tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79653034522605909732023-11-15T10:01:46.237-08:00Good For Man's HealthWelcome to the blog of my adventures owning a bar and teaching English in South Korea.Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.comBlogger554125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-14511970744686974742014-01-21T23:07:00.001-08:002014-01-21T23:08:06.574-08:00Wrapping Up 2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Living in South Korea means your life is constantly changing. Maybe it's because of a new job, travel opportunities or the coming and going of friends, but things here are always in flux. For a person with an adventurous spirit, that can be a blast.<br />
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For Jeong Mi and I -- and Liquor Burger -- we really get to see as much of that lifestyle as possible. The year 2013 was no different. We went on a variety of trips, met a ton of great people and had some fun parties. So the final two months of the year, as busy as they were, didn't catch us off guard.<br />
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<b><u>The Makoli Men (November and December)</u></b><br />
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Our local band -- The Makoli Men -- have been playing a lot of shows recently. We've watched them in Seoul, Songdo and right here at LB in Yeonsu. It's always nice when you get to see your friends become successful. Unfortunately, due to the temporary status of a lot of people here, bands don't get to last together a super long time. But these guys put in a lot of shows together, and it's been a whirlwind of fun.<br />
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/110752803825288352709/albums/5949724757149237041" target="_blank">Here are The Makoli Men in Seoul</a><br />
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<b><u>LB Thanksgiving Dinner (November)</u></b><br />
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Thanks to our friends Seth and Lucy, LB Thanksgiving dinner was really easy this year. They hooked us up with their friends, Joe and Sumi, who have access to the Yongsan military base. That meant picking up the turkeys was monumentally less stressful.<br />
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We had 40 people or so at LB this year for Thanksgiving dinner. As usual, the food was delicious and the atmosphere was nice and relaxed. We even closed LB down early that night to spend some time with our friends. It was a really great day.<br />
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/110752803825288352709/albums/5952723502244638689" target="_blank">LB's Thanksgiving Feast</a><br />
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/110752803825288352709/albums/5952332604764166545" target="_blank">After party with our friends.</a><br />
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<b><u>Star Dance Adieu Party (December)</u></b><br />
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As everyone knows, Jeong Mi and I met through salsa dance academy. We're fortunate enough to still be in touch with friends from the academy. One of our friends (who also did both of the LB interiors) owns his own dance studio. Every year they have a fun end of the year show and party. So Jeong Mi and I went to watch and support our friends.<br />
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The show featured salsa, belly and zumba and was a lot of fun. Afterwards, we spent the night drinking, dancing and singing with our friends. We're so fortunate to have such great friends here in Korea.<br />
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/110752803825288352709/albums/5958662416967358913" target="_blank">Star Dance Party pics</a><br />
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<b><u>LB Christmas Potluck featuring The Makoli Men and Dinner at Wang's (December)</u></b><br />
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It's so important to have a nice community and support system while you're living abroad. We just happen to live in the best neighborhood with the best community in Korea. Just like last year, we did our LB Christmas Potluck dinner and it was an awesome event.<br />
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Again, we had between 35 and 40 people come over with a homemade dish to contribute to the buffet. Everyone did a really great job on the food. We had a super fun Secret Santa and The Makoli Men played for us.<br />
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/110752803825288352709/albums/5961977318767721793" target="_blank">Check out dinner and the band here</a><br />
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Later on in the week, we once again got to spend time with our friends. A group of us went to Jeong Mi's best friend's house, where we ate, drank and had a great Christmas together.<br />
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/110752803825288352709/albums/5961972285662096945" target="_blank">Christmas with Wang pics</a><br />
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<b><u>Trivia 100 with Dorian</u></b><br />
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My favorite weekly event is obviously our Trivia night. It's been a staple of Liquor Burger and has been a really great Thursday night get together for the neighborhood.<br />
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For the 100th Trivia, Dorian -- our original host -- came to town to run the show. It was so much fun and we had a lot of teams turn out for it.<br />
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/110752803825288352709/albums/5961974308626949585" target="_blank">Trivia 100 pics</a><br />
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<b><u>Pocheon Lake Hot Tub (December)</u></b><br />
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Given the theme of this post so far, it's only fitting that I wrap up this entry with a friend-related item. At the end of December, we headed back to my favorite lake in the country with a great group of friends. Because it's winter, we stayed at a pension that is about a ten-minute walk from our usual place. The reason: It has a hot tub.<br />
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We ate and drank and hot tubbed and had a great time just being out of the city. If you're someone who loves city life, Korea is a good fit for you. But if you're not big on it, you have to make occassional trips to the non-city places in the country. Thank goodness Pocheon exists. I might go nuts without it.<br />
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/110752803825288352709/albums/5963916979786211873" target="_blank">Hot tubbing with buddies</a><br />
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<b><u>What's Next???</u></b><br />
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For the first time in a long time, I don't really have an answer to this. We don't have a winter trip for LB planned yet, and we're not 100 percent sure if we'll do one at all. We will have a band and magician do a show in February, and we'd like to do more live music in general.<br />
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I'm on a soccer team for a February tournament, and LB has a floor hockey team for which we're competing over the next 10 months. At least I'm going to be in great shape.<br />
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Other than that, we'll just keep plugging along at LB.<br />
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We miss our family and friends back home a lot, but we're so thankful to have such wonderful family and friends here.<br />
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I'll keep updating our adventures as long as you keep stopping by!!!</div>
Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-868198960394132722013-11-03T07:09:00.002-08:002013-11-10T03:32:51.605-08:00The Beach, An Anniversary and Holidays<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Liquor Burger and its various events have kept Jeong Mi and I very busy since the move to the new location. It really has been a dream move, thus far. The new place provides us enough tables and space for everyone, and the non-smoking in the bar has been received very well.<br />
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We were also fortunate to have some family visits recently. Obviously, my parents were in the country. We also got to spend time with Jeong Mi's sister, Limmy, who stuck around for about 3 months.<br />
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As the day-to-day tasks of the bar sort of run themselves, it's the extra stuff that really pushes us.<br />
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<b><u>Hakampo Beach (August)</u></b><br />
We dragged our feet a bit on putting the LB Summer Trip together. People are just so busy during the summer. So in August, we finally found a good date and location.<br />
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We took 45 people to a beach south west of Incheon. The location was incredible. The water was warm and clean and we had a large patch of the beach all to ourselves. It was a really great time.<br />
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/110752803825288352709/albums/5918666710684136929" target="_blank">See all the beach pictures here.</a><br />
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<b><u>Liquor Burger 2-Year Anniversary (September)</u></b><br />
We celebrated our two-year anniversary in September with a big party and magic show. Tons of our friends turned out for the fun. And S-Five and his friend put on a really incredible show for everyone.<br />
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It's amazing that two years has flown by so fast. We're so fortunate to have had things go so well for us. It's largely due to the neighborhood and the people living here. It's a special place.<br />
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/110752803825288352709/albums/5925897132268098545" target="_blank">See anniversary pictures here.</a><br />
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Chuseok 2013 (September)</u><br />
Chuseok this year carried a sadder tone due to the recent passing of Jeong Mi's mother. The family celebration was kept just to immediate family this time around. We went to her parents' house with Jeong Mi's brother and his wife and son.<br />
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We did the usual Chuseok ceremonies and meals. We also took a couple days off from LB. It was relaxing for us.<br />
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/110752803825288352709/albums/5925898036546983041" target="_blank">Check out Chuseok pictures here.</a><br />
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<b><u>LB Halloween 2013</u></b><br />
For Halloween this year, we were fortunare enough to have two great parties.<br />
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First, we took a trip last week to a pension in Gangwhado -- northwest of Incheon. It was a great house out in the countryside. We took 35 people who all wore great costumes. It was a ton of fun.<br />
