Welcome to JennPedde.com

Some of you may remember a tweet that I sent out in October that mentioned company downsizing and being laid off.   I was inundated with well wishes, leads, words of encouragement, and positivity that absolutely floored me.  For anyone who says that Twitter is just a place where people talk about what they had for lunch that day, they could NOT be more wrong, and that day in October solidified that for me.  I would probably even go so far as to say that I kind of retreated a bit the past few months trying to figure out what the next step would be.  I realized how powerful one tweet could be (in the right circumstances, of course).    

I was quietly talking with people, and researching opportunities that were quite literally being thrown at me.  Everyday someone tweeted a job lead and CC'ed me, or put something on the #CmgrChat hashtag looking for Community Managers.   When Kelly Lux and I talked in August about starting a chat for community managers I think we did it so we could learn more about our own positions, and it's grown into such a vibrant chat each week with some of the greatest and most influential people that operate in their businesses using social media.  I'm very thankful for all those that participate and bring their smarts to the table each week.  Definitely looking forward to what comes out of this group in 2011.

So just like they say - the best way to get a job is to network.  I reached out to a few people and asked if they knew about any leads.  I hadn't even updated my resume yet and had already had 2 phone interviews with one company the day following my twitter announcement of being laid off by the end of the year.  Fortunately I had been given two months' notice and planned to take my time and find the right fit. Leaving Syracuse wasn't my first choice because it's an incredible community, but professionally a major move was needed.  Now was the time to really step up my game and work for a company that is forward thinking and aligns with my ideals - and ya know, would give me health insurance since that was something I've gone without the whole of 2010.   Risky business if you ask me.

As fate (or luck, or coincidence, or happenstance) would have it, that company that I had talked with not even 15 hours after being laid off was just that company.  That first conversation just felt so natural.

**.....Drumroll Please.....**

I am extremely excited to announce that I will be working back in the city that started it all for me a few years ago -  New York City, working for a start up in the realm of education at a company called 2tor.

I will be a Community Manager for the University of Southern California's School of Social Work Master's program.   You can read all about 2tor in their about us section on their site, but it was founded in 2008 by some education industry heavy hitters.  The whole concept of 2tor, is that the company partners with the top higher education systems to get their degree programs online for students to participate in from anywhere.  2tor provides the school with the resources, tools, experience, technology, and creates a community around the programs to help them grow and succeed on line.

I am beyond excited to dive into this new endeavor and I'm not wasting any time.  My last day at Alliance Relocation Services is tomorrow, Thursday December 23rd, and I will be starting at the 2tor offices in New York the day after I return from my vacation to India in the middle of January.  Hitting the ground running in 2011, that's for sure. And for all those in New York...  a move back to the big apple will be following closely behind that start date - can't wait to see you.


*Special thanks to @DavidSpinks for making the introduction to @Alexa!  Ya know, speaking of that whole networking thing.

• What charity will your current audience care most about? 
• Remember to plan out all aspects of your social good campaign like you would any other project.
• Commit the required and appropriate amount of time to a social good campaign.  It cannot be an afterthought.

As 2010 comes to an end I realize it has been nothing short of a whirlwind.   For me, I returned home from living abroad for nearly 3 years in December 09, and I didn't know what to expect.  The economy was terrible, I was living at home for the first time in 10 years, and quite literally the world was at my finger tips.   If I wanted to take off and go live in some random country, I could have, knowing that I'd already done it and could handle it.  However, it was the time to be home and enjoy resting a bit with my friends and family - and to settle into some kind of career.  I was told to buckle down for a long and difficult unemployed road, but honestly (and thankfully), that didn't happen.

Work, Work, Work
To give you some perspective on a job time line during a terrible economy:  I started the job search in January, received a temp to perm job as a recruiter at a firm in New York City in February.  The company was very unorganized, and I returned home in March for a speaking engagement at Syracuse University.  While I worked from home and waited for this company to get their act together, I found the perfect job for myself in community managing at a very promising national relocation services company right in my own backyard.   I turned down the offer from New York City, and started in on my year as a social media professional in central New York.


Things to Take Away from 2010
2010 was a year of learning... a year of creation... and a year of figuring things out and settling back in to life in America.  Don't let anyone tell you that reverse culture shock isn't a thing, because it very much is.  Knowing what life is like elsewhere is a tough thing to put behind you. For example, I went this whole year without health insurance which is a risky thing to do.  That's something I didn't have to worry about in life abroad, because everyone in the country of Korea has nationally funded health insurance (that you also pay into - c'mon, nothing's ever free). 

2010 was also a year of development. My new side project and start up company, Eat Your Serial, had a very successful Kickstarter campaign, and has really started to take form. We are looking forward to a launch and very exciting times ahead in 2011.  Expect to hear more about that later.


It was also a year of non-stop networking.  Thanks to things like Twitter, it has never been easier to create incredibly amazing career relationships.  I have no shame in saying that Twitter honestly changed my life as a tool that brought me so many opportunities. 

But if I take anything away from 2010, it will be this:

Be realistic about things and take time out for yourself to process events clearly.

All too often I felt burnt out this year and it is because I overloaded myself with expectations.  I got overly excited about projects and ideas that would never come to fruition.  2011 will be a year of trimming the fat.  This year taught me what's important to me professionally and personally.  I want to excel at my job and see incredible results from my professional efforts.  Patience has never been one of my virtues, but I'm trying to learn to scale myself back.  Sometimes I am my own worst enemy.

What comes from that is also the concepts of making sure I am organized.

For those that know me, you all know that I'm ridiculous about being organized.  But I don't mean this in a "my agenda book is color coded" kind of way.  What I mean is being more diligent and sticking to schedules.  Be consistent with the work I give myself and the goals I set.  Be realistic about the kind of time that it takes to complete a necessary task. 

2010 threw entirely way too many curve balls at me and that's what life is.  What's that famous lyric?  "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."   There are going to be things you cannot account for that get thrown at you.  However, how you handle them, and the organizational system you have in place will make all the difference.  The idea is to best prepare yourself for the worst - professionally, financially, and personally.

I have an awful lot to be proud of and thankful for this year, but at the same time I view 2010 as not one of my better years.  I can pinpoint an awful lot of mistakes that were made, but that's exactly what makes me excited about 2011.  The word I would use to describe this year:  Perspective.

Knowing where you went wrong, will inevitably help you do things better in the future.   And THAT makes all the difference for 2011.

What are the things you will work on in 2011?  What word would you use to describe 2010?

Poor communication practices can lead to the biggest downfalls.

Is there really much more to say on that topic?   Well, for communication's sake, I suppose there is.

Think of your most successful projects. 
I can almost guarantee that each of them were on a team of people that were working towards a common goal for a variety of reasons (a bonus, a good grade, a steady paycheck, accolades, etc).  You were probably surrounded by a group of people that were responsible, accountable, and communicative.  When they spoke, you trusted the words that came out of their mouths.

