Wandoville....
So I've just moved to Wando. Island of Jung Bo Go the Emperor of the sea, place of great beaches and lots of fish!
It's been a hectic week. I had a crazy Friday, finishing at my old school with a picnic day. It was a great way to end my year at Yeongsanpo. I got to hang out with the kids outside the classroom and have some fun with them. I'm really going to miss those kids. They were wonderful!
After school finished, I went out to dinner with my workshop teachers and then on to a bar to meet the newbies. Not that many of then were new. Half of the teachers there were people who've lived in Korea before and are returning for another stint. Got home about 11pm and in bed by midnight.
Up early the next morning and went down to Wando with most of my gear. I basically dumped it in Nicola's / my apartment and went straight around to meet my new co-teachers. I can't believe how many young, english speaking teachers there are here. It's great! As long as the kids don't run rough-shod over me, I think I'll enjoy teaching here.
So from the school, I jumped in my car and headed over to Mokpo for Carol's B'day party. (Photo's coming soon)
It started as a BBQ in the park, then I headed over to a Tony and Miji's place to have a couple of drinks and get ready for the 80's party. I've gotta say, those pair are CRAZY... but in a good way.
:)
On to P-Club and the night finished at a rather late hour.
Up again early the next day and I did a mad dash back to Wando (about 1.5 hours), picked up Chad and Nicola and drove up to Yeongsanpo (2 hours) to pick up my motorbike. Then I rode the bike and Chad drove back down to Wando (2 hours).
Five and a half hours driving and little sleep is wearing this guy down a bit.
Next morning I turned up at my new school and started teaching straight away, finishing mid afternoon and jumping back on my bike to do the round trip to Wando again, for some administrative stuff.
I think if things remain this hectic for long, I'm gonna have to clone myself to get everything done!
(Oh yeah, I don't have internet at home yet, so blogs might be updated a little less often, till I do. )
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Now where are these toilets when you're in a small town in the middle of Korea?
Toto has been a pioneer in high-tech toilets fitted with pressurized water sprayers...
The popular Z series features a pulsating massage spray, a power dryer, built-in-the-bowl deodorizing filter, the "Tornado Wash" flush and a lid that opens and closes automatically. Prices range from $1,680 to $2,600).
(Thanks Monique for the article with this in it... worth a read: Beware the toilet :)Monday, April 09, 2007
Wow. What a weekend!
For the first time in many months, I actually spent Friday at home this weekend. It was nice just to sit back and chill and then sleep in the next morning. On Saturday, I got up, did some cleaning and went down to give Billie her first wash. There's something very relaxing about washing a vehicle in the warm sun. It makes me feel very content.
After this very domestic morning, my weekend got on track to its usual fun and games. I jumped on my bike and went for a slow ride, meandering my way in the general direction of Gwangju. Of course, now that my bike was nice and clean, I just had to find the only road in all of Korea that was washed out with mud!
I was looking for the perfect place for my PhotoChallenge picture, but it didn't present itself. The ride however was great. Following cherry blossom lined roads, beside streams and through fields. It really was the perfect day for being on my bike.
I finally got to the G by about 2:00pm and met up with my friends Carol and Mel. We went to the wonderful department store called Kumho World and Carol made Mel and myself extremely jealous by buying a brand new Nikon SLR digital camera. (WANT ONE!!!)
After this bit of fun, we headed into town and had a nice dinner followed by a stint at Speakeasy. It was a very quiet night, but still fun to hang out with friends. Unfortunately one of our friends, Lana wasn't feeling so well. I get the feeling she and her boyfriend are allergic to me or something... cause every time we plan to meet up, one or both of them get sick.
The next day, we had a nice relaxed day in town, then in the afternoon, we went to a beautiful park in the middle of town. Matt has made friends with some locals and is allowed to use this amazing, multi-storied pagoda building to host music nights and get togethers. We had a pot-luck lunch here and admired the amazing views from this hilltop building. Then after lunch, Matt and I played a few tunes on the guitars and Bryce joined in on the drums. For never having played practised together, I don't think we sounded too bad.
