Another set of youtube videos....

Part 1:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=NMvhJPIZezA
Part 2:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=G3Wkfk3nheA

The hair is ridiculous.

The $10 Orange

No joke. This orange is $10. This past Saturday was Lunar New Year, or commonly known as Chinese New Year. As part of tradition, gift boxes of fruit are given. But the fruits are outrageously exepensive. A gift box of 5 oranges are $50. Now these oranges are supposed to be special oranges, they come from a special island in Korea called Jeju island. These oranges are picked specifically for New Year's and only the flawless make the grade. I got to tell you, it's beautiful. I am very interested to see how it tastes so I will make a companion video on youtube with me eating the orange. Yeah it's outrageous but still....

EPISODE VI

No One is Safe

Forgive the Star Wars reference, korean tv has been playing phantom menace and clone wars on a rotational basis as of late. The title refers to the clubbing scene here in Korea, particularly in one area called Itaewon. Should you ever do a wikipedia search of Itaewon, it speaks of the closeness to the US army base. Itaewon is the "western town" of Korea, somewhat like chinatown back home. Here you'll find all the western restaurants, KFC, Mcdonalds, etc. as well as Americans, specifically GI's. Due to the proximity of the army base, you'll find quite a few army regulars perusing the local shops. It's when the clubbing scene starts things seem to get out of hand. Locally, night clubs will open around 10pm and close around 6am, liquor is served throughout the night. At most places the party heats up around 1am, after the American military curfew. Prior to that time, inside the clubs there exists a tense atmosphere, hence the title of this blog.

I have met a few military personnel, spoke at length while enjoying a hockey game at a local bar, nice conversations were had. However, at a club atmosphere, there's an incredible hulk type of vibe, Bruce Banner will morph into the hulk when crossed. The tension is thick, it feels that at any given moment some large brawl will break out. Additionally, military folk are huge comparative to local Koreans. I would say that the average Korean male is about 5'6, 150 lbs, while the average american military personnel, 6'0, 210lbs. They dwarf the local population. Several hours ago, I went to a night spot in Itaewon heavily frequented by the miltary. I did not feel comfortable. I felt as though if I stepped on someone shoes I'd be in a world of hurt. The tension was unmistakable until 1am when the curfew was in place. Even after that time, military police would come through the club to look for stragglers. These people look serious, ready to put the hurt on if someone so much as looked at them cross-eyed. For this reason, in most of Seoul, the military is not allowed entry at any time save for Itaewon. There have been many instances of fights breaking out and club owners do not want to have police come in during peak hours looking for rogue soldiers. For these reasons, I have placed a personal ban on night clubs, at least not attending one prior to 1am. I do not dislike the military, but this evening there were times when I was very worried. I'd like to think that I'm a tough guy and I'll hang in to the end, but if something happened here I'd probably bolt for the door. I don't want to find what military training looks like in practice, I'd rather read it in the newspaper the next day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rddroFzg5o

First attempt at youtube

enjoy.

SORRY

I apologize for the lack updates. It took a couple of days to figure out why I couldn't log in to the blog service to update. The site is all in Korean, I have to use google's language converter to help out, but all I get is broken English: "Touch button, impact better". Crazy.

So what has happened in the past two weeks? Currently I am employed via a recruiting service that has a stable of teachers. Last week, we had a grand party for all the employees. We were taken to an all you can eat/drink buffet. Now you may think that it's not a big deal, but a buffet in Korea is impossible to find. Not only was the place a buffet but it was all you can meat and liquor. At a grocery store, meat is sold at a premium. Ground beef would be $15/lb, chicken breast $12/lb, the prices are exorbitant, so finding a place that sells all you can eat was incredible. Needless to say, the meal was over the top. By the end, our party was suffering from "meat sweats". Personally, I had forgone the liquor to eat as much meat as possible. I apologize if you're reading this and you are a vegetarian, but it was delicious. By far one of the best meals I've had since I've arrived and it was free. Just can't beat that.

Also that night, my perception of Canadians in general had been greatly changed. The prevailing thought is that Canadians are reserved and polite. This could not have been further than the truth than what was witnessed that evening. While our party was given a private room, the main area was filled with Canadians. Rowdy Canadians. It was a college campus atmosphere dominated by Canadians. Songs were sung at the top of lungs, people were standing on tables spilling beer all over the place. It was interesting. I found it funny that the Korean servers at the restaurant covered their ears as the songs reached untold volumes. What also surprised me was that this is a common occurence, if Canadians were to fill a bar it would get ridiculous. The perception of westerners being loud and drunk was well earned that evening. I was tempted to join in but I had no idea what songs they were singing or the strength to fight the fullness of my stomach. One day perhaps....

On a side note, continued thanks for the emails. Keep'em coming. Now that I've found out how to upload pics, it'll make the blog a little more interesting.