dope! (for you em)

is it just me, or is dave totally hijacking this blog?!

no. i'm just really lazy.

let me just clarify a few things from dave's posts. the drain in our bathroom is not filled with my hair. i clean it out like everyday. and as for the physical? fucking brutal. i had to get my blood pressure taken twice because it was "too high". maybe it's because i was so nervous in a foreign hospital with non-english speaking doctors and my school's director had just asked me when i last had a "female" medical exam (luckily i had one right before i left. tmi?). also, dave DID NOT have to take off his clothes to get x-rayed and DID NOT have to have a male doctor follow him into a changeroom and explain in broken english that i had to take off my clothes and brasierre. the look on my face could have been a lot worse considering the situation. in addition to this, i couldn't pee in a cup for the life of me. it was nervewracking. but finally did.

the bbq debacle: i can't even think about it. rest assured that we were NOT eating prime cuts.

it's so gorgeous today! i love it. hopefully good ol' pinocchio stonhouse will get better and not get me sick. my kids also call him mr. king kong and shrek jr. it's hilarious. these pc bangs (internet cafes) are as hilarious as we describe. chain smokers and world of warcraft. hilarious. i prefer the non-smoking area with the kids. they like to spy on what i'm doing though. creeps.

message to ryan grieve: i teach a kid who looks exactly like a mini, korean version of you (seriously. i'll try to get a picture). his name is martin. i might start calling him big dick. inappropriate? maybe. hilarious? yes! ps. your blog sucks.

picture time!



what is this you ask? well what does it look like? a giant tank of jizzy dick is what. apparently it some type of seafood. i asked someone what they tasted like and they said "salty and chewy-- an acquired taste". gross.



this is how i stay crunk in korea. chris: i will be sending you some. they are like crunchy bars, but crunk.



dave wouldn't even let me go in.



the delicious "sampler" cake from emma bakery. our friend adam's birthday yesterday. he turned 28. oops.

Spring has Sprung

Whattup Gangsters!
Sorry it has been a lil while since we last blogged. I have been feeling under the weather this last week. If any of you know me, I'm rarely sick- I'm like Bruce Willis in Unbreakable. But when I'm sick, I'm SICK. I'm also a huge baby, I hate being sick and I hate it even more in a foreign place. So Ive been sneezing seriously pver 200 times a day (is that close to an orgasm?) but also my nose is running non-stop (I blow my nose so often, that my nose is red. One of my students pointed at my nose and called my Pinnocio, while another asked me if I was drunk or have been drinking alcohol. ha!) so anyway I'm all medicated with strange drugs now thanks to a pharmacist with a tiny bit of working English. But I feel better and it's GOD DAMN gorgeous outside today. It's so fuckin nice it makes me want to puke.
But right now, I'm in PC Bang as usual with some 14 year old Korean smoking cigarette after cigarette while playing World of Warcraft with a passion.
I put up some pictures so I will get to them..

A trip to Seoul featuring no other than the "Ghost Dog" himself: Graham Emde.
Graham took us around Seoul and we did some shopping and site seeing. I bought some new kicks that are a size too small but you know me, I'll suffer for fashion. We also went to The Seoul Museum of Modern Art. We saw some cool Korean paintings and took in a traveling exhibition of French Painters including Picasso, Matisse, and Buroque(?). I'm not an art history major..but it was pretty dece. Here's a pic of Shanna in Hangik University Area. It's a cute bustling area with good eats, drinks, clubs, and shopping.



My bathroom is my shower//my shower is my bathroom...
(you can't see the gross drain on the floor full of shanna's hair)



Yesterday we had to get physicals done for Korean Immigration (we are trying to get our Alien Registry card, so we can get things in our name like cable, internet, cell phone etc.)
Anyway, it was Korean and a bit confusing as they brought us into 10 different places for different tests. Here's a picture of Shanna when they made her take her clothes off and change into a robe. The look on her face is priceless. But she's ok. It was just an X ray. All the tests weren't that bad. The male nurse told me I was very handsome when he was taking my blood. and Shanna had a bit of difficulty doing her piss test (Shanna: I can't fuckin go. FUCK THIS!)



I'm going to start taking more pictures of funny Korean signs and translations etc.
Here's one for Max draft with a Beer Moustache. I love it!



