The End?

After the chance meeting with Tobi and the week long adventure that followed I really felt like I had done all that I had set out to do. This trip started months earlier in Korea but went through Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and the west coast of the United States. My main focus was to get to the Grand Canyon, and I did that and then some. The feeling of complete freedom is something I will always remember about this trip. It was the feeling I was looking for when I decided to move to Korea, but when you have a job you can never feel completely free. A vacation from work is nothing compared to a vacation from life as you know it, but still life goes on and for the first time in months I felt I was ready to return home.

After dropping off the new pimped out rental car I had to return to the Las Vegas hostel that I had stayed at for almost a full week before I finally met Tobi. I left all of my belongings in a black garbage back in a storage room there. Yes, it was very high class and continuing with my luxurious ways I bought a Greyhound ticket out of Vegas all the way to Knoxville Tennessee. This wasn't the initial plan of how I was going to get to Tennessee but I just felt like it was time to make an exact date of completion, so buying the ticket did that...almost.

The bus ride from Vegas to Tennessee is almost 2 days on a bus, so I decided to stop at a friends place in Denver, Colorado. It kind of brought the whole trip full circle since the friend I was visiting was one that I made in Seoul. Rachel's best friend Mindy was willing to show me around Denver for a few days. It's a really nice city, but I was just happy to see her. I also got to see some old high school friends as well, and that's always fun. Caitlin and Dan also showed me some of the city's finer points, or better places to get a drink at least. But this was the final stop, the rest of the trip was a long, long, long bus ride. I thank G-d to this day for giving me the superpower of being able to fall asleep at anytime, anywhere. There were times in my life where I felt this superpower wasn't a great honor but then you take a bus across the country and you realize that everything happens for a reason.

So I made it home, but home wasn't my home anymore. Since my parents retired to Tennessee the home I knew growing up is long gone. I got to my new home and had to adjust to my new room, new people, a new area, and a new life. But hey, adjusting to new areas is nothing new to me, and at least they speak English here...kinda.

First Step Towards the Unknown

I had nearly stepped off the edge of no return. Nearly succumb to the powers that be. I had Nearly given in, resided to the outcome that seeing the Grand Canyon by tour bus just like everyone else would somehow be the anticlimax to my partial-world-tour. Until at the last moment I was saved. Saved by the Swiss. Tobi and I hit it off from minute one, and by minute two we had already rented a car for a week together. This was a meeting that was destined. Be it by God or what, I do think that him sitting near me, with his over sized Atlas, as I walked up to the desk to sign away my dream of hiking and camping the Grand Canyon was just too big of a coincidence to see it as one. I went from calling my parents and telling them I'd be home in two days, to the possibility of doing anything my heart desires for the next week. It was an overwhelming swing of emotion.

After renting the car with Tobi we drove it to the Bellagio and watched the worlds largest fountain show. As I stood there, with a new feeling of adventure, watching the fountains burst into the air in amazing unison at astounding heights all to the sounds of "God Bless America" I had a moment of clarity. I moment I realized I was lucky. No matter what happened after that, I felt like I had it all at that moment. Anything was possible, and I was set to take advantage of all the possibilities that laid before me. Thanks to Tobi, this semi-world-tour was destined to have nothing short of the rightful climax it deserved.

Vegas Baby Vegas

As we all do, I love to travel. If you have been reading this blog at all, you already know that about me, but one thing you might not know is that visiting cities can get a little repetitive when you travel extensively. Take my advice, it never gets bad, each city brings its own tastes, smells, sights, and people that make it special and stand out from the rest, however, after you've been to so many cities you don't "look forward" to them as much. It's just natural because they all offer "similar" sights. Before heading to China it had been maybe 8 years since I had gone to a zoo, so I jumped at the chance to go to a zoo in China. Now I've been to 4 zoos in less than 3 months. It's because you hear the same thing when you get to a city: "We have nice places to eat, great museums, beautiful parks, and did I mention the zoo?" Now like I said before, if you are there, you must do these things because even though they sound similar to what you've done recently, something will make it stand out. Every zoo, restaurant, museum, and park are not the same, and I can't stress to you enough, that in the moment it does all seems new and exciting, but before you are in the moment it sounds old, like you've already done it, and uninteresting.

When you travel outside of cities to natural wonders you are naturally excited because you know you've never seen this mountain, or that waterfall before, this desert, or that crater, skied here, hiked there, swam here or snorkeled there. Those things always sound interesting and exciting because you already envision them as singular events that can "only" happen in those particular places and nowhere else. But when I tell you about a museum, park or zoo after a while you think you can see them anywhere.

This is how I felt about cities after Seoul, Shenghi, Beging, Sydney, Hong Kong, Despensar, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and LA in just a few months. But there are always exceptions to the rule, and to that I give you...Las Vegas. I don't remember another city I looked forward to visiting as much as Vegas. Foreigners I met seem to look forward to visiting San Francisco like it is some beacon of American idealism and utopia. I however, looked forward to Las Vegas. I'm not sure why exactly. Of course it could be my propensity for gambling, but I really thought about Vegas as a big city unlike any other city in America, and I wanted to see what it was like.

