Korea...but its changing

"Kiss me goodbye and write me when I'm gone....goodbye sweetheart, hello Vietnam" - Johnny Wright, Full Metal Jacket Soundtrack

2 Teaching days. 18 hours of clowning, thinly veiled as education. 5 calendar days and...Vietnam.

I guess the lack of correspondance on my part is due to the fact that Korea, yes, South Korea, right next door to ol' Kim Jong 2 (heheh) has been, for quite a while now, normal. I wake on my own accord, go to the gym, eat something spicy and ricey, and go to work. Lather, rinse, repeat. Yea, I do some stuff. I went to Japan over Christmas. I stomped around in a muddy field to watch the Black Eyed Peas advertise themselves and to see Franz Ferdinand rock out. I went to the "famous" island of Jeju (the Hawaii of Korea, as they call it) again. In the winter. Again. I added maybe 12 words to my already comprehensive Korean vocabulary (불가능: 'bulganung' - impossible - a good one to know).

I worked a lot, and I worked a little. Sometimes I worked hard. I got a peek at the inside of a Samsung head office, well the lobby anyway, and had to sign a waiver promising not to reveal any company secrets. Well, screw that, here's one: the coffee machine is usually out of order. Tell everyone. I expounded on the hidden meanings of such literary gems as "Billy and the Queen" and "Ramona Quimby, Age 8". I taught a class I really enjoyed for a while, a bunch of kids who had lived abroad who could actually hold a conversation. We watched "Super Size Me" together. There are a few dirty words in the movie, and when i asked the kids what their first impression of the film was, most of them replied, "The best part was 'fuck' and 'shit'. I think I really got through to them.

I bought travel guides by the...well I bought 2. Daydreaming of Vietnam and Mongolia, China, Russia...soon, soon. I bought a new camera. Its badass. I didn't buy many shoes, because no Korean has skis as big as mine. "No largey size". I bought a BB gun and shot the hell outta my apartament. I bought a few drinks and a few dinners. Yes, I like Korean food, although I weaned myself off of spicy soup, as I don't like to eat and sprint.

So, I'm done. I'll be in Vietnam and carry on to China, Mongolia, Russia and France. Home just in time for the joys of a Canadian December. I trust all of you are well.

peace, love and rice

m

Oh yea, its my birthday in 12 days!



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