Life Round Here

March 2, 2014 | Millennial Abroad

It has been quite some time since I have posted an update about my day-to-day life in Busan. Between trips to the Philippines and China, busy school days that require restful weekends, and blog posts concerning my Korean Bucket List, I’ve neglected talking about myself (one of my favourite pasttimes)! That said, March marks a big turning point for my year abroad in South Korea, and I figured it was time to provide some tales about “life round here”. This blog is quite simply about change, since that has been a persistent theme in every facet of my life lately, whether discussing my school, my relationships, or even the weather.

January Birthdays

Teaching
Over the last three months, there has been a lot of upheaval in my workplace as a result of a merger between my hagwon and another. The ownership and management switched hands in early December, drastically altering the private academy I started with in August. There has been a lot of change; some that I’ve welcomed and has made my life as an expat working in a foreign environment much easier; some that have been wholly unwelcome and caused quite a bit of (unnecessary) tension and stress. The highs and lows of working as a teacher in South Korea have been much more acute since the merger. The days when I’m able to maintain a bubbly countenance and a focused perspective on the reasons why I’m here (my kiddies, saving money, experiencing Korean culture) are amazing, and luckily on those select days when I’m quivering with rage through gritted teeth and clenched fists, I’m able to turn to my solid global support system in South Korea, Canada, and the Philippines.

My experiences with my hagwon are not unique – the culture of teaching for foreigners in South Korea has been rapidly changing over the past year. Schools downsizing, merging, and closing are becoming the new norm. When I compare my story to some true “hagwon horror stories”, it’s pretty clear that the old adage of “things could always be worse” rings ever true.

Sweet Nina, pre-perm

This past Friday was pretty bittersweet. An absurd number of my favourite students ran up to me in the hallway to tell me they were switching to a different academy (some literally across the street), or would be receiving private lessons in their homes, or were simply discontinuing their English language instruction altogether. A quick high five or hug later, and they were in the elevator, out of my academy and my life, likely forever. I was lucky enough to write to a quick note to a few particularly bright students in their homework books or quickly tell them at the end of class how smart and amazing they are. I’ve grown so attached to these little noodles after spending nearly every day with them over the last seven months, and even though I knew this day would come eventually, I expected it to be on my own terms, at the end of my contract. I suppose this is what it’s like to be a parent. Even though my nest is much emptier, there are still so many amazing dumplings to teach (somewhat functional) English to, and of course, gush over in future blog posts.

Friday also marked the last day for seven – count ’em, seven teachers. I’ve been fortunate enough to have taught with five of these teachers (Joanna, Jenny, Sun, Flora, and Elly) since my very first day and it’s so strange to think that I won’t have the opportunity to coo and complain about the students and classes we share together in the teacher’s room anymore.

Come Monday, there will be new books, new students, new teachers, and new rules to greet. While it has been incredibly difficult to say goodbye to so many faces that have become so familiar and comforting over these past few months, I’m excited to break away from certain aspects of teaching that have become monotonous lately and begin the second half of my year as a teacher with a renewed attitude.

Graduation photos with my noodles from Wish Class

Graduation
In line with all “changes” at my school, twenty-two of my third year kindergarten students “graduated” last week! If you didn’t know, kindergarten graduation is a HUGE deal at Korean hagwons. Basically, every private academy in South Korea is in a blind, panicked frenzy from the beginning of January until mid-February, as they work to teach their students a graduation play and/or song. The next six weeks are all about line memorization, learning to speak into a microphone, effective stage blocking, choreography, and costume selection, in preparation for performance day when the parents come to watch. The stakes are high – if performance day is not up to snuff, many parents are likely to pull their students out of the academy. There’s a lot of pressure for both the teachers and students to perform well, and in my personal opinion, perhaps a little too much pressure to put on children at such a young age.

