Kickoff of the Austria-Germany game

Austria fans at the European Championship

...singing anti-Germany songs at the Austria-Germany game.

 

My pal the Prez

Austria's president Heinz Fischer waves the Austrian flag for the crowd at the Austria-Germany game of the European Championship here in Vienna.

 

While Snorkeling...

 

This is how I spent most of my time on the Honeymoon

 

Honeymoon from Stefan's perspective

 

Paradise!

 

Snorkeling in the Maldives

 

Honeymoon at Soneva Gili, Maldives

 

Swimming with Reef Sharks

 

Honeymoon in the Maldives

 

My hubby

 

Honeymoon in the Maldives

 

Mom, me and Stefan at the reception

 

Verliebt, verlobt, verheiratet

 

Long time, no blog

A lot has been going on since my last post 3 months ago, and rather than write about it all, I'm taking the lazy route and just putting some pictures up. Enjoy!

Mein Verlobter

 

My Peeps: Anna and Stefan

 

Chicago Style Pizza

 

Chicago at Dusk

 

With the bro in Chicago

 

Not perfect but still the greatest

 

View from our hotel in Beijing

 

 

 

 

The Forbidden City

 

 

 

 

Proofreader Needed!

...to proofread just about every English sign in all of China (if not all of Asia).

 

 

 

 

The Great Wall

 

China Central TV Building Under Construction in Beijing

 

Breathtaking Beijing

 

Vienna

These are some photos my Dad took while visiting us in Vienna a couple of months ago.


Vienna's got a major dog-poop problem, so this sign says 'Take a sack for my crap.'






This is one of six anti-aircraft towers built to protect the city during WWII to defend the city. The walls are made of concrete 5 meters thick.

The Windy City

That's a photo of me eating Chicago snow. Delicious! Almost as good as Cleveland snow.

After months of blogus hiatus (that's Latin for 'I'm a lazy-ass blogger'), I'm posting from yet another city. I should contact the Guinness Book of World Records for having moved more times than anyone else in the span of a year.

I write from the cozy first floor Chicago apartment that I share with Anna, my best friend of 15 years. We live in Ravenswood, a raven-free but yuppieful neighborhood north of the city. It's quiet and peaceful, only one bullet hole in the front door. There are no bars on the windows...and hopefully no need for them. Nearby are Germantown, Little Sweden and Little Korea. Our landlady is Mexican and the tenant upstairs from us is a Korean man who loves to play 'Slow Ride' over and over again on his stereo. I feel right at home.

I'm settling in here, at least as much as one can settle with no furniture to her name and no job yet to speak of. I've got a few job leads that keep my morale afloat, and hopefully I will be able in some capacity to start teaching at least part-time this coming year.

In between job hunting and trips to the local library to stock up on novels, I spend my time maintaining an incredible long-distance relationship with Stefan, my Austrian Freund, who lights up my afternoons with German cuss words and discussions of American immigration laws versus Austrian immigration laws. It looks like for once Austria wins.

Budapest

Like Vienna, Budapest is strikingly beautiful, though it's a city better seen at night. I'm a huge fan of graffiti, when it's done well. Unfortunately, most of what downtown Budapest has to offer by way of graffiti is copious amounts of sloppy tags. Everywhere.

Effects of long-term stays in Korea

Here's a photo from our last night in Seoul (end of June), with some of our closest friends there. In the front row are Chris (my coworker) and Nate. Middle row: Stefan, me, Leslie, Matty and Adam. Back row: Jeff and Tim.

Why didn't she just go to a hospital?

I'm standing outside of the cave high up in the mountains of Crete where Hera supposedly went to give birth to Zeus.

A Viennese and a Hendersonian lost in Crete

We're so happy because we just discovered that Greek salads really ARE the same in Greece as in America.

A sunburn in the making, Greek-style

Greek Roulette

Just got back from our vacation in Greece, which turned out in some ways to be more stressful than our regular-life vacation in Vienna. We got a last-minute package deal called 'Roulette,' meaning that we wouldn't know which hotel we would be staying at in Crete until arrival. The only thing guaranteed was that we would be in an all-inclusive 4 star hotel at least 100 meters from the beach. What we actually got was a "3-star" hotel (I put that in quotes because it was actually, by American standards, a 1-star hotel, as you can see from the photo above) with access to a "5-star" hotel (read: 3-star) for our all-inclusive needs: pools, crappy buffet, bar that served free drinks out of dixie cups till only 11 pm, fitness center that was only free between 10 am and 2 pm, etc. There was a COAST nearby but no actual BEACH nearby. We had to walk a half hour to the nearest beach. To top it off, we were staying in a room with two single beds, no double bed. When we talked to the travel guide about our unhappy situation, she was more or less like, "a 3-star hotel plus 5-star all-inclusive service equals a 4-star package," which means, "I aint doin nothin to help you!" So our first day and a half were spent reeling from the shock of our disappointment.

After we got over it, we just rented various modes of transportation to make our daily escape from our roulette nightmare. Then the fun started. We rented a moped one day and spent hours winding through dry, dusty, rocky mountains and tiny Cretan villages with old men sitting in chairs by the side of the road. We rented a car for two days and headed across the island to a city called Xania with beautiful tight streets and charming colorful buildings reminiscent of an Italian city. The harbor there was spectacular, complete with the clear blue-green waters that surround Crete and a lighthouse. It was perfect! On the way home, we stopped at a roadside beach to swim in the sunset. The next day we headed to a plateau high in the mountains to visit the cave where Zeus was born, and on the way Stefan let me drive our rental Hyundai for a little while. It was the first time I had driven in over a year, and Stefan only peed in his Speedos twice.

That afternoon we went to the most dangerous water park I have ever been to or could imagine. It appears the Greek have just about as many regulations in regards to safety standards as do the Mexicans. I'm glad to still be alive.
On our last day, we rented another moped, and headed to a nearby beach for a day, where I got the inevitable searing sunburn after forgetting to apply sunblock once upon leaving the water. That's the only souvenir I brought back with me.

On the morning of our departure, the bus that was supposed to pick us and a couple of other families up from our hotel to transport us to the airport left EARLY, so we missed it. It was set to leave at 3:45 am, and at 3:45 we were at the entrance waiting. No bus, no other families. Seeing as there was no receptionist at our hotel (the family that owns it was asleep), Stefan went to the 5-star hotel, where they called a cab for us. The cab driver, who happened to live next door to our hotel, was asleep as well, but soon came straggling out of his house, wiping the sleep from his eyes, happy to charge us 50 Euros for our ride to the airport.

Nochmal in Wien

The past couple of months have been insanely hectic. In April I found a second job in Seoul to fill the afternoons left open by my horrible split shift schedule at the English institute. I worked at an educational information and informatization research institute as a proofreader/editor in the public relations department. Don't ask me what informatization is; I already looked it up in the dictionary and it doesn't exist. After working there for 2 months, I get the vague notion it's related to the mating habits of honey bees. Though most of my days were spent trying out a myriad of ways to prop my head up on my fists so as to be able to sleep while appearing to gaze at my computer screen, occasionally they actually had documents for me to proofread, slogans to invent, or documents that had already been translated from Korean to English to translate into Spanish. By the time said documents had made it through two or more translations, I have my doubts as to whether the Spanish gobbledegook I contributed approximated in any way the originals. Luckily none of the people in my office spoke Spanish so they'll never know how little Spanish knowledge I have related to the mating habits of honey bees. The best part of my job there was teaching English conversation to my colleagues and bosses a couple of times a week. Like my classes at the language institute, most of the time was spent laughing.

