Just checking out the sights in Seoul

How did we get locked inside the elevator?!?

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Happy belated Thanksgiving, everybody. They don't do turkey in Korea and there aren't any other Americans at my school. So the Kiwis and the Brits took me out for Thanksgiving dinner at Bennigan's. The sampler platter of ribs and fajitas was a decent substitution for turkey.

Goodbyes & other stuff

Well, I keep getting reminded by a plethora of different people that I haven't updated my blog in awhile, so I'll try to catch up all in one day. Here goes. Manchester Rob and Leeds Jane both ended their year contracts and are on the Trans-Siberian railway on their way back to jolly old England. They flew to Beijing and jumped a train from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and then to Irkutsk, Russia and then into Moscow. They made their way up into St.Petersberg and now they're farting around in Europe on the way home. Well...we had a going away party at Carne Station. Also, I lent my voice to the making of a English language learning CD for Korean preschoolers. I had to go to a professional studio to do it. Here's some pics. That's Rob & Jane at the top at a Roasted Peking Duck restaurant in Beijing.

And more halloween pics

Halloween Pics

A very busy weekend

Well it's Halloween weekend. We had a Halloween activity day for the kids at school on Friday. On Saturday morning and afternoon, I spent the day at the 38th parallel...the Demilitarized Zone in between North and South Korea. Pretty eduational. On Saturday night, I was out with a friend at a Halloween party in Itaewon. I'm ready to go to sleep now though. Enjoy the pics.

Gone Home

Hey everybody. I know it's been awhile, but life doesn't slow down for anybody. If you don't know already, I had to go home to Texas for 3 weeks. My Dad had a heart attack and passed away about 10 days later. I'm back in Korea now and I really miss him and my family, but I'm blessed that I inherited his coping skills. He was a good husband, father, son and friend. I couldn't ask for a better father. He went above and beyond what most fathers do and I'm a better man because of him. If you knew him, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you don't, you should ask somebody, because you missed out.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Hi Mom! Happy Birthday. I hope you enjoy your day.
Hi Andi! Congratulations on the new digs. I'm sure you'll like the downtown life.
Hi Dad! I miss you. I hope you're doing well.

Hello to everybody. All is well in Korea. Lots and lots of work, but everything is good.

And a little bit more of Beijing, China

More of Beijing, China

Beijing, China

Well, I went to Beijing, China for 8 days for my summer vacation. I saw some great sights. I had a great time. Highly recommended, but not until after the Olympics next year.

Deokjeok-do Island

It was Manchester Rob's birthday last weekend. So we got a bunch of Waygooks (foreigners) together and took a trip. We got on a ferry and went to Deokjeok-do Island which is over an hour off the west coast of Korea in the middle of the Yellow Sea. It was a good time. This was the first time I got to see the stars in Korea. It was quiet, clean and it was probably the best weekend I've had since I've been here and this is day 110.

Paintballin' in Ilyeon, Korea

Suwon

So I made the trip to Suwon. Ben, Richard, Lucy and I went to see Hwaesong Fortress. Some people call it Suwonseong Fortress. It was a good time. We walked around the walls, checked out the places where the Royal Guard would sit and observe the approaching opposition. I saw more nature today than I have since I got here. It was nice. I still haven't seen any stars since I got here, but at least I'm seeing some greenery now. Check out my pics and videos at http://picasaweb.google.com/shane268. Later.

Pirates of the Carribean 3

So, we went to see Pirates of the Carribean 3. Lucy really got into the act when she dressed the part. The Koreans were a little confused. They didn't get it. Lucy had fun with it anyway.

My First Korean Wedding

I went to my first Korean wedding on Saturday afternoon. It made me realize even more than I already did, how much of a sideshow my friends and I are. First off, there's Ben. He's a tall, lanky white guy from Wellington, New Zealand. Then there's Saucy. She's an albino girl who's almost blind from Auckland, New Zealand, but born in the Fiji Islands. Then there's Lucy. She's a short-haired madcat of a lesbian from Manchester, England. Rob is Lucy's friend from Manchester that we've all grown to like despite the fact that he's quite mad. Then there's Tish. She's an African-American girl from Virginia. A lot of people over here are quite rude to black people, but she handles it well. Finally there's me. A six foot tall, 300 pound, bald, bearded Texan who happens to be an ex-prison guard. I've always thought myself to be quite normal, but I've been informed by all my new friends that I'm not. Anyway, after the wedding ceremony, the bride, Yoo-mi, waved us up to the stage to have photos taken. It was a big wedding hall at the Songdo Ramada Inn with probably over 300 guests. So, the big circus sideshow begins walking past the audience toward the stage where we would be in there wedding pictures. We immediately felt the stares and heard the whispers. I immediately felt really out of place. It didn't help when Yoo-Mi had me centered behind her and her groom in the picture between two random Korean guys that I've never met. But, immediately after, we were greeted by her family and friends and were thanked for coming. Afterwards, we went upstairs for the reception buffet. You should check out the pics and videos. http://picasaweb.google.com/shane268

Getting my Paper and Making a New Friend

All is Well

Hey everybody,

All is well over here. I've just been crazy busy. So if I don't call somebody or return an e-mail immediately, please forgive me. I've just got a lot going on right now. I miss you guys. Later.

War Memorial and Chinatown

Well, I had another good weekend here in this polluted sespool known as Korea. I went to Seoul with Ben, Lucy, Gareth and Salata. We started off the day by going to this restaraunt called "The Nashville." They served an authentic American breakfast. It was good. Scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, toast and pancakes doesn't sound like such a big deal to most of you, but it was a comfort and reminder of home to me. Afterwards, we went to the Korean War Memorial. We spent over two hours there before we even went inside. We walked around outside looking at the planes, jets, bombers, helicopters, boats, warheads, missiles, torpedos, tanks, different types of artillery and statues. When we walked inside, there was probably a weeks worth of stuff to look at. Nothing I can write in this blog can explain this place. It is truly the best museum I've ever been to. So much thought and detail has been put into this place, former soldiers continue to make regular trips here. I ran into a group of retired U.S.Marines that have come here every year for the past 6 years. They said that the place seems new to them each time. After being there once for only 6 hours, I see that this place honors and is a great tribute to those who served and sacrificed themselves in this conflict.

Ben, Gareth, Richard and I then ventured off to Chinatown on Sunday. We had a great time and it was really nice. It's worth another trip, but after experiencing the War Memorial, we knew it wouldn't be near the experience that we had on the previous day. Once again, I took pics. I'll send some out soon. I'm working on getting all of my pics up on a google site. Be patient everybody, it shouldn't take that long. Now I've started another week of teaching. I've been working on report cards. I'm teaching honors and AP classes so I'll be doing report cards every week. Anyway, I'm off. Peace.