Think of your least successful projects. 
I am almost positive that each of them were on a team of people that were not focused, didn't care, wanted to avoid the work for a variety of reasons (hated the job, didn't care about the class, felt they weren't paid enough, no reward, etc). You were probably surrounded by a group of people that were hard to track down, always missed their deadlines, pawned things off on other things, and weren't communicative. There also might be a lot of distrust on the team.


Work Environments Matter
You could have the greatest employee on your hand that is capable, willing, and able to get the job done.  If they are surrounded by a group of people that have no interest, you'll lose that employee (and this is regardless of age).  Communication is the key to this.  By giving your employees the necessary tools to communicate and encouraging them to use these tools by not only being excited about them, but using them yourself, is vital.


Morale is an Easy Thing to Miss
When coworkers are bickering more and more, or when projects start to slip, these are signs of an unhappy staff.   You can do all kinds of things to make your staff happy - free coffee, time off, bonuses, acknowledgment - but those are all band aids to a bigger problem.   If processes were streamlined, if deadlines were met, if accomplishments were praised and noticed these would be things that make people happy on a day to day basis.

One of the easiest things to do, might be to respond in a timely matter to employee emails.  Even if it's a simple, "Thanks, I'll get back to you on this"  at least the issue has been acknowledged. 

Another tip could be to show interest in a particular method your employee/team member is using to accomplish a task.  Maybe they keep a to do list on their desk for the week, or they are always smiling while on the phone with customers, these little things are worth noticing and mentioning.

A huge thing to remember, is if you are not pleased with something, don't ignore that either.  Quick constructive feedback is better than bottling it up and unleashing months later with a number of problems.  The employee is not a mind reader for your happiness or your unhappiness.  Communicate effectively and in a timely manner.

Remember, you and your employees or team members are out for the common goal of making the company be all it can be.

"There were a few of these "What I wish I had known when starting my career" posts floating around twitter, and some of them were helpful, some of them had stuff everyone always says. It got me thinking about what were things I wish I had known at any point. This is what I've come up with in general and in no particular order.

I wish I had known:

• where I wanted to live after graduating from college. No one ever says that to you while you're looking for schools and that connections will be very important.

• that entry level jobs after college probably won't pay you as much as you paid for yearly tuition at a University. For me Syracuse University at the time was costing about $35,000 a year to attend (now its up around $50,000), and I most definitely did not make that my first year out of college. 

• that I can travel the world and get paid for it at an earlier age. People make it seem like the world is a really hard place to get out into, and it really isn't. With today's technology you are now more connected than ever before by using Facebook and Skype. And once you're out of America the world is actually much smaller than you'd think. Getting around is easier, people are generally friendlier, and the opportunities are endless. If you're working vs. traveling it's a great way to spend your 20s and avoiding the rat race of home. 

• that I'd need a specific skill. The jobs I've held have been amazing, and I now have a wide range of useful skills, but to actually sit down and say that I know Sales, or Marketing, or teaching really well would have come in handy years ago. I've had to learn everything on the fly because I didn't focus enough on academics when I had the chance. 

• how to do HTML at an earlier age. The amount of jobs out there today related to computers, computer science, software design, and more is insane. Always time to learn I suppose, but at most it could be now is a hobby. "

• That at the age of 21, I might not be taken seriously by the older workers in the company.  You have to work extra hard to seem professional and shake off age stereotypes that are given to you.
• That it might take me a few industries (not just jobs) to figure out what I'm good at, and that's ok. 
• That even the simplest of connections I made in college - whether it was from classes, study groups, activities, or jobs - the people you come in contact with will resurface time and time again, and your weakest connections may be your biggest opportunities.  Don't burn any bridges. 

From the time you can speak, people are trying to teach you things.  You go through your formative years hearing, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"  And because you're so young you only know what people have said to you as your average job vocabulary, "I want to be a nurse!  I want to be a teacher!  I want to be a doctor!" You get into middle school and you start hearing this college word more and more.  You really start thinking about what you want to do, and if you're lucky your middle and high schools are preparing you and teaching you all of the potential industries to go into.  You think you have an idea so you pick a college and the biggest decision after that is narrowing your major.  Your major is everything.  It's what defines you, right? It's what outlines your path in life, correct?


I'm not so sure. 

I'm someone who went in thinking, "I just need to make it to college, I'll figure the rest out later," because no one else in my family had made it that far. I remember that first week as a new psych major, when I learned that my long time friend and new freshman year roommate was a "Music Industry Major" and I was blown away that that was actually an option.  I was so unprepared.

When I realized that I didn't want to spend 10 years in painful research mode, I switched to an English & Textual Studies major because hey, I like to read.   When I couldn't hack all the literary theory behind it all, I switched to being a Speech Communication major.   It was all about communication, pr, leadership, public speaking - and it was a jack of all trades kind of major that I already had a bunch of credits in.   It's pretty safe to say that for 4 years I was just taking classes that were interesting, made me well rounded, and were hopefully easy.

Getting the Most out of Your Degree
Your degree doesn't define you.  Whether you have a 3.8 or a 3.0 won't matter 1 year out of college.  If you're the average person, (not a career academic), don't waste away your college years agonizing over getting that perfect A.  If you get an A- or a B+, or even a D in some classes, most people won't know or care. 

What matters is the experiences and activities you have and do during that 4 year time span.  That degree just proves that you're educated.  It's a pass into the working world to be a professional, make money, have more opportunities.  When you have internships, student activity leadership roles, jobs, or volunteering extras on your resume I am 100% of the time going to pick that person over someone with a 4.0 to work for me.  You bring more to the table, you (ideally) know how to talk to people and interact in sales/marketing/networking situations.

The degree & the major attached to it is only a small part of the full package.

A major is a guideline.  Steers you into some specialties or gives businesses a framework of where you're coming from. I was a person who had 3 majors in college that had absolutely nothing to do with her first job.  Funny part about this story?  I had no idea what a Music Industry major was that first week in college, but I went on to work for the #1 Talent Agency in the world, and worked hard to work for one of the biggest music agents in the entire business.  How did I get my foot in the door?  Well, it was all because my internships/student activities were music related.

So just remember, picking a college major IS important, but you're not stuck in that area for the rest of your life.  Enjoy your 4 years, join groups, get internships, learn more about yourself that way.  When you graduate let your major be the last thing that interests people.

Tommy Boy:  But the “Callahan” factory’s been in my family for years, you just can’t shut it down!

Zalinksy: Son, you gotta look at it from my point of view.  Callahan’s a premium name.  That’s what I’m buying.  I can make the parts in one of my factories, put ‘em in a Callahan box, and sell ‘em in my stores at a premium price.  Why keep your factory going when all I want is the goddamned box?

There is one tradition that almost every high school and college across this country takes part in.  It may occur at different times of the year, and may or may not revolve around a sporting event, but it's the same no matter where you come from.   It doesn't matter if you moved 15 minutes away from where you group up or went to school, or if you moved 15 hours away.   There is always that wonderful feeling of Homecoming.  The word itself even gives off a happy feeling because it makes you think of just that - a place you once called Home.  That particular word makes you identify with your roots.