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/110752803825288352709/albums/5939464753482021105" target="_blank">See the pension trip pictures here.</a><br />
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Also, thanks to the timing of Halloween as a midweek event, we held our own Halloween party at LB in Yeonsu. We had a huge turnout of our Yeonsu friends and people from Chadwick International School. Once again, we saw a lot of great costumes and had a really good time.<br />
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/110752803825288352709/albums/5942048644454275569" target="_blank">Check out LB's Yeonsu party pics here.</a><br />
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<b><u>Hedwig</u></b><br />
We saw the musical Hedwig today. The performers did a great job, but I didn't really like it very much. Oh well. It was nice to get to a cultural event. We really want to do a Cho Yong Pil concert in December. He's one of my very favorite Korean singers.<br />
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<b><u>Upcoming</u></b><br />
November and December have been busy for us the last couple of years. We'll do Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. We also would very much like to visit her sister and my family in America this winter. So the hunt for tickets begins for that.<br />
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Other than that, it's just plugging along here at LB. And that's not a bad thing!</div>
Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-68950550424367952812013-08-11T03:10:00.000-07:002013-08-11T03:10:05.465-07:00Big Moves, Big Trips, Family and More!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>May 2013 - Big Tree</b><br />
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In May, we took 42 people on another overnight trip. This time we went to the countryside in Gimpo to a place called Big Tree. It's an awesome log cabin. Unfortunately, rain once again joined our LB trip. But we had a great time. We drank, ate, played Trivia and danced the night away. It was really good.<br />
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/110752803825288352709/albums/5879760054048785537" target="_blank">Check out more Big Tree pics by clicking here!</a><br />
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<b>May/June - The Liquor Burger Move</b><br />
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For those of you who don't know, Liquor Burger has upgraded a bit. We got out of our lease a couple months early, starting in May, and moved right around the corner to a third floor location. The new space is about twice the size of the old space. We had a little money saved up this time around, so we could put a little more into our interior and renovations.<br />
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It has resulted in something really great for us and our friends and customers. The new place is cleaner and nicer. And due to a new law that started in July, the size of LB means that it is no smoking now. Our smoking friends can go to the stairwell, where we installed a fan. It's a little inconvenient for them, but Jeong Mi and I are pretty happy with the lack of smoke in the bar.<br />
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Other that that, it's just business as usual with new LB. It's as fun as ever.<br />
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/110752803825288352709/albums/5882148993676311777" target="_blank">Check out more construction pics here!!!</a><br />
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<a href="http://check%20out%20more%20new%20lb%20pics%20here%21%21%21/" target="_blank">Check out more new LB pics here!!!</a><br />
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<b>June - Parents come once again</b><br />
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To help celebrate our 2-year wedding anniversary and my birthday, my parents once again took the excruciating flight to South Korea. We went a little slower this time so hey could actually get some rest. It was necessary for us as well, considering we had to run the bar while they were here.<br />
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But we had plenty of time to see Jeong Mi's family and get to a lot of sporting events. We took them to their first soccer game. And, thanks to our good friend Denny, we took them to futsal and kickboxing events at the Incheon Asian Indoor Games. Denny very generously got us some free tickets. The sports were really fun.<br />
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We also got out to Pocheon Lake -- my favorite place in Korea. All in all, we had a really great time again.<br />
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/110752803825288352709/albums/5910779270885960609" target="_blank">Check out more pics from my parents' visit here!!!</a><br />
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<b>August - Pentaport Rock Festival</b><br />
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Once again, Pentaport Rock Festival returned to Songdo. Five years ago, it was in old Songdo. It was just a 5 minute cab ride away. Then it went to another area of Incheon for three years. It would've taken at least 2 hours to get there. But this year it was back in New Songdo, so we had to go.<br />
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My friends Geoff, Brent and I went on Saturday and met up with a few of our buddies, Dave and Evan. On Sunday, Geoff, Eun Hye, Q and I took the trip again. All the bands were a lot of fun, and Fall Out Boy put on a great show on Sunday night. As long as this festival is in New Songdo, I'll go every year.<br />
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/110752803825288352709/albums/5910785431609820689" target="_blank">Check out more Pentaport pics here!!!</a><br />
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<b>Coming up - Hakamdo Beach</b><br />
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At the end of August is our Summer Trip to the beach. We're already a quarter of the way full. We're taking another 40 people for an overnight party together. We're really looking forward to it!<br />
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Other than that, life just keeps moving along for us with Liquor Burger. We don't have any big plans for the future. But as long as LB is going well, we're very happy.</div>
Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-24878228277549045452013-04-23T00:37:00.001-07:002013-04-23T00:37:32.675-07:00Spring is Here ... Right?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It seems that the longest winter in Korean history is coming to a close. We've had a couple nice days here and there, but the weather was practically summer at the beginning of April last year.<br />
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Our lives have been filled to the brim with work and play. And all has been going well.<br />
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<b><u>Pocheon Lake</u></b><br />
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Back in the middle of winter, we made another trip out to Pocheon. It's my favorite place in Korea and was awesome to see during the winter months. The lake was totally frozen over. Summer is nicer for hanging outside, but to be out in the middle of nowhere on a crisp winter night is incredibly refreshing.<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/SeollalAtPocheon2013" target="_blank">Pocheon Lake in the Winter</a><br />
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<b><u>Fun at LB</u></b><br />
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We've been doing a ton of new activities at LB. Our dart leagues, movie night and trivia are the staples, but we want to do as much as possible to include everyone in Yeonsu in the fun.<br />
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We're going on a Spring trip in a month, but the winter weather has kept us inside. So we put on Bozoot's third concert and a magic show with our Korean buddy S-Five.<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/Bozoot3" target="_blank">Bozoot 3</a><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/MagicShowWithSFiveAndNiall" target="_blank">S-Five's Magic Show</a><br />
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<b><u>Soccer and Baseball Seasons</u></b><br />
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Easily the best part of the spring and summer in Korea is that we get to hang outside with buddies at sporting events. Tickets are cheap and the beer flows freely.<br />
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This year, Incheon United has started strong. Unfortunately, the Wyverns have had a very shaky beginning to the season. While I want to see the teams win, I'm more than happy just taking in the sunlight after the terrible winters here.<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/IncheonUnited2013" target="_blank">Incheon United</a><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/IncheonWyverns2013" target="_blank">Incheon Wyverns</a><br />
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<b><u>Frisbee at the Jeju Dirty Dozens Tournament</u></b><br />
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The best part of the year so far is definitely the Ultimate Frisbee tournament. As some of you may know, I play frisbee most Sundays at the International School the next neighborhood over. It's generally just a fun pickup game with a bunch of good people.<br />
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But this year, we entered a team in an ultimate frisbee tournament down in Jeju Island. We were in the C Division, because we've never been in the tourney before and no one knew if we were any good.<br />
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Well, we not only were good, but we didn't lose a game the whole weekend. We went 5-0 down there, including beating two B division teams. We probably had a chance to win the B Division, had we not all had to leave early to catch our flights home.<br />
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I've traveled all over Korea in the 5 years I've been here, but this is one of the best trips on which I've gone. The team was a great group of guys and girls, and Jeong Mi and her friend came along, as well.<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/JejuDirtyDozens" target="_blank">Jeju Tournament Pics</a><br />
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<b><u>Personal Life</u></b><br />
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Though my life is largely public now, there are some personal things going on.<br />
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The Good:<br />
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My time teaching at Hambak Elementary School has come to an end. I had a great three years there, but it's such a nice feeling to be working at the bar only. I may take on some private lessons, but life is pretty comfy right now.<br />
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The Bad:<br />