Vegas, Vegas, Vegas...Where do I start? The stretch limo ride? The Hawaiian Tropics Swimsuit competition? The clubs? The cool people I met? The staying up all night in the hot tub? The thousand dollars I won? The hooker that was killed? Okay so not all of those things really happened, I was a HUGE loser when it came to gambling this visit, and the hooker wasn't "killed" she was...well, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Ha.

Vegas was so much grander than I even thought it would be. I mean how do you explain the picture of me with a huge green bird on my shoulder? Vegas... It is amazing what money can do. Everywhere there is music, fountains, lights, wedding chapels, cars, buildings, and they all seemed to be tricked out by some crazy visionary who a long time ago had the belief that "if we make everything Extremely Tacky but Huge and Overdone, someday when it gets big enough the city will all come together and work" he was right.

The casinos are ridiculous. I'm not sure you can really describe them, there are too many and they have too many things in them. I took a water slide through a shark tank at one, and watched a lion feeding at another. These places are larger than life. They are confusing, five steps after walking in you can't find your way out. There are so many lights, and bells you think people have to be winning, you're wrong. The buffets are really good. However, unlike in Sydney, luck was not on my side during this trip to Vegas. I think I lost everything I played actually. But I still played everything I wanted. Since I had no "wining" highlights I would have to say that my losing highlight was when I played hold'em at the meca of hold'em, Binion's. Some obese woman sitting behind a stack of chips that nearly blocked out her gut called me with 9 high. I had 8 high. She said something was telling her to call. I said it was too bad something didn't tell her to go on a diet, honestly it looked like she only sat at that table for the year, with her only breaks being to the hotel buffet. Either way, it was a small thrill to be all in and called on a bluff.

What next? I stayed out almost every night until early in the morning. I have now seen the sun rise in Las Vegas and that is a good feeling. While seeing the sun rise on a normal night out might make you think maybe you've been out too long, in Vegas you feel like you're doing something right. I met a ton of cool people from all around the world; Swiss, German, Irish, French, English, Spanish, Canadian (should that make the list?), and probably more but I don't remember now. My favorite was when I met 2 girls from Jersey! Not "Dirty Jersey" that's "New" Jersey. They were from the real "Jersey", old Jersey which floats in the English Channel between France and England. Who would have thunk it? They were cool too, but I told them they had to work on their accents if they were going around telling people they were from Jersey. They didn't get the joke either.

I tried to see as much as I could in Vegas, on a budget that is, but I think I did alright. When you walk around everything seems so cheap; a steak dinner for 5 dollars, glasses for 2 dollars, a shirt for a dollar, drinks for 50 cents, a quarter for a dime, I don't know how they get away with it. Well, that's not true, it's the gambling, I know, but damn, everything else seems to cost nothing. I've been to China, and a number of Asian markets where things are supposed to be really cheap, but I think Vegas might have them all beat. Vegas had everything, and for almost nothing.

I spent almost a full week in Vegas, that's about half a week longer than I was expecting to stay, but I couldn't find anyone who wanted to hike and camp the Grand Canyon with me. So I waited...gambled and waited, drank and waited, laid in the sun and waited until I finally thought I could wait no longer. If I kept waiting in Vegas I would run out of money in no time. I was about to bite the bullet and just take the standard bus tour of the Grand Canyon that everyone else takes. I even began to tell myself that this would be good. 15 hours for $115 only about 4 hours that are actually at the Canyon, but I was gonna do it because I had to get there. The Grand Canyon was my number one destination on this trip. I couldn't get to Vegas and then not get there, I had to go while I still had money. I wanted to find someone to rent a car with, hike with, camp with, but after 6 days of asking everyone I ran into it didn't look like that was going to happen.

Again, I was saved at the last moment. I was sitting in the sun waiting for the guy at the counter to come back so I could sign up for the bus tour. I was ready to give in. Then I saw a guy looking at an Atlas. I thought about it, wondered my chances, then asked him, "where ya headed?" His response was, "I'm looking to hike and camp the Grand Canyon." Toby from Switzerland became my new best friend :)

Check out the pictures:

Sykes Hot Springs in Big Sur, CA

Before nearly every single leg of my trip there reached a point where it looked like it wasn't going to turn out. There was a point while I was sick in Seattle I thought about calling the whole trip off, then I got better. In Portland I had all but given in to cut out Redwood National Park and Napa Valley, then I met Elizabeth, and it was the same thing all over again leaving Berkeley. I thought it would be a travesty if I traveled from northern California to Southern California without traveling on supposedly, the most beautiful road in the country, Highway 1, but that was just what I was going to do since I couldn't find a ride going that way. I was almost out the door in Berkeley to head directly down to LA taking the ugly Highway 5 on a bus most likely, until a girl named Mimi emailed me at the last minute. Mimi became my savior for this leg of the trip.

Mimi and two of her close friends were going to hike Sykes Hot Springs in Big Sur California, and they were willing to give me a ride. Little did they know that after hearing their plans I wanted to hike and camp with them as well, and after some extensive conversation with Mimi she decided it would be fine for me to come along. She broke it to her friends nice and easy, "So like, this hitchhiker guy is going to come camping with us."