Following the late lunch, I jumped back on Billie and rode down to Mokpo. This time it was to meet up with my new friend Miji and to meet her Aussie boyfriend Tony. Unfortunately they weren't feeling so well either. I get the feeling something is going around. They went home fairly early, but that was ok, as I found out I had another friend who was sick and in hospital in Mokpo. Chad, one of the greatest guys in Korea, had caught pnumonia and has been admitted to hospital for a six day stint while he recovers.
After a quick visit to make sure he wasn't about to keel over and cark it right there, I finally jumped on my bike and rode, in the rather chilly night air, back to my apartment and a nice warm bed.
(PS... I'm crap... wrote this on Monday and forgot to post it. Was gonna do it when I had the photos uploaded. That can come later.)
For the first time in many months, I actually spent Friday at home this weekend. It was nice just to sit back and chill and then sleep in the next morning. On Saturday, I got up, did some cleaning and went down to give Billie her first wash. There's something very relaxing about washing a vehicle in the warm sun. It makes me feel very content.
After this very domestic morning, my weekend got on track to its usual fun and games. I jumped on my bike and went for a slow ride, meandering my way in the general direction of Gwangju. Of course, now that my bike was nice and clean, I just had to find the only road in all of Korea that was washed out with mud!
I was looking for the perfect place for my PhotoChallenge picture, but it didn't present itself. The ride however was great. Following cherry blossom lined roads, beside streams and through fields. It really was the perfect day for being on my bike.
I finally got to the G by about 2:00pm and met up with my friends Carol and Mel. We went to the wonderful department store called Kumho World and Carol made Mel and myself extremely jealous by buying a brand new Nikon SLR digital camera. (WANT ONE!!!)
After this bit of fun, we headed into town and had a nice dinner followed by a stint at Speakeasy. It was a very quiet night, but still fun to hang out with friends. Unfortunately one of our friends, Lana wasn't feeling so well. I get the feeling she and her boyfriend are allergic to me or something... cause every time we plan to meet up, one or both of them get sick.
The next day, we had a nice relaxed day in town, then in the afternoon, we went to a beautiful park in the middle of town. Matt has made friends with some locals and is allowed to use this amazing, multi-storied pagoda building to host music nights and get togethers. We had a pot-luck lunch here and admired the amazing views from this hilltop building. Then after lunch, Matt and I played a few tunes on the guitars and Bryce joined in on the drums. For never having played practised together, I don't think we sounded too bad.
Following the late lunch, I jumped back on Billie and rode down to Mokpo. This time it was to meet up with my new friend Miji and to meet her Aussie boyfriend Tony. Unfortunately they weren't feeling so well either. I get the feeling something is going around. They went home fairly early, but that was ok, as I found out I had another friend who was sick and in hospital in Mokpo. Chad, one of the greatest guys in Korea, had caught pnumonia and has been admitted to hospital for a six day stint while he recovers.
After a quick visit to make sure he wasn't about to keel over and cark it right there, I finally jumped on my bike and rode, in the rather chilly night air, back to my apartment and a nice warm bed.
(PS... I'm crap... wrote this on Monday and forgot to post it. Was gonna do it when I had the photos uploaded. That can come later.)
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Oops
Up until about an hour ago, there were three motorbikes over 600cc in Naju...
Now there are two.
This is how I first saw it after it had just gone whizzing by.
I arrived 2 minutes after it happened. Actually saw the bike go past at about 100km/hr. And he hit hard!
Front view. This is what hit the ground first.
From another angle.
Rear view. This is what hit the ground second.
Objects in the mirror probably really are A LOT CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR!
How to take home a bike that until a few minutes ago, was worth thousands of dollars and now might be worth thousands of won... if your lucky!
Apparently he was riding up the road when a lady decided to pull out of a driveway on the opposite side of the road and crossed straight in front of him, without looking to see if there was any traffic anywhere on the road. He had nowhere to go except down a 20 food embankment. He was sitting on his helmet on the side of the road when I arrived. He seemed ok except for the hole as round as a watch face in the side of his knee, and lots of bruises around the leg. He's gonna be sore tomorrow though.
