Berkeley & San Fran Sandwich

If you would have asked me anytime before this trip if I had relatives living in Berkeley California I would have answered no. But that answer would have been wrong. As it turns out I have two cousins living in Berkeley with their families. Cousins Jon and Billy Witort and they were most accommodating to my travel plans.

It's funny how things turn out really. I planned on traveling alone on this trip and planned to see amazing natural wonders, special things I thought I should stop and take notice of on this planet before it's too late. But one thing I learned in Berkeley is that family is a special thing, and one you can experience in much the same way as many of the worlds natural wonders.

Seeing the beauty that this world has to offer makes you feel like you're doing something right. It makes you feel like you belong in that place for that moment that you discover it. Well my cousins (along with their parents while I was in Portland) made me feel as if I belonged when I came to see them. Even more so it seemed as if there was an instant connection. As if there was no judgment, no predispositions, just a discovery of not something wonderful, but someone wonderful. I feel so blessed to have a family that I love, and who loves me, but I've come to realize that the circle of family that I thought I had is actually much bigger than I first thought.

Berkeley was a great stop though, even more so than just being able to spend sometime with some wonderful people. I was able to visit UC Berkeley and walk around a beautiful college campus which always puts me in a good mood. Anything that can bring memories of 4 years at Penn State to my mind always makes me feel great. I was also in town for another birthday party, Jon's, which was fun, but what I will remember most about it was the group of hippies that we shared the park with. Classic...

Berkeley really seemed like a different place than anywhere I'd ever been before though. On the surface it was just like any other nice, well to do area where people have money, and live what appears to be carefree lives, but if you look a little closer it's has something different about it. My first hint was when I got in Billy's car and he said it ran on vegetable oil, and my second was when Jon's car didn't make a sound. Not only did these people have money, but they were eco-friendly too! There were recycling bins for every type of material you can imagine, solar panels, hybrid cars, community cars, and some people even rode bikes! Honestly, I used to think that America can change with time, that someday in the future we can be more conscious of our effects on the environment, but I was wrong. It doesn't need to happen "someday" it really can happen now. It already is, in Berkeley.

Berkeley was also my jumping off point for San Francisco. Billy lent me his bike and I rode around the busy streets of San Francisco for a whole day like I was Kevin Bacon from "Quicksilver". I usually love walking around big cities but this bike experience was great. I went all over from the Pier 39 to the Golden Gate Bridge, beach front parks to AT&T Park to catch a free baseball game. This was the best city experience I had on my trip.

All that and they had a dog I could play with too. What more could I ask for, right? Well Billy ended up trumping all of that by giving me the best advice for where I should go when I get to the Grand Canyon. I will always be indebted to him for that. "If you wanna just look at the Canyon, yeah, go where everyone else goes, but if you want to hike it, go here." Man was he right. But you'll have to wait to hear about that place later because I wasn't off to the grand canyon yet.
Next stop Santa Cruz!

A Smooth Portlanding

So with no license and no car how was I supposed to start this great American tour? How do you get around when all you have is your two legs...and a computer? The internet is a wonderful thing. I turned to Craigslist "Rideshare" postings and scavenged it daily. I found people that were looking for someone to share gas with and were headed to where I was going. I emailed them, talked with them over the phone, and tried to figure out if they were crazy. If I didn't think they'd kill me, and if I didn't think I'd want to kill myself after riding with them, I took it. My first shot at "cyber-hitchhiking" was a short trip from Seattle to Portland. I was a little nervous, and made sure my brother Kevin had my cell phone number and a recent picture of me just in case anything happened, but it all turned out fine. I even shared the back seat with another Penn State graduate. The driver was a nice girl with 4 jobs...4 jobs!!! And they were all "green" jobs. Yes, she was into saving the earth and sharing her car means cutting down on carbon emissions, so that's why she does it. She wasn't looking for people to torture or kill, just looking to help the environment.

When I got to Portland I couldn't believe I was really there. "That's it?" I said. It's a very small looking city, cozy almost. I road the MAX train to my Uncle Paul's house and was happy that the first leg of the American tour went well. I spent the next few days playing with their dog "Rags", walking around the city of Portland, attending a family members birthday party, meeting new people, hiking, boating, fishing, and planning my trip from Portland down towards San Francisco. Luckily my cousin Jenna had friends in from out of town who where from San Francisco and had plenty of good advice to give me.

