Catching Up

Sorry It's been so long since I've updated the blog. I had plans on writing last week, but I wasn't in possession of the right photographs. Due to the fact that I made a fatal error forgetting my camera at home, then not returning to my home for 50 hours. So I had to beg, steal, and pilfer a few photos from my friends. I could have written something about how much fun last weekend was, but without photos it would be lacking the visual element. For instance, the above photo of sea urchin. A little story about eating raw sea urchin just needs a photo. And here it is. I was cruising Haeundae Beach on Friday night with a friend. We saw a man and women dining in a little orange seafood tent that are so plentiful around Busan. We asked them what they were eating. The man, in perfect English asked us to join him and give it a try. So we did, and it was quite delicious, especially when it's mixed with soy sauce and wasabi. He also talked us into eating some raw jumbo prawns, that ran 5 bucks each. By now our bill was getting a little steep, but we thought it was OK because it was a new experience and the guy was really cool to talk to. What made him even cooler was when we got up to leave and pay, he offered to pay for our whole meal. Which probably cost 40 dollars. So thanks, Sang Moon Chang, the lawyer from Seoul for the free, delicious, raw seafood, It was awesome.

To cap off the night of freebies, my friend and I were going to listen to some dance music at a club, though the cover was a little steep, 20,000\, which is 17$. We were walking along the promenade paralleling the beach, when a young fella offered us free passes to the club we were planning on going to. We triple checked that this would indeed get us in the door and he guaranteed it. And he was right. We ended up dancing are faces off until 3 am and didn't feel guilty about the 7 dollar Jack and Cokes.



A few friends of mine went to check out Texas street, which is one of the seedier parts of town. it's right across from Busan Station, the main train station. As you walk down the carless street lined by Russian restaurants, you hear women speaking quietly at you saying, "You, come in, sex, sex." our response would be, "actually we're looking for some borscht." As we were just there for some Russian food and a bottle of vodka. We ended up finding a nice Uzbek place that served Russian food and had a Russian waitress who was quite easy on the eyes and much younger than we all thought. All the guys debated and we guessed she was 21-24. Actually she was 17. Woops.



These are some of the peoples I've been hanging out with the past few months. They are super fun, and fun fact here, if you add up their ages, they are slightly older than my dad.



As always this blog is going in about 12 different directions. Last week my Co-teacher said we were going out to lunch after summer camp. It was me, her, her daughter and her daughters two friends. I didn't know where were going, I though it was going to be more still live octopus and raw fish. But I was way off. We ended up dining at The Very Important Person's Society, otherwise known as VIP'S. A place I thought I'd never get to visit, purely because I'm cheap. The lunch buffet without a steak runs 19,000\. We ordered 2 steaks and split them. Then at the end my co-teacher footed the bill, though I think she used school funds, Which I'm completely fine with.

I consider myself somewhat off a buffet connoisseur, from all my time taking tours through Las Vegas. I would rank the VIP'S Below The Rio or The Wynn, but quite a few notches above Sizzler or The Golden Corral. Though I love the Korean food. It's always nice to taste some foreign foods. Like guacamole, salmon, ribs, pizza, blueberries, and a variety of salads.




I've been riding my bike all over town recently. To the baseball stadium, to the beach, to the shopping, to the bars, Though I once thought it to be dangerous. Now I see it as a complete joy. The buses rarely bother me, the taxis seem to get out of my way, and because of their total disregard for traffic laws, I somehow feel safe running red lights, riding on the side walk, and being part of the rhythm of the road.
The funny thing about Korea is the places that you think would be safe to ride and riding would be encouraged are actually closed to bikes. For example, I rode out to Taejangdae. Which is a park jetting out into the East Sea. In the park there is a 2 lane road that is closed to cars. To visit the park you can walk on the wide sidewalk, or buy a ticket ride on a green version of Thomas the Train. What you can't do is take your bike on the rolling road that winds through the park and overlooks the sea. I was told...buy I guy in a car, that I couldn't have my bike in the park. As you would expect, I took this really well. I believe I yelled something about how Korea should encourage bike riding in places like this, as an option for kids instead of playing computer games 10 hours a day.




The next few photos are from Amnan Park, which is about 3 miles from my house. It's another park that juts out into the East Sea, giving spectacular vistas. We went there to do some climbing on the sea cliffs. Usually this place is deserted, but today it was full of Korean climbers. They came prepared with shade, food, BBQ's and drinks.
Though I'm new to climbing, I think this must be one of the more ideal climbing locations. It's right on the beach, you can climb, swim, repeat.








Checkout the difference between how Russian enjoy their Sunday picnic and how the Korean women enjoy theirs. I think the only thing they have in common was their love for soju.



Here's a fisherman/woman on the rocks at Amnan Park, looking back towards Busan and Youngdo Island. Such a beautiful place.



A young Russian Ship worker taking enjoying the sun and water on Sunday afternoon. I tried to say hi to the guy. I gave him a smile and a nod. But he just stared at me, probably thinking, "should I kick this guys ass before or after he takes my picture?"




If I didn't have enough hippy hobbies, here's another, slacklining. Which pretty much means walking across a moving piece of rope. I'm not very good though. 5 steps and I'm on the ground.



On the other hand, there's my buddy Mack. You'd think he'd been raised in the traveling circus. He could dance, juggle, read a book, and do a back flip. Not really, but he's better than me.



Unfortunately, in this entry there are no attractive Korean girls. I'm sorry to every one who only checks this blog for that reason. But I can offer you a picture of flier's. Which are strewn through out Seomyeon with reckless abandon by students and old ladies alike. It's there way of advertising, through garbage.
I was hollered at many times last weekend because I was picking the flier's off the ground and throwing them in the air and yelling, "Make it Rain!"