I was responsible for the graduation performances of both Star and Happiness Class. These are my youngest students, aged 4 and 5, many of whom have only been learning English for half a year. This actually relieved some of the pressure off of me: since they are so young and low-level, it doesn’t really matter what they say or do because they’ll look absolutely precious doing it. Star Class and I practiced a shortened play adaptation of “Five Little Monkeys”, and a song titled “I Am The Music Man”, while I authored a play titled “The Desert Island” (a la my favourite television show LOST), as well as choreography to a song called “Walking Through the Jungle” for Happiness Class. I have to say: after a full six weeks of practicing each of these plays and songs, I truly never want to hear any of them again. After graduation, I still had students humming or making references to their songs and plays, prompting me to threaten removing a star off their sticker board. “Music Man, anneyo! Teacher does not like!”

Star Class angels on Seollal

On the day of graduation, the children, donned in adorable (if not slightly inappropriate) costumes that often showcased their midriffs, were graciously welcomed onstage to perform their class play, song, and dance. I served as the foreign Master of Ceremonies for our school’s graduation performance, so I got to witness every single performance. On the whole, the performances can only be described as “disastrously adorable”. There were lots of issues with sound, blocking, and remembering lines, but at the end of the day, the majority of these children were born the year I was a university freshman – NOT THAT LONG AGO – and still did an amazing job. All the students of Star and Happiness Class received big hugs for bravery and bags of candy for making Dylan Teacher proud.

Starting on Monday, I will only be seeing my seven year old graduates for only two periods a day in the afternoon, as opposed to the five hours I spent with them daily for over half a year. Luckily, my new March schedule has me teaching 2/3rds of these little graduates, who, I can assure you, will be experiencing a whole new level of crazy from “Jombie” (read: “Zombie”) Teacher in the afternoons.

My girls and I (featuring Bacon Boy!)

Goodbyes and Hellos
Part of making it this far into my contract also means that goodbyes are inevitable. Teaching in South Korea is a constant revolving door – people are always coming and going. This transient environment definitely puts an egg timer on becoming close with people.

After seven months together, two legs of “the tripod”, Jess and Maddie, are leaving Busan. They have come to the end of their teaching contracts and will be embarking on a new adventure, travelling across Southeast Asia, India, and South America over the next five months. These two girls have been so integral to every step of my journey – from the world’s longest Facebook thread about getting me to Busan, to giving me an insider’s perspective about life in Korea pre-departure, to serving as my tour guide upon arrival, to travelling to Bijindo and Boracay together, to spending every weekend together – we’ve done it all and we’ve done it all together. I know life will continue in Busan, but it will definitely be an adjustment without my two solid pillars of strength, stinking up my life. Jess and Maddie, I love you both! I am so excited for all of the adventures you are both going to have, and for all of the adventures the three of us are soon to have again. All my vibes to my Curly Sue and Straightened Jew. ❤

Just as I say goodbye to two lovely ladies, I say hello to another friend from Canada, Steph Pellett, who recently made the bold and brave move to move to South Korea to teach! I couldn’t be more thrilled to bring a new friend into the the crazy South Korean fold. It’s seriously perfect timing with the summer season fast approaching and I’m so excited to play tour guide to Steph, while also having a new buddy to blog and do yoga with. Godspeed, Steph!

Namaste

Miscellaneous
A quick rapidfire, bullet-point list of other updates:

– Summer is almost here. While it has been slightly rainier than I would prefer, the temperatures in Busan have been positively sweater-only appropriate. I cannot wait for my Korean co-teachers to throw me shade and mention how “brown my skin looks” after an entire weekend on the beach!

– I’ll be staying put in South Korea for the duration of my contract, travelling only to Seoul for Ultra Music Festival in June, and Jeju-do in July. Mary will be joining me on both trips, and we are so excited to pull out our face-paint for Above and Beyond at Ultra and do some cliff-diving in Jeju! I’ll only be travelling in Korea to save some money because:

– I’ve applied to school in Canada for January 2015! After two years of relative freedom and learning some valuable life lessons, it’s time to once again hit the books in a classroom setting. But, not before:

– I go to Southeast Asia for four months! My current plan is to return to the Philippines once my contract is finished in early August, spend some time with my laberboy in Boracay, see what kind of work I can find, and potentially do some travelling in Thailand and Cambodia before returning to Canada at around Christmas time.