Portland was a really nice stop. It was nice to be in a house again after living in an apartment for a year in Korea, and then having a blow up mattress in my brothers living room for two weeks. Just seeing my Aunt and Uncle was a special treat. Since they lived most of their lives in Illinois or on the west coast I don't get to see them much, but they are really great people. I loved staying at their place, showing them pictures, telling my travel stories and hearing their thoughts about everything I've been doing. They thought what I was doing was great and wished me all the best. But most of all they just hoped that my next driver wouldn't kill me.

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.

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.

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...

China's Virtual Slideshow

Enjoy the trip to China as if you were right there with us:


P.S.- I love the comments, keep'em coming.

Chickadee China

Welcome Back! Just as Seoul Searching was reaching new heights, gaining more readers, followers, and establishing a devoted fan base, my internet stopped working. Yup, my last week in Korea, a week I had planned to do a record amount of blogging, was lost due to a lack of internet contact. I was not happy about it.

Today I'm typing this post from Australia. I have left Korea behind, but I don't want to get ahead of myself just yet. The plan is to catch everyone up. I'm going to try and do some fast and furious blogging because there have been some huge happenings. So if you're interested, make sure to check the page daily in the upcoming weeks.

Back to my parents visit...

We flew to China...China! My parents and I in the country that builds all the little inexpensive toys that we play with when we're children, and self confident adults. I've heard many things about China and I'd like to give you my take on those rumors. The biggest one is that it's highly polluted and you can't see the sun. I can give you first hand knowledge that this myth is TRUE...and FALSE.

We flew into Shanghai from Seoul for a 3 day stay. In those three days I never saw the sun once. At times it was hard to even see a hundred meters ahead of ourselves. While some cities have a park in the middle, and others center around a famous building or landmark, Shanghai seemed to be built around a gray cloud. This gray cloud engulfed everything and gave the whole city a kind of "Gotham" feel. It rained, sleeted, snowed, and smogged all three days of our stay in Shanghai. However, we then spent 4 days in Beijing and during those 4 days, I didn't see a single cloud. The sky was perfectly clear. While talking to our guides though, I did find out that Chinese police men that work on the streets are offered earlier retirement because they don't live as long because they spend so much time breathing in the polluted air on the streets. So yes, it is polluted apparently, BADLY, but sometimes you can see it, while other times you can't.

The cities were cool though. They seemed pretty futuristic, which makes sense considering that the downtown areas have all been built within the last twenty years. We saw some cool temples, and stuff but the most exciting part of the visit was when I asked our tour guide if we could go to a market. She said she could make some calls. We pulled up to the side of the road a few minutes later and a man with an umbrella led us out of the car. We then followed him down an ally, then another alley, up some apartment building steps. As we were going up these steps we saw poor families, beaten down rooms, dirt, cracked walls, and the most impoverished living quarters my parents and I had seen in some time. It is safe to say that we were both nervous about where we were being led. Then out of nowhere we walked into an apartment with three rooms that all looked like they belonged in a mall. They had nice lighting, tons of clothes, watches, purses, carpeting, etc... It was like walking onto a movie set. You couldn't believe this nice place was in the middle of all this poverty.

I expected the things inside this "apartment" to cost about one dollar, but apparently it was a high class knockoff place. There are different levels of Chinese knockoffs; low level that will cost next to nothink but break in next to no time, medium level that will be really cheap but will probably not last very long, and high level that is supposed to be almost as good as the real thing. We were at a high level place.

I figured I'd never buy a high class watch anywhere else, so this was my opportunity. I found two I liked and was willing to spend about ten dollars from them, but when I asked the prices I was given a "price for a friend" that was about five hundred dollars. I wanted to laugh in the guys face, but realizing my surroundings I decided to scrunch up my face a little, as to say, that's a bit too high for me. The dance began. Bargaining is a way of life in China. I have been to other countries and enjoyed bargaining but it is a whole different monster in China. Instead of bargaining things down a few dollars, or ten or twenty percent, in China prices start out inflated to around one million percent. That's right. If you wanted to buy a lighter, they will try their little hearts out to try and describe to you why this lighter is worth a million dollars. If you were dumb enough to pay them a million bucks, they'd take it without blinking, but if you're smarter they will begin reducing the price in one of two ways: One, they will enjoying your bargaining and begin to act like they like you and like that you're a cheap bastard, by gaining their respect and friendship they will lower the price "just for you". Or two, they ask you to type what price you are willing to pay on a calculator. My father ended up bargaining a watch down to about forty bucks for my mom, using both techniques. Let's hope it lasts.