Meanwhile, life at Job #1 went on as usual: first class at 7 am, last class ending at 9 pm. My body got so accustomed to the early start that most mornings I was actually beating my 5:30 alarm clock. I'd teach til around 1, then run to Job #2, then at 6:30 pm run back to Job #1 for my night classes there. Needless to say, the jam-packed schedule took a toll on my body. I've been sick for the past 2 months with various infections, some of which took 2 rounds of antibiotics to overcome. I had a sinus infection, a bacterial stomach infection, and I'm still fighting off tonsilitis.

Besides a variety of illnesses, I also acquired a brand spankin' new boyfriend in Seoul. His name is Stefan, an Austrian lad with a sharp wit, great legs and an incredible sense of adventure. Though my contract at the language institute was set to end in September, with little encouragement from Stefan and lots from a schedule and boss sent from hell, I terminated it early in favor of coming to Vienna with Stefan. So at the end of June we took off to Austria for a 2-month vacation before heading off to China in September for Stefan's work. We're spending our days sightseeing, shopping, catching up with his family and friends, and just goofing off in general. It's fabulous! After 10 months in the concrete jungle of Seoul, I feel like I'm in heaven, being around so many trees and plants and beautiful buildings.

At the end of this month, we'll take a weeklong trip to Greece, to take a break from all this hard relaxing in Vienna. In August I'll try to enroll in a German class, so that I can learn some real German to supplement the Viennese dialect (which is useless outside of Vienna) that Stefan and his friends are teaching me. And this weekend we're going to a concert that I've always dreamed of: the Beastie Boys. September through December we'll be in Jinan, China, and for Christmas I'll be home to visit with lots of cheap Chinese souvenirs for all. After that, who knows?

My beloved students...

Last month one of my sweet students named John sent me a couple of awesome emails that I couldn't resist sharing. He needed me to answer questions for one of his English classes at his university, so he was really trying to butter me up:

HI! ANNIE. I'M JOHN WHO YOUR YBM CLASS STUDENT. FIRST, THANK YOU FOR YOUR FAVOR. IF YOU DON'T HELP ME, I WOULD'NT FINISH MY HOMEWORK. YOU ARE VERY KIND AND BEAUTIFUL TEACHER. I'M SERIOUS. ^^
ANNIE, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS. WOULD YOU LIKE TO ANSWER MY QUESTIONS? IF YOU ARE RIGHT, I WILL START QUESTIONS.

COULD YOU TELL ME WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

HOW DID YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION TO KOREA? PEOPLE ARE KIND OR IMPOLITE, HANDSOME AND BEAUTIFUL, ANYTHING ELSE.

DO YOU LIKE KOREAN FOOD? IF YOU LIKE THIS, I SUGGEST TO VERY DELICIOUS KOREAN FOOD. HAVE YOU EVER EATEN 'GAMJATANG'? IT IS VERY HOT AND DELICIOUS. I BELIEVE THAT YOU LIKE 'SOJU'. 'GAMJATANG' IS VERY GOOD PARTNER WITH 'SOJU.' I WILL TELL YOU WHAT 'GAMJATANG' IS. 'GAMJA' IS POTATO. AND 'TANG' IS SOUP. THEREFORE 'GAMJATANG' IS KOREAN STYLE POTATO SOUP. BUT IT MAKES USE OF RED PEPPER. SO IT IS VERY HOT. IF YOU EAT THIS, YOUR CLOTHES ARE ALL SWEAT. JUST KIDDING. DON'T AFRAID ABOUT THIS FOOD. IF YOU EAT THIS, YOU WILL ABSOLUTELY LIKE THIS.

AND MAY I ASK THE NEXT QUESTION?

I'D LIKE TO KNOW HOW IS YOUR KOREAN LIFE? PERHAPS YOU HAVE TO ADJUST YOURSELF TO THE NEW ENVIRONMENT. IS IT EASY OR HARD?

AND COULD YOU TELL ME HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO ANOTHER COUNTY IN ASIA? OR ALL OF THE WORLD. WHERE IS THE BEST PLACE YOU HAVE GONE? COULD YOU RECOMMEND THE PLACE TO TRAVEL? I LIKE GO TO TRIP. IF YOU RECOMMEND SOME PLACE, I WILL GO TO TRIP THERE.

COULD YOU TELL ME HOW DO I STUDY ENGLISH? I WANT TO MY ENGLISH GETTING BETTER. I WANT TO YOUR ADVICE. IF I BECOME A GOOD ENGLISH SPEAKER, I WANT TO MAKE FOREIGN FRIENDS.

ANNIE, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS IN KOREA? FELL FREE TO ASK ME IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION. YOU CAN ALWAYS ASK ME. I WILL ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION. IT'S MY PLEASURE.

MY QUESTIONS ARE OVER. THANK YOU FOR READ AND ANSWER MY QUESTIONS. IF YOU WANT, I WILL EAT 'GAMJATANG' WITH YOU.^^ AND WITH A BOTTLE OF 'SOJU'?^^

I LIKE YOUR CLASS. IT IS SO FUNNY AND VERY USEFUL. IT HELPS MY COMMAND OF ENGLISH GETTING BETTER. YOU ARE BEST ENGLISH TEACHER WHO I HAVE MET BEFORE.

THANK YOU ANNIE~ I'LL STUDY HARD IN YOUR CLASS. I WANT TO YOUR GOOD FRIEND AND GOOD STUDENT. HAVE A NICE WEEKEND AND SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.

After I sent a reply answering all of his questions, I got this message from him:

HI~ ANNIE~ THANKS FOR YOUR E-MAIL. HOW DO YOU FEEL? HAVE YOU GOTTEN COLD YET? DID YOU SEE A DOCTOR? I THINK YOU HAVE TO NEED A REST. I HOPE TO YOU WILL GET BETTER.

YOU ARE SO KIND TEACHER. YOU ARE THE KINDEST TEACHER I HAVE EVER SEEN. YOUR ADVICE IS A LOT OF HELP TO MY ENGLISH GETTING BETTER. IT IS THE REASON WHAT I LIKE YOU. ^^ AND YOU ARE PRETTY.^^ DO I SEND A FLATTERY TO YOU?

ANYWAY, THANKS A LOT. I WILL STUDY HARD. COULD YOU HELP ME ANNIE?^^ I WILL BE A GOOD STUDENT.

HAVE A NICE EVENING. AND SEE YOU WEDNSDAY.

