Non-Stop September and October

It'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.

September 30
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.

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.

We had a great time hanging out, playing on the beach and even got to a noraebang. Can't have a trip without that.

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.

Check out pics from our Chuseok trip here!

October 20
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.

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.

The whole thing was a lot of fun, and we are definitely going to continue with the live music in the future.

Check out the Bozoot pics and videos here.

October 26 and 27
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.

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.

Check out the Chadwick Halloween pics here.

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.

We rented an entire house just for our crew. It had grills, a fire pit and even our own, unlimited noraebang.

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.

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.

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.

Check out the LB Halloween pics here.

Future
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.

It's an exciting time for us at LB.

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.

Check out some of LB's current pics here.

Hambak Promo Video

Someone in the school put together promotional videos for all the after-school programs. Ours turned out pretty well.

Rocket Boy

Barry performs his speech, "Rocket Boy," at the Area 30 Toastmaster International speech competition in Seoul on April 29, 2011. Barry won the event and will represent Seoul in Busan at nationals.

Barry Smith - The Toastmaster

Geoff and I went to Seoul on 4/29/11 to watch Barry Smith compete in his regional Toastmaster speech competition. And, as we expected, Barry walked away victories after besting the sex other speakers.

We almost didn't get in. The event was held in a small room, and it filled up fast. Fortunately, they found a couple seats for Geoff and me, and we got to see Barry win the crown.

For winning the Area 30 Toastmaster International speech competition, Barry will go on to represent Seoul in Busan at the end of May.

I'll post the video in my next update. Congrats Barry!!!

Check out the pics here!

Losing Streak Reaches Two

For the second game in a row that I attended, the Korean Ace was on the mound. And for the second game in a row for him, he sucked big balls. Just like last week, the final score was 9-4. This time the loss came to LG, who got an early 3-0 in the top of the first and never really looked back.

Incheon played like a bunch of high schoolers who were trying out for a team. I saw a guy reach base after striking out when the catcher failed to control the ball. Then, just to rub in how bad Incheon was playing, the runner continued onto second before the catcher could get his head out of his own kimchi hole.

Oh well. I suppose they can't win them all. And if they're going to lose, it might as well be by a huge score when I'm there. Jeong Mi had a day off, so we went to check it out. The weather was definitely nicer, but still gets nippy at night.

The highlight of the night was arm-waving guy, who I hadn't yet seen this season. This guy was in the same spot as last year, swinging his arms wildly. But this year, he seems to have gained a following. It made for a few hilarious innings.

Anyway, as usual, check out the updated link for baseball pics here. Enjoy!

Proposal (and Tacos)

We invited a big group of our friends over on Saturday for tacos. Mexican food -- good Mexican food -- is hard to come by in Korea. There are a couple of good restaurants in Bucheon and Seoul, but that involves traveling, and they're a bit pricey.

So thanks to my parents and Bryan's parents, and Jeong Mi, we whipped up our own meat with some taco seasoning, shredded our own cheese, sliced up the veggies and ordered hard shells and sour cream. The food was great and everyone had a good time.

Oh yeah, I also proposed to Jeong Mi. I decided that in front of our buds would be a great time for it. She was really surprised, and she did, in fact, say yes!

And Bryan got it all on video!

[Translation: "Jeong Mi, I will love you until I die and will always be with you. Will you marry me?"]

I've already posted it on Facebook, so by the time this gets there, it'll be old news to you. But it's still good news! Haha.

Anyway, check out the taco-y pics here.

Ice Skating at Walker Hill

Jeong Mi and I went to Seoul yesterday to Walker Hill where they have an ice rink set up for the winter. We had perfect weather, albeit quite cold. But I guess that's good when you're ice skating.

It was Jeong Mi's first time on ice skates. Though I've skated quite a few times, I've never claimed to be any good. It's also been about 5 years since I've strapped ice skates on.

She really got the hang of it after about 30 minutes in the beginner's area. We had a really good time. It was a bit far, and took us about 3 1/2 hours to get there, but it was a great trip for my vacation. Next time, we're going to go to one of the rinks in Incheon. They even have one right up the road in my neighborhood.

But a first time on skates is a special occasion, so we had to go big.

Check out the video below or here at youtube. 

Check out all the pics here.

Eye Surgery Success

As of today, I think it's safe to say my eye surgery was a success. Let's go through all the steps.

On Jan. 15, I went in for a free exam to see what surgery is right for me. They do a 2-hour, very thorough check on your eyes to figure out what you need. Just my luck that I needed the only one that would have any pain associated with it.

So a week later, on Jan. 18, Jeong Mi went with me to Kim Eye Clinic -- a block away from my house -- and I got surgery. The surgery itself really only last about 10 minutes, and maybe less. The doctor preps you and pops you under the computer/laser, and it goes to town.

There is some discomfort when it slices your eye open, but no actual pain. The strange burning smell when the laser is running is interesting, though.