That’s about it for life round here, y’all. Stay tuned for blog updates about my trip to Beijing, and Bucket List posts including Taejongdae Resort Park, Hurshimchung Spa, The Busan Museum or Art, and others! Namaste.

Bijindo Island

October 25, 2013 | Millennial Abroad

This is a Korean Bucket List post. Check out the rest of my list here.

Oh, look! Another blog post themed “Holy Moly, These Experiences Were Multiple Weeks Ago And Yet I’m Only Getting Around To Writing About Them Now!” Oy gevalt.

That being said, I am writing this post with such enthusiasm that I’m almost certain my Korean co-teachers are shooting me icy glares in the staff room for typing with such force. But guess how little I care? I care so little that I could be mistaken for Meryl Streep as she gave her 2012 Best Actress Oscar speech for “The Iron Lady”. We’re talking “But, whatever” levels here, people.

So, why the enthusiasm? It’s because I get to relive all of the memories of a magical, deserted island that I visited at the beginning of September called Bijindo!

This brief weekend sojourn to Bijindo transpired pretty organically: One day, in our (Matt Corby-themed) Facebook thread, Maddie and Jess suggested taking a weekend trip somewhere in Korea and subsequently posted a link to this CNN article describing a beautiful island off the southern tip of Busan “where time stops”. The descriptions and photos of Bijindo in the article made the choice to visit an easy one (i.e. ‘A powdery white strip of white sand tethers two ends of Bijindo together’ and ‘Locals call the island “Miindo”, which means “beautiful island” (no brainer)’).

Before the girls and I knew it, we were on the metro to Sasang, on the bus to Tongyeong, in a cab to the Tongyeong Ferry Terminal, and finally, on the ferry to Bijindo. The day was a little stormy and gray and I remember thinking, “well, this is just going to be an expensive way to get soaking wet.” Once we set foot onto the island, this annoyance immediately dissipated. A tall red lighthouse and a tiny village greeted us as the rain began to come down. After wandering around the first tiny village, a kind local pointed us to a paved path leading to the second inhabited village on the island. Donning the McGill poncho that I received nearly 5 years ago (almost to the day!) during frosh, the girls and I began the trek to the other side of the island.

Despite the rain, the walk was an enjoyable one. We passed several small gardens and fields with crops that smelled of black tea with butterflies flitting about with wet wings. Eventually, we entered the second village in search of a pension. One of the first buildings we came across was a beautiful villa style building called The Sea Pension. We were informed that a room was ₩120,000 (₩40,000 each between the three of us). Our modest, but homey room had a spectacular view of the mountain at the other end of the island as well as the beautiful pension courtyard below. After drying off, taking a few iPhone selfies, and settling into our digs for the next 24 hours, the pension’s innkeeper prepared a delicious BBQ meal for us in the pavilion below. [Note: There are very few places to eat on Bijindo. There are a couple of bungalows that sell beer, water, chips, ramyeon, cookies, and other rations, but I would recommend bringing enough food for the duration of your trip!] Afterwards, we equipped ourselves with our cool weather gear (the rain had finally stopped at this point) and cameras and ventured off into the great unknown.

Wandering around the village was a peculiar experience – there was literally one road in the entire village; dozens of abandoned, peeling, and decrepit bungalows; former public buildings with large gates barricaded not with deadbolts but by large boulders tied with a rope; and a giant trash heap housing a family of puppies, henceforth known as the “Trash Puppy Family”.

After exploring the village and watching some of the locals performing their daily fishing and farming duties, we headed toward the beach to watch and photograph the sunset. A spectacular moment where I believe we all felt as though we could get used to the island life.

In the evening, the girls and I made ramyeon, watched some Korean game shows, had some heart-to-hearts, and then called it an early night in anticipation of the sunrise the next morning.

4:30AM rolled around too early and perhaps if we had any Internet service on the island, we would have known that the sun didn’t actually rise until closer to 6AM… but up we rose like zombies to descend the hill into the village. We explored a few of the docks and patiently waited for the sun to rise, as a half dozen ajummas and ajusshis walked by to get an early start on their trawlers. Just as exhaustion began to set in, Mr. Golden Sun began to peak out from behind the numerous rolling mountains. Rather than do an injustice to how magical this moment was, I will simply let the photos below speak for themselves.

