Big Weekend

So, usual night out Friday. Drunken fun. Bumped into the guy who was wandering around in his boxers a few weeks back (see blurry nudity).


Saturday I headed to 부산. Elliot came as far as Dongdaegu but felt too sick to come. At 자갈치 market, Mark and I had eels for supper. They skin them, which seems cruel but I guess the nerves are severed. It was surprisingly tasty. Got free quail eggs too - we asked the ajuma how to eat them and she removed the shell and popped it right into Marks mouth!

After that we saw the opening night of the Busan Fireworks Festival.  Really really pretty. Video1 and Video2.  Really fun, saw Julian ad Sophie after. Never again shalm I give directions using an Angel- in- us cafe. There were at least 3. Using a building with a colour changing 'hat' worked.
Drinks followed, ended up in the Busan Thursday Party.

Giant flower just off the beach.

Sunday Elliot came across.  Some giant art exhibition was being taken down.  Delicious mango smoothie cured my hangover. Back to Jalgachi market for broiled fish. I ended up eating the eyeballs. Perhaps it'll improve my eyesight.

Went to Haeundae for a couple pints, darts and some snooker. Then it was back to Shinsegae 신세계. Its the worlds largest department store.
Mark and I went to a 4D screening of ReelFeel. 4D was amazing! Its kinda a cross between a motion simulator and a film. Including smells, breezes, flashes from cameras. When the robots where fighting you were thrown around, hit in the back by the chair, puffs of air and smells.
Spilt my beer during an unexpected jolt. Good times!

찜질방

Went to a public bathhouse on Sunday with my Korean friend Julian.  I expected the one near here to be kinda small and bad, but it was as good as the one in 안암 in Seoul.  Spent a while using the various hot rooms in the mixed bit, including the freezer room.  It was quite pleasant after the 65C room, until the sweat on the thin jjimjibang uniforms started to crystalize.. That was a sign to get out I think.

The actual bath bit was good, the idea is to scrub so hard that you remove a layer of skin in the process.  I was surprised how much muck and gunk came off my back after I'd decided I was perfectly clean.  Got the usual looks for being a foreigner.. mostly directed down south.  I also had the awkward moment of seeing one of my young students.  I think we both made the decision to not talk and just generally subtly avoid each other.  I guess Koreans take it as a given that they'll bump into their kids teachers, maybe the local priest, the guy from the cellphone shop, and anyone else from their neighbourhood at the local 찜질방.

My new gym regiment is kinda sticking.  I went yesterday alone for the first time.  Its easier making yourself go if someone else is too.  Will try and get in this weekend too, need to drink less so hangover doesn't stop me.  Anyway, I need to head in for a haircut, not sure where to go but will wander round till I find someplace I think.

Asian Song Festival

2011 Asian Song Festival


So went to the Asian Song Festival last night.  Amazing.


There were a pile of Korean acts, with a smattering from elsewhere in Asia.  
LeeSA played first, she got famous on youtube doing acoustic covers.  
Tiktok was enjoyable :-)
Lee Seung Gi sang too.  He's a little cutie - the women at my work love him.  There was so much screaming when he came on.
Bibi Chou was really good too.  Chinese woman with a great voice.  And one of the few singers who wasn't just doing bubblegum pop music.









So enjoyable until the sky opened and it began POURING it down.  I got a blanket which I'm going to keep as a souvenir.  By this time I'd had a bottle of 소주 so was feeling pretty merry despite the rain.  Went downtown after that.  I feel like I'm finally starting to find my way around this city, even whilst tipsy and at night (when every street is just a sea of neon).




Whilst waiting for the concert to begin I wandered around the World Cup Stadium area with Elliot and Jim.  Went to this free "Virtual Reality Sports Theme Park".  Virtual baseball, running, and a giant wall sized 앵그리버드 (Angry Birds) game.  So much fun.  I tried taking photos but my camera is dead.  I thought it was the batteries but bought new ones and its still dead.  I do have the one below however from that time I came third in the Daegu Games:
If you're wondering where Elliots legs are, he was wearing jeans and it was a bluescreen.





I'll leave you with a photo I took, and a link to the videos (which I'll put onto my youtube page).  People were given glowsticks, its difficult to see but the whole crowd was lit up with different colours.  Really cool.

