best day ever

Yesterday, I made the journey to my old stomping grounds of Gwangju to finally pick up my settlement from the labor court. As is usually the case with anything involving Korean beauracracy, it was not a simple task. My old registration card from last year had my middle name misspelled by one letter (which didn't seem like a big deal at the time), which made the clerk seriously doubt whether I was the same person. It took about 30 minutes of straight arguing to finally convince him. After that was settled, I found out that the money had been put in a bank account in my name. Went next door to the bank and withdrew it, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had been earning interest on it all along, about $60. The greatest thing of all is knowing that this particular issue is complete, and I never have to worry about it again. And I get to enjoy this pile of money:

first week over

I've now been back in Korea for 8 days. My first day I felt a little out of place, and was a little uncomfortable with the staring and such, but by day 2 I was over it. Since then I've noticed a few times that it feels like I never left. Forgotten Korean phrases magically returned, my ability to navigate on foot between reckless Korean drivers without even flinching was still there, and what little I remember of Hangeul (written language) came back. The downside to this familiarity is that I lost the overwhelming excitement of being in a brand new place that I felt last year when I arrived. Considering I've been away for a year while only being in Korea for 4 months before, it surprises me how I'm feeling.
So what have I done here so far? Spent the first weekend familarizing myself with my dong... (that's the Korean word for neighborhood, you know) I've made 4 trips already to the Lotte Mart (supermarket) because I keep forgetting things I need, I've gone to eat with my director and her family 4 times, did my Wonder Girls impression at noraebang, spent an agaonizing hour at immigrations trying to get some stupid certificate to present to the labor department in order to get my lawsuit judgment, got an invite to attend a 4th of July party at the naval base, had the worst hangover ever in my life, seen 3 fights, accidentally stepped on a cat, got propped by a woman who couldn't speak a word of English, and been told at least once every day how handsome I am (albeit mostly by Korean men and teenage boys- yep) Adam said today "Korea is great for your ego." Couldn't agree more.

PS I can't say enough how grateful I have a boss who will do whatever it takes to make sure I'm doing okay, and to have Adam here to show me the ropes of this town. This experience is starting off so much better than my last time that it doesn't even compare.

first day back in Korea

I arrived back in Korea last night. The director, a Korean teacher, and the other foreign teacher Adam all came to pick me up. I got the grand tour of the school and the director's apartment, which is upstairs from the school. I moved into my new apartment, which is so much nicer than my place in Gwangju that it doesn't even compare. In fact, I know it's early, but just about every impression the new school has made on me is a 180 from my previous school.
My first night in Korea had quite the share of Korean weirdness. Adam took me to a bbq restaurant, where a drunk guy started throwing glasses everywhere, shattering them on the walls (and he did this about 4 times before the owner finally got mad at him..lol). Then, as soon as we walked out of the restaurant, some drunk kid vomitted right in front of us. Later on, when I was about ready to fall asleep, I heard some "lovemaking" from another apartment across the street. I missed this place!!! View from my apartment

Rocking the ROK

It's all confirmed, I'm going back to Korea this week. I just got my visa today, but not without some trials. My old employer told immigration that I ran away from my job, so immi felt compelled to say that to anyone who applied for a visa for me. I really have to wonder how someone could lie SO MUCH like he does. Maybe he has lied so much, that he convinces himself that it's the truth. Maybe he's found some creative way to justify it, or maybe telling the truth is not part of his personal moral code. Oh well, the end result of his stunt was delaying my return for a few months, he has not succeeded in keeping me away (and why does he care, anyways?). What a douche.. but this will be my last mention of him or of LCI.
I'll be living in the Busan area, which is good because I loved Busan the two times I visited last year. The weather is milder there as well. I'll be 1 of 2 foreign teachers, which means there's only a 50/50 chance I'll have to work with someone who's crazy. Big plusses.. oh and I'll have a good schedule and a significant raise from my previous Korean job. Best of all, I'll get a chance for a do-over- I could not possibly be any more excited.

