Throwback.3 + Jay's wedding

From 2008, probably late summer or early fall. Jay (a former student of mine from my previous job) invited me to his "wedding" at a hotel near Express Bus Terminal. Actually it was more of a reception, as Jay and his wife were legally married before this event. I did an acoustic cover "Love Me (The Way You Do)," a little-known ballad originally performed by gospel group Anointed from their album "Spiritual Love Affair." A third of the way into the song, the microphone fell over and hit my guitar. Someone nearby immediately adjusted it and I only had to stop for a few seconds. Strangely, it didn't seem to be much of a distraction to anyone. I didn't know anyone there and it was overall a slightly awkward experience, but worth it for Jay.

Throwback.2 + Cycling in Jeollabuk-Do

In February I joined Il-Hoon and Professor Yoo on a two-day cycling trip in Jeollabuk-Do. We put our bikes on a bus and rode from Seoul to Buan. Once arriving in Buan and eating lunch, we biked from Buan to Kyeokpo. We ended up taking a dirt road through the mountains. Not a big deal, except that it was wet and overcast for the whole trip, which meant a lot of mud. At one point my bike was completely covered with mud, which for the first hour or so was fun, but quickly became really irritating. Upon arriving in Kyeokpo, we took a ferry to Wido (Wi Island), about an hour off the coast. As far as I know, Wido is a tourist trap but at this time it was almost deserted. The weather was overcast, which was a little disappointing but made for some cool photos. After riding around the island for a little while, that evening we crashed at a minbak, which is a kind of homestay for travelers, similar to a bed-and-breakfast in the West. We ate a delicious duck dinner. It was so good I still remember it two months after the fact.

I'm an amateur cyclist and this trip definitely pushed me to my limits, but ultimately it was a good experience. I remember doing a long, challenging ride with Il-Hoon and the professor about a year ago. That experience was actually a little traumatic for me. A lot of that trip involved me seething and the two of them laughing at me. However, when it was all over I missed the experience and longed to do it again; so this time around, I resolved not to grumble or complain. It was hard. The weather, while not freezing, remained a little colder than I would have liked. I wore heavy clothes, but the weather made it difficult to dry off. The slippery roads were a challenge as well. I really hate this kind of weather. I wanted so badly for the sun to come out. After arriving back in Buan, I was surprised to find out that overall we covered more than 100 kilometers. After getting back on the bus, we stopped off in Cheonju to visit a pastor friend of Professor Yoo's. It was a good night. Since then my cycling has improved significantly; I don't get tired as quickly as I used to. So I'm grateful for the opportunity, even though next time I may wait until spring.

Almost the same

I went back and looked at my first blog entry from November 2005. It's interesting to compare stuff.

In 2005 I wrote: "If you already know me, you’ll know that I sometimes live a kind of interesting and unpredictable life."
2010: This hasn't changed so much.

2005: "Some potential employers may be looking at this blog, so I’ll try to keep it coherent. Can’t promise, but I’ll try."
2010: "My current employer may be looking at this blog, so I’ll try to keep it coherent. Can’t promise, but I’ll try."

2005: "I do a lot of different things, but the main thing I do for a living is working as a freelance proofreader and copy editor in the metro New York-New Jersey area. When there’s a lot of work, this can be a cool gig. However, when it’s slow, it’s really slow."
2010: I teach English as a foreign language, as a university lecturer in Seoul. "Cool gig" still applies, "slow" not so much.

2005: "I was also able to get in some Spanish practice. On days like this, much of my practice involves walking around Manhattan with an AM/FM walkman and listening to WADO 1280, the local Spanish station. At least the one that’s talk radio. It’s a curious discipline, sometimes entertaining, sometimes frustrating. Some programs are easier for me to understand than others. Whether or not this is the most effective way to improve my listening comprehension remains to be seen, but I’ve seen some progress and that has encouraged me to press on until something better comes along."
2010: Almost the same. Replace "Spanish" with "Korean," "Manhattan" with "Seoul" and "walkman" with "iRiver."

2005: "(I have to) finish my application for a recruitment organization so I can pursue teaching ESL in Asia."
2010: Done.

2005: "(I have to) query the school in Medellin, Colombia that a friend recommended about ESL teaching opportunities. Even though now it’s uncertain whether I’ll be able to travel to Medellin this winter."
2010: Still uncertain. Ha ha.

2005: And now I’ve got some work to do. After I take another walk around midtown before it gets really cold.
2010: I’ve got some work to do. And I have a cold.

Throwback

So as part of my attempt to do something more with this blog, I'm initiating something called "throwback." I got the idea for the name from the title of a Boyz II Men album with the same title. It's a recording of old Motown covers, hence the word "throwback." What that means for this blog is that I'll start posting older pictures; mostly from my time in Korea, though I may also include a few from my hometown in the U.S. and trips elsewhere.

Basically Korea has been pretty good to me and I'd like to share some of that with the world. I started this blog mainly for family and friends. Honestly I don't expect a huge amount of traffic, although new faces are always cool. If you're reading this right now, chances are I asked you to check out my blog or I stuck a link on my Facebook page. That said, I really desire to make this blog something useful that's actually worth looking at from time to time. I get annoyed by Web sites that are rarely updated. With that out of the way, I'll begin the first installment of "Throwback":


Sinchon Starbucks, August 2006, shortly after arriving in Seoul. At the end of every month at my hagwon, teachers and students often went out for drinks, coffee or dinner. This class was a lot of fun to teach, and introduced me to some important aspects of Korean culture. I remember specifically the group asking me to sing. Kind of a cute moment. Jeong-Hwan (the guy on the right) remains a good friend, and we've hung out several times. Jeong-Hwan has also served as an informal consultant to me when dealing with certain challenges related to this culture and to teaching, for which I'm quite grateful. We were supposed to go cycling at the Han River tonight, but I cancelled because of some unexpectedly chilly weather and also catching a cold...aargh.