Homecoming is a ritual that gives a person the chance to reconnect with a time in their life that was full of promise, full of possibility.  It's an act that allows old friends or long lost connections to once again meet and enjoy each other's company and catch up.

There's a feeling of nostalgia that happens, and makes a person take stock of their life. January 1st is not the only time in the course of a year to make plans and start fresh.  Homecoming is a perfect time to look around and remember who you were and what you had planned for yourself when you were 18 and thought you knew everything about the world.


Would your 18 year old self be happy with the modern day version?

When you started college where did you see your life going?  What groups were you actively involved in?  What were the classes that shaped your existence?  Did you think you would be where you are and what you're doing at this very moment?

It's weird, but in the 6.5 years I've been out of school, I've come full circle - almost literally.  I majored in speech communication, but went off to NYC and worked in music.  Traveled Asia for another 2.5 years and now have found myself back in Syracuse, which was the city it all started in.  As Homecoming is next weekend, and my friends will be returning, it'll be odd that this is home for me and a vacation for them.  However, the sentiment is still the same as this is a time of reflection, reconnection, & re-evaluation.  My Alma Matter may have changed the actual word of "Homecoming" to something that carries very little weight & meaning and borders on nonsensical, but the idea of coming home is alive and well with its Alumni.  Because of the connections, the network, and the opportunities available, my 18 year old self is pretty OK with where things are right now.

How about you?   

1. Tweetdeck offers these WONDERFUL filters.   Put in "#NFL" "#HFChat" "Foursquare" and watch the serenity return to your life. 
2. Unfollow the tweeter.  
3. Don't want to unfollow someone you like?  Ignore their tweets.  Scroll through. 
4. Can't ignore? Really need to unfollow?  It's ok.  Put them on a list.  Put the list in a separate column that you check later on.  Still interact with your favorite person who just tweets too darn much. (*Note, this will make it impossible to DM back and forth).
5. Join in to their conversation.  Pick up a new interest or hobby.  There are fantastic resources on Twitter for virtually everything.  Enrich your life. Learn how to do your job better. 
6. Turn Twitter off for 1 hour.  Walk away for the day.  Unplugging is good for you.
7.  Follow More People. The more people you follow, the less your annoying High-Volume-Tweeter-Friends will be noticed.  More people to follow will drown out the noise in your "All Friends" feed. 
8. Turn of the "All Friends" Feed. Organize everyone you follow into lists. Ignore your "High-Volume-Tweeter" List during high volume times. 
9. Unfollow the High-Volume-Tweeter for the hour/day, re-follow post tweeting activity.
10. Stay with your favorite tweeter.  Love them despite their high volume ways.  Make fun of them for it.  It's ok.  They're aware of their activity. 

I am not a morning person.  Never have been, never will be.  I am one of those lucky people that have what's known in psychology circles as a 27 hour circadian rhythm.  Which essentially means that while most people have a 24 hour internal clock, and waking up is fairly easy in "normal" morning hours,  I do not and find mornings incredibly difficult.

My Confession (As a Case Study)
In my 6 years since college graduation my work start times have been 10am, 8:30am, 9:40am, and now 9am.  I generally have a 10-15 min late policy everywhere I go (assuming that there are no meetings, phone calls, or scheduled events).  Doesn't matter if I'm walking to work, taking a subway, a cab, or driving myself, if there's nothing pressing happening in the first hour of my eventual work day, I am going to be late b/c I don't see the need to rush.  I work to live, not live to work.  It's not planned, and I would love to be better about it, but sometimes understanding yourself and your limitations is good.  A point for clarification:  I'm never late for a scheduled meeting or event, and in fact will probably show up 15 minutes early.

Does This Make Someone a Bad Employee?
Well, that answer depends doesn't it?  Lets look at these other questions first: 

• Is the employee out the door at 4:50pm, or 5:01pm?  
• Does he/she take a full 60 minutes for lunch?  
• Does he/she goof off and take multiple coffee breaks throughout the day?  
• Does he/she take a 15 minute cigarette break?  
• Does he/she leave often to pick kids up from someplace?
• Does he/she have constant appointments during work hours?
• Is their work suffering?
• Are they missing meetings and important scheduled tasks?

Alright - I've purposely waited to write this final post. I've been home now for 3 weeks and have had time pause, catch my breath, and really kind of figure out what's what.

I flew home on December 19th. I partied in Gangnam on Friday night with some of my favorites, walked an hour in the blistering cold to find a cab, was home at 4am, packed, and was out the door by 6am to catch the bus, and take my 930am flight. I flew to Beijing where I waited for 2 hours and soaked in my last remaining Asian moments. I hopped on a plane that was something straight out of the 1960s, complete with lack of any in-flight entertainment and cigarette ashtrays in the armrests. There were some very pleasant conversations with random people on board, and 14 hours later, I landed at JFK in New York City, literally minutes before an impending blizzard ravaged the east coast.

Sharon, Jess, and Jennette were waiting for me amongst the hundreds of people outside the door, and I only knew they were all there because I could hear their 3 voices somewhere in the crowd bickering (in a good way). We drove to Manhattan, I purchased an iPhone, partied until 4am - including bowling at the Port Authority - and finally got myself to sleep after 48 hours. I woke up on Sunday - completely exhausted.

Spent a few wonderful days in Manhattan, very wide eyed and happy to be home. Moved on upstate to be with family for Christmas and New Year's, seeing old friends, and sleeping - A LOT - because of all the jet lag and excitement.

The first week of 2010 has seen a lot of excitement and the same amount of boredom. I've settled into my house - cleaned out my room, donated tons of things to charity, and sent out dozens of emails and resumes. I've got projects to work on, a lot of writing to get done, and have settled into a great workout routine at the local gym (and struggling to stay on top of it). Things still seem new and exciting.

So far, there are only a few things I really miss about Korea... my friends, the randomness, constant entertainment, celebrity status, food, transportation, and neon lights. That was probably the first thing I've noticed actually - how dark everything is. Even in New York - EVERYTHING is that depressing orangey light. All storefront signs are dim or missing letters. Sure, it's probably more green and such to not have a thousand bright flourescent lights on every inch of space like in Asia, but it sure does keep you happy.

There are a lot of perks about being home though - for one - my mom makes me dinner everyday and I spend no money. And we're talkin', good old fashioned homemade Italian sauce and things of that nature. I can talk to anyone I want about anything because there's no communication barrier. I can go to the grocery store and be overwhelmed by all of the choices for everything, and the deli - don't even get me started on that. I can jump in my car and drive anywhere. I can go to Syracuse basketball games again. I get to be a part of my friend's lives again instead of just hearing about it.

The only negatives come from the fact of being unemployed and the uncontrollable weather (it has snowed for the past 12 straight days). Everyone's doing something exciting in Seoul, in New York City or in Denver, and I'm sitting in CNY attached to my computer looking for a job that will get me somewhere where I can have a rewarding career, money to travel, and a daily routine again. However, I have to keep in mind that this is only temporary and there are plenty of things on the horizon. The faster the better.