My coworkers and I often share stories of the sweet (and sometimes evil) things our students say, as well as the funny English names that the students come up with. Here are some of the best ones for guys:

Rambo
Gemstone
Dancing Boy (this was a 60-yr-old man)
Mr. Ha (a 22-yr-old)
Bread (after 3 months the teacher figured out he meant 'Brad')
Genghis Kahn
Bass
Bleng
Palex (I later figured out he meant 'Felix')

And for girls:
Annie :)
Easy

Also, speaking of evil things that students say, here are some of the comments made by students:
The other day we were talking about plastic surgery in one of my high-level classes, and one of my students told me, "I think you need skin care. I can recommend a good doctor." I have no zits, so I guess he was talking about the multitude of wrinkles I've acquired since arriving in Korea.
One of my coworkers who DOES have zits has gotten several comments from students about the poor condition of his skin.
And another student told a teacher that she should go to a karaoke room because you can burn a lot of calories by singing. That was his not-so-subtle way of telling her she's fat.

Finally, I must share a story that a student told me about her friend (we'll call this person Min Ju) who went to the US. Min Ju went to McDonald's and tried to order a McChicken sandwich. In the US, as you know, we pronounce 'McChicken' with the emphasis on the letter 'i': McChIcken. Well, the Koreans put he emphasis on the first syllable, and they pronounce 'Mc' like 'MAC'. So Min Ju says to the cashier, "I'd like a MACchicken." The cashier says, "What?" and Min Ju repeats, "A MACchicken, please." The cashier turns around and hollers to the kitchen, "Jose, someone's here to see you!" and up walks this Mexican guy to the counter.

I never miss you in the future.

It's the start of a new month, which means I get all new classes starting on Monday, and most likely a new batch of students. While this is often a welcome break from the monotony of seeing the same faces every day, sometimes it's a little sad to say goodbye to students. The last day of classes always brings some really sweet comments and little gifts from students, photo ops, many bows, handshakes and sometimes hugs. One student named Angela had grown really attached to me, and she gave me the note that follows. I've typed it exactly as she wrote it, because her mistakes are so cute! I've added comments in parentheses for clarification.

Hi~ Anne~! I'm Angela
I become tense very much. Because...I write to you about the while in English study class with you. I have enjoyed every time we've had together and I really enjoyed talked with you. I appriciated your consideration very much during last month. I'm very poor to speak English in the beginning. but, My ability is better and better after met with you. So, I'm very happy and thank you for your consideration very much. I never miss you in the future. Anne, Do you mind, if I ask your E-mail address? I would like to keep in touch with you forever. I hope your Korean ability is better and better. and...I hope you have a wonderful tim during stay in Korea. I want to invite you when I get Merry. I would like to see you again and...I like Anne more than Park Hae-il (he's her favorite Korean actor)!!! True Mind! Anne, I'm glad to have met you. Goodbye and keep well. Good luck, Anne!!

Once in class I asked Angela who she admired most in the world, and she replied, "My dad." When asked why, she responded, "Because he's my dad, he's my friend, and he's my boyfriend." For a moment, I felt like I was back in Kentucky.

If you were a fruit, which one would you be?

I've been teaching job interview preparation classes for the last three months. I'm getting tired of asking people the same old questions provided by my boss, so to spice things up, I'm constantly searching for new job interview questions to ask my students. For example:
How many bottles of soju can you drink?
How many cockroaches are there in Seoul?
If you were the interviewer, what question would you ask?
Why is your GPA so low?
How many push-ups can you do? Prove it.
Want to arm wrestle?

Once I asked my students "If you were a fruit, which one would you be?" Dumb question, I know, but I found it on a website and I was desperate to get away from "What's your biggest weakness?" Here's my favorite response to the fruit question, from a shy student named Jae-Ryel: "If I were any fruit, I would be a lemon because then I'd get the chance to swim in beer."

In a conversation class I taught last month, I asked my students if they had ever had any pets. Key, one of my favorite students, responds:
"Once we had a dog, but we ate. My mom cooked it in soup. When I ate it, I cried, but it was so delicious."

Ski slopes at night and my slow-motion pro snowboarding photo

I was actually going really slow in this photo.

I am a walking bruise

It's been two days since I went snowboarding for the first time. I hurt everywhere. My Austrian friend Stefan and I went with a tour group of mostly foreigners to a ski resort called Phoenix Park, located a couple of hours from Seoul. After about 10 minutes of instruction from Stefan, we set out on the easy slope. It was really crowded, and I still don't see how I avoided killing anyone. It took me over an hour to make it all the way to the bottom. I fell time and time again, but it was so much fun! After my third painful time down the slope, I wised up and bought wristguards and kneepads. I couldn't afford buttpads, though I could've used them.

Each time I descended the mountain, it got easier and easier, and by the evening I was only falling down a couple of times per run. I'm so proud of myself, because I went down the intermediate slope a few times, and Stefan was very impressed, saying I was a natural. Maybe he was just humoring me, but it gave me the motivation to keep climbing back on the lift and battering my body over and over again. I have the bruises to prove it, and I can barely move, but it was worth it. I can't wait to go again!

Why I love Korea...

Cheap haircuts. Today I met Leslie at her hairstylist's salon, where for $15, I got one of the best haircuts of my life. A great guy named Jun cut my hair, plus they washed my hair twice (once before and after the cut) and gave me a scalp massage. Here's a pic of my new 'do.

My pyromaniac pals

Leslie and Alice shoot fireworks at Seoul's downtown New Year's bash. Notice the Korean traditional drums beating in the background.

Lotte World

David, one of my students, invited me to go to the amusement park Lotte World (a big rip-off of Disney's Magic Kingdom) today. It has an enormous indoor area with rides, a shopping mall, a pool complex and an indoor skating rink, plus an outdoor park with even more rides situated on the 'Magic Island' in a manmade lake. In this photo you can see the amusement park in the top level, then the shopping mall and at the bottom is the skate rink.

Seoul New Year's Eve Fireworks

This is a sign at my workplace, YBM

Doesn't anyone in their advertising department think before they create signs like this?!

New Year's Eve

My new friend Alice and I at the street celebration in Jongno, Seoul's citycenter.

Leslie and Alice in downtown Seoul

2007 is the year of the pig, so that's a golden piggy bank in Leslie's hand. Notice the insanely close fireworks in the background.

New Year's Eve

This is Seoul's Millenium Tower, under firework attack.

Police Barricade at Seoul New Year's Eve Celebration

Seoul New Year

One of the most glaring differences that Americans face when going abroad is safety. Once you leave the U.S., you realize how hard our government works to try to protect its citizens from senseless harm and death. Korea's New Year's celebration is a prime example of the fun, excitement and danger that can accompany the absence of such protective regulations. My pals Leslie, Alice and I joined the hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Seoul's citycenter to hear the 33 rings of the massive Bosingak bell. Hungry pyromaniacs (including ourselves) snatched up 2-foot-long handheld fireworks launchers from street vendors, and as midnight approached, the air grew so thick with fireworks smoke that we couldn't even see the surrounding buildings. In every direction all we could see were the blazing trails of fireworks. I should've worn a hat: hot embers sizzled in our eyes and hair. There was extensive police presence, but only to block off certain roads and sidewalks, directing the flow of foot traffic. They seemed oblivious to the hordes of fire-wielders. Amazingly, out of the hundreds of thousands of people I saw launching fireworks, I only witnessed two men actually aiming them at each other. Everyone else responsibly kept their firesticks pointing skyward. It was all very civilized. Notice in this photo the small child holding her own stick not even higher than an adult's eye level.