Korean Barbeque gone terribly TERRIBLY wrong.
It was the Monday (the day of Lunar New Year) and most resteraunts were closed. Shanna and I were starving so we wandered into a resteraunt we've never been to. It looked like a typical Korean BBQ. The server didn't know any English and we were lazy and didn't want to translate Korean, so we just pointed to another table and told her we'll have what they are having--It looked delicious. Like a an assortment of fish, chicken, and beef. When the meat arrived we were not so pleasantly suprised. It was an assortment of inner organs and stuff. We had something pink? and tough?, intestine, skin, maybe heart?, maybe stomach?
To make matters worse she sat there staring at us until we started eating and pretending to enjoy it. We ate enough that we thought we wouldn't offend them and left.

some sights

our apartment is surrounded by numerous Korean convenience stores. Our favourite is GS 24 that has all there is to offer and more. I drink their espresso's for 100W ($1), their booze selection is extensive (beer from $1.30 - $5) and of course their sodas.



CATCH OF THE DAY
I found some old men fishing in the ditch which is pretty uch a slew in the winter.



These old men are serious about their croquet.



A government sign warning citizens to obey garbage laws. They're watching you



Shanna and I tried eating at a burger joint called Lotteria which was disgusting. So we were excited to spot some golden arches while walking down a street. On closer inspection it isn't. VERY CLEVER

Pictures!

This is the city we live in- MinLakDong (UjeongBu)



Shanna loves Pastries!



Sitting on the School Roof



Shanna and "Pegasus" class



Dave and "Unicorn" class



Our School


Finally we can throw some pictures up on herrrrr

Long Weekend!

The Good:
-WHOOO HOO 4 Day Long Weekend!!
It's Lunar New Year so we get 4 days off in a row. FUCK YA BITCHES. We are going to venture into Seoul, it's going to be crazy, and additionally busy becasue it's the long weekend and everyone travels and shops. Stay tuned!
-Shanna and I are in a PC Bang (internet shop) it's filled with kids smoking, eating chips and playing computer games loudly.
-It was super nice on Thursday and I basically have the whole day off, so I went for a 4 hour walk; drinking beer on the street and eating street food and getting lost in the city. It was a great time. ..Shanna was slaving away teaching.
-Adam has a great hookup for us in his friend Anthony. Anthony sells wires. Anthony is Korean and goes on Business trips to America. Anthony has a van! so yesterday we went to Home PLus (Home PLussa) which is HUGE with 5 levels of shopping with some great deals. We bought loads of booze, a coffee maker, table, mirror, basketball, towels, bathroom mat and real cheese. Our home is getting much more cushy. We are getting a phone next week and interent hopefully soon.
-Last night we went out with some fellow teacher's to BEER OCEAN. Korean men typically go out with co-workers and consume gross amounts of booze after a long workday. They were drinking Soju (that Korean Vodka-Wine that's dirt cheep--$1.50 bottle) and passing out at their tables. In Korean fashion Shanna and I tied one one. The Beer Ocean was flowing fierce...which brings me to the bad

The Bad:
-While beers are cheap cheap you don't hesitate to drink that last one..or two..or three. Shanna was "Ralph Shonfelding" while I passed out at the apartment. Needless to say, we are a tad bit hung.
[for some reason shanna was ordering Orange Blossoms and L.I.I.T's--NEVER AGAIN!! she exclaimed this morning]
-Korean's are very leary of carcinogens and proclaim "GOOD HEALTH" on many of their products and signs. They don't let food char being afraid of cancer. Curiously they all smoke cigarettes like chimney's. Last night at Beer Ocean and later Rob's house. I got the Hot Box treatment Shanna Rob and Adam, I swear, they smoked 3 packs between them.
-Shanna has a renewed zest for smoking: having Adam as a smoke buddy and having quality American cigarettes available everywhere (even flower shops sell cigarettes) for $2.50

The Weird:
-I need to explain something. Shanna has two classes that are absolute saints: (the classes are named Dryad and Pegasus). They are curtious and speak great English. My classes, however, are A.D.D. and WIIIILD (Dragon and Unicorn class). . Anyways Shanna's classes are graduating in a few weeks. So my kids move up a level and now they're Shanna's.
-For me, I get the brand new tiny tots that don't know a lick of English and shit their pants. Since these kids have never been taught English I have to start from the beginning which includes giving them their English names! (that they keep for years!) I seriously can't wait. I'm always thinking of new names. Right now I think I'm going to name a class after the Ninja Turtles if there's 5 call one Splinter. But I dunno, I really like Latino names too.
If you've got good name ideas comment on this post and I will take them into consideration. Anything goes!

