Work Trip

We had to take a trip for work this Wednesday with all of the teacher at the academy. This meant:

No class on Wednesday

Free food and beer for two days

A small "pension" on Geoje, an island off the south coast of Korea

It was one of the best "work" trips I've been on. We had a private bus transport us down south, stopping along the way for coffees and snacks. We stayed at a hotel right on the water, did some sightseeing, and came back for a bbq and drinks.

The typical bbq spread doesn't look very different from back home, but a lot of the food is. We had sushi, kimchi, hotdogs, and samgeopsal, which is thick cut bacon. There isn't any bread, we put the bacon on lettuce leaves.

They cook hotdogs here by cutting them on each side, I'm not sure why. They are all on sticks because they don't use buns typically.

This is the bacon I was telling you about.

A little rock skipping after dinner with Chang Ha's son.

Once the sun started setting, more drinks and food came out. Korean's love to eat while drinking, so there was a smorgasbord of chips and snacks, and before it was over we'd ordered fried chicken. During all this we did some acapella singing. I chose "My Girl" because I knew the lyrics but most of the teachers whipped out their cell phones and found the lyrics to their favorite songs so they could sing them properly. An empty can of beer with scissors was our microphone.

A Different Part of Asia

Indonesia was great. If I had to use one word to describe Bali it would be "lush." I don't think I've ever seen a green so rich. These beautiful rice fields were around every turn on our way to Ahmed.

We had a nice little bungalow on the ocean in Ahmed, a small town on the east coast of the island.

The view from our bungalow.

The sunrise from our bungalow.

In Ahmed we hired a driver to take us around. It was $40 a day, and he took us anywhere and everywhere we wanted to go. Three temples, wonderful food, and beautiful landscapes were around us all day. The driving there is a bit hectic, I was glad that someone else was doing all the work.

Mother Temple, the largest Hindu temple in Bali

Two different water temples; Pura Tirta is the second picture but I've forgotten the name of the other one.

More photos from our trip around the island. The bat was almost 2 feet long, and waited outside of a restaurant as patrons fed him fruit.

There aren't a lot of big gas stations, and the roads are so small that it's difficult to send big tankers around to service them so most people fill there scooters up at a place like this. They just use empty bottles.

Kites are really popular, we'd see them up in the sky all the time. This guy was playing outside of a store that Beth was shopping for jewelry in.

A typical Balinese alley. If you look close you can see they guy carrying two chickens in cages.

After we left Ahmed we went to Ubud, Bali's largest city. With 60,000 people it didn't feel very big compared to Korean cities. We did a lot there in just two days though, shopping in the market, enjoying traditional Balinese dance, and visiting a monkey forest. I even saw a cock fight.

Cockfighting is illegal in Bali, but that word is used very loosely. The police were at this one, betting and getting paid off. It was an interesting vibe, it felt seedy having all these people essentially calling for blood.

This guy sold the blades they tie to the cock's feet. They were deadly.

Just Another Day

I really feel like we see something new everyday. It's usually something small or insignificant,

but for the most part you know you'll see something you haven't seen before. So this post is really just documenting a normal day in Daegu. Also, it's a chance to post some pictures I like.

The Cell Phone Store Robots

These things are posted up in front of about half of all the cell phone stores here, (which by the way would outnumber Starbucks in the States by about 10 to 1. They are EVERYWHERE). They are weird and awkward, and have various heads on them. This one greets us when we get off the subway downtown. I caught this kid being pulled away from it. The thing creeps me out, I can't imagine why anyone would be inclined to enter a store with this in front of it.

Paper Lanterns

Buddha's Birthday is approaching, and all these beautiful paper lanterns have been appearing all over town. This grouping was hanging outside a small Buddhist school. I thought the polka-dot shadows were nice.

Construction

Things are being torn down and built up at an alarming rate here. An empty storefront can become a new functioning business in 2 days. It's not uncommon to see stuff like this in the back alleys.

A Little Market Stroll

The markets are one of the best things about this country. You just see so much interesting stuff.

There is a big alley where you see fruit distribution. Watermelons are really popular and abundant here. They are just coming back into season.

I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but this is a vat of boiling bones. I have no idea what they are making here, or if this is just some sort of broth. Regardless, it's super neat-o.

There's an old tradition here that if you open a new business you put a pigs head in front of it to display. People then stuff money in the mouth and ears of the pig to help the beginning business. Our boss told us that everyone knows about this tradition but it isn't practiced anymore. Apparently some people do because there is a whole street dedicated to these heads.

Fishcake strips are on the sticks, they are simmering in a pot of boiling crabs.

Power polls are a mess here. I think people are stealing power, tapping into the source and not paying for it. This is just speculation though, it could just be that the area has grown so fast they haven't had time to make proper adjustments.

Gloves anyone?

Popcorn anyone?

The Threat

I know I posted the Y2K one on facebook, but it needs to be in as many places as possible. The others are strange storefronts I've found. Enjoy.

Things I Didn't Know

You see stuff like this all the time here. I'll post more as I find 'em.

Time on our hands

There are many things about Korea we love, but one of the best things about living here is time. Because we work less than 30 hours a week, we have time to do the things we love. Something I dabbled with before, but was never able to really put time into, was sewing. So a few weeks ago I decided to invest in a toy sized sewing machine that cost me less than $30 and was delivered to my house the day after I ordered it. And now, almost 4 years after I took my first sewing class, I have finally succeeded in sewing the top of a quilt. I still have to add batting and backing, but I'm thrilled to officially be able to call myself a quilter! Here are some pictures of the process.



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