Coming home has been good. It's an adjustment for sure, but it's also nice knowing that chapter is closed and I'm starting a new one. One thing I know for sure, that living in Asia wasn't my last extended abroad experience, because I will live abroad again someday (soon if I can't finda job). For now - wish me luck, and if you're someone I don't know reading this - I'm only an email away for Korea/Asia related questions. I can't wait to go back and visit Seoul - that's for sure.

It was the experience of a lifetime, and I don't regret a minute of it.


-------
PS - I'll be speaking on my time in Asia at Syracuse University's Career Center Lecture Series in the spring. I'll post once more when that gets closer.

I suppose this has been a long time coming. When you sign on to come to Korea, you know you have an expiration date because you're only signing a one year contract. It seems like it will be a forever amount of time, but in reality it's only one year. When you get here, within a few months, you know of know if you're going to finish after the one year time frame, or possibly extend. For me, going to Korea seemed like a seamless transition and the most right decision I've ever made - going home was the farthest thought from my brain. I drank in all the adventures I could.

Settling into Suji was of course, a bit of a shock, as you'd expect. I got there after the longest flight I had ever taken and dumped into a spare bedroom of a guy's apartment with no air conditioning in the middle of a heat wave in the dead of August across the street from a dump. Within 6 days I had gone from working with A List Rappers to working with 100 6 year old Asian children, and within the first two days I had 20 new friends that quite a few of them are still some of the best people I know to date. To say it's the weirdest situation is an understatement. It goes without saying that the question, "WHAT HAVE I DONE?!" repeatedly went through my brain the first week.

With all of that being said, there is nothing more liberating and mind opening than being abroad for any amount of time. I got addicted to it and kept pushing my leave date back time and time again. I love who I am when I'm living here. I'm an ex-patriate. I'm unique. I use my passport, I'm seeing the world. Everything is new and shiny because it's nothing you've really seen before. I meet other travelers who share the same opinions I do, and all have that same lust for life and love of the open road. Sure - you meet a lot of directionless people, or weird vagabonds, but mostly you just meet people that are inspiring. You're living the dream and are not just able to say that.

The next few weeks are going to be insanely difficult. It'll be weird because I really am looking forward to going home, so I'm not sad, and after the year that I've had it'll be nice to catch my breath a bit, hear and speak English again, be a part of the majority. But in a lot of ways, I love not understanding everything perfectly around me, I have made some amazing friends that I know I won't get to ever see again, I will miss the food that I have come to crave daily, and all of the benefits of the lifestyle here. The new friendships, the healthcare, the work sometimes, the freedom, the lack of a closing time in most places, outdoor markets, bartering, the impeccable transportation system, the cities I get to visit, the reasonable pricing of everything, the lack of taxes and tipping, no open container law, the challenge in the little things, the bars/clubs, the randomness, the events, the sports, all of it will be sorely, sorely missed. On the other hand, there are things I am looking forward to not having to deal with such as the basic questions "What is your name, where are you from, do you have a boyfriend, what are your hobbies" over and over, not being able to find simple food I want, living in a state perpetual college life, the temporaryness of everything, and the constant saying goodbye to great friends.

December 19 I fly out of Korea, most likely for good. Crazyness all around.

I am convinced, that there is no other drinking culture in the world quite like the drinking culture in Korea. There hasn't been a day yet where I haven't seen someone passed out in the street, or slumped over in a bar indefinitely. It's fascinating to watch, really.

Basically people work 6 days a week, sometimes 12-14 hours a day. And the business culture here is to take your clients out to dinner and show them a good time. That good time generally means going to a BBQ place and pounding Soju and beer for hours on end, parting ways, and stumbling home. I can't even count how many times I've seen a dressed up businessman just peeing on the side of the road, on a sidewalk, or in the bushes. Once a guy even saw me, turned while peeing, and waved at me.

What's really brought this into focus for me though, is a new website called blackoutkorea.blogspot.com. It is an epic website of pictures of Koreans passed out all over the place. Sure, it might be an invasion of privacy, BUT if you're that stupid to pass out in the worst positions and places publicly then you should really suffer the consequences.

Drinking in Korea is perhaps a bit out of control, but if you're a person with any kind of self restraint it can be a lot of healthy fun. There's no closing time, no last call at most places, an age restriction for 19 and under, and you can buy Soju for a buck and wander the streets with their lack of open container laws. It really is a fantastic playground for alcoholics.

You always hear these stories about people going abroad, and learning the language over time. They don't seem to study, they just kind of pick it up via osmosis or something. Or maybe they just really focus on trying to learn new words and sentences each day, practice in conversation, and then over time it all just kind of ... happens.

That has not been my experience here.

Firstly, Koreans speak English pretty well, and if they don't their skills at charades are impeccable. Secondly, 90% of foreigners are here to teach English. The Koreans have such a lust for learning English that it's almost impossible to try out Korean on them without them responding in English and turning the conversation around. You're a one trick pony, and if that pony starts improvising they lose all interest.

That being said, one should take it upon themselves to learn some things on their own. I can read the language (luckily it's phonetic, and this can be done in a matter of days), write it if necessary, and I can say basic phrases and directions. One of my biggest regrets is not making a better attempt at learning the language though. Time just... got away from me. The first 6 months here are spent getting the lay of the land, and then the last 6 months you're preparing to go home. For me, I stayed 3 months longer. Then 4 months longer, then 5 months, and finally 3 months and didn't take one Korean class and money was an issue. This hasn't entirely bothered me until today. A regret for sure, but bothered? Not so much, until now.

I go to this little shop 3-5 times a week, easily, to get Galbi Mandu (meat dumplings) and tteokboki (spicy thick rice noodles). The staff changes there fairly often, every couple of months. And lately, there are these two people - a man and a woman, who don't speak a lick of English. They get a kick out of the fact that I come there so often, order the EXACT same thing, and go off on my way. It's also on my way to and from home a lot, so they're really friendly, wave, and say anyong every time I walk by. But tonight, they were just rapid fire Korean speaking at me, and I didn't pick up one word. Usually I can figure out the subject of a conversation, but this was tough. I finally heard the words "hagwon" and "Eolmayo" - "Academy" and "How much?" and then they started rattling offer numbers like 30, 40, 50. I assume they were asking how much money I was making working for a hagwon. I tried saying I don't work for a hagwon, and we all laughed at how hard it was to communicate. Then some random customer decided to offer his translation services, and turns out, they just wanted to know my age, but I didn't realize this, and kept telling them that I was 50. Slightly embarrassing that I never bothered to learn the phrase, "How old are you?" in a country where age is of the utmost importance.

This obviously, isn't an isolated instance. A few weeks ago, a man stopped me on the street and asked me for directions, and it took me about 10 minutes to figure out what he wanted and how to tell him. He was so excited that I did it that he gave me a fist bump and yelled "MIGUK!!" (America!!). I believe he was just testing me, since there were dozens of other Koreans around.

So while I'm not the only one who didn't learn, and in some cases I'm better than most, I still should have made a better effort. If anyone reads this who is coming to Korea, its VERY easy to get by without knowing the language. A word of advice though, it's much more fun to learn to read it, and it would have been really helpful to have attempted to learn to speak it.