After surgery, they sit you in a comfy recliner with an ice pack for 20 minutes. Then, it's time to head home.

The day of the surgery, my eyes were blurry, but felt fine. It was day two that the pain came. I woke up a bit uncomfortable, but generally okay. I went for a checkup, and the doctor warned that it would hurt for the next couple days.

Starting that evening, my eyes were so swollen that I couldn't open them. The pain wasn't terrible, but enough that even though my eyes were closed, I couldn't really sleep. Day three continued along that path until the evening, when everything started letting up.

On that Friday, I went back in and had the after-surgery protective soft lenses removed. My eyes went back to blurriness again, but the pain was gone by that point.

Even now, there are times when focus comes in and out a bit. My eyes seem to still be getting used to switching focus from near things to far things, sometimes throwing me out of whack. But things are coming in clearly, and they seem to be getting more stable.

It's weird to be without glasses or contacts. I have been using them since third grade. Waking up in the morning and seeing across the room is the nicest part. Just knowing that option is back in my life. Technology, huh?

The clinic I went to was recommended to me by Ridia, who also had her eyes done there. The cost was 1.4 million won, which is about $1,250. I think that's a pretty good price for the convenience of not needing help seeing.

The only issue for a foreigner is that they don't speak English there. It's a great place, but either speak Korean or take a Korean friend for help. Other than that, it's a nice place to get your eyes fixed.

They warned that somewhere down the line, I may need reading glasses or even a touch-up type surgery that's available. But by that point, I figure I'll have robot eyes anyway.

The video is conveniently posted below, or you can check it out here on youtube.

Check out all the fun pictures here.

StarCraft is Practically Korea's National Sport ...

And America mocks you for it.

Check out this great video by Cody at cracked.com. He's doing a tutorial on a StarCraft-type game and getting destroyed by his Korean competiton. Good stuff.

Paper, Rock, Scissors Tournament

Have fun playing what we're FORCED to do on a daily basis. This game is especially hilarious because they're Asian. Love it.

Check out the tourney here.

Wolmido, Chinatown, MacArthur and Pictures Posted

Thanks to Mom and Dad for getting the pictures posted so quickly!!! There are two sets available for viewing on Mom's web album.

The first set has pictures from their departing the USA to arrival in Korea. It also includes shots from the visit to my school on Friday and the Seoul City Tour on Saturday.

There are a ton of great pics, so check them all out here!

The second set of pics is all about our trip to Wolmido, Chinatown and Freedom Park. Once again, Jeong Mi's father was generous enough to give us a ride around and join us for the fun.

First, we went to Wolmido, a major port of Incheon, one of the landing spots when the US came to rescue South Korea as well as a boardwalk and carnival. At Wolmido, we took a two-hour boat ride that included entertainment in the form of dancing and bands. Also, feeding seagulls is always a good time.

After Wolmido, we took the quick trip over to Chinatown. I have been to Freedom Park before, which touches Chinatown, but I never made my way down into that neighborhood.

Chinatown is in this location for a good reason: It's incredibly close to the ferry where Chine immigrants come to Korea. We are at a Chinese restaurant (no way!), where we had some sweet and sour pork, chicken and of course, noodles with black soybean sauce. It was a little bit pricey, but Jeong Mi said a special occasion calls for a special meal.

And she is right about that. If her mom had been there, it would've been complete, but we'll save that for Saturday. The restaurant was very nice, and we had our own, private room to enjoy the meal and conversation.

Following dinner, we made our way up to the park to check out the statue of MacArthur, who still stares out over the port, like he's watching for any more dirty North Korean rats wandering to shore. It was my second time at the park, but my first time seeing it at night. The cool weather and lack of a huge crowd made it really nice to see.

By the end of the day, I was exhausted. Being a translator is exactly as difficult as I thought it would be. Translating the conversation isn't tough, but my brain was on overload as we made our way home. One whole day of working double languages takes its toll on a guy.

The whole day was really great, and it was so nice of Jeong Mi's father to not only join us, but also give us a lift everywhere. I know my parents are grateful, as well.


Mom made sure to take a ton of pics. You can check them all out here! 

Also, check out the pictures here for our Father's Day of Fun, which includes our dinner, my parents' day and some shots of us dominating Koreans in basketball.

Tonight we hit an SK Wyverns baseball game. Let's hope my curse on the home team takes a night off.

2010 Korea Salsa Competition Video

Here is the video of the Incheon Bamboo Dance Academy's Shango Team at the 2010 Korea Salsa Competition in Seoul. The competition was on June 5, 2010, and we came away with the award for "Most Popular" performance.

It was an incredible night. Enjoy the show!


Check out the video here!!!

G4TV Goes To The DMZ

Morgan Webb of G4TV took a little trip up to the DMZ. Only the clip is available and it doens't explain why the video game/pop culture channel wanted to check it out, but it's a pretty cool video and worth taking 3 minutes of your precious day to watch.