After a 3 hour nap, the girls and I rose yet again to get in a quick hike up the towering mountain laid out before us. More tea and vegetables fields greeted us as we began the winding ascent, more colourful butterflies, and craggy rocks, and general island majesty. We even came across some (creepy) grave sites and a beautiful temple tucked away off the beaten trail. Since checkout was just before noon, we were without enough time to make it to the peak but found time to bathe our salty bodies in the crystal clear water.

Quick showers, last minute packing, and a heartfelt thank you to the staff at The Sea Pension and we set off yet again to the first village of Bijindo. While we waited for our ferry to arrive, the girls and I reflected on our pasts and futures in Montreal and Toronto, and I was suddenly very happy to have grown so close with both Jess and Maddie in such a short amount of time. So often we never really appreciate the circumstances in which we become to kindred to others. Jess and Maddie: I am so fortunate to have your friendships on this crazy Korean roller coaster ride. Love you both, my prettiest pussies!

One small heart attack later (we thought we had missed our ferry) the three of us sat at the stern of the vessel and watched the island become smaller and smaller. As a kind Korean man snapped a photo of us on my disposable, I couldn’t help but realize that this photo will likely be hanging up in my room in Toronto next year, then in a photo album in my first house, and eventually will become a faded and distant memory of that first weekend in September when I was freshly 23 living abroad in Asia. “One day that will be bittersweet,” I thought, “but not today.”

Travel Information:

Take Line 2 (green line) to Sasang (stop 227). Exit the metro and enter the Sasang bus terminal (Sasang Station). Buses usually leave from Sasang to Tongyeong every 10-20 minutes, take less than 2 hours to Tongyeong, and cost approximately ₩20,000 for a round trip. Take a 10 minute cab ride through Tongyeong to the Ferry Terminal. Ferries to Bijindo leave from the Tongyeong Ferry Terminal three times a day at 7 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2:10 p.m. It’s a good idea to bring your passport number as they request it for the ferry ride. Round trip tickets cost approximately ₩15,000 ($13.50) and take about 50 minutes.

Special Edition Taylor Swift “Red Lighthouse”

A view from the top

Just three monkeys, derpin’ about

The Sea Pension

~Live, Love, Laugh~

Won’t you come on out to play?

Namaste

On our hiking grind

Bye, bye, beautiful Bijindo

Trash Puppy Family needs Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Just a millennial abroad

Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun?

The setting sun over Bijindo

The Weeknd(s)

October 24, 2013 | Millennial Abroad

Guys, I have been having a time in South Korea.

I mean, I work hard during the week to shape the next generation of Korean minds, it only seems fair that I should play hard in the playground that is Busan, right?

And what a playground it is! If you suck at geography, Busan is located at the southernmost tip of the Korean peninsula and is the second largest city in South Korea with a population of about 3.6 million in the metropolitan city proper. The city is all beaches and mountains and Starbucks and gimbap shops on every corner and general delight.

But in actual reality: HOW HAVE I POSSIBLY BEEN HERE FOR ALMOST 3 MONTHS / 87 DAYS? It’s so absurd to think about.

Anyway. I had originally planned this blog post to be about my first two weekends in Busan and then that gradually stretched to include the first five… and now 6 weeks later this blog post is feeling a little moot BUT it’s half-written and I am not a quitter and WOW my writing has taken a dip LOOK AT THIS RUN-ON SENTENCE. Okay. Proceeding now…

Weekend 1 (August 2nd-4th)

After a week of adjusting to the minor culture shock I experienced upon arriving in South Korea (read: naively thinking that a large metropolitan would have more (proficient) English speakers than I actually encountered) and exploring Haeundae-gu, I met up with some beautiful McGill friends also teaching in Busan, Jess and Maddie. It was the most surreal experience greeting (and bear hugging!) them outside of the Gwangan metro station. Although I haven’t been nearly as culture shocked as I was in Europe three summers ago, it was definitely nice to see some familiar faces!