I usually enjoy the give and take of a good bargain and cherish the empowered feeling of getting a good deal for myself, but in China it wasn't like that. Due to the unbelievably large originally marked up price it wasn't so fun. You could bargain for ten minutes and still buy a thing for twenty times it's worth. You had to show interest, and then walk away to even get them to come down to a considerable price. While you walk away there voice scrambles down an imaginary spiral staircase, "100! 90! 80! 70! 60! 50!" Don't turn around until they have stopped decending, you never know how low they will go. When they start cursing you, they've reached their bottom dollar limit. Then you can go back and bargain with them a little more before buying it. But once I bought something, different sellers with the same product would hollar at me trying to sell me another, but they would start with the price I bought it, "You like dat, I give it to you for 50!", and right there I know I got taken because if he's starting at 50, I could have gotten it for at least half of that. So even when you buy things for three dollars, you walk away and feel like the people took advantage of you. It was a good experience though.

You may have also heard about a large snow storm in China around the same time we were there. Apparently it was the worst snow storm in over fifty years. Hundreds of people died, crops were lost, trains were canceled, and hundreds of thousands of people weren't able to travel to their see their families on the Chinese New Year holiday. The thing is, China is a big place, we didn't run into any of this stuff really. Shanghai had bad weather but it didn't stop us from doing anything. It didn't seem real that the country was going through such a hard time, and we were on vacation, seeing tourist sights, eating out, and sleeping in nice hotels, but that's the way it was.

Of course we also saw the Great Wall, and it was Great. I would suggest it to anyone. I'm really happy I've got three of the seven wonders of the world down. It was just as amazing as the first two, Angkor Wat and Chichenitza. Of course there were people selling souvenirs on the wall though, and that kind of sucked. And yes you really have to bargain there too. We were offered the first shirt that said "I climbed the Great Wall" for 280 Yuen. After showing interest and walking away for an hour, we returned to buy 3 shirts for 80 Yuen (not each, ALL TOGETHER). We walked away feeling like we had figured out the whole "bargaining thing" in China with smiles on our faces, and great shirts in our bags.

Once we got back to the hotel we realized that one shirt had a stain, and two didn't fit. We still got taken...but hey, that's China.

The sideshow will be coming soon.

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.

Looking For A Job?

I can't believe it but Shinjin is actually looking for someone to fill my position for next year already. It totally doesn't seem like it's been a whole year, and I know it's cliche' but time really does fly. I thought that putting the classified add up on my blog would be interesting for everyone to see. Here is what they're looking for...

Shinjin Science Technology Academy is currently looking for English teaching instructors. We want sincere and experienced native speakers. If you are interested, please send a copy of your resume, diploma, teaching credentials, TESOL certificate, and a recent picture of yourself to the address below. Job description is as follows.

-Preferred Qualifications
1. M.A. or B.A. (if possible, Education or English major is preferred)
2. TESOL / TEFL certificate and ESL / EFL teaching experience
3. An enthusiastic and good cross-cultural personality preferred

-Contacts
Kim, Joong- KI
Email: jjooongkim@hanmail.net Phone: 02-355-6709
Mobile: 010-3708-6844

-Address
Shinjin Science Technology Academy
114-1, Eungam1-dong, Eunpyeong-gu
Seoul, Korea. Postcode 122-010

© Conditions & Benefits

-Employment
a. Contract Length: 1-year minimum (Renewable, if needed)
b. Initial Employment date starts: March 1st, 2008 – Feb, 28th ,2009

1. Monthly Salary: 2.4 million won (some 2,500 U.S. dollars)
2. Class hours: approx. 20 hrs/week
3. Work days: Monday to Friday (8a.m to 4:30 p.m)
4. Work Place: Eungam1-dong, Eunpyeong- gu, Seoul
5. Holidays: approx. 5 weeks of paid vacation will be given : two weeks during summer vacation and three weeks during winter vacation.