Samgyeopsal, a heavenly Korean bacon meal

This is my favorite Korean dish, grilled thick slices of bacon put in lettuce leaves with grilled garlic and spicy fermented cabbage...and of course soju, Korean liquor.

My wonderful students (who pay for dinner and give me Christmas cookies)

These are some of my students from my job interview preparation classes. From left to right: David, Jaeki, Khan and me.

Me after my first taste of Seoul snow...tastes the same!

Buddha in winter

Temple in Gangnam, Seoul

Snow-covered Buddhist temple, Gangnam, Seoul

My pals

Here are Marika, Rachel (Aussies) and Maciej (Polish Sugar Daddy) out in Gangnam, Seoul.

Seoul's first snow

This is what it looked like last weekend here in Seoul (12/17/06).

I love my job.

I'm teaching three job interview preparation classes, which are endless sources of entertainment for me. Here is an exchange I witnessed today between two students, Reggie and Peter.

Reggie: What kind of people do you like to work with?
Peter: I don't like to work with people who dishonest, not motivated...
Reggie: No. Peter, I asking question 21. What kind of people do you like to work with?
Peter: Oh. I not...I mis-...I not understanding question. Sorry. I like to work with people who honest, attractive...
Reggie: Like men? You like attractive men?
Peter: Yes. (obviously not understanding)
Reggie: You sound like some kind of pervert, Peter.
Annie: (falling on floor laughing for five minutes)

Another time I asked a student, James, what his greatest strength was.
His reply: I think my greatest strength is my stickiness.
Me: Your stickiness?
James: Yes, my stickiness.
Me: What do you mean?
James: I mean when my boss is giving me a project I working very long time and very hard to finishing it.
Me: Ah, so you mean diligence.
James: No, I mean stickiness.
Me: Uh, I don't think stickiness is the word you want to use here. Use 'perseverance' or 'diligence.'
James: Okay.

An email from my student

The other day in my level 1 conversation class, we were talking about emails, and I asked my students if they ever email anyone in English. Since some of them replied no, I assigned them homework to send me an email of five sentences telling me something they like about the class and something they don't like about the class. I got several sweet replies, but this was my favorite. I've put my comments in brackets just to help with readers' comprehension, because his English is a little jacked up!

Dear. Annie (Beautiful my English teacher)

Hi~~ ^^

I am Anthony. Did you have a good day, today?

Frist of all, I am sorry for accept [being absent] today.

I should have attendanced class. Because I had much drink with my army friend.

But, Although too late, I have heared homework.


I think, Good point of Our English class is kindness and smaile. But, Bad point is shame.

They [the other students] must have spoken English [in the past], but it's difficult. So, They are give up. easily.

Your teach is very good. Don't care.

That's all.

As you know, I should go to America on December 3rd.

I am expect my study in there!! ^^

Could you tell me about it?

I hope to learn America custome.

Will have a good day!! (OH.... sorry. Time goes by 12am...^^;;)

May you succeed!!

from. Anthony ^^

Bruce Lee lives...

...and he runs a language institue outside of Seoul. I met him and his brother 'Jackie' a couple of months ago.

Seoul Skyline

Detail of Gyeongbukgung Palace, Seoul

Dongdaemun Market, Seoul

Cheonggyecheon Stream in Downtown Seoul

This stream is right near my workplace in downtown Seoul.

Me and a Japanese Colonel Sanders

Did you know Colonel Sanders lives in Fukuoka, Japan? He's a dirty, dirty old man.

Skin problems

Things are going well here. I'm starting to settle into a crappy split-shift schedule. At least it keeps me from going out every night. I'm up at 5:30 in the morning. I teach from 7-12 then go home for a nap and lunch. I come back at 5 pm and teach til 8, then head back home for dinner and a shower. I hit the sack and read for awhile, trying to be asleep by 11 so I can get at least 6 hours of rest. It kinda sucks right now but once I join a gym I think it'll get better. At least I'll have something to do in the afternoons then. As it is, my afternoons are pretty boring and I end up taking long naps, which interfere with my nighttime sleep schedule.
My coworkers are great, and my students are fantastic. I love my classes, and just like in KY and IN, end up spending a lot of classtime laughing my head off at the crazy stuff that students come up with. One day a really homely-looking student said something that had me rolling for several minutes. Each student had to think of a product and describe the way it looks, tastes, smells, etc. Then the others had to try to figure out what the product was based on the information provided. When it was her turn, the shy, homely girl said, "It smells like beer. It smells disgusting. And it tastes disgusting." Another student asked, "Is it a drink?" "No," she replied. Another asked, "Is it food?" "No," she says. The other student said, "But you said it tastes disgusting...have you ever eaten it?" Homely girl responds, "Yes. Once. A long time ago." The student then asked, "Is it...pee?" Homely girl: "Yes." Oh my god, I laughed sooooo hard. That same girl is obsessed with bowel movements too. She's always talking about constipation. When asked to give an example of somthing that makes their skin crawl, she cited the example of when she's constipated. I don't think she quite grasps that idiom yet...or maybe she does perfectly. Once they had to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of alternative lifestyles, like treehouse life. Homely girl was quick to point out that treehouse living could cause constipation due to sketchy toilets in trees. That's the kind of student that makes my job worthwhile.

The other night I went walking around my neighborhood in hopes that I'd wear myself out before my 11:00 bedtime. I stopped into a cosmetics store just to have a look around, and came across one of the saddest things I've seen in Korea. The brand 'Nuk' (the same company that makes baby pacifiers) has a Baby Whitening Powder Compact. If you think racism is bad in the U.S., come to Korea, where they apply sunscreen not to combat skin cancer but to make sure they don't get brown. The skin-whitening industry is a lucrative business here, and you wouldn't believe the amount of powder the women cake onto their faces trying to look more white.

SoKo baby!!!

Back by popular demand, a new post! Well, I guess you could call two whole people reminding me that I haven't posted in awhile 'popular demand.'

A lot has happened since my last post. I've moved into my brand spankin' new apartment, which is slightly larger than a shoebox but squeaky clean with lots of storage space to house my imaginary possessions. It's unfurnished except for a built-in desk and bookshelves. To save on space, instead of buying a bed, I bought a floormat that can be easily rolled up and shoved behind my imaginary lazyboy, which I recline in while watching my imaginary tv or listening to my imaginary radio. I don't get paid until November 7. Until then it's me, my floormat and books. Lots of books. Luckily I've found an English bookstore that sells used books for less than $10 each. Good thing, as I go through about three books a week.

I started work on Monday, and am on vacation the rest of the week. It's Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving. I can't say it's a much-needed or well-deserved vacation, given that I haven't worked since June. I wish I could transport these days off to Christmastime, where I will get a measly one day off. I don't get to choose when I take my vacation time. I get about one day off a month, designated by my company. I don't know when I'll be able to come home.