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I was in my first taxi accident here. Coming home from frisbee a few weeks ago, three other guys and I were riding in a cab when some dummy tried to make a U-turn from the far right lane. The lady crossed directly into our path and we rammed them. Fortunately, no one was hurt on either side. It was just a fine example of the lack of spatial awareness of Koreans.<br />
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In other bad news, Jeong Mi's mom isn't feeling too hot right now. For the sake of some privacy, we won't go into details. But she's been in the hospital for about a month now. She got out briefly, but then had to go back in today. So if you read this, please send some positive thoughts her way.<br />
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<b><u>The Future</u></b><br />
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As I already mentioned, we have a big trip planned for the spring. We're going to an awesome, huge log cabin to play with our LB friends.<br />
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The big news is that in the next few months, we'll be moving the bar. We've looked at a few places in the area already. We still have some time, but the day of the move is getting closer. We definitely aren't planning on leaving Yeonsu-dong. This neighborhood has been a great home for us. We may only move a block or two away.<br />
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Either way, the nice weather is almost here and these are exciting times here at LB!<br />
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Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-67239028636738246962012-11-15T11:23:00.000-08:002012-11-15T11:23:52.157-08:00Non-Stop September and OctoberIt's just been action-packed over the last couple of months at LB. We didn't take our foot off the gas following our one-year anniversary. We just pressed it harder. Needless to say, it's given me very little time to sit down and write. Even when I had a break from school and the bar, I was out traveling or hanging with friends.<br />
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<b><u>September 30</u></b><br />
The weekend of Chuseok was incredible. Because of how it fell this year, Chuseok gave us five straight days of freedom. Instead of keeping the bar open, we decided to take a trip with 8 of our friends. We headed over to Gangwondo, on the east coast of the country.<br />
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Jeong Mi's friend, Wang, got us a great room at a resort on the beach. Even though the water was a little chilly, Popper, Joe, Q and I decided to take a few dips in it. Koreans watching on with their full-on fall gear was a lot of fun.<br />
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We had a great time hanging out, playing on the beach and even got to a noraebang. Can't have a trip without that.<br />
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On the way back, instead of sitting in traffic for 12 hours, we stopped off a couple hours from home at the greatest place in Korea. That's right. It's the lake we went to the last time we got a weekend away. Though a bit chillier this time, it was just as fun. We ate dinner, hung by the water and took in that wonderful feeling of not being anywhere near a city. It was a perfect trip.<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/Chuseok2012" target="_blank">Check out pics from our Chuseok trip here!</a><br />
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<b><u>October 20</u></b><br />
Now here was a big day for the bar. This Saturday marked the first time we had live music. Thanks to Wang loaning us some equipment, Joe, Sam and James -- collectively known as Bozoot -- took the stage. Yes, we actually used the stage as a stage.<br />
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Our good friend Bryan opened the show. And our good friend Craig closed it. In between were a bunch of great covers and one original -- Liquor Burger Ho. Call it our theme song if you'd like.<br />
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The whole thing was a lot of fun, and we are definitely going to continue with the live music in the future.<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/BozootAtLB" target="_blank">Check out the Bozoot pics and videos here.</a><br />
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<b><u>October 26 and 27</u></b><br />
Our Chadwick friends once again made us their first stop on their Halloween bar hopping bus tour. Thankfully, they do their event on Friday, leaving us Saturday for our own. From about 7:30 to 9 p.m. on Friday, 60 Chadwick teachers came through.<br />
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Their costumes all looked great and we had a ton of fun. We're so thankful that we've built such a nice relationship with them.<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/ChadwickHalloween2012" target="_blank">Check out the Chadwick Halloween pics here.</a><br />
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So with their party on Friday, it left Saturday for us. Bucking the usual trend of having a big Halloween party at the bar, we decided to take our party with us. We packed 35 LB friends into a bus and went over toward the west coast.<br />
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We rented an entire house just for our crew. It had grills, a fire pit and even our own, unlimited noraebang.<br />
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The gang looked great in their costumes. We all decided to wear them on the bus so we'd be ready to go as soon as we got to the house.<br />
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Jeong Mi went earlier in the day with Chris and MOB so they could set up the fun stuff. By the time the bus arrived, Jeong Mi was already grilling and the meat and other food was ready to eat. That meant the partying started right away.<br />
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We drank, danced, bonfired, sang and had a really incredible time. It went as well as it possibly could've, and that's saying a lot.<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LBHalloween2012" target="_blank">Check out the LB Halloween pics here.</a><br />
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<b><u>Future</u></b><br />
Looking forward, we have a couple of events planned already. For Thanksgiving, we'll once again do a turkey dinner. We also have live music planned again for mid-December.<br />
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It's an exciting time for us at LB.<br />
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Of course, with the excitement is sadness. Our friendly familiar faces continue to cycle out. We only have a few people left of the original crew. As we grow and move on in years, so moves away our good, old friends. Fortunately for us, the latest group who has come into Yeonsudong are just as fun and friendly as the old group. It's hard knowing your here for an extended stay and friends roll in and out. But we'll never forget our originals, and we look forward to making new memories with the current crowd.<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LiquorBurger4" target="_blank">Check out some of LB's current pics here.</a>Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-30877774349245897322012-09-11T09:39:00.000-07:002012-09-11T09:39:30.512-07:00Liquor Burger One Year AnniversaryThank you, LB friends and family.<br />
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I want to say or do more for you guys, because you've done so much for Jeong Mi and me. It's because of your support, friendship and patronage that Liquor Burger has become what it is today.<br />
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I feel like we've built this unique, fun community in Yeonsudong. It's a group effort. And it's wonderful how it's come into fruition.<br />
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I hung those "Liquor Burger Community Center" signs on the door when we opened half jokingly. But I did truly want this place to be more than just a bar. Don't get me wrong. We're a bar. People come here and drink. But Yeonsudong and the people living here has made it more than that.<br />
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We have our events like trivia night that really bring the neighborhood together. Dorian has done such a great job of hosting it. His replacements have done admirably, as well. But it's really his personality that drives the night. I look forward to Thursday every week. And we have other LB friends who have stepped up and taken on roles in the bar to make sure events like poker night, dart night and any other fun times come off successfully. Thank you to all of you guys.<br />
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Obviously, the hours can be tough. Going from the school 3 days a week to LB really gets in the way of my sleep schedule. I don't even get to nap anymore! Just a bummer, right?<br />
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But it's been totally worth it.<br />
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As we move forward, Jeong Mi and I will continue to keep our promise to this community. We will ALWAYS be here for you. Cell phones, bank accounts? We're here for you. Need a place to stay? We're here for you. Spread the word that your boss and academy suck and you're looking for a job? Yeah, we're here for you.<br />
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We'll continue to do our very best to make sure no one experiences South Korea the way I did my first year.<br />
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I know not everything has been perfect and not everyone who comes here likes us. That makes sense to me. I know even our best friends and customers aren't going to come here every day, or even every weekend. Hey, there are times when Jeong Mi and I are itching to go to a different spot.<br />
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But we're so thrilled that you guys spend the majority of your going-out time here with us. You make our jobs much easier and way more fun. And you guys truly are the reason Liquor Burger -- in my eyes -- has changed from just a simple bar or restaurant into a true community.<br />
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You guys are the heart and soul of Liquor Burger. No matter what happens in the future, we'll be forever grateful for the support you've given us.<br />
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So as I said at the beginning: Thank you LB friends and family.<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LBOneYearAnniversary" target="_blank">Check out pics from our 1 Year Anniversary Party here!!!</a><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LiquorBurger4" target="_blank">And check out a new batch of random LB pics here!</a>Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-30272705912781128142012-09-11T08:37:00.000-07:002012-09-11T08:37:33.844-07:00Pochan Lake -- The New Best Vacation SpotBack at the end of July, Jeong Mi and I took a day off from the bar and went on a little overnight trip with some of our friends to a lake in Pochan.<br />
