व्हेन इ थिंक ऑफ़ यू इ vomit

So for some reason when ever I type in a title for my blog while using a PC bong ( computer cafe) the title starts out in English and then tranforms to what I beleive is Hindi. In the past I have wasted a good 15-20 minutes trying to figure out how to fix it to no obvious avail because the computer itself speaks Korean। SO I have decided to just go with it. So I feel that this Blog is going to be rather personal ,rather than informational about my time here in this very very foreign land, because well thats what I feel like typing.Afterall the title of this Blog IS " Random Babblings of an American in Korea". So I feel as though I should babble a bit more.

It has recenly occured to me that I am one of those dark and troubled souls who only finds comfort in their own solitude and merely wishes to pass through life unoticed.

Sounds dreadfully emo doesnt it? Right about now you are thinking," Oh god, shut up and turn down the Dashboard Confessional." Although the thing is, is that I recognize all of these stereotypes and I agree with them, hell I might even be willing to admit that I meet some of them. This ,of course,is in the sense that I dont seem to care much how it seems or what it means to anyone other than myself. AM I self-righteous? Am I a ,dare I say, FAKER? Or do I really need to " be a lawyer, and get a boyfriend who's like a bastard, then have a couple of kids with mental problems, and wait ....for...menopause."?

I have come to the conclusion that if you arent self righteous then you are denying yourself the simple pleasure of how you truly wish to spend your time. How many times have you said to yourself that you didnt want to be in a particular place, but seem to appear there time and time again? How often do you vow to become more organized, more involved,and more aware? In the span of the infinite universe and all that is Holy, it seems to me that these simple gestures that one performs in daily life should be a "no brainer". It seems, though, that for most these chores in the ebb and flow of life are the most difficult to master,and I am left wondering..........am I really a self righteous fuck who thinks that they know it all? Or ,maybe I just know enough;enough to know that I know what I like.And I can truly say that I control my time, my space, my thoughts,and my desires.Do you know who controls yours?

A good friend once said to me..." you have to write your own book ,Chrisite, and let them write theirs."

This is probably the best advice that I have ever gotten.

Except of course the time that someone told me that it is NOT ok to drink and drive...that was good advice as well.

가러사티

Shadiyah and I in Jeonju ( home of bibimbap a popular Korean food) and apparently hotdog soup is as well but thats another story.


The inside of the Hanook Folk Village in Jeonju


Jeonju "Hell's Angels"



So It has been quite some time since I have posted anything, however I have been quite busy.

Well let just see, I signed up for, attended and then quit my Korean Language course. I now work Monday - Friday. I teach English on a volunteer basis to children who can not afford it on Sundays from 3-5 and I also teach a private lesson on a NON volunteer basis on Saturdays.Of course this is also with out mentioning the time allotted in between for the usual English teacher chaos and insanity that seems to appear out of thin air. Like English teachers celebrating Halloween in a country that does not celebrate Halloween:





And of course because Halloween costumes are limited in a country that does not celebrate Halloween, one can understand the need to be creative. Hence the "T-Money" card above which is the card that we load money onto for the subway system here in Seoul and of course my " Kim-Bop Skirt" which really is the Kim minus the bob ( Kim means seaweed and bop means rice). I just couldn't come up with a way to get the rice to look fashionable, but I sure did make a high class seaweed skirt:



So as for the rest of my time here in Korea; well I have also been doing a lot of settling in. It is amazing how someone can go so far from home, to such a different place, yet find themselves right back in their old routines. There is really no use in fighting it, I believe that it is just human nature. Sure I do things like climb mountains and find old temples at their peaks, and go to Korean bath houses where I scrub myself with exfoliating cloths naked in front of 50 Koreans. But I also eat breakfast, listen to the news, drink coffee while reading a book in the park, and drink wine while watching movies or Sex and the City with my neighbor and new best friend Shadiyah. I don't go out during the week ( usually) and I explore Korea or go to a hot new club in Hongdae or Gangnam on the weekends.

I believe that the initial "shock" of the move, the culture, and the time zone has finally worn off and I am finding my place in Asia and what a great place it has turned out to be.

Of course one can always stop to appreciate when a little piece of home pops up in a "Kraze Burger" in Itaewon:


I just found out that my best friend who was engaged before I left is now having a baby. So congrats to Mel and Nick! I wish that I could be there to see you get as big as a house! These are the things that I miss at the end of the day, but I know that they will always be there for me when I get home.

And that gets me thinking about one of the things that I have had to consider as an older teacher living here in Seoul. Most of the teachers that I have met range from:just graduated college to 24 years old and a few oldies like me at 26-29.
Most of them have traveled long term before,some haven't, but we all seem to have one commonality, and that is lets make the best of our time here and have as much fun as we can. Although at the end of the day someone who is 26 , about to be 27 in 5 months has to seriously think about their future outside of just having a good time. Which is exactly why I came here right? To clear my mind, open my options and try to see the bigger picture of life; a life that doesn't depend on 1 week vacations to Florida and Ocean City Maryland. A life that isn't subjected to the terms and conditions of the American dream; a degree, a car, a house, a husband, a dog, and finally a baby. I decided a long time ago that this isn't the life that I want to lead. These things do not make me happy. I do not seek god because I do not fill my head with concerns about existence and post death details. I do not have unanswered questions and I do not have concerns about the meaning of it all. Therefore I sleep beautifully knowing full well that a little mystery is good for a person and sometimes its good to just accept the strangeness of life and all that it has to offer. At the same time I do not feel as though I should follow the lead of majority on other aspects of my life. I have never been one for doing what others want or expect of me, so why start now?

So as for being 26 years old and living in Seoul Korea as an English teacher amoung a large group of young people who may have come here to postpone the realworld, while I am trying to escape it? Well I think that its the best idea that I have had yet. And I will tell you something else.....Samuel L. Jackson spoke to me at the peak of Mount Suraksan today, and he said " so where do you think that you are? in Mother F*cking Ko-rea?"




............and I said why yes, Samuel,I am in Korea and I love every minute of it.


Me at Everland ( Korea's Disneyworld)