School's Out!

It's officially summer vacation! Class three was almost as excited as me! Next stop, Japan!

2018 in Korea!

If you haven't heard the news yet, the small town of Pyeongchang (병창) has won the bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics. My co-workers are very excited about this, and they're hoping Kim Yu-na can give another spectacular performance.

The town is only about 40,000 people, and they're going to have to do a lot of work to prep it for the olympics. Luckily, it's already one of the top destinations in the country for winter sports, and it's location in the scenic "Korean Alps" will at least provide a beautiful backdrop.

Photo courtesy of CNNGo:

I hate my washing machine

Normally, I don't have many problems with my washing machine. I know a lot of people have had many clothes ruined because of theirs, and yes, I have had a few fatalities. However, this last load of wash I did was the worst yet.

The damages include 1 stretched out skirt, 1 stretched out dress, 1 hole punctured through a cardigan, and 1 destroyed t-shirt. Here's some proof:



I'm pretty sure this isn't supposed to happen!

I've got to ask my co-teacher again if there's a gentle setting, but until then, can anyone help me?



RIP, t-shirt.

Picasso at the Lapin Agile (ie Rupert's Play)

Sunday was Rupert's play. He's been busy rehearsing for over 3 months now, but I think all the hard work payed off! It was a fantastic show!



After getting back from Busan later than we'd anticipated, I met everyone at the theater. Some of the guys who went to see the play were Heather, Meaghan, Adam, Stephanie, Amanda, Ann, Kenny, Erin, Sun, Mike, and Sun Young. Andrew entertained us with a bit of accordion before the show started, and Matt was able to sneak in also, even though he didn't have a ticket for the sold-out show.

The theater was near Chon Dae's Front Gate, and it was a little small. They had a nice set up however, and because of the small size, nobody had a problem seeing or hearing.



The play was written by Steve Martin, and is a fictional story of when Picasso and Einstein meet at a bar in Paris. Later, Elvis even makes an appearance. All of the cast members did a fantastic job, but I think my favorite character of the evening was Charles Dabernow Schmendiman. He was so funny!



It was a great time, congrats, Rupert! :)

KSU Club Night~ Busan

"BUSAN, South Korea -- Saturday the 25th will witness an evening (and probably early morning) of the peninsula’s top hip hop spread out between Vinyl Underground and Blue Monkey in Kyungsung. $10 gets you in both bars with a free drink in each and a long night of rappers spinning their yarns and DJ’s scratching."

The Deserts and Da Meegook Movement are playing their final out-of-town concert this coming weekend, and I know they've been working hard at getting ready for it. Stephanie and I are going to Busan Friday night (the boys will be playing/watching another concert in Daegu), and we'll catch the band in the exciting Kyungsung University District Saturday night. It should be a great show. There's a huge lineup, featuring:

*THE TROUBLE MAKERZ
*PINNACLE THEHUSTLER w/ DJ TOM SLICK
*BLACK ILUMIN & JUDONOMI
*DJ FENNER
*Da MEGOOK MOVEMENT
*THE DESERTS
*SAMMY CLAY

To find out more about some of these artists, check out Busan's English News Website here: http://www.busanhaps.com/article/hip-hop-descends-kyungsung

Daejeon Downtown~ 대정 시내

I took this picture of downtown Daejeon on my weekend trip there with Kenny. Daejeon has two downtown's, old and new, and this was the newer, cooler of the two. We were surprised at the amount of people (both foreigners and Koreans) that were out to have a good time. There seemed to be an endless amount of places to eat/drink at, but I'm sure if we lived there, we would say the same things about Gwangju!

Yangdong Market (양동시장)- Gwangju

Stephanie and I went to check out Gwangju's most famous market last Saturday, Yangdong Market. It's very convenient to get to as it's close to U-Square bus terminal, and it's also on the subway line. This market has been around for years, and an article in the Gwangju News Magazine showed a picture from the market back in the 70's. Things have changed architecturally, but I'm sure what they were selling back then is very similar to what we saw!

We first began by buying Stephanie some socks. Korean women like to wear socks that are made out of nylon, especially at school. Gotta keep your feet sanitary while wearing those community slippers!

Next, we found ourselves in the midst of the action. Fish, chicken, fruit, vegetables, kimchi, basically anything your heart desired. Some of the fish looked excellent, and the prawns were huge!



It always seems that at traditional markets such as Yangdong, they seem to sell everything in bulk, and that the vendor has enough to supply a small army. For example, how does he sell all this garlic?!



We also some some things that were a bit unsettling, so don't scroll down if you don't like seeing bizarre animals or parts! Don't say I didn't warn you!





Pigs heads and frogs- now that's something I'll have to go back for!