-Transportation
Airfare (economy class) will be paid from your location to Seoul upon your acceptance to our school.
ø Contract Completion Bonus: Paid Flight Home

-Accommodation
School offers private spacious housing close to school
(furnished, two bedroom, living room, kitchen and washroom)

-Others
School will pay 50% of Medical insurance.
School will pay 50% of the compulsory payment to the national pension fund.
School will pay one-time settlement allowance of 300,000 won.
Part of everyday luncheon expenses will be met.

-Application Deadline

Jan. 18, 2008

I've actually done a bunch of interviews for the school already and there are some really good candidates. I just hope the people who replace Rachel and I like the job as much as I did.

Alright, I'm off to go pick up my parents at the airport. Yup, Mr. and Mrs. Kroll are on their way to Asia as we speak. I have 2 weeks of quality family time ahead of me, one week as a tour guide of Seoul and the next as a tourist in China. Can't wait, and I am looking forward to blogging about it all as soon as I can. I'm sure there will be plenty tell.

Happy Thanksgiving

I was lucky enough to talk to my family over the internet yesterday. On Thanksgiving weekend, while the rest of my family gathered in Tennessee, I was able to join them from my couch in South Korea. Thanks to a free phone call from my computer, over the internet, using Skype I was able to see and talk with them as if I was there. Well, as if I was there and my eyes worked like an old vhs camcorder. But it's amazing the things we can do today. Thanksgiving is a day we are supposed to give thanks for all that we have and sometimes you don't realize what you have until you step away from it. You don't have to step away as far as South Korea, but I've gained a little more perspective of what I have and I would like to give thanks to some (impossible to do all) of those things today.

1. I am thankful for a family that loves me, and not just my direct family but all of my extended family and close friends. I was amazed to hear about Owen Wilson's suicide attempt a number of weeks back. I couldn't believe that someone with everything, who all the world loved for no other reason than simply being himself could want to end it all. His act made me realize, more than ever, that you can have everything, anyone you want, the adoration of millions, but it's nothing if you don't have people close to you who you love, and who love you. Your family should love you not because you are handsome or pretty, or funny or smart, or rich and famous but just because you are you; for that is something that will never fade.

2. I am thankful for my blog readers. :) Haha, obviously this is a bit of kissing up, but since most of the people who read this blog are my family, maybe it's not so ridiculous that this is so high on my list. But honestly, everyday I check to see how many people have visited my blog and it brings a smile to my face. Rachel and I argue over who has visitors from eccentric countries. It's inspiring to think that anyone would want to read the writing of a normal guy from Jersey. But thank you to those who do. I will try my best to keep you up to date on what I'm up to, while doing what I can to make you laugh, think, and feel entertained. Special thanks to my readers who have added their names and pictures to my map.

3. I am thankful for having a good job. Shinjin has really embraced me and made me feel comfortable in a foreign land. My job affords me a nice apartment, food, all of the essentials of life, vacations, and the luxury of not being able to understand all of the office gossip.

4. I am thankful for being an American. If you're Canadian, that doesn't mean I'm happy that I'm not from somewhere else. I just think we should all be happy about where we came from...if we were lucky enough to be born free. Korea is one of the countries still trying to hold onto the idealistic view of America: the land of opportunity, freedom, and equality. And while the rest of the world may have forgotten that America, I'm proud that my country was once the place for the whole world to go for a second chance at life. I look forward to the day we can be that place again too.

5. I'm thankful for double stuffed Oreo's...need I say more?

6. I am thankful for being able to work in two of the most expensive cities on the planet, New York City and Seoul. I am truly spoiled in that matter.

7. I am thankful for today, tomorrow and yesterday.

8. I am thankful for sports.

9. I am thankful for Halloween; a day when men can dress like morons and women can dress like their naughty fantasies and no one is looked down upon.

10. I am thankful...very thankful.




What are you thankful for?