Korean dating practices and weddings are in stark contrast to western ways. A friend forwarded me an interesting article about Korean Weddings in the NY Times and the unique practices that go along with them. Which got me to thinking about what I've witnessed in my time here, and I think by mapping out the whole process, you'll be entertained (of course, this is an overall generalization, but I'd say it represents 90% of what I've seen):

First, dating here is amusing. I really do think that sometimes this country is what America must have been like in the 1940s and 50s. Most people (especially the majority of women) live at home with their parents until they get married. The ideal marrying age here is probably sometime between 26 and 32 for women, and maybe 28-35 for men. After that you're considered too old to get married. Oh, and of course these are in Korean ages, which means western age is probably 24-30 and 26-33, respectively. So, dating is pretty much of the utmost importance to almost everyone because they have to meet that target. Occasionally you will find the random forward thinker who's focused on their career, is looking for love, or who just isn't focused on marriage.

Anyway, being that everyone lives at home for the most part, there are hundreds of places called "Love Motels" all around this country. And they're just that... a safe haven for those who need it for, uh, "activities" that can't take place in the home out of courtesy and respect for parents and rules. You'd think with a moniker like Love Motel they'd be the seediest places on earth, but I can assure you, they're actually quite clean, and very nice if you can get past the fact that there's free porn in every room, and that they hand you a toothbrush, soap, and maybe a condom when you check in. I have stayed in quite a few (sometimes while traveling in this country they really are your only option) and they're just basic motels...with character.

As for me personally, I had an American boyfriend the majority of the time I lived in Korea, but once that ended I did attempt to date Korean men of curiosity and slight interest. And what I found was kind of laughable. A first date cannot be just the boy and the girl. It must be the boy and his guy friends, and the girl and her girl friends. Right there I was kind of at a disadvantage because I'm not the type to have a bunch of girl friends hanging around. Subsequent dates can and will be alone if the first goes well, but it's very cutesy and there's a lot of texting involved. And it's not the sweet single text of, "Had a great time" or "Thinking of you" or whatever, it's the Asian cartoon type text of "kekeke
Here is a classic example of Korean Dating Efficiency of someone I know:
A 32 yo Korean guy wants to meet a girl. He has his friends set him up on dozens of blind dates. Nothing really interests him over the course of a couple of months. He goes to his bank, which also has a matchmaking service. The bank system is kind of like match.com and asks for your personal profile, information, likes/dislikes, etc. The interesting part of this, is that it also asks you for your assets and income. Then it cross references everything and finds you the perfect partner. So, the man does this, and bam, it sets him up with a 30 year old woman who happens to also live in his same apartment building. They actually have a lot in common - both educated in the States, both have advanced degrees from prestigious American universities, and have a multitude of interests. They met in August, two weeks before she went back to the States to finish her Masters degree. They keep in touch, and she visits once, and they discuss marriage. He tells me her sole purpose in returning to Korea when she finishes school in December is to get married because she can't wait as she's considered too old. The guy has a choice to make, marry her or not marry her. He also wants to get married, because he is also considered to be getting too old. And literally, they are perfect on paper. He told me he will probably propose in late December/early January (by just asking, not doing anything romantic, and will be married by the end of summer next year.

No where in there do you hear him tell me of love. In fact, when he showed me a picture of her and I said she was beautiful he told me she wasn't (trust me, she was). It's kind of nothing short of being a business transaction.

Ok Ok, so this is a BIT on the extreme side, but it's not too far from the norm. In fact, once Koreans do get married, another sad fact happens a little later on down the road. What happens is that children usually come VERY fast after a marriage. The idea could come from the woman or the man, or even both, but it happens fast because that's the point. The women stay home and tend to every single thing in the home. More often than not they also quit their jobs to do this. In order to provide for the new family the men now will work from early morning until well into midnight. The sad part comes in here... since dad is spending so much time in Seoul working sometimes he will go to one of the many "massage" places here, or, even frequent one of the many love motels while the wife turns a blind eye or worse, really just doesn't know. I had a student tell me once, "I don't see dad often because he spends some nights in Seoul. My mom says his company pays for a hotel." Doubtful. I even knew a guy once who actually went all the way to divorce his wife, but still stay in the same apt for the sake of the kids because they didn't know, even though he was oftentimes out with other women.

Now this clearly isn't all Koreans, as family really is very important. Many go off to be very very happy. And their weddings are big, lavish affairs to start off their happy lives. In fact, a wedding is one of the best times to show off everything you can. Korean weddings are kind of great in the fact that they take at most 3 hours and they combine the ceremony with the reception. You say hello to the bride and groom as you enter the reception hall, and there's a giant alter in the middle of tables set up for probably 500 people. EVERYONE is invited to the wedding - business partners, every relative, colleagues, every friend, anyone the entire family has ever come in contact with. The ceremony starts up, and a few minutes in, dinner is served. The ceremony ends, and you're probably into course #2. Then the married couple and the parents of each side make their rounds to each table. That's it. There are some traditions afterwards for the smaller family, but the wedding does not take up the whole day. It will end up costing you a pretty penny though. I attended one high class wedding this year that was about $150 per plate. Luckily I did not have to pay that, as to have a foreigner at your wedding ups your status by about 50 cool points. Each guest is supposed to bring an envelope of cash as their present to help offset the cost of the wedding. Which this is the very subject of the NY Times article, as this has been considered a means for bribery to happen amongst elected officials during times of weddings and funerals.

It has been an absolute pleasure to really get to know how truly different another culture can be in the arena of love. In so many ways its better than what I know, and in so many other ways its worse and limiting and holds women back. I gotta tell ya though - and this is purely personal preference - I'll be holding out for love and happiness, and be pretty happy for a chance at a wedding with all the bells and whistles (as long as its small, and a destination wedding, ha).

I have never been more mad at myself for not doing something earlier. I've been here for two solid basketball seasons and I've foolishly spent all my time worrying and paying attention to games back home (as an AVID Syracuse fan, not that silly NBA stuff). What I should have been doing here is being a fan of the Korean team, the Samsung Speed Thunders!

What's a 'Speed Thunder' you ask? I have absolutely no idea. My guess is that it has something to do with lightning as their very effeminate mascot has a lightning bolt on his stomach, but I can't entirely explain it. Taking a further look into it, it seems the whole organization doesn't know what its doing as we have teams that are the Sonicbooms and the Land Elephants. A 'Land' Elephant? Is there a 'Water' Elephant I'm unaware of?

The arena is next to Olympic Park at the Sports Complex stop on the green line. The tickets are 7, 10, or 14,000 won and there really isn't a bad seat in the house. The only downside is that you cannot purchase beer INSIDE the stadium. This seems VERY counterproductive and against normal Korean operating procedures - but don't worry. You are of course, allowed to bring in all the beer your heart desires and drink it inside. It is just a matter of thinking ahead and stopping off at the GS Mart or Burger King near the subway station.