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The lake is about a two hour bus ride away from Incheon. We took the trip with our part-timer, Ji Hye; her boyfriend; our other part-timer, MOB and our friends Geoff and Eun Hye. Our other buddy drove in and joined us a little later in the evening, as well.<br />
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I used to always rave about the east coast, but this may have topped it. Over there, you get the nature and get out of the city, but you deal with big crowds.<br />
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At Pochan Lake, there were ZERO crowds. There was our group and one more group staying there. We were right on the lake. The other guys all got a chance to ride an innertube behind a boat. We also played frisbee, grilled and enjoyed some drinks. At night, the dudes all took a trip into the small town and hit a noraebang, too.<br />
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All in all, it was a great getaway and might just be my new favorite vacation spot in the country.<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/PochanLake" target="_blank">Check out all the pics here!!!</a><br />
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<br />Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-84865927508243503652012-07-15T19:50:00.002-07:002012-09-11T08:38:16.466-07:002012 Trip to AmericaJeong Mi and I got home for the first time in two years during the last week of June and first week of July. It was well worth the wait, too. We packed as much as we absolutely could into the time, including new sites for Jeong Mi and meeting family and friends.<br />
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First and foremost, if you're traveling all the way to America or Canada, get ready to spend. Even by avoiding a direct flight, you're still digging deep into your pockets for the ticket price. And in an attempt to save some money, we had to go through more transfers than we would have liked.<br />
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<b><u>The Plane Ride to America</u></b><br />
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Let me start by saying we had really good fortune with flights both home and back to Korea. We ran into zero delays, had smooth flights and had no luggage issues. Since we knew we would be in Franklin at Mom and Dad's place every three or four days, we only had to pack enough clothes for that. With that in mind, we decided against checking luggage. Wow. If you get a chance to go that route, snatch it up. It saved us a ton of time and headaches.<br />
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To get home, we went through Tokyo, then Chicago and then to New York City. It wasn't ideal, but again, all went pretty smoothly.<br />
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<b><u>New York City</u></b><br />
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New York, for a first time visitor, is everything is seems in movies. It's big, exciting, busy, dirty, smelly and hot (in the summer). Some of it is great. Some of it adds character. Some of it is disgusting. But I suppose it's that way with any big city. And since I've been to NYC quite a few times, a lot of the charm has gone away. But it was great to take Jeong Mi around for her first time.<br />
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As far as big touristy things, we went to the top of the Empire State Building, rode the Staten Island Ferry past the Statue of Liberty, went to Coney Island and walked through Times Square and Central Park.<br />
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Because my brother lives in Astoria, we also got some of the local flavor. We also got to hang with some of my buddies from Pitt. It was great to see everyone again and hang out.<br />
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<b><u>Franklin, PA and Pittsburgh</u></b><br />
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Franklin, about 90 miles north of Pittsburgh, is a town stuck in time. And I mean that as a compliment. There are about 6,000 people, a beautiful small downtown main street, mountains, trees and rivers. It's an incredible area of the country.<br />
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We took the time at home to relax as much as possible. We took in the small shops, coffee places and restaurants, but we also just rested.<br />
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The Wednesday after we got home, we headed to a neighboring city -- Sharon, PA -- so we could have dinner with some Uncles and Aunts. While there, we got to see my grandparents, have a nice Italian meal and go to a Bike Night. Bike Nights are obviously a rare attraction in Korea. So to head to Quaker Steak and Lube to see all the motorcycles and the ... let's just say style ... of the people, was a ton of fun.<br />
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On Thursday, we made our way down to Pittsburgh to see some of my best friends. In the past, we took advantage of Thursday to go to 80s Night at my favorite bar. But I guess time has a big effect on everybody. No one was really up for the late night at 80s Night. Such is life.<br />
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But we still got to hang out and play some darts with good friends.<br />
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On Saturday, we had a big party at our place. June 26 is both our anniversary and my birthday. This is one year for us. So Mom and Dad hosted a big open house party. A ton of family and friends came to celebrate with us. It was great -- especially after two years -- to see as many family and friends as possible, all in one place. We're so grateful to everyone who came in to see us and wish us well.<br />
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<b><u>Niagara Falls</u></b><br />
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The very next day, our adventure continued. We headed up through Erie to my sister's church. We saw her run the show and then jumped in the car for the quick ride up to Niagara Falls.<br />
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Niagara Falls truly is one of the natural wonders of the world. It's a beautiful site, and worth seeing at least once in your life. I'm fortunate to have grown up in an area that is about three hours from the falls, so I've been there a ton of times. Once again, this was a first trip to the Falls for Jeong Mi.<br />
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We had it coincidentally timed that we were in Niagara Falls on Canada Day. So a place that is normally a zoo, was ten times so. But we did all the fun stuff, and even stayed in a hotel on Clifton Hill -- one of the main tourist strips.<br />
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We rode the Maid of the Mist and did the Journey Behind the Falls. In the evening, we got some poutine (I know it's Niagara Falls poutine, but it was still great) and hit up and Karaoke bar that was literally touching our hotel. I put my name in the hat, and we waited for about an hour. But I was just too tired. They hadn't called mu name by then, so it was time for bed.<br />
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The next day, we drove by the Falls once more and made our way back toward Franklin.<br />
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<b><u>Back to the 'Burgh</u></b><br />
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We headed back down to Franklin for a day of rest. And on Tuesday, it was back to Pittsburgh for a Pirates baseball game. We went down a little bit early and showed Jeong Mi the University of Pittsburgh, where I went to school. While it's just a university, it's unique in that it has the second tallest education building in the world (tallest in the Western hemisphere). The Cathedral of Learning is 36 stories and houses various classrooms and department offices.<br />
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We went to one of the local college bars and had some pizza fries and super tasty and inexpensive beer. I mean -- seriously -- $6 for an entire pitcher of Yeungling. That is absolutely awesome.<br />
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<b><u>Fourth of July</u></b><br />
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I think Jeong Mi has been in America for the Fourth of July, but she was on the west coast. This was her first time to experience in a small town. We grilled up some buffalo burgers (which we bought from a buffale farm on the way home from the falls) and had a lot of good food for a barbecue. We then crossed the street from our house and sat by the river to watch the fireworks, before lighting some sparklers and tanks in the backyard.<br />
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<b><u>Playing on the Lake</u></b><br />
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On Thursday, some family friends invited us to a place nearby called Conneaut Lake, where we could do some boating, jet skiing and just some hanging out. It was a lot of fun, and a great way to start winding out trip down.<br />
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<b><u>Last Night in Franklin</u></b><br />
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That Friday would be our last night in my hometown. We met one more time with a great friend of mind, and just relaxed. It was a fitting last day to our trip.<br />
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<b><u>Flying Back to Incheon</u></b><br />
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On Saturday, we got on a plane at 6 a.m. and left for South Korea. Fortunately, we only had to transfer once in San Francisco. It was a piece of cake. When we got back in, we crashed for the evening. I got up late and spent a few hours at LB doing some budget work. It was then back to work and normal life on Monday.<br />
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<b><u>Wonderful Trip</u></b><br />
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There were really no bad issues, or even stress, with our trip this time around. We saw a lot of great sites, saw family and friends and had a super fun time.<br />
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We were fortunate to have our good friend, MOB, run the bar while we gone. Even though the kitchen was closed, MOB served drinks and hosted the usual weekly events. From what we've seen and heard, all went well while we gone.<br />
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Knowing he can run the show with no problem gives us hope for a few more weekend-type vacations in the future.<br />
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What a great trip! Thank you to everyone!!! We love you guys -- both in Korea and America!!!<br />
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Check out all our pictures:<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/America20121" target="_blank">America Trip 1</a><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/America20122" target="_blank">America Trip 2</a><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/America20123" target="_blank">America Trip 3</a>Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-45126646984898383142012-06-13T04:01:00.003-07:002012-06-13T04:01:59.332-07:00April and May HappeningsI wouldn't go as far to say that being busy is the reason I haven't updated this in awhile. It's more or less that I don't really want this blog to be just a big, dumb ad for Liquor Burger. Making things difficult is that even the events we do now happen mostly through LB.<br />