A Day To Remember Why America is Wicked Sweet

Today is not a normal day. Today is my good friend Mike Bewalder's birthday, but sadly, whenever I hear "September 11th" the first thing I think about is not him growing a year older, as it should be, but instead my head swirls with the images, thoughts, and memories of that day. It is almost that simple to reference...That day.
Remembering 9-11 in a way that enriches your life, and the way you live it day to day, will always be a good thing. If we can learn from those who lost there lives because they were targeted as symbols of what we all stand for, we can honor them. Nearly 3,000 people were murdered on this day 6 years ago because they were in America, living the American dream, flying the friendly skies, or defending our freedoms. It is in honor of those victims at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and on the tragic flights, that today I would like to remind everyone why I think America is so special. Here is a top ten list of the things I miss about the United States of America after 6 months in South Korea:

10. You don't run into Canadians everywhere.
9. There is a diverse population. It is a place where I'm not stared at because I look different.
8. You don't have Korean men telling you that you are handsome all the time.
7. I don't perpetually speak in baby talk. People can actually understand what I'm saying...most of the time.
6. Hamburgers, hot dogs, and weekend barbeque's.
5. Long weekends. The Korean education system seems to not have fully grasped this concept, I mean, who wants a Thursday or a Tuesday off when Friday and Monday are starring you right in the face!
4. Not worrying about mosquito bites when you go to sleep. It's not so bad for me, but seeing the insane number of bites on my friends, coworkers, and students, I still have a bit of insomnia.
3. Going out with my friends, or even just talking to them, or laughing with them.
2. The Jersey shore. Yes, I went to Thailand but I still miss that "No Fun beach" and the crazy weekends there.
1. American football. Yup, this is ranked higher than my friends, and higher than my family (which didn't even make the list, sadly) but for good reason. Let me explain.

Football is America. We like to think we have freedoms that the rest of the world doesn't, we like to think we have a government for the people, that we're the home of the brave, and all that jazz. But honestly, we just have football.
Go ahead and think of a time where you can picture a lot of people having fun. I've come up with the completely erroneous number of 95.8 percent of the people reading this just pictured themselves either at a football game, watching a football game, or playing a football game. I know I did.

Sports make people happy, and that is what America is truly about, "the pursuit of happiness". Of course life and liberty work themselves in there somewhere, but almost everyone has life, and I don't even think we have liberty anymore, so it all boils down to football, or I mean happiness... whatever.

When Joe Shmo can't talk about Bush's international policy, or find America on a map, I'll bet 10 to 1 he can come up with Tom Brady's completion percentage. Some people get more excited or more devastated by sports than anything else in their lives. And what is the best and most popular sport in the world? You said it...Futbol.
Wait...what's futbol you ask? It is the most popular sport in the world, but we Americans refer to it as Soccer. This is where the ingenious ingenuity (can those words be used together like that?) of the American mind shines so brightly. We took what the rest of the world loves more than life itself, their "happiness", and changed it's name to soccer, which sounds a lot like sucker, which has the root word of "suck". As in "this sport sucks". Accident? I think not. Then on top of that, we made up our own game, and just slapped their cherished name on it as if we knew it was even better than the reigning "best sport" right from the start. Well, they were right. Over a hundred years later those Americans seem to have had the best case of foresight I've ever heard of.

America may have a lot of things that other countries don't but over here in Korea I can keep in touch with friends and family, I can go eat a McDonald's cheeseburger, or a pizza, I can have a beer, get a job, support myself financially, and over all, live a pretty good life. But one thing I can't do is watch football.

I am not in America today, and with the football season starting it reminds me more than ever of what I'm missing. I hope this posting made you laugh, but if not, I hope it at least made you realize there are some things we all take for granted. Life is short, too short, so enjoy what you've got because even if all seems lost, you've still got football, while I'm over here stuck with suck...er.

P.S. - I actually like soccer.

A Wedding to Remember

Hello, I'm back in Korea (for better or worse). Things are good and I'm doing fine. I hope you are doing well too. It has been a while since we've spoken. I've been out of the country for a while now, and my trip to France was the longest I was away from a computer during this experience. I'll try to catch you up on what you've missed.