Judging from one day of work, I can tell it's not going to be tough. My largest class size is seven people, and the smallest is two. There's no testing and no grading to be done, and minimal preparation for each class. I teach six conversation classes: a level six (advanced), three level fours and two level threes (both intermediate). My students are mostly in their twenties, with the exception of one businessman in his late thirties, Felix (which he pronounced "Palex"). Stammering through our first conversation, he apologized, fanning his face: "I am sorry. You are so beautiful." It's funny to think that here I'm the exotic one.

I've met loads of other teachers and foreign professionals here, and I am slowly acquiring the skill of distinguishing between Australian, New Zealander, British and South African accents. I'm still pretty pitiful at it, so to be on the safe side I never guess aloud. That's a quick way to piss off an Aussie: ask them if they're from New Zealand, or vice versa. Canadians sound just like Americans til they let an 'eh' or an 'aboot' slip out, and apparently, just like the Aussie-New Zealand thing, they also get pissed if you call them American.

Seoul really is a city that never sleeps. Well, that's not true. People sleep, only they do it on the subway. More than once I've had to gently shrug the head of a snoring student or businessman off my shoulder. It's not uncommon, either, to see sharply-dressed businessmen in pinstriped suits passed out on a curb with a briefcase as pillow. Cars drive by, barely missing a splayed arm or leg. Such a sight is the result of too much soju, a Korean vodka-ish drink that I affectionately call the Drink of the Devil. In one of my classes on Monday a student asked me if I had ever tried soju. When I responded affirmatively, all my students let out a long collective 'ohhhhhh.' I've heard of people blacking out while on soju, losing three-hour-long chunks of memory to the soju demons. Being the responsible drinker that I am, this has not happened to me. Yet. The thing is, soju isn't really a strong drink. You can drink shots of it without too much of a burn going down. That's the problem though: it sneaks up on you. Again, being the responsible drinker I am, this has not happened to me. But from what I've heard, one moment you're fine, sipping soju at a restaurant, and the next moment you're up on a table at a karaoke room, throwing the microphone into the tv, and then shelling out big bucks to pay for all the stuff you broke. From what I've heard.

My sauna experience

The other day I had time to kill, so I went to a Korean sauna. The one I went to was a little pricey ($15, whereas typically they cost $4-$7), but when you hear what I got for it, you'll agree it was worth it.
They gave me a thin robe and sent me into a big cone-shaped stone room that was extremely hot (as I know saunas should be, but I felt like my nostrils and lungs were literally burning). It had a reed mat floor and as I came in through the tiny door they handed me a burlap sack to sit on. I could only stand being in there for about 10 minutes. I thought I was going to suffocate.

When I came out, a tiny woman (not a midget, just a Korean woman) led me to a floormat where I laid down on my back and she placed a cold wet towel on my face. I laid there for a good 20 minutes. I thought my sauna experience was over. But no, the woman got me up and had me go back into the stone cone again. I lasted another 10 minutes, and when I came out, she led me to the shower room. I showered off and started to leave the room. The woman stopped me and pointed me in the direction of three huge jacuzzis. The first was all bubbly: a warm ginseng bath. The second: a warm green tea bath. The third: a cold 'calcon' bath with a bucket of cucumbers floating in water next to it. Not sure what the cucumbers were for, but the bath felt good. In between each bath, I showered off. After the third shower, another naked Korean lady led me into ANOTHER sauna adjacent to the shower room. This one was smaller and not cone-shaped, and the tile walls were sizzling hot. I stayed in about 5 minutes, then headed out for my last shower, where I washed up and scrubbed my feet with a pumice stone lent to me by a different little woman.

After it was all over, I exited the shower room, where a lady toweled me off (ALL of me) impersonally and wrapped my head, sending me back to my locker. Then as I was dressing at my locker, another woman stopped me and pulled me over to the powder room, where they had all manner of hair products, lotions, oils, brushes, q-tips, you name it.

The whole experience lasted over 2 hours. I'd say that was money well spent.

I've got Seoululite...bad.

Some notes on Seoul:
Traffic laws exist for everyone but motorcycles. They can drive wherever and whenever they want. I don't even think they LOOK at traffic lights. They drive on the sidewalk, the crosswalks, the gutters. If I die here, it will be because I got run over by a motorcycle.

The fashion here is soooooo cool. It's totally 80's, but good 80's. The women are gorgeous. I mean seriously gorgeous. If I had a man, I wouldn't bring him here. Most of the western women I've spoken with here agree that we all feel like dogs compared to the Korean women. We are in luck, though! The men are stunning as well...eye candy everywhere. And these guys know how to dress! They look incredible in their spiffy suits, and they are NOT afraid to wear pink. I swear, one in 10 guys wears pink. The other day I saw a guy wearing a pink t-shirt with a bedazzled rhinestone heart just below his left shoulder. Surprisingly, it did not detract a bit from his beauty. The guys here spend more time doing their hair than all Korean women and even French men combined. I've never seen so much hair product per male capita.

Two things that are not rude from a Korean standpoint but are from mine: staring and knocking people down without a backward glance. I've learned to ignore the staring (had plenty of that in Mexico), but being pushed around with no apology is taking some time to get used to.

Update on my living situation: Hopefully I move into my new apartment on Thursday. It's an officetel (small studio) not too terribly far from my work. I've opted for no bed. Going to do it Korean style, with a padded mat on the floor. That'll leave me more space and be good for my back.

I'm at a hotel now (paid for by my company), but I spent the last week couchsurfing (check out www.couchsurfing.com). Mad props, Justin, for suggesting that site to me many months ago. I've had fantastic experiences! Best one: staying with Natascha, and Austrian, in her hotel room on the 20th floor of a luxury hotel in a business district of Seoul for 3 nights. It couldn't get any more posh than that.

I officially start Korean lessons in November, but am trying to learn the Hangul alphabet on my own now. I'd like to start Taekwondo as well, but won't do that til after a couple of months. I found a yoga school, but it's not cheap, and the teacher can't compare to the awesome ones at Yoga East in Louisville. I was so spoiled there!

After three days, my job hunt ends

Great news: I got a job! I'd say three days is probably my record for finding a job. I signed a contract today at a school called YBM (don't know what that stands for), a really reputable company with schools all over the world. It's not a public school, rather it's a language institute (called a hagwan). I'll be making about $2400 a month, with many possibilities for overtime. In fact, my boss showed me another teacher's pay stub today, and after working a ton of overtime he had made $4600! I definitely won't be taking that much overtime, especially at first, but at least I know the opportunity is there if I get strapped for cash. I spoke with a teacher today who said over the past year she was able to save up $20,000. So within 6 months I should be well on my way to saving up some dough. If I stayed for a couple of years, maybe I can pay off all my student loans!