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Back in April, we took 40 people to a Strawberry Festival in Yangpyeong. It was really a great time. We rented a bus and took an LB crew. We made strawberry bread, picked strawberries, ate some bibimbap, rode a tractor, made some rice cake and drank some maggulli.<br />
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It was a lot of fun to see what a strawberry farm is like in Korea. Because of the weather here, they raise the strawberries in greenhouse-like tents. I guess I'm not sure how they raise them in America. I just always pictured an open field. I suppose anywhere without a perfect climate would need something this, though.<br />
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Keeping with the theme of LB events, we took about 40 people to an Incheon SK Wyverns baseball game in May. With the summer here, we wanted to do more for the Yeonsudong crowd to make they get some cool experiences in Korea. While many of them have been to baseball games before, very few of them sat right down in the reserved seat fan zone.<br />
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So we booked tickets for all our buddies, made LB/Wyverns t-shirts and went and had a great time. Fortunately for us, Incheon won. There were even fireworks!!!<br />
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We did actually take a day off and go do something by ourselves! At the end of May, everyone had Monday off from work. We decided to close the bar on Monday as well and head to Gangwondo and Seokcho on the east coast. Over there, we headed to Seorak Mountain.<br />
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Everyone in Korea knows Seorak mountain. As far as this country goes, the east coast is my absolute favorite part. It's all countryside. There are mountains, rivers, trees and clean air. It's really incredible.<br />
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So we went hiking all day on Sunday, and then just hung around the east coast on Monday, when the weather didn't cooperate as well. It was an incredible time to just be by ourselves and get away from the city, the bar and school for a couple of days.<br />
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Everything at Hambak has gone really well through the first semester. I really like my co-teachers. We don't work directly with each other on normal days. But they're very professional. We discuss everything. They don't give me late info (unless it's late because of another source). The students all know me and we have a nice vibe in our classes. It's still a really pleasant work environment, and I'm happy to still be a member of the staff there.<br />
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On the side, I'm still teaching Mr. Kim's son for two hours a week. We even added one of his buddies now, as well. It's great to have a second student in the class. One-on-one can be tough unless the student's level is incredibly high. Now that he has a friend there, he is a little more comfortable and is quicker to answer questions. It also makes game a ton more fun.<br />
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While I am tired and do get a little stressed from all the odd hours, I'm very comfortable over here professionally right now. Outside of bar business, Jeong Mi and I don't even have the smallest squabbles. And we understand that when we fight about the bar, it's business-only. I'm sure there would be tension with any business partner. Things are obviously kicked up a notch when the person is your spouse.<br />
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As the end of June approaches, we have a couple of big things happening. One is our one-year anniversary. It's on June 26 (same day as my birthday, of course). The great news is that we'll be in America for the anniversary. We'll be home for the last week of June and first week of July.<br />
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While we're gone, we'll have one of our Korean buddies and a couple of part-timers running the bar. We'll still do our usual events. This is a guy we totally trust, so we're fortunate to have him. Neither of us were really looking forward to just shutting down for two weeks.<br />
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I'm sure there area bunch of things I'm missing in this update, but that's the basic scoop of everything that is going on here.<br />
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The bar is open now, so I guess I'd better get to work! See you all in a couple of weeks!!!<br />
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Check out more of our pictures here:<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/YangpyeongStrawberryFestival2012">Strawberry Festival</a><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LBWyverns">LB Wyverns Game</a><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/Seoraksan2012">Seorak Mountain trip</a>Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-53850016713560974642012-03-26T04:59:00.000-07:002012-03-26T04:59:11.487-07:00Two Months Worth of Events and FunWow. To say we've been busy lately would be the understatement of the year. During the last two months, we went to Jeong Mi's brother's wedding, saw Cats (the musical), held countless events (including St. Patty's Day) at Liquor Burger, went to two Wyverns games, one Incheon United game and even went to a Cat Cafe.<br />
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Pile on that the fact that I've been working at Hambak three days a week for the last month, as well as teaching a private lesson two days a week and teaching my Vice Principal's son every day for the last two months, and you can understand why it's been awhile since I've last posted.<br />
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Let's get the Liquor Burger stuff out of the way first. We've made some big changes to the bar, and everything has been going well. We previously had a long bar stretching along one of the walls. Well, it wasn't really being used. No one sat at it really, or even stood at it. So we decided to cut it out and move it across the room, next to the dart board. We were able to slide a table into the spot, and now have really opened up the bar. It would be nice to have a little more room (not a bad problem to have), but we're feeling comfy right now.<br />
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We also got two new beers on tap at the bar. The company's name is 7brau. They're the first Korean company to get a national brewing license in more than 70 years. At the time we got their Pilsener and IPA installed, we were only the third bar in Incheon (and one of only a handful in the whole country) that offered. It's a quality beer and has been a big hit with our friends and customers.<br />
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Trivia night has grown above and beyond what we ever expected. It's a very popular event which has inspired some fierce rivalries. Throw on various parties and events, and the bar is really having a good run right now. It's sad to see our old friends cycle out, but exciting to meet their replacements. Such is the life of an expat bar, I suppose.<br />
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In February, Jeong Mi's brother got married. We went to the wedding in Bupyeond, a neighborhood that is about a 20 minute subway ride away. The event hall was the same place I met her parents for the first time. So that was a nice memory.<br />
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In my typical style, it wouldn't be an event without me taking place. Jeong Mi's brother asked me if I wanted to sing the congratulations song. And I jumped on the chance. We had a CD made with just the music, but the key was very high. I fiddled with it online and brought it down. But when I gave it to the event organizer, he said not to worry and just sing with theirs. Well, I was worried, because I can't sing that high.<br />
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Well, it turns out that there were two violinists and one pianists there to play along. They just so happen to have known the tune I was to sing. It's a popular Korean wedding song. So I got to sing in front of a live band!!! It was really awesome. I'm glad I got to be a part of my brother-in-law's special wedding. It's just another example of how great her family is towards me.<br />
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Baseball preseason is underway, and soccer season is a few games in. We've already gone to two baseball games and one soccer game. The soccer team plays in a beautiful new stadium. The baseball team is in the same fun spot as before. We'll make a point of getting to as many of those as we can (just like we always have). It never gets old having a couple of beers outside while watching the games.<br />
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After one of the baseball games, we found our way to a Cat Cafe in the neighborhood. You pay 8,000 won for a cup of coffee, and get to hang out with about 20 cats. Needless to say, it's totally awesome.<br />
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Jeong Mi and I also went to see the musical Cats. It was my birthday gift to her. It was a lot of fun. All the songs were in Korean, but that didn't take away from it. Maybe it even added a bit to it, since it was like a brand new experience for me. Unfortunately, there are no pics from that day. But it was really great, and I'd love to make a habit out of seeing more musicals here.<br />
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That might catch you all up on the things we've been doing lately. Like I said, it's been busy. But that's better than boring, right?<br />
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There are a ton of pics for you guys to check out. See them all by clicking the links below.<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LiquorBurger3">Liquor Burger pics</a><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/IncheonWyverns2012">Incheon Wyverns</a><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/IncheonUnited2012">Incheon United</a><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/CatCafe">Cat Cafe</a><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/MinUkSWedding">Min Uk's Wedding</a><br />
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Enjoy all the pics, everyone! We miss you! We're going back to visit America in June. I'll get you the dates soon!!!Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-14626117476299745402012-01-28T23:03:00.000-08:002012-01-28T23:03:24.420-08:00Seollal 2012 and FamilySeollal, the Lunar New Year, offers a lot of time for activities with the family. Being one of the two big holidays here in Korea, you're expected to see the family and eat some traditional Korean food. This year, I helped to prepare some of that food.<br />