-D

freezing!

it is really cold today. actually -8C but i'm freezing! last night dave and i went for pizza which was surprisingly good. you have to be careful, because a lot of pizza places use processed cheese. we went to a place called pizza school that had a sign saying "100% authentic cheese". it was delicious!! and cheap. two larges for $13. after dave treated me to a mini tiramisu from one of my favorite bakeries, emma.

it is friday and i am so happy. the week has been looooooooong. we are beginning to get into the routine of things. i'm pumped for the extra long weekend and seoul shopping extravaganza. ahhh!! during my breaks, i'm constantly on websites that i find in korean cosmo. then, i make kai, our male secretary look for the shops and tell me directions in english. it is his new project for me. i can't tell if he is pleased.

don't be surprised if dave and i come back with billion pairs of glasses when we come back. there are so many optical stores with really cool and cheap frames. so far i've found a big pearly white pair and an equally large brown pair. dope.

i think we have been set up with a phone at our house. it will be temporary until we get a cell phone. i'll let everyone know the number when i know it works. remember, we are 15 hours ahead...

stay posted for details of our long weekend to come.

you know you love me. xoxo.

-S

The long awaited post from Shanna

Korea is dope. So far my favorite things include:

- The variety of crazy Korean pops and juices available at the convenience stores. There is like a billion that range from lemonade to corn tea to anything else you could possibly imagine. My current favorite is Chilsing Cider—which is like sprite but better. And there is no regular cans here. They are all in slim red bull type cans. Something really small to be excited about, I know I know, but so novel!

- Everything is so close from our apartment. There is like 3 convenience stores on our block alone and they sell EVERYTHING beer, booze, wine, snacks, clothes, smokes, food. What more can I ask for?

- Cheap food! Dave and I have eaten out every night so far and it has only been $10-15 for both of us every time. Restaurants line every street. Everything is in Korean, but there is pictures of food and realistic plastic of models of food we can usually point to.

- Cheap smokes! Marlboro lights for less than 3 bucks. We went to the supermarket yesterday and I had realized I had left my smokes at home. NBD. Just cruised into the nearest store to buy another pack. Dave does not like this. He thought I might quit if I didn’t like Korean cigarettes. What a dummy!

- Heated floors. So good.

- Cheap clothes! Or maybe. As you know, I often don’t look at price tags. Everything is gorgeous. My luggages are going to burst at the seams.

- Bakeries! They have the most delicious looking pastries, cakes and bread. Presently I enjoy making dave buy me things from a bakery called Paris Baguette.

- Excitement and exploring! Everyday is an adventure.

Some things I’m not loving:

- My bathroom that doubles as a shower—ie the whole room is the shower and the head is attached to the sink. Balls. Shanna pang. Who would’ve ever guessed.

- The weather—its cold! Snow! However, everyone assures me that it will warm up in a couple of weeks.

- No internet, phone, or cable. Sucks. We FINALLY found a “transformer” that we can plug our North American plugs into. It converts the electricity down from 220V to 110V. so at the very least we can watch some movies and shows.

- Language barrier. It really wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t think I was already Korean. Everybody tries to talk to me in Korean. It sucks. Luckily, Davey long legs is usually kicking around so it makes sense to them that I speak English. Presently we are getting our Korean friends to help us write down stuff in Korean so we can find things in stores or take cabs to places. It’s really weird to just show someone a piece of paper and point. I feel crazy!

- Having a sunny disposition with kids all the time. So not my steez. Some of you would even find it horrifying how I can lay it on. Especially the school team and Michele.

Everybody is pretty friendly here. We have met a few other foreigners so far and they are super helpful. The other night we were looking for something and across the street I saw a white guy. So I tugged on dave’s sleeve and said “hey. A white guy.” We went and talked to him and he gave us his contact information and tried to help us out. I think he thought I was cute. Dave was jealous.