I didn't know until Mimi and I were picking her friends up that they weren't in on the decision to let me come, Mimi made it on her own, and then just dropped that bomb on them. So as we pulled up basically next to the "Full House" houses in downtown San Francisco to pick up Sarah and John I was really nervous about getting the cold shoulder. I don't know what I would have acted like if I was John, and I had to share a tent with some stranger that my friend just decided could come with. The nervousness grew as they came out the front door and approached the steps. The handshakes and hellos were understandably forced, and rigid, but I gave up the front seat as a sign of good faith. Soon after, all my worries were forgotten because not only was John from Jersey, he's a staunch Jersey supporter and defender like I am, so we got along great. And now with another person to make fun of easily because I was from Jersey, Mimi and Sarah enjoyed having double the impact on their old Jersey jokes. It worked out well for all parties, but none more than me.

We even stopped over in Santa Cruz for a night which worked out UNBELIEVABLY perfect for me because I got to spend the night at a high school friends place, who I wanted to see in San Fran, but she was busy moving to Santa Cruz the whole week I was in the area. So again at the last moment I called her and things fell into place. Not only did I see her and meet her friends and roommates, but I got to attend her housewarming party! A Santa Cruz party is something I will not soon forget. Nor will I forget being introduced to "the Box Game", a drinking game that was undoubtedly created by a heavily intoxicated human being who's only possessions were alcohol and a cardboard box. I had to say goodbye to Sally within 24 hours, but I felt so lucky to be able to see her at all.

Then we were off to Big Sur, and more specifically, Sykes Hot Springs. I got to see the northern part of the Pacific Coast Highway on the way though, and it did not disappoint. This strip of pavement is truly an amazing thing. It is basically untouched beauty for miles and miles. Blue oceans with cliffs, rocks coming right out of the water, empty beaches, and white waves crashing relentlessly creating a beautiful surf on the right side. Then on the other side of the road there are beautiful green hills, huge Redwoods, and an entirely different but still breathtaking beauty. Highway 1 was even better than I expected, and the fact that it led to Big Sur was just another bonus.

We ended up hiking the 10 miles through Big Sur to get to Sykes Hot Springs, and it wasn't what any of us expected. Although I don't think we knew what to expect. These "hippie" getaways can be pretty secretive, Sykes was no exception. The 10 mile hike in may have been a bit much for these 4 small hot tubs, but it was still quite the experience. Out of the 10 people there I ran into an old Penn State friend (lucky), and was able to see a few nudists (not lucky).

We camped around a fire, took dips in the hot springs that hugged the edge of a beautiful river, and relaxed. I really liked it but if I had to do it again I would pack more than 12 peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches for food, and I'd stay longer than one night. Twenty miles in two days for only a few hours in a hot spring isn't worth it. I had a great time though. Meeting Mimi, Sarah, and John made this part of the trip awesome. They have done a lot of traveling together and it was great hanging out with them, getting to know them, and hearing some of their stories.

Ok, check out the pictures if you're interested, otherwise, next stop is LA.

Back in the States, Start in Seattle

I'm back! I can't believe it's been over a year since I stepped on American soil. I've seen so many things while away, and lived such a different lifestyle that things that seem so normal over here now seem foreign to me. Do you notice how many over weight people are walking around this country? I do! Do you stare at people with blond, and red hair? I've been staring at those people like they've got two heads lately. Is it me or are there homeless people asking you for money on every corner? That's what it feels like to me, and they're not even trying to sell you souvenirs. What about young Asian American kids who speak perfect English? Boy does that one throw me for a loop. After traveling Asia I espet ebery persum of Ashan decent to have a wittle dipperent speaking style, but then a 10 year old tells me "I am pleased to meet you, and I'd love to chat but I have to work on my calculus homework." I feel like a kid again. All things look new, and all things taste new. noo one ever told me that the food tastes better when you get back home. All the things I'd been craving early in my trip to Korea, but then forgot about after I settled in, all taste like I'm eating them for the first time in my life all over again. I've announced to others that "these are the best oranges ever!", "the chicken sandwich at that bar was amazing!", "I haven't had a bowl of cereal this good in my life!" and the list goes on: Strawberries, pasta, burgers, fries, etc... they all taste amazing. It's as if my taste buds were let out of prison and are enjoying the freedoms they once took for granted. But the food is just our regular, ordinary, run of the mill American food. Usually drenched in grease, salt, or butter, and you know what I realized? I love it. But it's not just that. American food has tons of "extras". You don't eat a ham sandwich. You eat a ham sandwich with lettuce, tomato, cheese, salt, pepper, mustard, and mayonnaise. Those little add ons are the things I didn't realize I had been missing, but now I can't help but recognize them and thank god for them every time I bight into my sweet sweet American food. I've heard some people say that when returning back to the states they felt the food tasted "artificial" and didn't like it after a year of eating natural and healthy food in Korea, but I'm here to tell you that there is nothing artificial tasting about a flame grilled burger, and when you deprive yourself of them for 13 months, your sensory system starts doing cartwheels when you reintroduce them. I've basically been on a high every breakfast, lunch and dinner since getting back, who needs drugs when you have a fat juicy steak?

Where was I? Oh yeah, Seattle. I had been wanting to visit Seattle for a while because my brother Kevin moved there a few years ago. So I figured why not now while I'm not tied down. I can fly into Seattle and then make my way back across the states stopping wherever and seeing whatever I want. I'd never traveled America and once you get to KOREA and people ask you about famous American sights, in my own country, and I have to say "I don't know, I haven't been there" they kind of look at you like your crazy. I mean who travels around the world to KOREA without seeing their own country first? I guess I do, but I think I appreciated America's beauty and differences a little more this way. So, anyway, that was the plan. Fly into Seattle, and travel across the country. Sounds pretty well thought out huh? Yeah it wasn't. Where do I start?