The girls and I headed to a cute little Korean BBQ place in Gwangan called Sorrei, and Jess was sweet enough to cut and cook our entire meal. This dinner was also supremely educational, as the girls schooled me in Korean culture. Highlights include learning to yell “yeogie” (which means “here”) at any server in your general vicinity when you need more food or water, and the girls’ mantra of “Just Get Weird in Korea” (i.e. Saying “saranghae”, which means “I love you” in Korean, to cab drivers/total strangers, smiling like escaped mental patients at small children in the streets, etc.) Accepting that I’m essentially a zoo animal for the next year in Korea has been quite liberating actually, and I’ve found that there’s nothing better than making a happy little ajumma or ajusshi beam with your silly antics in the streets or on the subway.

After my education and an extremely heavy meal at Sorrei, we proceeded to drink at the 7/11 across from the beach. This may sound bizarre, but 3 months later I still love it (despite the cold). The girls concocted a delicious jungle juice, comprised of Cass beer, various Korean brand energy drinks, and soju, a native Korean liquor similar to vodka but made from rice, wheat, or other starches. After some McGill-based gossip over two Dixie cups of jungle juice each, the girls and I headed over to the Kyungsung University (KSU) area (big foreigner hub) surprisingly tipsy. Our first stop was Eva’s Ticket, where I met new friends David and Dylan (henceforth known in this and all future blog posts as “Chocolate Milkshake” and “D-Emu”) and subsequently destroyed their undefeated regulation beer pong record with Jess. It was a momentous occasion, that I apparently celebrated by buying flaming shots for everyone in my general vicinity (I completely don’t remember this, but I did eventually pay the $60,000 (KRW) tab for it like a good boy).

After some stunning digestive pyrotechnics outside of Eva’s (I hope you all get this reference from my favourite 90s film) and A MELON POP (otherwise known as the best popsicle ever invented) we headed to dance at a club called Blue Monkey and ended the night with a shwarma reward in the heart of KSU. A successful Friday night in Busan…

… Followed by a throbbing head and severe dry-mouth Saturday afternoon. The girls, being such little smarties, took me to Spaland for some much needed rejuvenation. This being my first time in a jjimjilbong I had no idea what to expect, and was even more confused when Jess and Maddie dropped this line: “Oh, just get completely naked in the baths. Like.. you’ll look weirder if you don’t. Okay, bye! We meet you in the lobby in 45 minutes.” Following the girls’ clear instructions, I stripped down and followed the (naked, Korean) masses into the baths where I was greeted by well, nudity. Slightly jarring at first, but you sort of just slip into the baths (either sodium bicarbonate or sodium chloride) of varying temperatures and make uncomfortable eye contact. Despite the flopping genitals you’ll encounter at every corner, it’s actually supremely relaxing to melt into the baths, close your eye, and let the flowing water heal what ails you (9 times out of 10, it’s soju).

Our Spaland regimen is pretty typical these days: The girls and I part ways to do the gender segregated baths for about 45 minutes, throw on our BALLIN’ Spaland outfits and meet in the lobby, then check to see what film is playing in the cinema room, hit up the massage chairs (which are $2 for 20 minutes?!?! It’s literally robbery…), maybe grab a drink or some patbingsu (aka the BEST DESSERT EVER INVENTED containing ice shavings, sweet red beans, condensed milk, ice cream, etc, etc.), hit some of the sauna rooms, foot baths, and sometimes dinner in the restaurant. Spaland is approximately $14 CAD to enter (14,000 Korean won) and then any purchase you make with the little bracelet key they provide you is paid at the fare adjustment bureau after you leave. These days patbingsu and the massage chairs are non-negotiable, so you’re looking to spend at least $6 CAD, so $20 altogether with the entrance fee. That’s like two drinks on a Saturday night y’all and at least I’m doing my body good, right?

On the Sunday, the girls took me to Haeundae Beach for my first time, introducing me to a couple of new friends, as well as Mr. Haeundae who is somewhat of a Busan celebrity. He sports a banana hammock, is absurdly tanned, and is constantly surrounded by a swarm of ridiculously ripped Korean dudes who are more oiled up than my pores post-Spaland sauna.