PhotoChallengers, please check out the site for your first mini-task.
Up until about an hour ago, there were three motorbikes over 600cc in Naju...
Now there are two.
This is how I first saw it after it had just gone whizzing by.
I arrived 2 minutes after it happened. Actually saw the bike go past at about 100km/hr. And he hit hard!
Front view. This is what hit the ground first.
From another angle.
Rear view. This is what hit the ground second.
Objects in the mirror probably really are A LOT CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR!
How to take home a bike that until a few minutes ago, was worth thousands of dollars and now might be worth thousands of won... if your lucky!
Apparently he was riding up the road when a lady decided to pull out of a driveway on the opposite side of the road and crossed straight in front of him, without looking to see if there was any traffic anywhere on the road. He had nowhere to go except down a 20 food embankment. He was sitting on his helmet on the side of the road when I arrived. He seemed ok except for the hole as round as a watch face in the side of his knee, and lots of bruises around the leg. He's gonna be sore tomorrow though.
PhotoChallengers, please check out the site for your first mini-task.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Photo Challenge
Ok Folks, Let the games commence.
So let me say straight up that this idea was stolen from another blog: photogamers.
I've decided I need to get out and be a bit more creative with my camera, so I'm setting up a blog where we can play a game with our photography. The basic idea is that every fortnight, I'll post a challenge made up of different tasks. We then go out and take photo's of these tasks and post them to a flickr account I've set up. The best photo in each task wins.
Simple? I think so.
So if you're interested, send me an e-mail and I'll invite you to the Flickr group and you can start shooting and posting.
The blog I've set up is PhotoChallenge . You can find the rules for the game there.
I hope you join.
Stu.
Ok Folks, Let the games commence.
So let me say straight up that this idea was stolen from another blog: photogamers.
I've decided I need to get out and be a bit more creative with my camera, so I'm setting up a blog where we can play a game with our photography. The basic idea is that every fortnight, I'll post a challenge made up of different tasks. We then go out and take photo's of these tasks and post them to a flickr account I've set up. The best photo in each task wins.
Simple? I think so.
So if you're interested, send me an e-mail and I'll invite you to the Flickr group and you can start shooting and posting.
The blog I've set up is PhotoChallenge . You can find the rules for the game there.
I hope you join.
Stu.
Monday, April 02, 2007
The Weekend That Was...
It's now April. I can't believe it. We are approaching the one year mark in Korea. Where did the time get to? Of course, this also means it's time for people to either start a new contract, or pack their bags and head for home.
As most of my closest friends here in Korea are the ones who were with me in my original orientation group... and only 4 of the original 12 are re-signing, this means that it is time to say good-bye to some of the greatest people I've met since arriving in Korea.
:(
I decided that we should all have a get together to say one last good-bye in the same fashion as we first met... having fun in Gwangju. So I invited all the original crew into town for a weekend of eating, drinking and merry-making.
On Friday night, Brent, Steph, Virginia, Nicola, Max and I met at the Windmill hotel. A wonderful love hotel, where the rooms are cheap, clean and HUGE! We've all come to know this place well over the last year. From here we went to the Outback Restaurant. An Aussie themed restaurant that is totally American owned. But they do have some of the best steaks and western food in Gwangju. It was a great meal. After this, we went on to my favourite bar in Korea. Mike and Dave's Speakeasy. While we were here, we were joined by Steve Jr and a few of his friends.
There was nothing special on that night, but with the great company, the plentiful flow of alcohol and the friendly atmosphere, we were able to share stories and reminisce well into the wee hours of the morning.
Of course, this meant that the next day, we were all felling a little worse for wear and with the weather very bleak and wet, it turned into a very lazy day. We ventured out of the hotel at about midday and got as far as an Italian restaurant before having a massive feast and returning back to the hotel. In the afternoon, we lost a few of our crew, but were joined by Steve Sr.