My flight from Hong Kong was basically one of the worst experiences of my life. Somewhere in between my snorkeling, volcano hiking, and villa living in Bali I was bitten by a super powered Indonesian spider. Not unlike the spider of the famous Marvel comic book "Spiderman" but instead of giving me super powers it gave me a super swollen, itchy forehead. I was so uncomfortable, I wanted to scratch my face off, but I had to sit in an airplane seat for 10 hours and try and look normal even though I looked like Hasim Rahman after his fight with Evander Holyfield. I did actually make it without going insane, and when I stepped out of the Seattle airport I realized my first mistake. I had packed my backpack for over a month of travel in Sunny Australia, warm Hong Kong, and tropical Bali. The cold misty breeze of Seattle rain was not something my short, t-shirt, and sandal wearing self was prepared for. After all of my brothers stories about hiking, boats, and other outdoor activities in Seattle I just kind of figured it was warm...I am an idiot.

So as if that wasn't enough, the icing on the cake would be that the first full day I spent in America in over a year was spent in the Seattle Washington Emergency Room. A real welcome spending that special day with some of America's finest in an over crowded waiting room while I was still in a case of extreme discomfort. The doctors didn't have a clue, and I couldn't help them much. Before the bump got all on steroids I just thought it was a mosquito bight. They gave me strong antibiotics and medicine for the itch and told me to pray. I was bed ridden in my brothers apartment for the next week. I considered buying a plane ticket to my parents home in Tennessee and canceling the whole trip. I don't know why I didn't do it, but I'm so thankful I decided against it.

I did come out of my funk, with only a few scars. I have less eye lashes today than before my trip, and a small section of the top of my head is missing, but overall I think having a permanant reminder of not giving up on something you want to do isn't such a terrible thing.

Seattle turned out to be a blast. My brother has a bunch of awesome friends out there, who I'm lucky to feel like they are kind of my friends now too. The city is pretty, has lots of things to do, yet also keeps a sort of homey feel. I walked around the city, went hiking, saw some sights, spent some time with some cool people, watched the NCAA Tournament Finals (Oh glorious March Madness), and saw a tulip festival. This was the first stop on a long American journey and it had it's road bumps but overall I'm so glad I persevered through it. I loved seeing my brother and his wife out there. They really love Seattle, and I loved being there with them. Also, the food wasn't bad either :)

Check it out...you know the drill.

Bali Blow Out!!!

Walking off of the plane in Bali a man met us at the gate. At the plane's gate, not the standard "International Entrance" area that everyone else walks through and gets surrounded by drivers or signs. I found this a bit strange but it set the tone for how we were going to be treated real fast. This same man streamlined our visa process and got us and our bags out of the airport as fast as possible.

Then we reached the parking lot, and the second clue to how things were going to go down popped up... there were two vans waiting for us. Yup, six people, two vans. One was for us and the other for our luggage. As we entered them the AC was pumped high and was at least 50 degrees cooler than the humid outside weather. As the driver began to take us to our Villa I started feeling uncomfortable about the whole process. Did I need to be treated so specially? Could I not have waited in line at the airport like everyone else? Could I not ride with my own bag? Shouldn't I have? It began to dawn on me that I may have become a "backpacker". Someone who doesn't enjoy spending money on travel, but the excitement comes from finding the best deals while traveling. Not having things taken car of for you, but you find a way to take care of yourself. This was sinking in as the air conditioning gave me the chills, during a day of 90 degree humidity, and those chills made me start regretting my idea to travel with my brother and some of our other friends. It was a bad feeling, I actually started thinking that the vacation was going to be a failure, and in essence felt as if it already was. I had made the wrong decision, I saw it now, but had two weeks still to live through it. What had I done!?

Then the van turned in front of a huge gate, the gate opened, we drove down a beautiful entryway, got out, had our luggage carried inside to our rooms for us, and only steps after entering the doorway there were three servants holding trays of fresh squeezed juices, orderves, and fruit. Behind them was the pool and the rest of the Villa that looked like as one person put it, "a house on the show Real World". In just about 15 steps from the van to the entryway I realized I was an idiot, and that I loved having the best of things. Who doesn't? Granted I know it won't last but Bali was the perfect opportunity to live it up and that's what we did.

Meals that could feed small nations were prepared for us by our own cooking staff. Our laundry dissapeared from our hampers and returned folded on our beds daily. We lounged by the pool, walked the beach, and got hour massages in the city for $5 dollars. We were treated like Kings and Queens and if I could do it again I'd jump at it in a second. The week at the Villa was such a high style of living I've never experienced anything like it, but I'm glad I have now.

One week was spent at the villa and another one was spent traveling around Bali. Both were great in there own ways. Check out the pictures if you want to see more.

Ladies and Gentelmen, I Give You... KONG!!!

So no, I didn't travel to a mysterious far off island with a giant ape on it in the efforts to bring it back so you could pay to see with your own eyes. But I did bring you pictures from my travels to another far off island, Hong Kong, and you don't have to spend a dime to see them on your computer screen. King Kong may have been the either wonder of the world and while Hong Kong can't claim that, it did have its up sides.