The minor culture shock I had experienced only 6 days earlier had dissipated almost as quickly as it had set in after this first transitory weekend into Busan life, thankfully. To close the weekend out in ~lols~fashion, we hit TGIFridays, “just because”, with a few friends and then headed home for an early night before my first official day of school the next morning!

Weekend 2 (August 9th-11th)

After my first week as “Dylan Teacher”, I was ready for some rest, relaxation, rejuvenation, and raring fun. I met the girls before their YogaGLO at Gwangan Beach, and rented a small umbrella since Mr. Golden Sun was sizzling. This was an incredibly exciting weekend because it is when I met the lovely Miss Rose Duggan for the first time! Rose is Jess and Maddie’s friend (first, chronologically) who, at this point, was trekking across southeast Asia and decided to stop in to Busan for a quick hello. We grabbed lunch at Sharky’s on the beach and were served by the epically awkward/causally rude Aussie dude who will forever be a reminder that “just drinking water isn’t going to pay his daughter’s tuition”.

After the girls left for yoga, Rose and I got the opportunity to get to know each other, our mutual acquaintances in Montreal and Toronto, and general derpy stories (more from me than little Rosiepoo, but you know). In addition, we saw some spectacular Busan beach wear (read: a Speedo, paired with an ascot and arm sleeves only) and a Korean couple taking a romantic, late afternoon walk… with their pet snake. This is Korea, y’all, where the motto is “BECAUSE, WHY NOT?”

Later that night, we headed to Seomyeon (another large nightlife hub in Busan) to predrink at Chocolate Milkshake’s stunningly large, well-stocked apartment. The Grey Goose and soju was mightily flowing, to say the least. Afterwards, we headed to Haeundae for a little Thursday Party action, before heading to my first Korean club, Tao. Club Tao is situated just off of the beach, nestled in behind the Paradise Hotel. The actual club is a series of multilevel platforms packed with the claustrophobic and “two left footers” combined, winding balconies with wallflowers perched upon them, watching the festivities unfold, and the heart of darkness – the club’s epicentre, where the girls and I obviously positioned ourselves for a night of fun. Despite being told otherwise, the girls and I kept on climbing on top of the platform at the front of the club, entered numerous VIP lounges and helped ourselves to drinks, and generally wreaked havoc. I could tell you more about this adventure, but for those of you who know me, simply ask to see my iPhone camera reel the next time I see you.

Sunday morning is now known as “The Day I Woke Up In An Elevator In A Building I Didn’t Live In”. That’s pretty much all I have to say about that. The weekend ended as all the best weekends do: declining an invitation to lay hungover at the beach with friends, eating ice cream, hungover, with the Real Housewives of Vancouver in bed. YOLO.

Gwangbokjeol (August 15th)

After only 8 days of properly teaching English at my hagwon, I was surprised with my first (of many) Korean public holidays, Gwangbokjeol, which is Korea’s Independence Day from Japanese colonial rule.

The girls and I headed to Songjeong Beach for what was intended to be a day of some rest and relaxation in the name of Korean liberation under the sizzling sun. Instead, we unleashed our inner contortionists and performed some acroyoga for the locals. This was my first time doing any sort of yoga and was pleasantly surprised by the results. This is undoubtedly the weekend which sparked my interest/obsession in/with yoga.

Weekend 3 (August 16th-18th)

My third weekend in Korea was spent with the girls in Seoul. Given that this was my first real experience travelling in Asia, I was excited to say the least. Not so excited, however, to arrive at the KTX train station but 6 minutes before our train left (sorry again, Jess and Maddie). Once we arrived, we headed straight to Myeongdong, one of the primary shopping districts in Seoul (Fun fact: Myeongdong apparently houses the only Forever 21 in all of Korea. Neat!) In Myeongdong, we met up with Chris, another McGillian, who was visiting his brother and the homeland.

After some lunch, we explored Myeongdong and then headed to the beautiful Cheonggyecheon Stream. We listened to some Koreans playing guitar, watched children running around carefree, and had some heart-to-hearts. This was such a serene moment and definitely my favourite memory of Seoul.