The company doesn't pay for my apartment, but pays my deposit. They'll help me find an apartment; next Thursday I meet with a man from the company who will take me to an agent to show me apartments. Typical rent here is about $350-$400/month. I can get a furnished apartment for a little more, but I'm thinking of just getting unfurnished. We'll see what kind of options I'll have next Thursday. As soon as I decide on an apartment, the company will pay my deposit and I'll move in. Then they'll send me to Japan to get my visa worked out. They'll pay for my flight there and a night in a hotel. When I want to start taking Korean classes, YBM will pay 50% of the cost. I have to start a week of training on Sept. 18th, and I start working on Oct. 1, I think. After I complete the week of training, they'll pay me $400.

The school's located in the heart of Seoul, and I'll be living about 15 minutes away by bus. I do have to work a split shift, but that's okay. It'll make me be disciplined with getting to bed on time, as my first class starts at 7! Near the school there's a gym I can join as well as a public bath house with sauna, etc., where I can go rest during my off hours. The good thing is that they rotate schedules, so I won't have to work evenings every single month. Every other month I'll have evenings off. Upon completion of a year's contract, they'll pay me an extra month's salary and pay for my ticket home.

I'm so excited and relieved to have that done!

I think that's all the info I have for now. I did some sightseeing today while I was in that area to meet my new boss. Seems like a really cool area with lots of historical sites and artsy-craftsy shops.

I'll never make it as a mime.

I'm starting day 4 in Korea. Finally last night I got a full night's sleep. Thank God for sleeping pills! I'm hoping I'm well on my way to conquering my jetlag.

I went out yesterday to find an ATM machine, do some grocery shopping and try to buy a cell phone. I used an online translator to get some key words down, but all of the translations were in hangeul characters. No help there! Hoping that my experience playing Charades in Spanish class over the last 2 years would help me out, I set out to brave Anyang, the Seoul suburb where Leslie lives. As it turns out, miming 'ATM Machine' is pretty easy. Miming 'prepaid cell phone,' however, is not. At least I got 2 out of my three tasks completed.

I think I've found a great job! I'm going today to check out the school and meet the Coordinator. It's located in Changno, Central Seoul, near some fantastic parks, a palace and a museum. The pay is good, there's plenty of opportunities for overtime (I could make up to $4000 if I so choose), the coordinator is Canadian (this is a good thing, because working for a Korean boss in a super-heirarchical society can be a challenge at best for stubborn outspoken Westerners like me), they offer to pay 50% of Korean classes taken by employees, there's 5 days of training, after which they give a $400 bonus, they'll pay for a Visa run to Japan, where they'll put me up in a hotel for a night, plus much more! Sounds like a great deal.

The Korean people are not as short as I thought they'd be. I'm tall here, but there are plenty of people my height. I'm not the towering giant I thought I'd be. They're super-helpful, as well. At a cell phone place yesterday, 7 of them gathered around trying to help understand my request for a prepaid phone. This one girl about my age was very outgoing, and her smile revealed poor dental hygiene. Flashing her rotten smile at me, she asked, "Me pretty?" I looked at her, confused, and she repeated, "Me beautiful?" I agreed profusely.

View of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, from the pope's private walkway near Castel San Angelo

The gals in Italy

Beth, Les and I in the Castel San Angelo in Rome 5 weeks ago

Leslie's take on Italy

This is an excerpt of an email that Leslie sent out to friends and fam, recently. It tells some tales from our Italian adventures that I forgot to write about.

On to the big city
After soaking up the sun on the coast, we headed up to Rome for another amazing week. We spent an adequate amount of time wandering (a nice way to say 'getting lost'), enjoying the sidewalk cafes and shopping to balance out the official sightseeing. My faves were the Pantheon and the Castel Sant'Angelo. I will spare you additional info about the history and structural details of the Pantheon (truly riveting stuff!!!). We got extremely lucky on the timing of our trip as it related to the Castle: we happened to take a free tour of St. Peter's one day and the guide mentioned that for 2 weeks of the year the passage between Vatican City and the Castle is opened to the public, and it coincided with our trip! So, our last night in Rome we went to check it out. It was incredible! We walked the passage, usually reserved for the Pope, and inside the castle we enjoyed exploring and seeing some of the exhibits while listening to an Irish folk band and drinking beer. AWESOME!

Train 'misadventures'
We then headed to Tuscany on the train. Getting to the train station was no problem and we were all set to arrive in Arezzo in time to pick up our rental car before it closed at 1pm. Feeling a bit tired from the previous night's activities, we piled into a train car with no air conditioning at about 9am. An hour or so later, the train just stopped in this little small town and the announcer stated that it would be 40 minutes before the problem was fixed! Annie and I decided to head over to the convenience store on the other side of the tracks for water and snacks--8 minutes later, we glance up to see the train moving! Shocked and beginning to panic, I realized that my mother was now responsible for taking all 6 bags off the train and that I HAD HER TICKET! In the case of a ticket check she would have been fined up to 50 euros! The town where we were was so small that there wasn't even a taxi within 30 minutes of the place, so all we could do was sit and wait for the next train 1 1/2 hours later. When we finally arrived in Arezzo, we found my amazing, super mom sitting calmly at a table in the station café, sipping a coke. Her first words were, "Well, that was a cheap way to get out of having to carry your luggage!" We all laughed and headed off to brave the unmarked Tuscan country roads in our rental car.

Under the Tuscan sun, but not "gay and away"
Sorry, I couldn't resist the reference. J Despite the frustration of getting around with minimal signage and less than ideal maps, we enjoyed day trips to Siena, San Giomagnano, and Florence. Highlights: meeting the grandfatherly-type man who worked at the local corner store and having him recommend some wines for us, laughing hysterically at the comedian entertaining hot and tired tourists in the main piazza of Siena (I have a clip but it's too big to send!), having excellent meals accompanied by excellent wine, and hanging out at our little villa meeting the other guests (German and Scottish). Florence was, of course, amazing, but we didn't get to spend enough time there, so it is on the list for next time.

So I married an Arab oil magnate

Last night at midnight I arrived in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Unfortunately, I had not achieved my goal of finding a rich European duke to marry while in Germany. Mohammed will have to do. His family seems very kind and welcoming. I think I will quickly accustom myself to the traditional dress, though at times it is quite hot. At least at night under cover of darkness, Mohammed allows me to remove it.

Okay, actually, I failed at both of my goals: I found neither a rich European nobleman to marry, nor a job in Germany. So I came to Seoul, South Korea, via Dubai on Emirates Airlines. It was so posh! Every seat has its own flat-screen tv with satellite programming. For the first time in my life I ate delicious airline food. It was an excellent flight, despite the digestive problems of the German man sitting in my row. At one point, I had to open my little overhead air blower and just point it directly at him.

I arrived in Seoul amidst dreary grey clouds and a soft misting rain. My bus to Anyang passed mile after mile of tall drab tenement complexes. The only thing standing out against the landscape were the blood-red neon crosses topping every church steeple. I'm not sure if they're supposed to be inviting or scary.

It's 4 am and I can't sleep for the jetlag. Leslie's living space is a tiny studio apartment barely big enough for one person, so I'm trying to type quietly. We both agree that the quickest way to end a friendship is to live together in a studio apartment. I need to find a job/apt. asap.

