Advertisement
Published: January 14th 2012
Birthday night out!
Pops and the crew heading out for a Canadian dinner (poutine included) and a follow up norebang (karaoke) night.Hello and happy new year to everyone!
What a year to be alive, right? If you're like me, it's tough to hang up the shorts for a while and bring out the double layer of leggings and underarmor, but even with the runny nose and frozen toes there's a lot to be thankful for and so much to look forward to in the new year.
For one, we never stop hiking here in Korea so the outdoor adventures continue at full speed, we just strap on the crampons and spats and do some mountain singing at the peak to stay warm! Santa has come and gone for Rabbit Class and they have all officially turned 7 years old as of January 1st. I got older too somehow, and had a fantastic birthday here, getting to celebrate it with my dad who came on two short visits in between his business work-cations around the world. I've started and finished a full season of division 1 soccer with Anyang FC, having a blast even through a bumpy, struggling season and bumped up the fitness level playing an 'attacking/oh sh*t, defeding too?'... winger position.
Itaewon Freedom!
Chris and I rocking our superstar pop duo costumes and feeling the love from the wild korean fans who just couldn't get enough. I'm into the last two months in Korea before moving on to a year of traveling and big family events. As usual, time flies when you are busy with a challenging job in a new and exciting culture. Looking back at my six months here so far, I can gladly say that I've been really fortunate to have a meaningful and unforgetable experience. I'll get into the highlights before telling you guys the plans for the rest of Dragon Year. Let's start where I left off last time in October, seven lifetimes ago!
At that time, I had returned from my visa-run to Japan and started to explore the options for hobbies and adventures. I began planning some trips to see the rest of Korea, since I felt settled in and comfortable in the fantastic city of Seoul. It was fall, my absolute favourite season to get outside and 'get my nature on'. Needles to say I was chompin' at the bundaegi to get a taste of it. So over the next few months I was able to see a whole lot of this beautiful mountainous land, including the old capital, Gyeonju, the coastal
The hiking gaze
Climbing, the best thing to do in Korea by far! This is dobongsan, the highest one in Seoul...
should have done the official Steve Zissou pose for this one, lol. city of Sokcho (including the famous Seoraksan mountain), The inland peaceful/party town of Daejeon, and made it to Jeju island in the south just in time for New Year's. No, I didn't quit my job to get to all those places, but I did pack my bags on Wednesday so I was ready to hop on the bus out of town as soon as the weekend arrived, making sure to get back in time for my soccer league games every Sunday in Seoul. I could give you all the details of how beautiful each location was and the special aspects of each of them that makes them so incredible, but overall I think it's enough to say that I haven't had one regretful travel experience in Korea, and the only negative out of all my travels is the fact that there's just too much to see and not enough time to do it!
All right, if I had to pick the top highlights from Korea so far I would have to start with my dad's visit in late October. It's always special when you can celebrate your birthday with family, and we had some great times with
Music Crew out in Hongdae
A whole bunch of new buddies made this night, hopping from indie rock shows to jazz to clubbing and of course some street dancing with Sean. my growing crew of friends and my dad leading the way to all night norebang (karaoke) singing rooms. We had great nights at his top class hotel, jamming to classics and feasting on buffets, going for walks through the city and enjoying some amazing dinners and parties with friends around Seoul. I think he managed to do some work while he was here, but if he did he probably didn't sleep much. Did I see you even sneak some kimchi at one of the meals, dad? Hahaha, I guess we didn't need to with all the salmon, omelletes and bacon for breakfast!
My dad wasn't the only guest so far, I was lucky to have my good friend, Chikako and her friend Ayako visit from Japan for a fantastic weekend in October that was over almost before it started it went by so fast. Great fun and deep talks are always a good way to feel refreshed and motivated in a new country, so thanks to both of you, it was awesome! Keep on painting Ayako and get ready for a visit soon, Chikako!
After that I had two adventurous girls from Canada stop
Chikako visits!
Out to dinner with Chikako and Ayako, visiting from Japan and loving the kim chi! by Korea on their trip around Asia. Kyrsten and Kaja spent over a week getting into the culture and joining in on all the adventures that go on over here. They already did some incredible stuff the month leading up to Korea, showing me some outstanding and shocking pictures from their travels. I know one thing for sure, they weren't afraid of a little norebang, outlasting all the other kids and belting out foreign classics, japanese jams and super-cheese balads until the sun came up! So good to have you both here for a while.
Another great reunion has involved a life long friend who just moved to Incheon in October, and who has always been the best guy to have around for an adventure, DJ dance-off, flip contest, or if you just want to go through a ton of soiled pants from laughing your ass off 😊 My main man, Sean Mallion (Mallioner / ultimate lankster captain) has made his arrival and we've been able to get together a whole bunch, exploring Seoul, dominating the stage at rock/dance clubs, and getting out on trips to the mountains for some serious hiking. It'll be sad to have
1st Rabbit Class Picture
Wow they've evolved so much since then! to go in February but it's going to be awesome to have another great friend to make sure I get back for a visit before too long!