Afterwards, we met Chris’s brother, Justin and their mom for dinner in Insadong. The food was delicious (the Im family knows how to pick incredible dishes) and we got to talk to Mrs. Im about her experiences growing up in Busan and how it has changed.

Once parting ways with Justin and Mrs. Im, Maddie, Jess, Chris, and I headed to Itaewon for some casual drinks and stumbled across a Canadian bar with some incredibly obnoxious patrons. We ended up just playing Heads Up! for the majority of the evening, and hopping from pub to lounge to pub.

At the end of the night, we said goodbye to Chris, and headed to Jess and Maddie’s favourite jjimjilbong in Korea, Dragonhill Spa, slightly inebriated. We stayed the night in the spa because yes, you can do that at select spas in Korea. This turned out to be the worst nights sleep for me, but it was way cheaper than a hostel, so, pick your battles. We woke up and did the baths and then headed back to Busan on the fast train at midday. Given that I was only in Seoul for about 30 hours, I am looking forward to heading back in 2014 at some point, likely for Ultra Music Festival!

Weekend 4 (August 23rd-25th)

After three weekends in a row of late nights and “living while we’re young”, the girls and I agreed that a little geriatric living was in order. On Saturday morning, in the pouring rain, we headed to yoga in Seomyeon. This was my first proper yoga class and I was slightly worried about being that sweaty guy, that gassy guy, that uncoordinated guy. Luckily, I was only 2/3 (I’ll leave you to guess which). This is also the first time I met our beautiful yoga instructor, Amanda, who is the sweetest woman alive. She has offered free yoga classes for the last five months, is sweet and encouraging, and always comes to massage everyone, no matter how sweaty they are (read: me) during savasana. She is sadly leaving Busan this Saturday to head back to America, but Amanda, if you’re reading this, I love you and am going to miss you an absurd amount!

We ended up grabbing sushi at Sushi Berry in Dongbaek with some fellow yogis, Nate and Kat, who will be joining the girls and I in the Philippines over Christmas break! Afterwards, we headed to a DVD bong, which is a private screening room with blankets and pillows and likely the bodily fluids of Koreans who have used it before you because APPARENTLY these rooms are used for hookups frequently. After the DVD bong, we met with Nate and Kat once more at a delicious hibachi chicken joint called Tango. After too many breadsticks, salad, chicken, and pickles, we called it a night.

To be frankly honest, I don’t remember what we did on the Sunday. There’s a pretty good chance though that it was the beach or Spaland. When in doubt, you know?

23rd Birthday (August 27th)

My birthday fell on a Tuesday here and I really didn’t feel like making a huge thing of it so I kept it hush-hush from my co-workers. After feeling a little gloomy, I told my kindergarten class and they freaked out and started singing happy birthday to me which melted my heart into a thousand pieces. After work, I headed to Hwamyeong, where Jess hosted Maddie and I for a Mexican fiesta. The girls then surprised me with a delicious mug cake (Jess’s special recipe!). Even though my birthday was low-key, I really felt the love and bless from the key players (read: PLAYAS) in Busan. ~mush~

Weekend 5 (August 30th-September 1st)

The last weekend I shall record in this blog was the weekend we celebrated my birthday. The girls and I headed to Gwangan for our regular 7/11 patio times with jungle juice and hung around by a couple of the bars there. The night took a turn for the weird when we were introduced to a guy who shall only be referred to as “Crazy Egg”. Like so many foreigners here, he wasn’t fantastic at picking up on social cues and couldn’t tell that we were trying to escape his wrath for the majority of the evening. Eventually, Demu, Jess, Maddie and I escaped back to Hwamyeong at 6AM.

In the morning, we attempted to fall asleep in a DVD bong with lunch. Our mistake was selecting The Chronicles of Narnia: The Dawn Treader which has the LOUDEST SCORE KNOWN TO MAN, making it impossible to sleep. Another Sunday had come to a close.

Now that you’ve been caught up on these cultural things that I do on a weekly basis and these neighbourhoods you’ve never heard of, I will unceremoniously bid you adieu because the ‘i’ key on my keyboard has fallen off and is boiling my blood. Keep an eye out for LOTS of blog posts this week. Annyeonghi haseyo!