B is for Bali

So after months of TEACHER! TEACHER TEACHER!, we finally stumbled upon our summer vacation. Destination? Bali, Indonesia.

We found a cliff top treehouse to bunk for the week, overlooking some of the best surf breaks in Indo. We spent the week surfing, temple-ing, and getting attacked by some fairly ferocious monkeys. Bali was even more beautiful than imagined, and we stayed with some very cool Aussies which made our week all the better. The people were kind, food was heavenly, and the times were good.

Visual stimulus trumps words this time, so that's all from me.

In the meantime, still loving it, still happy.

-Selina & Bryan

R16 Breakdancing World Cup

Korea is good at: making cars, computers, cell phones, kimchi, cheap alcohol, pop music, and breakdancers. As was witnessed at R16 International Breakdancing World Cup held in the Seoul Olympic Park Stadium. Selina, Lizzie and I attended the singles battles on the second day which had me jumping out of my seat screaming like my pants were on fire. It was divided into three sections: Poppin, Lockin, and Breakin, the latter of the three making me the most emotional. There were contestants from all over the place, some of which I have never even heard of like - Germany, France, Brazil, Vietnam, Japan, Philippines, Holland, Venezuela, USA, Korea - and a whole bunch of other ones I can't remember. Also, the judging panel was holding its own weight, being composed of originators to the art form. This was the biggest event I had ever attended, being accustomed to the humble Canadian gatherings of home.

Highlights of the night included the intermissions which combined traditional Korean dance, TaeKwonDo, and modern breakdancing. And another which mashed-up military band marching and modern dance, resulting in one of the most innovative routines I'd ever seen. After the final singles battle everyone washed out into the stadium parking lot still burning from the two DJs and live band that serenaded the crowd and competitors. On the subway ride home I watched teenagers battle each other in the aisle as the train waved back and forth headed home to Gangnam Station. Korea is good at: soccer, BBQ restaurants, speed skating, breakdancing, and having a really good time. One more reason to love the Republic.

Mudfest

Just a general comment before this next entry, I will state that the times that Korea has been pumpin' out lately deserves a massive standing O. This weekend was probably one of the most solid getaways to date. It seems that the fun never stops in the ROK, and this weekend was no exception.

MudFest was the name of the game, and was exactly as it sounds. Thousands of foreigners from all over Korea made their way to Boryeon in Daecheon, a huge beach on the west coast. The good times started on the morning train ride over and ceased to stop even in a glorified typhoon. We partied ... and played in a lot of mud. Mud obstacle courses, mud slides, mud wrestling pits, you name it, we put mud in and/or around it. Thank the Korean Beer Lords for those 2L plastic pitchers of beer which we carried around all day. Taking class to a whole new level.

We woke up to find the typhoon had decided to chill, and we had one of those classic relaxing beach days. A little more mud, some body surfing, some street dogs, and an accidental sunburn. The train ride home was a sight: Thousands of foreigners, hungover, burnt to a crisp, still displaying traces of mud, but have all just experienced the same rockin' time, doin' it up right in the 진흙. MUDFEST. WOO.

One more week of teaching and then we're off to Malaysia and Bali. Booyah, ajumma.

Conclusion concludes: still loving it, still happy.

Peace out, y'all.

Til next time.

Jose, can you see?

July 4th weekend was quite the time. Our friend Kim organized a huge scavenger hunt all around Dongtan for the waegooks in the area. Over 30 people showed up and took part in some pretty hilarious challenges. Top of the list: getting in the trunk of a random person's car, getting on the announcer's mic at the grocery store, and my personal favorite, getting slapped across the face with a live octopus (Don't ask us how we found one).

After the hunt we all came back to our pad for a huge potluck, watched the vids, tallied the points, and had the medal ceremony. My team came in second, while Bry's took first place and was awarded the Soju Trophy of Pride and Personal Achievement. Topped off the day with Beer Olympics in the park (flip cup relay... taking the game to a whole new physical level) and fireworks. Ohhhh Canadaaa.... that our flag was still thereeee...

We are currently on our way to Mudfest! And it just happens to be completely typhooning. So we'll see how that turns out. (But I'm assuming it will be completely radical.)