My most memorable moments in Hong Kong were mostly surrounding great meals with awesome people that I had only met once before at Kevin and Susie's wedding in France. During my visit I had great company, and great meals, sometimes with great views (sorry no pictures of that night skyline dinner) and it was a nice place to visit. It seemed to remind me a lot of Beijing and Shanghai and possibly even a little like Seoul (on drugs). Yet there was one thing that stood out, and made it seem different from those other cities. In Beijing and Shanghai you have Chinese people everywhere yelling at you to buy a shirt, a hat, a picture, or something or other. However, in Hong Kong, it's not the same at all. There it's Indian people who are pushing you to buy a watch, a cheap suit, or a souvenir. I don't know quite how the good people from India moved onto Chinese turf and started peddling cheaper goods, but it all seems ironically funny to me.

I did get to see some cool stuff though, check out the pictures.

Australia and Me...Slide By Slide

Check out the entire roll of film taken in Oz. The Zoo was left out of other posts but has some really cool pictures. I've never been nor will I ever be as close to a lion as I was there.

It was a great trip, I hope you can get some of the enjoyment out of the slideshow.

High Rollin' Down Under

There wasn't much left of our trip to Oz. We'd gotten back from Fraser Island, we'd caught up on the year's worth of missed stories, and we didn't have anything else special planned. Yet, a quote I always loved was "All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware” by Martin Buber. Well, Mr. Buber, you don't know how right you were.

It appeared to be a normal night. Nothing too special. During the day we did some things around Sydney, tried to go to the zoo, but the ticket salesman said it was too late in the day, and we could enjoy it more fully tomorrow. We took his word (gladly because the zoo was cool, and needs ample time to visit) and we returned home. While walking through the door of Jimmy's apartment it was said as almost an afterthought, "Do we wanna go to the casino tonight?"

After that nothing more needed to be said. Considering we're a group of old friends that got together once a week throughout high school to play cards, and once a week to gamble on bowling (Oh Wacky Wednesday, I will never forget your two for one deal), we all knew we'd be up for the casino on a whim. We changed our clothes into our lucky shorts, sandals, and button down shirts, and we were off to take down the house. And I'm sure we would have, had we not been stopped at the door. Apparently the Sydney Casino is a bit more classy than any other casino that we had been to because they dropped the bombshell of "sorry, no sandals are allowed inside." We were discouraged to say the least. A thirty dollar cab ride there, followed by a thirty dollar trip back home to put on some shoes, and then a second thirty dollar trip to the casino and we were already in dept to the house big. We were all pretty pissed off about the whole incident, and it just seemed like it might ruin the night. Either that or it was a huge karmic misstep by the gambling gods throwing our luck so far down a hole that the only way out of it was to shoot directly up. And that is exactly what happened.

We sat at a 10$ blackjack table, the smallest denomination of money at all of the blackjack tables, and we just lit it up. This was my first time really gambling at a casino table, but I experienced something on this night that I'm sure even veteran gamblers have never been a part of. We started winning. Well, not me, being the rookie I lost my money in about half an hour but Joe, Jim, and Chris all starting rolling it in, and I loved watching it. As you can imagine, with every dealer bust, or blackjack dealt, we were cheering, clapping, and throwing around high fives like it was 1989. A few hours into the table they were all up about a hundred dollars and I didn't think it could get any better, but when gambling, it can also turn for the worse without a moments notice.

It was about here when the table dynamics were forced into a change because Joe had to use the little boys room. He asked the table dealer for a marker to hold his seat until he returned from his tinkle, to which the dealer replied "marker? you mean like a felt pen?" Apparently Australian gamblers don't pee because from the confused/disgusted looks we got, neither our dealer nor his pit boss had ever heard such an outrageous request. This was the second karmic misstep by the gambling gods; relieving oneself should never be a punishable act, and so instead of losing his seat to some Aussie, he decided to give it to me. "You take it Pauly, I'm up, I'm happy, play for me as you would," that's what he said. Now in the karmic battle between good and evil that had been going on in the backgrounds of our night, this was the deciding blow. A friend lending his seat, and money to another friend who hadn't gotten to sit, and lost his money quickly. The karma gods smiled on this act of generosity, and so did I, from ear to ear.

By the time Joe returned from the bathroom I had turned his one stack of chips into nearly three of the equal size. "What the hell did you do?" he asked, to which I replied, "I dunno, I just started winning." I felt like Forrest Gump. Joe knows you don't mess with a good thing when it comes to gambling, so he had me cash in some of the chips I had won, considered himself out (up $400) and told me the rest was mine to play with. This is when things really got out of hand. It seemed as if every move we made was right. I was winning, Jimmy was winning, and Chris was winning too. Every hand started going the right way for all of us. I've never seen a dealer bust so much, and so many times in a row: 22, 25, 26, it was unheard of. One hand after the next, he would bust, or we would get dealt 21. Things started getting so crazy, the luck seemed to be so much in our favor we couldn't sit back and play it normal anymore. We started taking chances.