The quality of play is hilarious. Each team is allowed to have only 2 foreigners on the team and they are only able to play 3 of the 4 quarters, so they have to choose them wisely. But as everyone can guess - any self respecting basketball player worth anything would obviously go to a European league if he had any chance of maybe someday making it to the NBA. Playing over here in Korea kind of means you're not going to be Michael Jordan at any point in your life, or even hope to be. But you are going to provide people like me with hilarious entertainment with how fast you rack up fouls, or with how much time you spend lying on the floor clawing after a loose ball.

I now have been to baseball games, soccer games, world cup games, and finished my collection with basketball games and 100% wish I could go back and get season tickets. I hope that I can get to at least one more before heading home, but to all of those out there who enjoy sporting events - its so cheap and fun that there's no time like the present.

Halloween is a funny tradition. I believe it started in Mexico as All Hallows Eve where they honor the memory of the dead and worship spirits and have a dinner to commemorate the occasion. There are variations of it all over, and as an American, I can say we're just in for the candy. It has become less of a "scary" day and more of a costume party for adults to dress up in ridiculous things of any nature.

However, being in Asia for a few Halloweens now, Korea at least tries. Any child who's enrolled at an English Hagwon (academy) gets to celebrate the day with candy and costumes, and maybe even a party if the school really gets into it. My school the first two years completely turned a common room into a really scary haunted house (where I will say the goal was to see how many kids we could make cry). This year I was temping at a school, and during the 5 minute breaks between classes, the kids were able to run up to a different floor and solicit candy from the teachers. It was all pretty fun and it gives the chance to the kids to do something, well, childish, and they so deserve it.

But with anything, when you're away from home on a holiday you just want some kind of connection to it. The foreigners here go all out in full force to the usual areas of Itaewon and Hongdae and just party even harder than normal (which is pretty hard to do in a place of cheap soju and no closing times). This year, I decided to stay away from the masses primarily and just went to a friend's house party in Haebongchan (the neighborhood behind Itaewon). We wandered over to the bars afterward and of course, costumes and drunkeness aplenty.

Not sure how its done in other Asian countries, but if Halloween is your favorite holiday you can at least get a taste of it here.

One of the greatest things about living in the city of Seoul is that it is the perfect combination of old and new. Tradition and Modernism. Nature and Urban. I don't know how they did it, but these krazy koreans have figured out how to have it all in one place. In this case, I'm sure they just picked a place, built a bunch of stuff, and decided to work around the mountains as this city has grown overtime, but that's neither here nor there. In the center of the city is Namsan (which actually means South Mountain) and its not too big. It's where the tower is, and it's hard to miss. A little more north there is the national park of Bukhansan which is about 700m tall, and on the northeast part of the city is Suraksan (Not to be confused with Seoraksan in Gangwan-do) and Bulamsan. Due to my timing issues of needing to be down in Bundang (south of the city) to teach a class in the evening, we went with the smallest of the 3 northern mountains and did Bulamsan standing at 508m.

Bulamsan in October is absolutely gorgeous. Truth be told, everywhere in Korea is absolutely gorgeous in the fall. The amount of colors and trees everywhere is breathtaking at times even if you're in the dead of the city. We took the subway up to Dangoggae on the light blue line, followed some ajumahs (little old ladies) who looked like they were about to get their hike on, and eventually found a map of the area. There is no shortage of trails to follow, and we just decide to walk until we got onto one after we passed a few apartment buildings. Probably about 2 km in total all the way up, it was pretty easy. The only real difficult part was when we got towards the top and there were actual vertical inclines where the koreans had installed ropes in order to help people get to the very top. Difficult, but very worth it.

All in all, we left our apt around 11, took the subway about an hour, got up the mountain and down, had dinner, and I was at my class by 7pm. Definitely unlike anything at home, for sure.

Well, no one is more surprised than me that I've somehow managed to spend not one, not two, but three birthdays abroad. Planning any kind of activity is time consuming no matter where the location is. Inviting people, picking a place, coordination all equals work. BUT true to form, everyone had a good time. This year's party included a 1 hour booze cruise down the Han River in Seoul under Banpo Bridge, followed by a club outing at The Hive to see a local electro-rock band, Swingset Committee.

The bridge is really sweet, if I do say so myself. As we all know I'm a gigantic nerd for everything and anything Gizmodo posts, and when I read about it from them a year ago, it was just something I had to see. The bridge is akin to the fountain at the Bellagio in Las Vegas with 10,000 nozzles drawing water up out of the river and putting on a very colorful waterworks show. Take the boat from Yeouido Island (close to Yeounaru Station), one hour round trip for 11,000w, bring a couple of beers and some snacks on board with ya and enjoy the sights. I recommend it at night, of course.

Afterwards we headed over to Itaewon and went to one of the newest hot spots, The Hive. This place is pretty sweet looking, good location, but truth be told its not worth the cover unless there's some kind of event there. In this case, Swingset Committee was playing and they're a band from California, but they've been doin their thing over here in Korea and will be taking their show on the road to Japan, or so I hear. Either way, if you have the chance, check 'em out.

I'm pretty sure that this will be the last of my birthday's in Korea, but I suppose one never can say never...

You remember camping at home as a child, right? Pack up the car to the tilt, sleeping bags, tents, food enough to last months for a small village. One of the things you don't really imagine doing while you're abroad because of all the equipment you would need and probably don't own. Well, yet again Korea has taken care of all of that.

Chuseok is Korea's version of Thanksgiving. It's a harvest celebration based on the lunar calendar, so the dates change every year. When I got here in 2007 it was 5 days, last year was 4 days and this year, 3 days because it fell on a weekend. Chuseok travel is unlike anything I have ever seen, and as someone who once got caught on a bus for 13 hours here for a trip that should have been 4, I vowed to never travel outside of Seoul again unless it was fleeing the country (like last year's Philippines trip). This year, 18 foreigners decided to pack it all up and go camping at Seoul Grand Park.

There are two sites directly in Seoul. Grand park and Nanji campground. Nanji is a newer facility near the World Cup Stadium in a much more urban area, whereas Seoul Grand Park is in a much more appropriate area surrounded by forests and mountains with access to Museums, the Zoo, and the Seoul Land Amusement park. It also has more camplike facilities including a campfire area, basketball courts, streams, common areas, and hiking trails. The sites come already set up with tents that sleep 4 people very comfortably for 15,000w a night and you can rent sleepings bags and mats to go in them for 1500 and 1000w each. We also got a special deal where we got cheap discount tickets for 13,000w for the day to Seoul Land so for two days/nights and an amusement park, the whole total was 45,000w (~$39) for the weekend + food. It was incredible. My only complaint? The fact that it got down to near freezing temperatures and I had a sleeping back that was about an inch thick.