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A few weeks ago, I went to Jeong Mi's parents' place to help make mandu (dumplings). It was a lot of fun. I've eaten them a thousand times in Korea, but never before made them. So it was cool to do that with her family.<br />
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January 23rd was the day of the Lunar New Year. This year is the year of the dragon, which means absolutely nothing to me, haha.<br />
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I guess it does mean I get to hang with Jeong Mi's family, so that's nice. Just like last year, we went to her parents' place, bowed to show them respect and received our Seollal money!!! Yay!<br />
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Money aside, it is really fun to participate in the tradition. And I do want to show her parents respect, just as I would show my own.<br />
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We also did the usual eating and hanging out-type stuff. It's a pretty low-key holiday, but one that Koreans view as important, nonetheless.<br />
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Next up on the family calendar is Jeong Mi's brother's wedding. He'll be getting married February 12, and I'll be singing at the wedding!!! <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lzr6zE7TY2E&list=PL6F0BD321597B0CE9&index=31&feature=plpp_video">Click here to hear the song I'll sing</a>. It's not too difficult. I just have to memorize all the words. Her parents even had me fitted for another suit for the wedding. I protested, but that only upset Jeong Mi's mom. So I had to give in and accept. Once again, very generous of them.<br />
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Of course, I miss my own family and friends back in America very much. We're planning a trip home for a couple weeks VERY soon. I'll keep everyone posted. And in the tradition of Seollal, I'm sending a virtual bow your way!!!<br />
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Check out all my pics here:<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/MakingMandu">Making Mandu</a><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/Seollal2012">Seollal 2012</a>Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-5331944103694061302012-01-28T22:46:00.000-08:002012-01-28T22:46:28.283-08:00The Life of a Non-Teacher (Sort Of)It's been a busy month and a half since my last post. While I haven't been exceptionally busy, it's been busy to the point that I've been a bit tired when it comes to chronicling my adventures. The life of a bar owner is an interesting one. It's not because I'm a bar owner specifically, but because I'm outside of the native speaking teacher club.<br />
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Since ending my contract, I've been fortunate enough to make connections (or use former connections) to get private lessons. I was very close to my vice principal at Hambak. Her son is going to Canada in a couple of months. Because she felt so bad about the closing of the English Center, she asked if I would do privates with her son until he goes.<br />
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He's a great guy, and his English level is high. So we meet every day to work on his grasp of idioms. He simply wants to sound more natural.<br />
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The VP even said she is trying to make up a new position at the school for me to teach English. How insane would that be?<br />
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I also have started doing private lessons through some of our customers. I work with the son of the the man who owned the bar 4 years ago, when it was a western bar. I also will start working with three girls who work in a salon and come to the bar to hang out. It's nice to earn a little extra money, and I enjoy the teaching.<br />
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The bar has been going better than expected, but we still have more expenses now than before. After all, we no longer have a school to sponsor our housing. We moved out of the officetel and into a comfy one-room apartment a few blocks from the bar. I like being out of the officetel. Even though I enjoyed our last apartment, I like being out here. It feels more like I'm a regular guy, rather than a teacher lumped in with every other teacher.<br />
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The bar has really turned into a cool spot for the community in Yeonsu-dong. There aren't many other options in the neighborhood, which helps us. But we also have a great crowd of people. We like to joke that we're a modern-day Cheers, where everybody knows your name.<br />
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And there's truth in that. People can just show up at the bar, and they're sure to find a group of friends they know and with whom they can hang. It makes for a really intimate, fun atmosphere.<br />
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It also allows us to have really nice events. Since Thanksgiving was so successful, we had a Christmas dinner and New Year's party as well. Both of those turned out really nicely for us.<br />
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On top of that, we have regular events at the bar that are really fun. On Tuesdays, we have a card group. Wednesdays is our cheap night, which really brings our friends out. Thursday is our trivia night, which has grown to be just huge. We're almost always packed for trivia, and competition is pretty intense.<br />
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We're so happy with how things are going so far. We don't really look at most people come in as customers, but as friends. That sounds corny, but it's true. It's just a really nice group of people, and we're having a great time with them.<br />
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Check out pictures from all our fun events here:<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LiquorBurger2">LB Random Pics</a><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LBTriviaFromDorianSHugeBrain">Trivia</a><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LBChristmas">Christmas</a><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LBNewYearSApocalypse">New Year's</a>Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-46162355961937745392011-12-28T22:40:00.000-08:002011-12-28T22:40:58.842-08:00Goodbye Letter to Hambak StudentsWell, today is officially my last day at Hambak. In classic Korea style, I have no classes, but have to spend the whole day here anyway. Why not one last reminder of the cultural differences? Haha.<br />
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But really, it's a sad day. I had some terrible experiences at the academy during my first year. But since coming here, I've learned that professionalism actually exists here in South Korea. I was fortunate enough to find something that is more of a career feeling, rather than just a contract gig.<br />
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I posted the message to my colleagues a couple days ago. I also wrote one for my students. It says something similar to that of my colleagues.<br />
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I'll miss everyone here. It's off to new adventures at Liquor Burger! Here's the letter. So it goes ...<br />
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<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: left; word-break: keep-all;"><span style="font-family: 굴림체; font-size: 18pt;">학생들한테,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: left; word-break: keep-all;"><span style="font-family: 굴림체; font-size: 18pt;">이제까지 저는 2년동안 함박에서 일했습니다. 계약이 끝나니까 여기서 끝이네요.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: left; word-break: keep-all;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: left; word-break: keep-all;"><span style="font-family: 굴림체; font-size: 18pt;">이번 시간은 완전 좋았어요. 학생을 가르치면서 재미있었어요. 함박학생들은 한국에서 제일 좋은 학생이었어요.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: left; word-break: keep-all;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 굴림체; font-size: 18pt;">저는 함박에서 많은것을 배웠습니다. 학생들도 계속 많은것을 빼워야대요. 그래서 질문이 있어면 애런샘한테 문자를 보내주세요!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 굴림체; font-size: 18pt;">이제 함박에서 끝나지만 한국에서 계속 살거예요. 그래서 이거는 영원히 안녕은 아니에요. 나중에 또 봐요.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 굴림체; font-size: 18pt;">고맙습니다!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 굴림체; font-size: 18pt;">애런샘한테서</span></div>Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-82418608480029614952011-12-26T16:33:00.000-08:002011-12-26T16:33:36.394-08:00Goodbye Letter to HambakToday I wrote a letter to the Hambak staff, and Ridia corrected my mistakes for me. It's basically just thanking them for making my time at Hambak so enjoyable. Here it is:<br />
<br />
<br />
12/27/11<br />
선생님들께,<br />
<br />
이제까지 저는 2년동안 함박에서 일했습니다. 계약이 끝나니까 여기서 끝이네요.<br />
<br />
이번 시간은 완전 좋았어요. 학생을 가르치면서 재미있었어요. 동료들도 진짜 좋았어요. 함박선생님들은 한국에서 제일 좋은 선생님이었어요.<br />
<br />
저는 함박에서 많은것을 배웠습니다. 한국 문화와 미국 문화는 교육 스타일이 다릅니다. 처음에는 힘들었어요. 하지만 부인이랑 동료들때문에 저는 더 쉽게 지낼 수 있어요.<br />
<br />
이제 함박에서 끝나지만 한국에서 계속 살거예요. 그래서 이거는 영원히 안녕은 아니에요. 나중에 또 봐요.<br />
<br />
고맙습니다,<br />
애런에게서<br />
<br />
P.S - 앞으로 같이 놀아요! 010-3305-8367. www.liquorburger.comFatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-71213922410253360282011-12-14T22:56:00.000-08:002011-12-14T23:01:01.950-08:00Half Korean! (Sort Of)Jeong Mi and I do have some huge news. As of Dec. 26, my F2 Visa status will be official! Getting closer to my dual citizenship. For now, we're very happy!Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-7886958009606231902011-12-14T22:54:00.000-08:002011-12-14T22:54:42.191-08:00End of an Era, Big Parties and Big Things AheadAs December 31 quickly approaches, one thing is happening without a doubt: My time as a teacher at Hambak Elementary School is coming to an end. Now, my teaching in South Korea isn't done, as I've had offers for part-time work with private individuals, small companies and even a substitute teaching gig at an international school.<br />
<br />
So here we are. It's been an interesting three years in South Korea. From the absolutely terrible working conditions at my first academy, to my wonderful two years at Hambak and all the adventures in between, South Korea has become a great second home to me.<br />
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As far as Liquor Burger goes, things have been going really well. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at which we hosted 53 people. We almost didn't get the food, because the Koreans who work at the deli at the American military base failed to tell me that I need a base pass or escort upon my arrival in order to get the food.<br />
<br />
I was in an argument with the kitchen staff for 20 minutes because they insisted they told me I need a base pass. When, in reality, they only asked me if I had a car and if I could come to the base. Apparently, those things are all the same in their mind.<br />