Again, we went out and had a feast that night. This time it was at the other western restaurant, TGI Friday's. Again great food, followed by some more fun at Speakeasy. This time there was a band from Mokpo playing, and of course many of our friends from the Mokpo crew joined us. Yet another great night, although, not as big as the one before.
On Sunday, most of the original crew had left, but Virginia, Steve and I decided to visit a temple that we went to in the first week of our stay in Korea. This temple is set up in the mountains and is surrounded by forest. It was a misty day and the fog just added to the atmosphere. It's now Cherry Blossom season, and the trees had burst forth in amazing splendour. We hiked up the mountain to a grotto that Virginia and Nicola found the first time they were there. It's a very beautiful and serene place and made for a very relaxing end to the weekend.
Thanks everyone for making the effort to come along. You have all made my stay in this country an amazing adventure and I'll miss you all. Good luck where ever you may be in the future.
Now for the pics:
The Crew:
Steph and Brent (also known as "The Beautiful People") & Max
Virginia
Handsome Steve
Nicola and Steph
Steve and Kristin
The Band:
Lead
Bass
Drummer
The Temple hike:
Cherry Blossom and Pagoda
The Bridge
Mountain Trail
Buddha's Grotto
Cherry Blossom
It's now April. I can't believe it. We are approaching the one year mark in Korea. Where did the time get to? Of course, this also means it's time for people to either start a new contract, or pack their bags and head for home.
As most of my closest friends here in Korea are the ones who were with me in my original orientation group... and only 4 of the original 12 are re-signing, this means that it is time to say good-bye to some of the greatest people I've met since arriving in Korea.
:(
I decided that we should all have a get together to say one last good-bye in the same fashion as we first met... having fun in Gwangju. So I invited all the original crew into town for a weekend of eating, drinking and merry-making.
On Friday night, Brent, Steph, Virginia, Nicola, Max and I met at the Windmill hotel. A wonderful love hotel, where the rooms are cheap, clean and HUGE! We've all come to know this place well over the last year. From here we went to the Outback Restaurant. An Aussie themed restaurant that is totally American owned. But they do have some of the best steaks and western food in Gwangju. It was a great meal. After this, we went on to my favourite bar in Korea. Mike and Dave's Speakeasy. While we were here, we were joined by Steve Jr and a few of his friends.
There was nothing special on that night, but with the great company, the plentiful flow of alcohol and the friendly atmosphere, we were able to share stories and reminisce well into the wee hours of the morning.
Of course, this meant that the next day, we were all felling a little worse for wear and with the weather very bleak and wet, it turned into a very lazy day. We ventured out of the hotel at about midday and got as far as an Italian restaurant before having a massive feast and returning back to the hotel. In the afternoon, we lost a few of our crew, but were joined by Steve Sr.
Again, we went out and had a feast that night. This time it was at the other western restaurant, TGI Friday's. Again great food, followed by some more fun at Speakeasy. This time there was a band from Mokpo playing, and of course many of our friends from the Mokpo crew joined us. Yet another great night, although, not as big as the one before.
On Sunday, most of the original crew had left, but Virginia, Steve and I decided to visit a temple that we went to in the first week of our stay in Korea. This temple is set up in the mountains and is surrounded by forest. It was a misty day and the fog just added to the atmosphere. It's now Cherry Blossom season, and the trees had burst forth in amazing splendour. We hiked up the mountain to a grotto that Virginia and Nicola found the first time they were there. It's a very beautiful and serene place and made for a very relaxing end to the weekend.
Thanks everyone for making the effort to come along. You have all made my stay in this country an amazing adventure and I'll miss you all. Good luck where ever you may be in the future.
Now for the pics:
The Crew:
Steph and Brent (also known as "The Beautiful People") & Max
Virginia
Handsome Steve
Nicola and Steph
Steve and Kristin
The Band:
Lead
Bass
Drummer
The Temple hike:
Cherry Blossom and Pagoda
The Bridge
Mountain Trail
Buddha's Grotto
Cherry Blossom
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