There are a few main differences in Korean camping, however. At 11pm it is lights out and basically a zero noise policy. Also, campfires really are frowned upon if you light them using the 15,000w grill you've rented from them and now have a raging fire and half the forest in it as firewood. Also, Korea doesn't believe in graham crackers so it was really difficult finding stuff to make s'mores. Also, the campsites are of course, so close they're basically piled on top of each other. If you can get past all of this, your experience will be a ton of fun. A great way to spend a weekend though, that is for sure. Again, pictures speak for themselves (including being stuck in a bubble for the best amusement park ride I have EVER been on/in):

Why more people don't do destination weddings I'll never know. They tend to be cheaper, a more manageable number of attendees, and everyone has an amazing time. Whilst being in Korea, I was lucky enough to meet a couple worth flying halfway around the world for to be in their wedding, and they definitely picked one of the best places on Earth to get married: Corfu, Greece.

After 26 hours of travel (Seoul -> Dubai -> Athens -> Corfu) we landed at the tiny airport in Corfu Town on Saturday September 12, and took a 35 Euro cab ride over to the Pink Palace in Adios Gordis on the Western side of the island. Corfu Island is the northern most island in Greece, about 1 km away from Albania, and just utterly beautiful. The Pink Palace is rated as one of the best hostels in Europe for 25 Euro per person, per night, for the top level room with a view. It is also a place full of sin and debauchery, and I am extremely happy that I was not there during peak season. There was a hot tub there that the Australian bartender told me, "Don't go in there unless you want to come out pregnant, fathered by 10 different nationalities." It all turned out really well though - spent a day drinking with the staff, rented ATVs and drove around, and then rented kayaks and found a small private beach on the last day before heading up to the main event.

Going from Adios Gordis up to Paleokastritsa was like night and day. It's the richest part of the island with the most resorts, we settled into a really nice apartment and then went to find the bride and groom. We got there on Tuesday, and ran into people as we went along in this one street town. With only about 4 bars in the area, we frequented all of them for the nights, and then we did beaches and stuff during the day. One of the days we rented scooters to go back around the island and as I'm returning to the apt, I ended up crashing it and had to 100 Euro to fix it. They wanted 200 but 100 is all they got and that was the end of it. Not entirely fun, but a story nonetheless...

The wedding was absolutely gorgeous and just stress free, simple, and fun. The reverend was an old college friend of the groom's who got himself ordained on the ol' internet (much like yours truly did a few years back) who said some really nice things, married the two in a short ceremony overlooking the ocean at La Grotta Bar, and the next 8 hours we spent eating and drinking and swimming. About 45 people made it out both family and friends, and overall, I have never seen a more perfect wedding in a more perfect location. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

I don't entirely recommend uprooting your life to come to Korea and do what I'm doing - and while it has its fair share of ups and downs, I've found myself in a pretty sweet deal for the moment (with an expiration date).

When you make the decision to quit everything and travel abroad [to teach English] you have to know that you'll be in for a world of the different and unexpected, and of course it'll be life changing hopefully for the better. I celebrated my two year anniversary August 21, and as of today have been here for 25 months with only a brief 2 week vacation back to the States somewhere in the middle. The plan is to head back to the homelands at the end of December and stay there, but I'm not entirely sure my feet have stopped itching yet.

If you've kept up with my inconsistent blog posts, you'll know that the job situation has been interesting this year and right now I'm currently freelance teaching and living in Seoul. I'm a tourist and have to leave Korea and reset the ol' visa every 90 days - and that has allowed me to see Canada, the U.S., China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Greece all in one year. Right now I determine how many hours I work, where, when, and for who and how much. Generally I teach 1-3 hours a day (yes, even weekends) and make enough to pay rent, pay bills, travel, and save a small amount. I work on referrals, setups from friends, and by researching sites on the interwebs. Will this last forever? No. In fact, the end date is tentatively set for December 20th. This gig is a very inconsistent way to make money, and sometimes a lonely existence without coworkers to spend time with and company politics to talk about. It has to end sometime.

The next few months will be interesting. I'm enjoying this position of technically being a small business, and the ability to come and go as I please - but there's more to life than teaching English and I'm determined to find it. ;)

Koreans very much live in a competitive, "I want what my neighbor has and more" society. This is very evident by the simple fact that I am here with thousands of my western comrades who are getting paid handsomely for doing something that comes naturally.

However, today in the Washington Post there happens to be an article that talks about South Koreans and their atrocious savings abilities. While I'm not entirely interested in financial matters, it does get at the heart of how and why Koreans do what they do.

Take a second to read it... I absolutely love living here, and I think that education IS the most important thing in any culture, but does this kind of thinking actually lead to something catastrophic?

Well, I've been quiet this month... and its time to break the silence. Sure, losing your job, your apartment, money, visa, another job possibility, boyfriend, and living in a country with the constant threat of World War III from the neighbor to the north, hasn't been easy. Best part about it all is that whole work business and then being offered a job by the same boss that let you go. Ridiculous. BUT when you hit rock bottom you can do nothing but try and crawl your way out of it.

It's actually been pretty good - moved into Seoul and living with a friend of mine, Garak Market to be exact in the Songpa-gu Region. I'm so close to so many things, its great - only 10 minutes from Jamsil on the bus. And this area is above and beyond Seongnam, and even in some cases better than Suji (even though Suji will always be my first home in Korea). I joined a gym here and that's made a big difference. Nice to have a goal to work on. I've been temping at a school for the past 2 months and the money has been excellent. Actually ended up making more money in May and June than I did in any month I've been here. Korea's amazing for that actually. I finish up this week with the school and will be piling on private lessons hoping to save as much as I can before heading home in the fall.

As a tourist now, I have to leave the country every 90 days to reset the tourist visa. In two weeks I will be heading to Tokyo for 2 days to see one of my most favorite people from home, who's hooking me up with some tickets to see Simon & Garfunkel. It is going to be nothing short of a blast. After that there's the annual Boryeong Mud Festival with Matthew's Club, and then the Jisan Valley Music Festival. SO it'll be busy summer, but a fun one. If all works out I may even have a visitor! I'll also be helping out Syracuse University's Study Abroad Program, when the Hong Kong Director comes to Seoul in July for some meetings. All I'm looking forward to now, is Greece in September, and home sometime after that. Life's funny sometimes... unexplainable, but funny. I'm looking for jobs at home, and also into doing some free lance writing MAYBE. Just trying to keep moving... and watching a lot of TV ;)

One of the things I've been working on is creating some advertisement for Matthew's Club. A language group I've been apart of almost the whole time I've been in Korea. If you're reading this, and curious, check out the Matthew's Club Group on Facebook. Always a good time.

And since these are the last few months, I'll attempt to blog a bit more when something comes up. Sad to think I might not be an ex-pat for much longer... OR even scarier to think that I could maybe wind up an ex-pat somewhere else. The world is full of delicious possibilities...

It was nice to get away from all the drama of the past couple months. In April I spent nearly two weeks in Southwestern China & Hong Kong. Flew into Chengdu, met up with friends a day later, and then we overnight trained it to Kunming. Afterwards, we flew to Shenzen and walked over that beautiful, beautiful border to Hong Kong.