Ok, it looks like the updates are almost finished, except for all that awesome stuff you haven't heard about from November, December and January... so, I guess we're not even close to done yet, lol. I'll do a speed review so get ready to move quickly here.
I went to two weddings, getting to see my Irish soccer buddy marry a Korean beauty and a Korean Christian wedding between my co-worker and her Korean super-dude husband. Both days of good fun and rowdiness, allbeit quite different in execution and general level of sobriety. Next there was a phenomenal Christmas party thrown by my really good friend, Valerie, after having an sensational American Thanksgiving trip and feast in Daejeon with our friends Christian, Chad, Jon, Aelis, Sheryl, Laura and Val. I've hiked about 15 mountains now around the country, so I only have about 99% more to go, but I'm trying my best to leap up as many as I can the next two months. I've seen my
Mustache Crew!
Val, Eilis, Me, Jon and Chad, wearing some staches for a good cause. students accelerate their skills and maturity at a blistering pace, and have been trying to do enough to keep them growing and smiling. I really am starting to anticipate the bittersweet farewell that's coming when they graduate in February. On the personal growth/discovery side of things, I've been able to find an American Buddhist monk and I've been doing weekly training in meditation, modeling my practice after technques and teachings from multiple sects, such as Japanese Zen and Therevada (insight). It's now my top health commitment after finishing the soccer league last year. Lastly, I've only been sick a few times even though I have had sneezes directly into my mouth or in my food more times than I can count!
So that wraps up most of the excitement I've had, how about all of you? I've heard from a lot of people about some great winter holidays, like my brother, Steve, and his fiance, Jenny's amazingly executed trip to Vietnam. I've also seen my other brother take a step towards his architectural goals, finishing his fantastic football career with a great attitude, even though it was ended a little prematurely. My younger sister, Lachlan is rocking
Norebang-bus!
In Korea you can't go an entire trip without a painful version of 'Livin on a Prayer' screeched out on the mic by any number of unqualified participants! Malz, Jaws and I keepin the back of the bus goin strong. her super-growth-adventure-discovery life in Spain and my older sister Erica is getting ready for double mom duty (and double dad duty too, Trevor 😊) with their second baby girl due in April. I dare you to have someone as loving and special as little Lennon! My mom is doing retirement right with her husband, Mike, starting off the new year with healthy and active things like bike trips and conscious eating plans. Oh and she is getting ready for a trip with me to Japan in March. You totally stoked, Mom!? I'd love to hear more from all of you about your adventures, plans, discoveries, missions, struggles, successes, new video games, girlfriends and dates when you're visiting me!
Oh, I almost forgot, but this is something really meaningful that has been going on in my life that you might find interesting or be able to share some ideas about so chiggedy-check it:
A lot of the time between work, travel and soccer has been spent enthusiastically researching the options for applying to graduate school for Psychology in 2012/2013. It's really encouraging to feel a great passion for an area of study that can be
Sean the conquorer!
Sean at the top of Suraksan, i think he made it up in about 17 lankster leaps! applied not only to a future job or career, but to my daily life, and the more I have learned about certain emergent trends and fields, the more I feel the urge to pursue formal studies and move further along a path of challenge and growth. In particular I have developed a great interest in the areas of Positive Psychology, including humanistic/transpersonal approaches to academia and practice. The evolution of the traditional pathological view of psychology towards an emphasis on the empirical study of human well-being in terms of self-actualization or human flourishing is, I believe, incredibly important and needed in this day and age. Why is it that people all around us (including myself) have had, at some point, feelings of meaninglessness and emptiness even while surrounded by such apparent abundance and wealth? Why are we such terrible predictors of what truly makes us happy? How do factors like compassion, gratitude, awe, character strenghts, wisdom and flow influence our abilities to live life to the fullest, in the moment, with less fear, anxiety, doubt and daily stress? These are just some of the compelling questions that I ask myself, (and that are being asked by a lot of smarter
Halloween on the streets!
Me, Kyrsten and a dazed clown out in downtown Hongdae, university area on Halloween, awesome night :) people than me) and ones that I would love to play a part in discovering the answers to. Unless you guys already know the answers to them, then if you wouldn't mind, quit hogging them and please pass them on already! But serously, if you have any thoughts about the topic, connections to people or schools that I could soak up some wisdom from them feel free to send it my way 😊 The next step is to gain some research experience at an interesting lab somewhere in North America, most likely major cities in Canada or colleges in California.
And with that I'll sign out and send you off to check out the rest of my pictures. I'll let you wonder what's going to happen over the next year without giving it away and leave you with best wishes for a healthy, happy, safe and peaceful year in 2012!
One Love,
Sloaner a.k.a:
Min Ho – my Korean name given to me after I was honoured with the chance to name my student, '
Milo', after the family!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.128s; Tpl: 0.018s; cc: 9; qc: 50; dbt: 0.0742s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