It seems like a really daunting task to describe my trip to France in a blog post. As I sit here my mind is running wild with images of museums, women, castles, boat rides, round-a-bouts, art, food, wine, cheese, family, friends, women, and more food, wine and cheese. And while I'm sure everyone who went to my brothers wedding has similar memories to mine, I think mine might be a bit more intense. Not just because it was my first time in Europe, or because I love to travel, but because I was coming and going from Korea. Have you ever left for vacation from another country? Or returned from vacation to another country? I'm sure that sounds like a small thing to you, but hey, you don't live in Korea...I do. Trust me, it's a weird experience.
Before I left, my well traveled coworker, Rachel, described France to me like this, "It's the opposite of Korea, you couldn't go anywhere in the universe more different than Korea, than France." After a lengthy discussion about the composition of Uranus, its atmosphere, and gaseous environment she still would not back down from her bold statement. At that time I looked at her kindly, smiled, and agreed, but in my mind I was thinking all the kimchi was going to her head, and she needed serious help. Well, a few weeks older and a tad bit wiser, I can honestly tell you, from the bottom of my heart, "SHE WAS RIGHT".

Differences, hmmmm where do I start? I guess I should start right from when I got there. I was on the subway, or Metro, leaving the Paris airport literally 10 minutes after arriving there (always avoid checking bags whenever possible), and at the first stop a nice young couple came on and sat directly across from me. That in itself has happened many times to me in Korea, but now lets take a closer look at the glaring differences in a seemingly all too common occurrence:
1. Neither the man nor the woman was Korean...(that's not like Korea at all)
2. The man and the woman were of different ethnic backgrounds...EXTREMELY rare to find that in Korea, but obese white men and small Korean women is the one minor exception to that rule.
3. The girl was showing cleavage. That was startling for me on two accounts; one, women in Korea do not show much skin around the chest or shoulders. And two, Korean women generally do not have cleavage to show.
4. They were all over each other, kissing, touching, fondling, groping, it was like I should have payed money for my seat. While in Korea, public displays of affection are strictly frowned upon. A good way to understand this is that in France when you say hello to someone you give them kisses on both cheeks, but in Korea you bow, no contact at all. It's an overly physical culture compared to a non-physical culture.
5. Lastly, and maybe the most interesting to me was...they didn't even look at me, not once. I was just a fly on the wall, even though we were face to face separated by only a few feet, my presence went unnoticed. In Korea, eyes almost always wander in the Wagooks (foreigners) direction, if not stares.

As if that wasn't enough of a rude awakening, it was barely 10 minutes after that when I nearly got caught up in a fight between about 15 black males of questionable character. I don't know if I've ever seen 15 black people together in Korea, and they definitely don't yell at each other in French and then try to beat the hell out of each other. I ended up hopping over nearly an entire subway car full of seats to escape the melee. I'm sorry I don't have a picture of it, but I'm happier being alive to share the story with you.
As a kicker to my first subway ride in Paris, the next people to sit next to me were two cute girls...who decided to make out next to me. I'm all for gay rights, but Korea is not, and I was taken by surprise seeing something that I hadn't seen in a long time. Crazy how that can happen, to see same sex kissing in New York is common place, but a few months in Korea and I was amazed.

I've written plenty and we're only about 25 minutes into my trip to France. If I stay on this pace I'll never finish, so I won't, but trust me, I could. Instead, I will try and skim through the rest.

Paris was a beautiful place. It's exactly how I pictured it, only bigger, and with even more of the things I expected than I thought; more statues, more old buildings, more museums, more parks, more tourists, and most of all more wine and cheese. I was totally amazed at how their culture seems entirely focused around art, creativity, relaxation, and enjoying life. Everywhere you look they are celebrating some one or something creative, and nearby people are relaxing and talking about it. It seemed awesome. It was like a HUGE college campus, and we all know I love them. While Korea feels almost entirely focused upon work, and America is caught somewhere in the middle, France has this one right. Enjoy life, be creative, relax, eat good food, drink good wine, and stop worrying.

After about 4 days in Paris I flew down to Bordeaux for the wedding. It's safe to say, things were not the same. The house we stayed at was built in the 15th century, the church was built in the 12th, and the entire town had only 80 people. So even while the small towns were hard to find, and caused for a lot of arguments in our car, they were secluded, peaceful, and beautiful. There were tons of grape fields, sunflower fields, rolling hills, huge castles, and again wine and cheese.

