before it gets too cold. Brrrrrrr.


This weekend, I went on a meet-up trip to a little man-made lake, a mountain with a decent hike and walk, a Korean folk village with some cool mask dances, a cave, and a place where you can choose your own meat and cook it in a restaurant above the ordering area.

The folk village was very cool. Here are two videos from the mask dance at the folk village.


A farmer is killing a cow/bull in this first video.


An Ajoma (wrong spelling) character is joined by an audience member. They dance together for a while before they try to get her off stage. It is quite hilarious.

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend. I met more nice people and I had a good time. I hope to meet-up with them again.

Adios for now.