Until next time,

Word to your Oma.

Rich Valley

So it's Monday after work, and I'm home alone, which is a mighty rare occurrence in ol' Dongtan. But the Hulk went to the gym while I decided to come home and chill after a long weekend of Poly partying.

This time around was an overnight staff party. Our boss took our 20 or so staff members to Rich Valley, a small pension resort on the West coast. We woke up early Saturday morning and piled into our Poly bus, ready to rock. Of course, it rained the entire weekend. (2/2, at least we're consistent.) But like the last getaway, it didn't stand in the way of solid times, solid food, and solid drinking game discoveries. (Gahnda, gahnda, peong, GANDA!)

Sounds lame and much too cliche for a blog, but my favorite part of the weekend was actually getting to experience Korean culture. Since I live in it, I obviously experience it everyday, but I often experience the city culture, and rarely get to see day to day familial quirks. It was cool to see how they camp (bbq masters) the snacks they choose (always fresh fruit) and their breakfast choice (ramyen and kimchi - ouch.) The whole weekend was on the boss man, another display of Korean generosity to add to the list.

We had a really great time bonding with our staff and certainly have some stories for the water cooler. And if there is any lesson to be learned from this weekend, any words of wisdom from the wise of the West, it is this: When in doubt, fake unconsciousness. (But don't forget to check back every 4 to 5 seconds, just in case.)

So as per usual, there have been many going ons as of late. The most obvious being the new blog design. Bryan doesn't like it, but he's too lazy to ever blog so his vote no longer counts. Hope you like it!

So we both agree that spring is the best season yet. There's tons to do and we've been doing most of it. For Buddha's b-day (He's 26, I think) a big group of us headed out to Seonyudo, an island off the west coast of Korea. There were about 13 of us crammed into a little pension ready for a weekend of beach and sun. And then it rained the entire time. I would say too bad, but it was the complete opposite: we had a hilarious time playing board games, cards, catch phrase, and charades all weekend long. We drank, ate, and even found a random noraebong to belt out some tunes before bedtime. We ended up making friends with some pretty awesome people too, from all necks of this wonderful Earth: Some South Africans, Scots, Brits, and Yankees. The community of Korea is one of the parts I'm loving most, and it's great learning about new places through stories and the people telling them.

On the topic of meeting new people, we've also made friends with another group of Waegooks in Dongtan, who had a party a few Saturdays ago. There was about 20+ people, which is a big gathering for Korea (considering most people live in studios). It was nice to be back in the house party vibe, and we also made some cool new amigos, 2 of which are going to be in Bali the same time as us. International double date traveling, bring it on.

The latest news in the news is World Cup 2010. In case you were unaware, South Korea is a tad into soccer, and since Canada is so painfully not, we've jumped on board. This past Saturday was their opening game, which the entire country came out for. By some Saturday night miracle, we landed best seats in the house, in a sports bar downtown Gangnam. We won 2-0, the roof was blown off the bar, and I've never hugged so many strangers in my life. KOREA #1!

Today we went to a friend's bbq, where we cooked up some delicious grub on a rooftop patio. Met some new people and experienced some new food, like a toasted South African sandwich that I'll be sure to make a part of my life rather soon.

So those have been the highlights as of late. At this point (June 2010), we're exactly half way through our 16 month contract, which is crazy. Time has flown by and I'm sure the next 8 months will go even faster. So much still to do! Like, go to bed for example. It's currently midnight on a Sunday. I'm the most rebellious preschool teacher I know.

Goodnight, friends.

City Oasis

Solid discoveries this past weekend. We stumbled upon a pool in the Waegook district of Seoul, that just happens to be atop a major hotel, with a full lawn chair, beer, and bbq service. We checked it out this past Sunday and it passed the test - t'will certainly become a humid summer getaway locale. Oh, and we also saw the biggest dude ever. Check it.



It is currently a Thursday night of a 3 day weekend, and we're gaming up for an island adventure. We're heading to Gunsan, a group of islands of the west coast of Korea. About 15 of us rented a pension and plan of hitting up boats, bikes, and snorkelling. Beers, bbq, and bitchin' times are also on the menu. Huge shout out to Buddha for being born. Cheers to you, big guy!