Yesterday we made our first trip to the supermarket. It was insane. A man is constantly yelling on the speakers. It was all in Korean so I can only imagine he is talking about specials. There is tons of fresh produce, meat and fish. Things like cheese, butter and wine are super pricey. However dave somehow justified purchasing a $7 mini jar of peanut butter. We are relegated to instant coffee for the time being. Lame! This weekend we are probably going to seoul, and there is starbucks there. Yessss!!! So excited to SHOP! It is also lunar new year this weekend so we get a four-day weekend. Sweet!

Hopefully we can post some pictures soon so we can give you a better visual of what we are up to.

You know you love me. Xoxo.

-S

Anyong!

Hey whatsup Ya'll
we made it to Korea safely. The trip was pretty long but it was easy- Shanna slept alomost the entire time. Right now I'm just on a break at school in-between classes. Today was hilarious, every month we go on a field trip and today was field trip day. We drove 45 minutes out of the city up a mountain and went sledding at a winter park. The kids were hilarious, I was doubling with the scared ones, I even ran over this one kid with my sled when he wiped out (he thought it was hysterical) I wish I could throw some pictures up but we have to use the schools computer since we don't have internet, a phone or cable yet but we should be getting that taken care of in a few weeks.

Korea is pretty fun so far. Shanna and I have been exploring our city Uijong bu the last couple of days. We went to "Lotte Mart" a huge walmart style place that's 3 stories. We bought al kinds of goods to make our apartment from drab to fab haha. New quilts and pillows, some shower shoes (that don't fit me), gloves, toilet paper, the essentials. Then last night we went out with the other foreign teacher from the school-Adam. Adam is a real nice guy that is going out of his way to make us feel at home. We went for Korean Barbaeque with him and some of his friends drank Soju (Korean Vodka-ish wine). It was delicious! We met Adam's friend who used to teach at our school Robert and some Korean nationals. They are helping us with translation and making sense of it all. I also scored a microwave from Robert and they showed me how to use the thermostat (mostly).

Shanna and I were going to eat some food at this regal looking resteraunt with 3 GIANT cauldrons of boiling bones in the window display and then we saw a pen on the side filled with bunnies! We skipped that joint.

Ok I have to teach a class now!

-D

2 Days!

Shanna and I are leaving on Saturday and we're getting excited!
It's balls cold outside in Saskatoon, Shanna and I froze our asses off walking downtown today being outside for seriously a total of 5 minutes. So I was checking what the weather looked like in Seoul this Sunday: it's supposed to be +7 C! Plus! Not freezing!
--I actually think it will be almost like a slightly warmer Vancouver type climate.

So to clarify a bit:
We are moving to a city just outside of Seoul called Uijeongbu. It has ~420 000 people in it and is a 40 minute subway from downtown Seoul. Our employer has supposedly found an apartment for us within walking distance of our school (which they pay for). Shanna is slightly nervous about our apartment because we asked to see pictures numerous times and we haven't seen any yet. I hope it's not ghetto, and tiny!
Good news is that they told us it is furnished so it will at least be big enough fit a queen size bed. And I guess they don't have "proper" or western bedding in Korea. So we are packing sheets and pillow cases.

Another thing we are packing is like 3 sticks of deoderant each, since I guess most Koreans are born without the gland that produces body odour. Deoderant sticks are supposedly a hot commodity over there. Lucky them.

I'm already worried about being this huge pasty white stinky foreigner!

-D

1st Blog Post!

Thanks for checking out our new blog! I wanted to start this blog so people in internetland can follow our adventures while travelling. The blog name: the Good, the Bad, and the Weird; refers to good, bad and weird times and experiences that We will be encountering in life. We hope to fill this blog with pictures, insights, and everyday mish mash.
So here is a glimpse of what is happening now, and will be happening in the months to come. Shanna, my girlfriend, and I have been planning to teach English Abroad for the last few months. While entertaining job prospects in Japan we were also offered many from Korea. When finding a school that would hire both Shanna and I became difficult in Japan we started to look for work in Seoul, South Korea. Fast forward 2 months to today. It's been blizzarding in Saskatoon all weekend, we've experienced a minus 50 C coldsnap, we've sent documents to Vancouver and back twice and to Seoul and finally our E2 working Visa's have arrived. We are heading to Seoul, South Korea via Vancouver in 4 days.
Excited I am.
I can't wait for this adventure to start!

-D