So I've abandoned one land of socks with sandals (Germany) in favor of another land of socks with sandals (So. Korea). To me, it's fashion suicide. Leslie says she has come to like it. I replied, "Who are you and what have you done with my friend Leslie?"

Caffeinated water...brilliant!

At one of the clubs Isabella, Anna and I went to the other night, they only served caffeinated water. Ingenious.

From fly to bee infestation

In Italy, they have a serious fly problem. The person who introduces fly paper to the Italians will be a billionaire. You can't sit down at a meal without being swarmed by flies, and eventually one learns to identify with the poor starving African children seen on television who allow them to feast uncontested on their crusty eyes. Resistance is futile. Just as I was getting used to the constant crawl of flies over my bare skin at every meal I ate, I left Italy (yes, it took me two and a half weeks, being the spoiled American that I am).

Here in Germany, the number of flies is negligible. Instead they have bees. I must say that I prefer the bees. Though mildly threatening, their slower, meandering flights offer many more opportunities to swat successfully, and besides that, they don't crawl on you.

Last night Uschi's daughter Isabella and her best friend Anna took me out to a couple of clubs so that we could dance to 'black' music. They don't mince words here. Even the DJ said it. They don't use the German word for black (schwarz), either. The wierd thing is that latin pop music (like Shakira) somehow falls into this category, from what I can tell.

We danced til 4 am at a club in Heilbronn called MusikPark, at which point I thought my feet were going to burst from throbbing. I need a foot massage.

They only have dial-up here, so it'll be a few days before I can get photos up of the 20 ft.-long wooden penis that Isabella showed me in Heilbronn's citycenter last night. Now THAT'S art.

Germany, the land of efficiency and railroad suicides

I've finally made it to Germany, where lines are short, time is valuable and pedestrians have the right of way. After leaving the coast of Northwestern Italy, where I spent five days sunning myself on the rocky beach with my friend Leslie, I was in Interlaken, Switzerland for a night of drinks and dancing at a wild hostel. Mad props to Chris, the Scot who helped me get there.

After Interlaken, I headed to Zurich, where I accompanied my new pal Jason to the Street Parade. Street Parade is a festival in the citycenter with 800,ooo people in attendance. Five stages were set up at various points around the river, each playing techno/house/drum and bass/club music, mixed by some of the best DJs in the world. 30 parade floats also playing hard-thumping music followed the parade route. If someone had dropped a bomb in Zurich that day, most, if not all of the world's Eurotrash would have been eliminated.

I have never danced so much in my life, nor have I ever seen so many mohawks, faux-hawks and acid-washed jeans. Think 12 hours straight of dancing, wild costumes, drinking and drug-induced stupors (not mine, of course :). I should have worn earplugs.

We showed up around 1pm, and the Street Parade was already in full swing. People of all ages were out, breaking it down even through the rainshowers that dotted the afternoon sky. I saw some of the best dancing in my life, and by midnight I could barely move, my legs were so sore. At one point in the afternoon, we entered a head shop. After browsing around for a few minutes, we left. A few minutes later, Jason discovered that he had left the store with a baseball cap in his hand...not his baseball cap, rather one he had been looking at in the store. We were quite a way from the store by that point, so just decided to keep going. Later, I wore the cap, which bore the label 'Boehseonkelz', which means 'Evil uncles' in German. I wore that cap for the next two days as well, and at the end of the second day, I was on my way to a hostel in Stuttgart with a German who was heading in the same direction. The German guy asked me if I liked the group Boehseonkelz, and I told him the story of how Jason inadvertently stole the hat, and that I had no idea what kind of music they played. He then told me that it was a rock group known for being Neo-Nazis. Great. Just great.

Anyway, my biggest surprise about the Street Parade was that it ended at midnight. All of the stages closed down, the music stopped, and cleanup crews began their difficult task. The streets were still filled with music-hungry revellers searching for any beat they could find. We were able to find a few bars still blasting music til the wee hours and continue dancing, but by four I had to find somewhere to sleep. Of course all of the hotels were booked, so we just followed the crowd to the train station, where almost every spare inch of wallspace was occupied by passed-out partiers. We had to walk around for several minutes to find a spot to crash. I cannot say how awesome the Zurich police are for leaving us and the thousands of other partiers with poor planning skills and no hotel reservations alone that morning in the train station, able to recover in peace.

The amazing thing is that by noon the next morning, everything was spotless throughout Zurich. Those people really know how to remove trash and beer/vomit stench like nobody's business.

After Zurich, on my parents' recommendation, I headed to Konstanz, a city on the Bodensee between Germany and Switzerland. Apparently I wasn't the only one with that idea, because every hostel there was booked. So I got a ticket to Stuttgart, with a stop in Singen, where I was to change trains. The train from Singen was supposed to leave minutes after I arrived there from Konstanz, so I had to sprint to its platform with seconds to spare. As it turned out, though, someone had committed suicide on the train tracks somewhere up ahead, and the train had to sit for 3 hours while they cleared the tracks. Uschi, the woman I'm staying with in Heilbronn, Germany, told me this happens a lot here.

In den Bergen

This morning something amazing happened to me. I came to a crosswalk and two cars were coming, from opposite directions. There were no stopsigns. BOTH of the cars stopped to let me cross. I almost didn't know what to do. Then I remembered that I am no longer in Italy, one of the most pedestrian-unfriendly countries I have visited (again, the similarities between Italy and Latin America are astounding).
I am in Interlaken, Switzerland.

It felt like coming home yesterday when I arrived from Milan to a Swiss train station. Finally, I can understand what people are saying to me! My German is coming back to me quickly, and I'm amazed at how quickly I remembered how to order a beer.

Unfortunately, I have nothing to offer by way of photos of the dreaded mullet, which I described in my last post (by the way, Dad, a mullet is a haircut with short hair on the top and sides, with long hair in the back. I'm sure you've seen many examples in Henderson. Business up front, party in the back. Another name for this is a Kentucky Waterfall.). I do have photos of banana hammocks, but I don't think they're appropriate for my high-class blog.

One more quick note about Italian hairstyles: dreaded rattails. 'Nuff said.

The Dreaded Mullet

Due to ridiculous internet prices and beautiful beckoning rocky Mediterranean beaches, I haven't been keeping up my blog. For the same reasons, I will make this short. I just wanted to describe a couple of things about Italy that have struck me as interesting or downright hilarious.

First of all, the mullet is en vogue here. I see several a day, and have actually learned to appreciate it. I have seen some really good mullets. However, I have also seen some horrific ones. I have dubbed the worst ones (note that I use the plural...seeing this was not a one-time occurrence) the 'Dreaded Mullet': short hair on top, dreadlocks in the back.

Capri man-pants are totally in here as well. Banana hammocks are the norm as far as beachwear goes, and the Italian men really dig daisy dukes as leisurewear. I have seen WAY too many manthighs over the past couple of weeks.

Many stores have the college-dorm-style beaded curtains hanging in the front door. The first time we saw this at a butcher shop in Tuscany, we just assumed that the 70-year-old butcher was just a really hip dude. Apparently this has a purpose though: it serves as a screen against flies. Brilliant, no?