Chengdu was an unexpected delight. I got in a day before my two friends did due to their lack of understanding numbers and dates, but it worked out really well. I stayed at the Sim's Cozy Garden Hostel, and it might have been the best hostel experience I have personally ever had. First, I booked a 3 person suite because I assumed there would be 3 of us, and since there wasn't was just going to eat the cost. However, since the hostel was not full, the staff was so sweet that they just put me in a single room for the night which was much cheaper. And having a huge double bed with my own bathroom was a nice way to start my trip. Woke up bright and early and decided to walk around the city. Just took a map and asked them to point me in the direction of town. Now, if I had been smarter I would have done the Panda preserve this day as I learned it was definitely an early morning activity, but instead I had a wonderful day of walking and sight seeing. I stopped by the WoLin Monastery, one of the 4 largest buddhist temples in China and had tea for a few hours while reading my book in their tea garden. Beautiful weather, incredibly nice Chinese people... couldn't have asked for a better day.


Sim's Cozy Garden as seen from my room ^^
WoLin Monastery Grounds vv


My friends showed up that night and we walked around and drank a bit (gotta love that Tsing Tao) on some street corners and set off the next day to wander around town a bit more. We spent the next night at the Sichuan Opera at the recommendation of Sim (the Hostel owner) and he swore by it so much that he said if we hated it, he would refund our ticket price. Well, the man from Singapore did not lie. The Sichuan Opera was incredible, and perhaps the word Opera is a bit strong. It's more reminiscent of a 1920's vaudeville act with Chinese flair than a boring ol' Opera. There were fire breathers, and puppeteers, and bands. Excellent experience in an outside theater with tea & peanuts at your seat, and offers of ear cleaning and massages while you waited for the start. We spent our last day renting bikes and biking out to one of the people's parks in the main area of town and finding food. My counterparts might not agree with me, but Sichuan food is some of the best food I have had in the world. The spices they use are just otherworldly and delicious. I had these cold noodles in a red spiced glaze twice in my 3 days, and still crave it. They were just at street food stands, and super cheap.


No Trip to China is complete without a viewing of Mao^^


The Sichuan Opera ^^

Funny Grass Signs are the Park vv


We booked an overnight train from Chengdu to Kunming that totaled 22 hours. We chose the soft sleeper cabin, and in my mind there is no better way to travel in China. The three of us had our own 4 person cabin, and enjoyed the unbelievably surprisingly gorgeous countryside views of China. The only thing that ruins it is the sporadic factory dotting the hills and fields, but eh, such is China.

Kunming is almost tropical. It's fairly close to the border of Laos and has red dirt and palm trees everywhere. It's a small city, but has been rated the most liveable in China (Chengdu being #2). We stayed at the Cloudland Youth Hostel, and while no where near as incredible as Sim's Cozy Garden Hostel, it did offer clean rooms, free wi-fi, a convenient location, and a decent restaurant. We stayed in a dorm since their private rooms were all booked, but it wasn't a terrible experience.



We did a tour of a number of Kunming's parks and did some hiking in the 3 days that we were there. Kunming is vastly green and mountainous and is truly beautiful. We even went up to the tomb of the man who wrote China's national anthem, and it was much more lavish than the tomb of the man who wrote the Star Spangled Banner, I can tell you that (his grave being in Rome, NY and has very little fanfare surrounding it).



After spending a significant amount of time in these two cities, I would never again recommend Beijing or Shanghai to anyone. Those cities are great don't get me wrong; they're worldly, beautiful, and the epitome of China's future & history. However, if you want something that's distinctly Chinese, a place where English is around, but not enough to be used, cleaner air, natural beauty, and has an abundance of traditional culture, head to another part of China. I mean - this guy looks relaxed doesn't he?

Told you I'd be back more often. ;) This weekend was the usual St. Patrick's drunken fiasco. In some ways it was better and some ways it was worse than last year. The venue had been moved from the spacious Cheoggye Stream area to the more compact Hyewha Station / Park area. It was a bit colder than last year, but the entertainment was much better this year.

There was a Korean U2 Cover band that was actually QUITE good. There were also more areas to find beer and the like, so it kept things nice and consistent. It was nice that I got to see more of my Korean friends and their families as well.

My group happened to have missed the parade but I guess it wasn't much of a parade. Just some people walking in a small line around the park. Due to the economy and all, a lot of the sponsorship was missing and the city was forced to scale back the celebration. In my opinion it was still an excellent day and hey... there was even an actual leprechaun runnin around:

Yea, Ok, shut up. I've taken quiteeeee some time off of this blogging thing. I started a new school in December and went home for two weeks over Xmas, and then have spent the last 3 months just attempting to get my gameplan going on top of basically helping to rebuild this school that I currently find myself at (that I currently don't like).

Basically - expect me back in action pretty regularly from here on out. The cold, disgusting, depressing winter is over and I'm ready to get going on things I've only been talking about. I have quit my job as of this week and have less than 30 days here. I will be coming back to Korea - it is absolutely stupid to leave this kind of lifestyle and go home to the economic woes that everyone else seems to be going through. Even though the exchange rate blows (1000w = 64 cents right now) it is still worth it to stay.

I've got my batteries recharged, new things that I'm going to be doing, and goals for this year. I'm gonna go some much needed traveling, and do some more hiking and things. I've got some friends here, but not too many, and that'll do me just fine.

Now... anyone want to employ me? ;)

Ahhh don't let the name full you... Harvard University does not have a presence here in Korea (that I know of at least). However, true to Korean ways they do massive amounts of copyright infringement and have just "borrowed" the name. Actually last year the school finally got in trouble from some random other company and now go by "HLS" professionally.

Aaaanyway, December 5 was moving day and the Friday night beforehand I just did a nice, casual, chicken galbi dinner and didn't drink knowing that I had to wake up very early to move. Well, didn't matter cuz I woke up with massive food poisoning and could barely stand. Did NOT make for a fun moving day - but with the help of my favorite Kiwis I was able to move in the afternoon across town into my new digs.

The location is better (for Suji anyway) - right around the corner from my favorite restaurant that I lovingly call 'sticken' (chicken on a stick) - but I now sleep in a twin bed, and have a completely broken bathroom. Ah the fun of working for a low-budget private, private school. They say they'll fix it for me soon, but we'll see how that goes.

First week was kinda rough... no real training, thrown right into the fire my first week and I was thankful that I had someone to at least show me the ropes for 10 minutes before class started. There's a ton of drama at this place b/c the director is leaving and the management has NO idea what they're doing, but we'll see how it goes... a lesson in life I imagine. Wish me luck...

Working at SLP for 16 months was incredible and incredibly frustrating (but what job isn't, right?) It was my first job here and I was so fortunate to work with excellent people, and an understanding boss, and not really ever have TOO many problems. I could have had it a lot worse.

And the kids definitely spoiled me. They were just so cool and I will miss them more than I ever could have imagined.

Time to move onto bigger and better things though.

Nothing special about this year's Thanksgiving... just a small dinner of 4 Americans who've found themselves on this side of the planet for a really big holiday.

We did go to Butterfinger Pancakes in Jeongja and stuffed our faces full of whatever was on the menu. I had a Louisiana Beef Stew that was absolutely excellent, and recommend this place to anyone in the Bundang or Apujeong areas.