I was the first to begin adding increments to my bets per hand. If I won the hand, I'd bet $10 more on the next, and then 10$ more on the next if I won that one, and so on. It seemed innocent enough until I won eight hands in a row and was betting $80 a hand at a $10 minimum table. Jimmy liked the excitement and we were already up big, storing hundred dollar chips in "don't touch" pockets, so he decided to jump on board. It wasn't long until we were both betting HUGE hands simultaneously, but that wasn't all, more than ever it seemed like we were being dealt cards that were screaming to be double downed on, or split (in escence doubling our already over sized beginning bets). We decided we had to play the hands the same way we would as if there was only ten dollars on the line, but when we doubled down, or split now, it payed off big time.

Such a crowd gathered around us that it felt like this little, unimportant, ten dollar blackjack table was the main focus of an enormous casino. Something I thought was unheard of. People came over just to ride our wave of luck. They started betting Jimmy's hands, and mine too. We'd still win. There were people throwing $50 chips on our hands, and we'd get blackjack. At one point there were so many people betting on Jimmy's hand that the dealer wouldn't allow it. They set a three person maximum to bet on our hands. When the pile of chips in front of Jimmy was it's biggest, with a hundred dollars of his on the line, and hundreds of three other people's, he turned a blackjack. Jimmy nearly jumped out of his chair, and did a kind of Tiger Woods celebratory fist pump, but with both hands, while letting out a giant roar too, but even that was hard to hear amongst the cheering around him. For the first time in the history of a casino the pit boss was called over to watch a $10 minimum table.

One night, 4 old friends, one blackjack table, and $2,500 won. We were all able to pay Jimmy for the Fraser Island trip, and the car rental after one night of fun together gambling. There was a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow on our trip to Oz, and it was full of Australian dollars. As Jimmy so perfectly put it while walking out of the Casino, "Money won is a hundred times sweeter than money earned." So while the trip to Australia was awesome, and the weather was the best weather of anywhere I've ever been to, and the city was beautiful, and Fraser Island was like no other place I've ever seen, and catching up with old friends was better than words can express..."All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware” and for the rest of my life I will never forget the on the whim decision to go to the Sydney Casino in our sandals because I was unaware of it at the time, but this was our secret destination and I believe everything happened for a reason.

The Land of Oz

What better to take the sting out of leaving Korea than a trip down to Australia to see some old friends? I didn't think there was anything, so I left Korea to visit Jimmy, who moved to Australia about 8 months earlier. He lives in Sydney and two other great friends, Chris and Joe, also decided to take this perfect opportunity to visit Sydney at the same time. You never expect schedules to work out like this, but as we found out, luck was on our side.

Sydney was a beautiful city. Just flying in on the plane I started becoming jealous of Jimmy and his location choice for ex-patriot living. I did love Korea, but I'm not about to tell anyone that it has great weather. I became so used to the grey ski, so used to cloud cover, and by the time I left I didn't even really notice China's "yellow dust" that blows over anymore. Well the crystal clear sky, warm sun, cool breeze, and white puffy clouds of Sydney quickly made me remember all the things I've been missing. It made me realize that there is some innate connection between people and the condition of the weather. I can have a good time on a rainy day, but seeing the sun shining already makes it a great day, and it was shining the entire time I was Australia.

As soon as I walked off of the plane I realized I was in a different world than the one I had become accustomed to in Asia. Just feet from the plane's gate there was a man on a microphone announcing the duty free deals of the day. That alone was something I've never seen or heard before, but there were other parts of it that made it stand out even more to me because I'd been living in Korea for a year, like he was announcing in ENGLISH! There were also lots of women with bright blond hair walking around. People looked taller than me. It seemed like there were obese people everywhere, and while all those things reminded me of America, everyone sounded like Crocodile Dundee, just to remind me I wasn't home yet. All the little differences seemed to stand out so brightly to me. The things I had gone a year without seeing were normal everyday things to you, but nice little surprises to me.

After arriving a few minutes before Joe at the airport we both took a taxi ride to Jimmy's apartment, in Woolloomooloo, to meet up with Jim and Chris. *Note to other travelers: There is no tipping in Australia, so don't listen to the taxi driver if he tells you there is, he's just being an Ass* Seeing Jim, Chris, and Jimmy's girlfriend Erin was really nice. I always thought that being apart from friends would somehow make it seem different when you met up again, but it's not. As soon as we saw each other it was like we were never apart. We still looked the same, acted the same, told the same jokes, and referenced Seinfeld episodes as much as ever. Even though I've been missing Seinfeld reruns for a year, I can still remember them pretty well.

We spent the first few days of the trip hanging out, catching up, barbecuing, seeing Jimmy's office, Sydney's streets and sights, and yelling lines from Gladiator at Russel Crow's mansion. It was everything I'd hoped for. But we did have one big trip planned, the 3 day excursion to Fraser Island. It's off the east coast of Australia and it's the largest all sand island in the world. Now what does that mean, "all sand island"? I wondered the same thing when I read it, but it means there is no rock formations, no roads, and that the ground beneath you will always be some type of sand while you're there. That is a little more understandable to imagine, but there are areas of the island that look like beach front (obviously), desert oasis, and rain forest. A rain forest growing out of the desert is something I had to see to believe.

Fraser Island was exactly what the type of thing I was looking for. It is a vacation spot, but you don't just sit around. There are no hotels, no spa's, or resorts, it forces you to have an adventure, and in a place that at times looks like it could be another planet. There are only sand roads that and they go up and down like crazy. Driving is part of the adventure because it's dangerous. You have to be worried not to crash the car as you're going over humpty-doodles (sand mounds), and crossing washouts, or just getting the car stuck in deep sand (like we did 4 times). I have no hesitation saying that the four guys from Jersey highly underestimated the seriousness of journey we had embarked on.