Just like in Spain, restaurant service is awful at best. I guess they let the awesome food do all the talking, because waiters here leave something to be desired. At least you're not expected to tip much. I would really have a problem tipping these people more than $1 for getting ignored most of the time.

That said, the food is incredible! Everything is super-fresh and cooked perfectly. One needn't ever worry about quality.

Italian time is like Latino time, but worse. Efficiency is not a priority in everyday tasks. Even the simplest things, like buying bandaids at the pharmacy or a banana at the grocery store takes FOREVER. These people are definitely not in a hurry to do anything, and I've had to learn to just give up on getting anything completed in a reasonable amount of time. For example, today Leslie said she was going to pay our hotel bill. The hotel office was right across the street. I thought she would be right back, but 30 minutes later she walks in, totally frustrated. Apparently the office worker couldn't run the credit card. She wasn't allowed to. Only the owner could, and he wasn't there. So the woman had to call him on the phone, and 20 minutes later he comes in, runs the card through the machine and then leaves.

What Italy lacks in time management, it makes up for in breathtaking beauty. The seaside is rocky and steep, and the Mediterranean is crystal clear with the most incredible shades of blue and green. We took a 4-hour hike along the coast a couple of days ago. It was about 5 km as the bird flies, but probably 9 or 10 km on foot because of the grade. We were constantly walking up or down rocky stairs. Not a good idea to do hung over and on 2 cups of Italian coffee. The views were spectacular though!

Tomorrow Leslie goes back to S. Korea and I move on to Switzerland. I'll probably stop in Zurich and head over to Lake Konstanz, between Germany and Switzerland. Then I head on to Heilbronn, Germany to visit my parents' friend Uschi Grandi.

I've totally fallen in love with Europe and am going to try to look for a job here instead of in S. Korea. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Rome and Vatican City

My first evening in Rome, Leslie, her mom Beth and I walked past the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and various runs to Piazza Navona, where we ate a delicious dinner (tortellini for me, fettuccini alfredo for Les and Beth) complete with some of the best Pinot Grigio I've ever had. Everything's better in Italy, even the water. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but the atmosphere definitely adds a romantic air to even a quick walk to an internet cafe.

It's as hot as Kentucky here, and if you're in the sun, you're dripping with sweat. At least there's a breeze and occasional shady spot.

Yesterday we went to Vatican City. First we toured St. Peter's Basilica, the largest church in the world. Our tour guide was a Yale-educated historical theologian from Louisiana who was not only ssssmokin', he was also giving the tour for the perfect price: free! The Basilica was beautiful, and we got to see Michelangelo's famous Pieta, a statue of Mary holding a full-grown Christ on her lap. In the seventies, a Bulgarian attacked the statue with a hammer, breaking off Mary's nose and Jesus' toes. Visitors to the Basilica ran off with the pieces but eventually returned most of them. They were able to repair the statue, and today you can hardly see the damage. Now they have bulletproof glass shielding it.

After a cheap sandwich for lunch, we headed to the Vatican Museum, where we saw the Sisteen Chapel. We weren't supposed to take pictures, but I snuck a few in. I'm posting all my pics on Snapfish, and if I haven't invited you to look at them, drop me a line and I'll send you an invite.
On our way home from Vatican City, we saw the Pantheon, which was built 2000 years ago, as well as Trevi Fountain.

Last night we went to an outdoor opera a block from our apartment. They were putting on The Magic Flute, and though I'm not a huge Opera fan, I loved it! The cast's voices were incredible, the setting was spectacular, and the orchestra music was enchanting. It was in garden complete with arches, columns and a fountain. A church stood on one side of the garden, and there were candles everywhere. The opera was in German, so I got a little practice trying to understand the storyline.

Les and I went to a bar late last night and chatted it up with some young Swedes for a couple of hours before coming home and crashing at 3 am.

A long trip

Monday night I flew out of NY. What I thought was going to be a straight shot to Paris ended up stopping in Iceland. The flight there was less than 5 hours, and since mine was a last-minute ticket, I ended up getting a seat in the very last row, with no one occupying the two seats beside me. That was nice, but being in the back also meant I was the last person to be served dinner. I could've eaten a barf bag (an empty one!) by the time they got to me.
Seeing dawn from the airplane was breathtaking, but it was gray and dreary in Iceland. The landscape was barren and rocky, like the moon. I saw no trees, but did spot an ice-blue spring/lake. I think I was on the wrong side of the plane to spot the mountains in the distance, but when we deboarded I caught a glimpse. It was under 50 degrees there, and the airport workers were all wearing coats. I only spent an hour at the airport, then we were off to Paris. I got to see the Eiffel Tower through the smog as we were landing, and at the airport got my first whif of famous Parisian B.O.
I took an overnight train to Rome from Paris. It was supposed to take 12 hours, but it lasted 16 hours. I met some cool people in the bar car of the train: Americans, Mexicans, a crazy Italian (is that a redundancy?), an Austrian and a Swiss. It was good company for an otherwise excruciating ride. I could hardly sleep, as the jetlag had my internal clock all messed up, so when we finally arrived in Rome at 3 the next day (Wednesday), I was exhausted. Plus I was sweaty, stinky and greasy. I cherish my first shower in Rome.

Outta here...

It looks like I'll probably be leaving tonight for Europe. I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed that this will work out.
Last night Josh, Phil and I drove into Manhattan for dinner. We hit a beergarden by NYU for a couple of drinks and then had dinner at a Malaysian restaurant in Little Italy (ARA: it's across the street from that dessert shop where we ate gelato 13 years ago).
I gotta give mad props to Josh and Phil for their New York driving skills.

Sparklers on 1st St., Louisville 07/15/06

Fort Lee, New Jersey

I write from Josh Dickinson and his girlfriend Philomena's co-op in Fort Lee, New Jersey. They are kind enough to take pity on my poor (literally) soul and let me stay with them. I am stuck waiting for a flight out of NY, and can't afford to keep staying at a hostel indefinitely. Josh and Phil's place isn't far from Manhattan. In fact, last night after eating delicious Vietnamese food at a joint called Mo'pho, we drove to a lookout spot not far from their house where you can get an awesome view of the George Washington Bridge and upper Manhattan. I took a couple of night photos (which I will try to post soon as I figure out how to transfer photos to Josh's Mac), then put away my camera. Lucky for me, because the next guy who walked up to take photos got approached by a flashlight-wielding cop wanting to know why he was taking photos of the G.W. Bridge. I guess the beautiful nocturnal view of the city lights wasn't obvious to the cop, who cited anti-terrorism as the reason for harassing this man. He told him that the G.W. Bridge is a possible target and that photography from that overlook was by permit only, though there was no sign stating that anywhere. The man told him he was from Germany, and the hostile cop demanded proof and then even searched the guy's car. Josh commented that they need to give cops elementary lessons on photography, since no regular-use digital camera could ever capture enough detail for those purposes. Besides, couldn't anyone get pics of the bridge off the internet if they really wanted to?
I have a phone interview tomorrow for a job in South Korea. I'm hoping to fly out on Tuesday for Italy if all works out.