International Peace Gardens of SLC

Today I finally paid a visit to the International Peace Gardens, a small garden on the Jordan River in Salt Lake. Although I have always known of its existence, I had never been there, and wasn't quite sure what to expect. When I saw it, I was surprised by how nice it was. It's basically a patchwork of different gardens created and maintained by various ethnic groups of Utah. They have cultural icons and some native plants. For example, the Switzerland garden has a 30 foot high replica of the Matterhorn. The Greek garden has vines growing on an arbor that's standing on classic Greek columns. The China, Korean, and Japanese gardens all have pavilions. How could I have grown up in SLC and never been here before? It's such a nice, pleasant place; an oasis in the decaying ghetto of the Westside... oh, and there was no Wikipedia page for this place, either- so I made one. Another crappy page, but another awesome picture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Peace_Gardens

I've created Wikipedia pages

If you know me, you know I hate waiting for someone else to do something. Such was the way I felt when trying to find some history on one of Utah's oldest skyscrapers, the Walker Center. Even though this building was once the tallest in the Mountain time zone, there's virtually nothing about it online. So, I made a Wikipedia page for it! I figured no one else would, so I should give it a try. I didn't realize you needed to know formatting and other internet shiznit, so it looked horrible, until I just copied the formating of another page. I still never found much info on it, so it's short (and poorly written). But hey, it has an awesome picture, which I took!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walker_Center

photography page

I'm in the process of creating a page for my photography. On one hand, it's really exciting to finally be sharing my art with the world. On the other hand, it's very uncomfortable to put myself out there like that. It's one thing to have my photography on my myspace or facebook page, where only my friends (i.e. approving people) can see it, and another thing to put it on a public page where anyone can come and make whatever comment they want about it. Even though many people have suggested to me time and time again that I put my photography out there and try to make money off it or use it as a resume, there's still that insecure part that hopes no one ever says anything mean. As Erykah Badu says: "keep in mind that I'm an artist, and I'm sensitive about my shit!"

SOLD!

I am pleased to announce my Arizona tortilla chip has been sold for a cup of Starbucks.

Arizona for sale!

Well, not the actual state, but this tortilla chip I discovered that looks almost exactly like the shape of Arizona. I think ebay is calling me:

Two years ago I posted a similar blog on myspace about another chp that looked like Arizona. Here is a pic if it... how weird that I've seen 2 of these chips before (or maybe they're just not that rare)

living in the present

I feel close to making an announcement on my future destination, but I'm not going to say anything until it's 100% confirmed. More on that at a later date...

Yesterday, out of the blue, I got a little homesick for Korea. I didn't think I had been there long enough to have it be a place I got homesick for, but I guess I was wrong. What struck me as odd were the images that were popping in my head. I did a lot of exploring, and saw a lot of sights, but it's the simple memories that are coming up: hanging out in the subway station late at night when it's empty, walking the streets of downtown Gwangju at night during a monsoon, late night taxi rides, eating "gelato" out of a thimble-sized cup at a sidewalk cafe during a rare 2 hour lunch after a field trip, drinking coffee and eating sandwiches in the neighborhood cafe while Roxanne tries to buy the owner's homemade pottery that decorates it, the Friday sidewalk markets that seemed like such an annoyance at the time, wandering the aisles of E-Mart for no good reason...

For awhile now, I've been living in the future, while thinking about the present. I spent too much time daydreaming about trips I could take, marking in my calendar what I would do every weekend day for the next 3 months, and imagining what life would be like when I returned home (even though it was a year away). My new goal is to flip it around and live in the present, while thinking of the future. It's a concept I'd heard a lot, but never paid any attention to. I'm looking out of the window, watching the dark thunderstorm outside, and being thankful that it's no other way...

...and wondering why I end so many of my thoughts with ellipses...