We planned out our route as we went along, bought food at the last minute for rock bottom prices, didn't realize we had no way to light the grill until almost nigh fall, thought we didn't have poles to set up the tent, couldn't find a campsite that we were legally able to camp in, found out we couldn't make a fire outside of the campsites that didn't allow us in, couldn't stomach the food we did buy, didn't bring Pepto-Bismol, didn't know how to dig a truck out of the sand, didn't bring enough lights, and I'm sure the list goes on but I'm starting to feel like I'm making us out to be a bunch of idiots. The thing is, none of this really effected the entirety of the trip at all. We were able to see more spots on that island than anyone else I've talked to that has visited there. Getting stuck was part of the adventure, running into a Dingo or two made things more exciting, the bad food made us feel like we were roughin' it, we found matches, and the tent poles, and made due without a fire. We were a bunch of idiots, but luck was just on our side.









On Fraser Island we went to a white sand, clear water lake that was empty. Yup, easily one of the most beautiful beaches I had ever been on, and it was deserted. Not a single person showed up in the entire afternoon we were there. Of course we played football in the white sand, if you know us you could have guessed that, but it was perfect. We walked in areas that felt like the desert. Saw lakes that seemed to be coming right out of the desert. Bathed in areas of water along the shores that bubbled up when the waves hit the rocks segregating them, earning them the name of the "Champagne Pools". We also climbed to beautiful lookout points, hiked cool trails, saw strange animals, drove on the beach, camped in the wild, and all around had an experience that none of us could have imagined.







After the trip to Fraser Island we thought the best of the trip was behind us. How could it get any better than beaches, fresh water lakes as blue as the sky, white sand, Champagne pools? Well no one saw this one coming but a night at the Sydney Casino turned out to be the one night of this trip none of us would ever forget.

No Mo So Ko

Can you believe it? No more South Korea for me. I'm done with my year of teaching English there. It feels weird to say because that had really become my persona for a year. Everyone I had known through my whole life, or met during this year, heard at one time or another that I was "teaching English in Korea". This is just a fact that at times I said so often I sometimes wish it could be avoided, but it couldn't, it was just something so far out of the norm that it was going to come up in one way or another. Actually, it's the same now being back in America, it's impossible to answer even the most mundane questions (What do you do? Where do you live? What are you doing here?) without having to reproduce my own eccentric year in review. It's not that I don't like bringing it up because I didn't like it, it's actually the opposite. I really liked it, and every time someone brings it up I remember all the good times I had in Korea and it makes me kind of sad that I'm not there right now.

After parting ways with my parents in China I returned to Korea with only two weeks left on my contract. One week off after one week of school, "Graduation Week", which was basically a glorified vacation week mixed with a long emotional goodbye to all of the teachers and students I had become close with throughout the year. I saw these people everyday, became close with them. They took care of me, took me out to dinner, took me hiking, taught me to play badminton. I went out to drinks with them, threw parties for them, partied with them, danced with some of them, and sang with or for all of them (usually Eminem...at their request). The thing is, I became close with some special people I met here. I have close friends in America but these relationships were different to me. These friendships made me realize that there are good people all over the planet, and it made me feel like I was a good person too. It showed me that I can be thousands of miles away from my family yet still feel like they are close.

Graduation week was pretty sad. It felt weird to be sitting at my desk knowing that it was the last week I'd ever sit at it, and next year some other foreign teacher would be sitting at it. Weirder still when I got to meet that new teacher. He was really nice though, and I think he'll be a good fit for the school and the students. But each time I saw students, ate lunch, and went to classes and meetings I was reminded that I will never do this again, and will most likely never see most of these people ever again. It was a really sad and harsh realization.

During the last teachers meeting, a meeting I had attended every week for a year and not understood one word the entire time, Rachel and I were supposed to give goodbye speeches. Rachel stood up first and read her speech. It was supposed to be translated but that got shot down at the last second. Then it was my turn. I had spent the last couple of days with someone I am deeply indebted to trying to write my speech in Korean. I walked up the the podium I'd seen my principal talk at so many times before, never knowing a word he was saying, and I know that is what the eighty Shinjin teachers were expecting out of me. I looked up at all of them and felt my nervous heart beat fast, my hands shake, and felt the temperature of the room rise about twenty degrees. Then I read my speech in Korean. It was quiet before I started my speech, obviously, but once I started speaking it was eerie how silent it became. As if I could sense the collective conscience of them all recognize I was speaking Korean, and they listened in even more intently to try and get every word. I'm sure I made plenty of mistakes, but I finished, and sat down thinking it all went alright. Then the meeting ended seconds later, and to me it seemed like every teacher in the whole school came up to congratulate me, say good job, say goodbye, or say they would miss me too. After the realization that they understood it, and seeing that they were all touched by it, it was hard to hold in my emotion. Having a school full of teachers I respect all want to shake my hand, while knowing that this is the last day I will see most of them was just a little too much to handle. Tears rushed to my eyes almost as fast as the teachers rushed up to me.