Beerbelly and Penis

Yesterday I went and got gym shoes.  Being a boy, I went to my nearest supermarket and tried on the cheapest pair.  They fit, so done deal.  I've joined a gym right by work.  It's a little weird, they provide you with towels, shorts and a tshirt so I can leave my shoes there in a locker and just go whenever I feel like it.  Thats cool.  I suspect that rejoining the gym may have a little to do with my students.  They ask if I've got a 6 pack (sometimes accompanied by trying to lift up my shirt).  When I say I don't, 없다, they ask if I have an 8 pack. This then increases to a 10 or 12 pack. I usually tell them then that I've got a 0 pack.



I sent off a few socks today, a wee bit concerned that they're a bit, well, wee.  If anyones in the market for possibly too small socks and a letter let me know!


For today, I'm going to do my 한국어 (Korean) homework. Head to the bank (I want a separate account to save a little money) as well as get my watch strap replaced.  Because I never take it off, its falling apart.  Hopefully they can do something about the scratches on the glass aswell.


Lastly, I need to talk to one of my students.  Her homework diary this week was a mess of nonsensical ramblings.  Something about baking and/or decorating a cake.  And then something about "spending the bastards out".  I just about choked when I read 'bastard' in a primary school kids homework diary. 

My Penis

It does make a change from students asking about my 자지 (dick) which is something a few of my classes are currently doing.  I usually pretend I don't understand. Which is easy when they use the phrase "fireball", derived I think from hurt genitals to ask if I have a foreskin.  It' s not so easy to pretend ignorance when you're teaching shapes, and one of them draws an almost anatomically correct picture up on the board.  This was no childish willy you'll see graffitied everywhere.  I informed the boy that that was definitely not the triangle I'd asked him to draw and erased it. I really wish I'd taken a photo lol. Another boy also pulled the middle finger sign upside down and gestered at the fingernail. Usually they simply just point at my crotch.  Any suggestions?

Millionaire!

Today is payday, so for the next couple days I'm a multi millionaire!  On my todo list: gym shoes, haircut, and I'm going to be opening a savings account too so I can put a little money aside. Damn student loans.  

North Korean Adult Store

Although my entire student loan is about the same as you'd pay for a years tuition now.  I feel like an old man, "in my day..." well, a year ago.  I've got this stupid idea that if money is in a different account then I pretend it doesn't exist.  It kinda works.  

Washing machine gets replaced tomorrow - hopefully with a shiny new one with dozens of shiny buttons that I'll never use because I'll not know how it works.I'll leave you with a picture of Kim Jong Il and his new sex toy he bought with his dictatorpay, enjoy:

One small blog for man..

So I'm officially one of those people with a blog.  I bet it lasts a week and I give up..
I took a photo of the floor of this coffee shop downtown, which I'll be editing and using as the background.  I thought that the camera sound would be quiet if the headphones were in.  But no.  I bet the girl working there was like "stupid crazy foreigner".  Apparantly you can't turn it off so that women know if you're taking photos up their skirts on the subway.  Or kilt I guess.


My washing machine decided to set itself on fire instead of washing my clothes on Friday.  Its old, and probably not fixable so its getting replaced Monday.


This weekend was really good, I had supper and drinks with people at Nagrange near work on Friday.  I also had my first Korean lesson downtown at the YMCA.  I got put into the second level which I'm really glad about, I would've died if I'd had to sit there for 6 weeks whilst they taught us the alphabet and how to count.  But we skipped all of that and went straight to introductions.  Theres 6 students in the class, and its only 150 000 won for 3 months and the books.  One lesson down, 11 more to go.


Saturday night I headed downtown.  After getting a wee bit lost, I met up with Erica and Shaun (et all) at Thursday Party 1.  I stopped in next door at MF to see people for a bit too.  There was this really cute guy walking round with his trousers round his ankles.  Wish I'd gotten a better photo.


  Then it was off to see Livine (this band) at their rehersal studio, more drinks, Tequila at a 노래방.  Fun.


Today I wanted to go hiking, or maybe hit the jimjibang, but tequila at 4am put an end to that.  So I grabbed supper with Sophie downtown, and wandered around the shops.  I need to get gym shoes (I'm getting so fat on all of this 갈비).  Payday is Monday, and they didn't have my shoe size so I gave up.  I did find some great couples socks which I'll be sending back to Scotland.

After getting home I skyped Little Anna, twas nice to chat.  But I need to go now, need to tidy the apartment for when my washing machine gets fixed/replaced tomorrow.