Some of the meals we ate were of epic proportions. About 40 people who threw caution to the wind in the name of Kevin and Susie's wedding prepared meals fit for kings and queens. Blocks of cheese the size of a small elephants, enough wine to get the mother and father of that elephant to fail sobriety tests; steak, chicken, sausage, duck, soup, strawberries, whipped cream, and of course chocolate. Not just a little chocolate, but like all of the other foods, loads of it, enough chocolate to have a full fledged chocolate fight, enough chocolate for there to be collateral damage in that chocolate fight. As the large French Man put it "Zay boght zee whole SUPERMARKET".

All of that fun, night after night in a castle that was haunted with the ghosts of 30 generations of French family members, and 100 generations of French rats. It was equal parts exciting, and scary, but that just made it more of an experience. This was still just leading up to the wedding.

The wedding was beautiful, all be it in French, but beautiful none-the-less. If there was one language to listen to but not understand, it's French. It was in a church built in the 12th century, that could probably only fit about 50 people. Nice and cozy for us, but perfect for Kev and Susie. After just a couple (trillion) photos, then the real party began. Back to the house for more food, drink, and festivities.

That is where the story ends for most of us. Some people getting tossed in the pool, then passing out, and then back to our normal lives in the states, Hong Kong, or Korea. Even though my story goes a little further which includes missing my flight, meeting ladies on my new flight, and teaching a class on no sleep for 36 hours, I will always love Kevin for having his wedding in France.

It takes a special person to realize when a once in a lifetime opportunity is starring them right in the face, and while most people look down and avoid it's gaze, Kevin grabs it, and gives it a big fat kiss.

Who has no relation to France what so ever, but still has their wedding there? I'll tell you who does, Kevin does. He allowed for a bunch of people from different parts of the world to gather in France and have an experience they will never forget. My Grandmother, for example, Gramma Kroll at 83 years young enjoyed her first time out of the country, and after her break dancing lesson to "I like to Move It, Move It" there wasn't a person around who could contain there gratefulness for being able to be there.

Thanks Kevin. From everyone. We all had a great time. This is just the beginning for you and Susie but I hope you can always look back and think about how wonderfully it all began because we always will.

More pics can be seen at these links:
The Wedding Photographer's pictures
My pictures
Megan's pictures
Jen and Terrance's pictures #1 and Jen and Terrance's pictures #2
Kim's pictures
Chris's pictures

Parlay voo France?

I have been a little busy, and definitely slacking on the blogging, I'm sorry to anyone who is listening. Between teaching a few hours a day, eating, and sleeping I haven't been able to fit it in.
I know what you are thinking "my life is a constant trial". We should all be so lucky.
Either way, tomorrow I'm off to France. If you didn't know it, my older brother Kevin is tying the knot, and I will be in France for about 1 week enjoying all of the wedding festivities. Let me get the obvious questions out of the way:
1. No my family is not French
2. No we do not have any family in France
3. Because Kevin and Susie love to travel, and a friend offered a beautiful house in the French countryside as a venue for the wedding, as a wedding gift. So they took it. Who else has the option to get married in France? Wouldn't you?

If you don't know that much about France let me catch you up. I'm some sort of an expert on the subject because I've been eating French toast since the age of 3. Yup, that's right, my parents trained me to be cultured starting from a very young age. Muchos Grachas, Mamaia and Fadre.
The french eat a lot of fries. I think McDonald's might even be French for really, really, ridiculously good French fries. Wait...no yup, that's right. The French are also very sexual beings. They are always singing love songs, and when they aren't singing they smoke, and blow heart rings out of there mouths (some of the talented smokers, or as I kindly like to refer to them as "Le Smokairs", shoot arrows through the rings). They also invented kissing. Well, that's not entirely true, just a new twist on something that was getting a bit "old hat". But being that a child could read this, I will not go into details on that. Well, that's the long and short of it I think. I'm sure I will go to France, drink lots of wine, kiss many women, and eat lots of fries and toast. It will be a trip to remember, and I'll make sure to blog about it when I return, even though I think I've already covered everything pretty clearlyjust now.
Oh, and I have a stop-over in Moscow too, but I'll tell you more about the bitter cold drunks of Russia another day. Wee wee.