Honestly it was one of those moments that I'll never forget. I felt like I'd graduated from something, I don't know what, but some sort of life step. No cap and gown or diploma, but a real feeling of moving up in the world. I had come here to do something and this meeting culminated the idea that I succeeded with nearly all of my good intentions.

Once the last day of school was over I had only one week to plan last meetings with all of my close friends in Korea before I left. I had lunches and dinners almost everyday of the week, and sometimes plans for drinks after them too. Sadly, I came down with a really serious case of food poisoning the day I had some of the most meetings planned, my last full day in Korea. Yup, instead of lunch with my principal, a guy who's life I wish I could have lived, a dinner with Mr. Jong who'd become like a father to both Rachel and I, and plenty of late night drinks with Alex, Jeff and Rachel on my last night, instead I spent it sick in bed. I'll always remember that night too, for a number of reasons I won't say, but it was something out of a movie.

But the goodbye dinners and lunches I did get to go to were really special too. I will never forget the people I met in Korea, I'm sure of it. Right now I still can't get Korea out of my head. I miss my apartment, my desk, the empty school gym, my hours, my vacation, my pay check, my friends, my Korean family, and my second home. That's what it was, and is, my second home. I cheer for Korea when I see them now in sporting events, and I feel somehow connected to the place. I like that. So even though I'm not in South Korea anymore, it's not no more South Korea for me, it'll always be there, and in some way I'll always be there too.The last time I sat at my desk...

The Kroll's in Korea

How many people do you know who have been to Seoul, South Korea? Is the number south of one? Or is it one because you know me? Well, about eleven months ago before I committed to teaching at Shinjin I didn't know anyone who had ever been here. Heck, it was difficult to find anyone who knew anything about Seoul besides that the Olympics were there in a year everyone seemed to forget. Now, amazingly, I think of Korea as a second home, my best friend has been here and loved it, and the latest astonishing visit came from my parents.

I couldn't believe it when I read the email saying that they were going to come. Sometimes people refer to me as an "All American boy" and they're surprised when I do anything outside of playing football, listening to rock and roll, and eating hot dogs, but in comparison to the background of my parents I look like a Gen-X'er. The idea of my parents walking the busy streets of Seoul, getting relentlessly bumped into, trying to order off a menu they can't read, and, to cap it off, staying in my apartment for a week honestly scared me a bit (to say the least). It's been a while since I lived with my parents and even then, we didn't share the same bathroom (that could or could not smell like raw sewage any day of the week). If anything went wrong in the five days they were here in Seoul, I thought it would be easy for things to go really downhill, fast. But just like people underestimated me, I underestimated my parents.

Their week in Korea was a whirlwind of things happening. The morning after they got in we all woke up and gathered around my computer to listen to the Giants beat the Packers in overtime on the radio, and that set the tone for the whole week. Palaces, dinners with friends, lunches with my principal, temples, museums, malls, the DMZ and even an aquarium later and we had made it to the finish. The whole week went off without a hitch, but that's no way to describe it. Everyone loved them, and they loved everyone they met. I got to see some new things, and they got to eat some new things. It went better than I could have possibly expected it to go.

As we walked toward the airport bus I felt like cheering as if the Giants were winning all over again. A week of close quarters living, and 24/7 contact while being a full time tour guide for my parents in a country where I didn't speak the language was over, and it would be a week we would both remember with smiles for the rest of our lives. What a success, but I didn't cheer, I stayed calm and got my rest. Korea was just like the NFC Championship game, it wasn't what they came for, the trip wasn't over, far from it. The Super Bowl for them was China. The People's Republic of China, the land of well over one billion people who don't speak our language, eat our food, or know anything about football, rock and roll, or hot dogs, and there was still one more week for everything to go wrong. But would it?

Check out the great pictures from my parents trip to Korea, and I'll have the rest of the trip to China up soon.

One GIANT Loss (18-1)

The Giants shock the world (or at least the USA): Yes, my parents traveled half way across the world to come see me, and then took me to China for a week, and there is plenty to talk about there, but the real news of the day is the New York Football Giants becoming the world champs. While this should be a happy day I am struck by the irony that surrounds this infamous day. I've always been a Giants fan, always stuck by them, cheered my heart out for them. I was there when Eli won his first game. I was there when we weren't any good. I was there when they got destroyed in the first round of the playoffs by the Panthers. My friends and I have an annual Giants tailgate party on the last home game of the year that was started spontaneously on MY 21st birthday. I am Big-Blue through and through. So I leave the country for one year and they go and win the championship. And as if that wasn't enough, out of all the days, and all the times I had to fly out of China, my flight was during the Super Bowl. So I couldn't even watch the game live. I watched the Giants amazing, unbelievable upset of Super Bowl XLII alone in my apartment. There were no cheering fans, no crazy friends, no hot dogs, pretzels or beer. It was just me and my computer but the game in High Def was still so sweet.
Dear Giants:
-I wish I could have been there but I'm glad you did it anyway.
-I'm sorry Eli and Coach Coughlin, I was wrong about you both. You found a way to do it, I still don't know how you did, and I'm not so sure you know how you did it, but I'm glad you did it.
-Eli is the most impressively unimpressive player in NFL history.
-Tiki...I told you that you would regret it. It makes me feel bad that I was right but you should have known, the fans knew.
-The Giants Defense is so much fun to watch. I can watch them coming off the line all day.