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Fortunately, we were willing to find a GI who escorted us in and out, and we are very grateful for him for that.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qMeqwzZt-lM/TumXAeakvaI/AAAAAAAAGx0/34rY6DN4SOM/s1600/P1110685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qMeqwzZt-lM/TumXAeakvaI/AAAAAAAAGx0/34rY6DN4SOM/s320/P1110685.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N_3wQ_dvWCY/TumXCGCrsII/AAAAAAAAGx8/qRo4PCuGI6w/s1600/P1110686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N_3wQ_dvWCY/TumXCGCrsII/AAAAAAAAGx8/qRo4PCuGI6w/s320/P1110686.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Besides that, we've been really successful thus far in expanding our business and getting our name out. Obviously, a lot of it is through social media and the Internet, but we've been fortunate enough to have word of mouth really work for us.<br />
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We're really doing what we can to help everybody, besides just giving them a fun place to drink. We've helped a few people get cell phones and bank accounts and we teach free beginner Korean lessons every Sunday.<br />
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We've also established ourselves as an interesting place among western bars. On most nights, our ratio of Korean to westerner is right around 50/50. Now, on a packed Friday night, the westerners outnumber the Koreans. But on a normal night, we have a great ratio. It's really refreshing to have a place where these different cultures can come together and just hang out and be buddies. It's awesome.<br />
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We've also established a very nice relationship with an international school in Songdo. They brought a busload of people the night before our Halloween party, and turned it into a Halloween weekend. They also recently celebrated the end of Movember by bring 45 people over. We give them a good group deal on alcohol, and they bring a bunch of people. It's a lot of fun, and has even established some great contacts for me and my life after Hambak.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LPHvT5rJBWs/TumYnAgSvNI/AAAAAAAAGyE/F-rWyKQ9YSE/s1600/P1110741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LPHvT5rJBWs/TumYnAgSvNI/AAAAAAAAGyE/F-rWyKQ9YSE/s320/P1110741.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_KBPQCHAQoM/TumYqB_INjI/AAAAAAAAGyU/jtzk-w3oai0/s1600/P1110646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_KBPQCHAQoM/TumYqB_INjI/AAAAAAAAGyU/jtzk-w3oai0/s320/P1110646.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wa1o9BOabws/TumYrkpAb6I/AAAAAAAAGyc/TKJMye7VfOI/s1600/P1110727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wa1o9BOabws/TumYrkpAb6I/AAAAAAAAGyc/TKJMye7VfOI/s320/P1110727.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
So what's next for us? Well, we have our poker nights on Tuesdays and are starting our trivia nights on Thursdays. Our first trivia night is tonight and we're super excited. After that, we have our Christmas dinner on December 24 and our New Year's party on December 31.<br />
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There is so much stuff going on right now, and I'm incredibly tired. But losing sleep is a small sacrifice for what will be my life after being an every-day teacher in South Korea. It's weird to think that I'm leaving the system that brought me over, but I'm sure it won't be a final farewell.<br />
<br />
So here we are and here we go!<br />
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For more of our Thanksgiving pics, go here: <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LBThanksgiving">https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LBThanksgiving</a><br />
<br />
For more of our general Liquor Burger pics, go here: <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LiquorBurger2">https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LiquorBurger2</a>Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-6086855180754056082011-10-30T18:38:00.000-07:002011-10-30T18:38:19.784-07:00Scary Drunk at LB HalloweenWe had two amazing Halloween parties at Liquor Burger. I was worried about one being a success, considering every bar in Korea had a party. But the place was packed and so much fun.<br />
<br />
On Friday, 45 or so teachers from an International School five minutes away made us their first stop on a Halloween bus tour. They were at our place for about an hour and 15 minutes. We gave them free Jello shots and Soju cocktail shooters for hanging with us. Their costumes were great, and most of them were visiting us for the first time.<br />
<br />
On Saturday, we held our official party, and it was monumental. Only about a third of the people wore costumes, but there were a ton of people hanging out and having fun. To make it even more fun, a bunch of the guys from the International School joined us again.<br />
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So not only did we have two great parties, but we got to spread the word about Liquor Burger. It was just an incredible weekend!!!<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/ScaryDrunkAtLBHalloween#">Check out all the pics here!!!</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--Lv66UrmcNs/Tq3709AhmZI/AAAAAAAAGw8/QBcymJQcpUI/s1600/lbhallow13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--Lv66UrmcNs/Tq3709AhmZI/AAAAAAAAGw8/QBcymJQcpUI/s320/lbhallow13.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KlYxcfISMRs/Tq372jvHK1I/AAAAAAAAGxE/lsepFYC-BZk/s1600/lbhallow18.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KlYxcfISMRs/Tq372jvHK1I/AAAAAAAAGxE/lsepFYC-BZk/s320/lbhallow18.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KvKrU2qsyVE/Tq374BOItLI/AAAAAAAAGxM/eXtRySe5NN0/s1600/lbhallow41.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KvKrU2qsyVE/Tq374BOItLI/AAAAAAAAGxM/eXtRySe5NN0/s320/lbhallow41.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y9x2hdGjzvk/Tq3756DJFzI/AAAAAAAAGxU/KHI7QcdJtzg/s1600/lbhallow52.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y9x2hdGjzvk/Tq3756DJFzI/AAAAAAAAGxU/KHI7QcdJtzg/s320/lbhallow52.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-83839290110621364342011-10-23T05:27:00.000-07:002011-10-23T05:31:57.201-07:00Farewells and Happy BirthdaysWe're finding that our niche -- besides being a comfy, neighborhood bar -- is throwing parties for our regulars and friends.<br />
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After the success of the 80's Night birthday party last week, we were really excited for this Saturday. We threw a big party to celebrate the birthday of our friend Lisa and the going away of our friend Isaac.<br />
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We had kind of a slow Friday, so we were a bit worried. I am constantly worried, of course. But Friday has generally been our big night, and Saturday is slow.<br />
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Fortunately, it seems that Friday was slow because everyone was planning on coming Saturday.<br />
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All of Lisa's, Isaac's and our friends came out on Saturday and we had a massive bash to celebrate our friends.<br />
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I'm going to write a big entry soon on how the bar is going so far and how our lives have changed in very significant ways. Until then, enjoy our pics.<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LisaAndIsaacSParty">Isaac and Lisa's Party</a><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LiquorBurger">Liquor Burger Random Fun Pictures</a>Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-41973368404256686102011-10-17T21:51:00.000-07:002011-10-17T21:51:40.826-07:0080's Night at Liquor BurgerWe had our first 80's Night at Liquor Burger to celebrate the birthdays of two of our buddies. It was a ton of fun.<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LiquorBurger80SNight">Check out a bunch of pics here!</a><br />
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I promise I'll update a bit more when things settle down. Between the two gigs, however, I rarely find time to sleep, let alone blog.<br />
<br />
So it goes ...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JwW8MeikMEA/Tp0FohPl1kI/AAAAAAAAGvY/KVB-AL_6TVk/s1600/lb80s06.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JwW8MeikMEA/Tp0FohPl1kI/AAAAAAAAGvY/KVB-AL_6TVk/s320/lb80s06.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WjE57RNZYN0/Tp0FreLD3CI/AAAAAAAAGvo/tX7EEKC_ANM/s1600/lb80s17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WjE57RNZYN0/Tp0FreLD3CI/AAAAAAAAGvo/tX7EEKC_ANM/s320/lb80s17.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dicvK9QpJKo/Tp0Fsy2xGHI/AAAAAAAAGvw/uMp3Fn9L1iU/s1600/lb80s22.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dicvK9QpJKo/Tp0Fsy2xGHI/AAAAAAAAGvw/uMp3Fn9L1iU/s320/lb80s22.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y5UbfocOJM4/Tp0FuHDNu7I/AAAAAAAAGv4/udueW3lGqvM/s1600/lb80s04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y5UbfocOJM4/Tp0FuHDNu7I/AAAAAAAAGv4/udueW3lGqvM/s320/lb80s04.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-37498068675866242282011-09-28T19:15:00.000-07:002011-09-28T19:17:35.431-07:00Terrace TroubleI guess things were just going too well for us at Liquor Burger. The crowds have been nice in size and personality. Business has been going well. Besides me being tired, everything has just worked out for us so far.<br />
<br />
But as of Monday, that all changed. On that day, some government workers from the district office came by to tell us they've gotten complaints that our patio is too loud. They didn't give any empirical evidence or dates or times. There's no data or facts. They just got some complaints.<br />
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So they told us we couldn't use the patio for seven days. SEVEN DAYS because of a couple complaints of noise?<br />
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Well, Jeong Mi and I went to the office Tuesday to discuss the issue. They claim our lease only covers what's inside, so we have no actual rights to the outside, despite being told otherwise by our landlord.<br />
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We also found out that there is ONE person who is complaining. ONE PERSON!!!<br />
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I'll be the first to admit that people can be loud when they're drinking. But our friends and customers have NOT been. The patio isn't seen as a place to party. People out there eat dinner, have a couple drinks and have nice conversations. We don't even have speakers out there.<br />
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There are bars, drunk Koreans, gaming rooms and students coming out of academies late at night that are way louder than we are. There are other bars and convenience stores in the area that have outdoor seating that are louder than we are. Yet it is Liquor Burger that is now facing off on a noise complaint.<br />
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Now, they told us people can be out on the patio for short amounts of time. They said the patio could be used for smoking, or getting fresh air, but there can be no food and drinks out there.<br />
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The problem is not that we are clearly being singles out (though that is frustrating), it's that I can't believe one person saying we're loud is enough to take action. There was never any check of any kind. There's no decibel meter reading or drop-ins by officials to monitor noise. One person says we're loud and that's that.<br />
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We're not done with this fight yet. We put money into the patio to make it look nice and we promote it as a big part of the comfort of our bar. People really enjoy relaxing out there.<br />
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Our next step is to go greet all the people in the apartments by us and ask if there are any problems. I also will request that if there is a problem, they call us directly and not whine like little dirty-diapered babies to the district office.<br />
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The office employees said as long as there are no complaints, there's no problem. But when I already know our friends and customers aren't being loud, what are the chances the person won't complain of a noise problem again?<br />
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Keep checking back for updates. If you're friends and family back in America, I wish you could be here to hang out. If you're living in South Korea, stop by Liquor Burger sometime for some food and drinks. We've expanded our menu to include the sliders, tacos Johnsonville cheese-filled hot dogs and a Frankenwich that combines all three.<br />
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Check us out at www.liquorburger.com!<br />
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See a bunch of great pics here!<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LiquorBurger">https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LiquorBurger</a>Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-81111796920184745692011-09-28T19:04:00.000-07:002011-09-28T19:04:06.570-07:00Three Day WeekendWe get Monday off, as it is a Korean national holiday. I've been here for three years now, but haven't really taken the time to understand all the holidays. I just know the major ones, and happily accept my days off for smaller ones.<br />
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Monday is National Foundation Day, which celebrates the founding of Gojoseon -- the first state of the Korean nation -- in 2333 BC.<br />
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Here's a Wikipedia page that list all the major national holidays with a brief description of each. If you're an old vet here, you might know them all. But if you're a rookie, or are just interested, learn something new!<br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_South_Korea">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_South_Korea</a>Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-26372856842414197932011-09-13T23:35:00.000-07:002011-09-13T23:37:22.970-07:00Liquor Burger So Far So GoodLiquor Burger has been a resounding success so far. We're only 6 days in, but the response from the foreigner crowd in Yeonsudong has been really encouraging.<br />
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Like I've been saying, there just isn't a bad with this atmosphere in Yeonsudong. We're just filling in a void, and it's been met with good results so far.<br />
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I'm under no illusion that things will be bumping every night. And we understand that when there's nice weather on a weekend, a lot of people will go to Bucheon, Bupyeong or Seoul. But we can offer a great neighborhood bar during the week. And if people are around on the weekends, we hope they come here!<br />
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We're having our grand opening on Friday and our first beer pong tournament on Saturday. We're still looking for bands and dart players for our league.<br />
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I have to go back to work tomorrow, so Popper's girlfriend, Jong will be our part-time worker from Sunday through Thursday nights. I wish I could be here full time already.<br />
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Our customers have been friendly and fun, and I really think they feel a connection here. I certainly feel a bond to them thus far.<br />
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So it's back to Hambak for me tomorrow, and our big party begins on Friday. Here's to Liquor Burger!<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/LiquorBurger">Check out our pics!</a>Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-86999260077547881162011-08-30T16:52:00.001-07:002011-08-30T16:52:25.371-07:00Arsenal Signs Korean PlayerArsenal just finished the transfer of Park Chu Young. I used to berate everyone here for being a Manchester United fan simply because of Park Ji Sung. But this works in my favor. Now, EVERY Arsenal game will be televised here. Awesome.<br />
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<a href="http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/player-chu-young-park-the-first-interview">http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/player-chu-young-park-the-first-interview</a>Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-90797027635697469032011-08-30T00:05:00.000-07:002011-08-30T00:05:35.791-07:00Multicultural Korea<br />
<a href="http://the-diplomat.com/new-leaders-forum/2011/07/20/south-koreas-multiethnic-future/comment-page-1/#comment-2333">The Diplomat discusses Korea's multicultural future.</a><br />
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A link from a Korea story on CNN took me to a story on The Diplomat about Korea's multicultural future. I think the article makes a lot of good points about what the country might need and where it's going.<br />
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Some of the responses -- as usual -- are just ridiculous and even infuriating. Again, I'm not telling you to bust your ass and learn Korean. I'm saying that if you want Koreans to accept you as a member of their society and respect you, you'd better put forth the effort. You can get by here without Korean, but you'll never earn any respect or acceptance from the people.<br />
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Anyway, here is my response on the article's forum:<br />
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Let's get this out of the way right now. Considering all the times the Korean peninsula has been invaded or occupied over the last few hundred years, to really think Korea's "one, pure blood" myth is real is either stubbornness or a terrible case of naivety. Unfortunately, that idea still does exist.<br />
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I am an American who married a Korean girl and have lived in South Korea for three years. I plan on living here for a few more years because we're opening a small business together.<br />
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While I agree that the average Korean can be unbelievably cold and unwelcoming, it would be wrong to group them all together; just as it's wrong to think they all have 100 percent Korean blood.<br />
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My wife and her immediate and extended family have been as welcoming and loving to me as anyone in my whole life. I'm as close to them as I am to my own family. I also have a large group of Korean friends that welcomed me immediately without flinching.<br />
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Here's the issue. We, as foreigners, look at Korea and think that they owe us the same politeness we give people back home. That's not how the world works. Of course the government sets up a language test before you can get permanent status.<br />
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Why should a whole country that speaks Korean be so catering to people who speak English? I understand that English is the current international business language, but there are millions of Koreans who only need it to understand some K-pop songs, commercials and nothing else.<br />
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You know what will help you become a part of Korean society? Learn the language. From the day I got here, I studied Korean. And there is nothing about that effort that has been wasted.<br />
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Complain all you want, but if you are married to a Korean, have lived here for two years or more and still can't speak Korean, then you're a waste of a human being.<br />
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My wife spoke zero English when we met, and only knows some now because I help her study. But our language of communication is -- and probably always will be -- Korean.<br />
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While there is institutionalized racism at companies, anyone who is truly skilled is a prized asset. If we have kids, they could run this country in the future. They'll be as fluent as a native speaker in English and Korean. If you look at a lot of schools and companies, the amount of "teachers" or "English speakers" who speak both languages fluently is surprisingly minimal.<br />
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I'm not telling you to throw away your own culture. I hold true to a lot of things I learned back home. Though I attribute that less to being an American and more to having good parents and a supportive family.<br />
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Hold onto your culture, but you have to make a concerted effort to learn about Korea. That includes language and culture. Even the weird stuff like fan death is something you'd better know about, even if you laugh about it openly.<br />
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Want to be accepted? Set yourself up to be in that position. Only after that can you truly know if Koreans can handle a multicultural society. They totally accept anyone who puts in effort at being a contributing part of their country and society.<br />
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So give that a shot first, and see how the reaction to you being a foreigner changes from disdain to thanks and awe.<br />
Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7965303452260590973.post-36972838464301455772011-08-28T19:31:00.000-07:002011-08-29T06:40:49.332-07:00Colin's WeddingOur good friend Colin Beaton tied the knot yesterday. He and Suki have been dating for a long time now, and this was all in the making for awhile.<br />
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They held the ceremony at the Grand Ballroom in East Incheon. It was a wedding hall-type ceremony, but not quite as 80s as the others we've been to. They did, however, have smoke coming out of the walkway.<br />
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Either way, congratulations to Colin and Suki. I'm sure they're going to be very happy together.<br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/110752803825288352709/ColinSWedding">Check out the pics here!</a>Fatsy Le Shafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442777362226377900noreply@blogger.com0