My observations and nitpicking:

Now, I haven't been to the DMZ yet, but plan on going in the next couple months. Only one of these observations applies to actually being there. The US Army office says the position the South Korean troops stand in is meant to be intimidating. Take a look at it closely. It appears more ... ummm .. I don't know ... homo?

Webb loses some credibility for saying she needs some Soju at the end of the video. It's not because she shouldn't talk about alcohol while reporting. It's because Soju is terrible. She, therefore, has unreliable taste.

Last thing is her pronunciation of Pyeongyang while discussing the train station. If you're ever in Korea, and want to sound like a dummy, pronounce it the same way.

Anyway, check out the vid!

Great Salsa News and A Good Weekend

The arrival of warm weather is good news in and of itself, but I also received some wonderful news from my salsa academy. I have been invited to join the competitive team, which I accepted without hesitating.

I have a strange way of thinking that when I do something, I want to do it at the highest level. I'm certainly not the best at everything, but I always want to work hard and be as good as possible. So this salsa competitive team is the next step for me to becoming a good dancer.

The competition is in June, and we're doing a dance that a previous bamboo team performed. You can check it out again, here.

There aren't more days added to my dance schedule, but the practices will be more intense. It's a more complicated dance, and I need to work very hard -- even on my basics -- in order to do this well.

On Friday night, after getting my good news, Jeong Mi and I went to a Jimjjilbang. It's the first time I've been to one, even though I've lived here a year and five months now. A jimjjilbang is basically a public bath house. There are showers, hot tubs, saunas, body treatments and massages available. They're also equipped with entertainment like TVs, game rooms, restaurants and , of course, alcohol.

We went to the only one in Yeonsu-dong. Ridia, my wonderful co-teacher, advised against it because it's a few years old. That means it's not as up to date with the best, new stuff. But it was our only option at that time of night.

It was a fun time, too. I was a bit confused at first, but after I figured it out, all went smoothly. The first step is to separate into the mens' and womens' sides. There, you shower, bathe and have the option of getting in the sauna and hot tub. After that, you head down to a commons area to meet. Jeong Mi got some body scrub, so I ended waiting for her along for about an hour. That was the only downside. But I read a book and listened to some music, so it was relaxing.

The price is good as well. For both of us, and including her scrub, it only cost 16,000 won. I still don't see the draw to the extent of Koreans going all the time and spending entire days/nights there, but I could see myself going once a month or so to relax.

Here is the web site for the place we went. It's called Jambo Fitness Sauna. Warning: It plays annoying music and I couldn't find the off switch.

The rest of the weekend was good as well because of the nice weather. A group of us played basketball Saturday night, and beat three different Korean teams who wanted to challenge the Americans.  And on Sunday, we had a nice game of football.

On Sunday night, I wrapped up the weekend by meeting Jeong Mi for dinner and a few drinks.

As far as weekends go, it doesn't get much better than that.

First Salsa Performance Video!!!

The video is posted! I got the video of my first salsa performance up on Youtube today. Those of you without access to my Facebook page can check the video out on Youtube. The performance took place on Saturday, March 13, 2010. The video was taken by Popper Gopens, and my lovely partner is my girlfriend, Jeong Mi Park.

CHECK THE VIDEO OUT HERE!

My Salsa Video #2

And here's salsa video #2 for me. I'm going to an extra class on Tuesdays and Thursdays to help prepare me faster for performing.

This video was taken this Tuesday.

Check out my salsa moves here.

Lunar New Year Party

Even though the Lunar New Year isn't until Feb. 14, Bamboo Academy celebrated it last weekend with a performance and dance party.

The performance showed off the Gold Team, Ladies Team and Shango Team. They were really incredible. The place was packed with people, there was a ton of food and drinks and there were a lot of talented dancers.

The party was a blast. There was one small problem for a guy like me. It was hard to get out on the floor to dance. There were so many talented dancers who were there, that it made me feel bad about my feeble skills.

Now, I know I shouldn't be comparing my skills to theirs, considering I've only been doing this two months, but it's hard to ask a girl to dance right after another dude showed her awesomeness. That's like dating a girl who just broke up with Peter North.

It was a great time, nonetheless. Here are some videos. This is the Gold Team and Ladies Team and the Shango Team. Thanks, Jay, for taking the time and getting these up for me!

Gold Team

Ladies Team

Shango Team

I Feel Shame ...

... because I actually like a K-pop song. Now, there are songs that came out during my time here that I found catchy. And there are a couple others that I do really like to listen to -- to the point of making them a favorite on Youtube.

But this is my first coming out (appropriate term) to admit on my blog that I like a song.

It's called 처음처럼/Like The First Time by a group called Tiara. Prior to this, they released a song called BoPeep, which may have been the most annoying song/dance in the history of the world. I mean ... the whole world.

But I like their newest song because it reminds me of an '80s tune ... a lot. A lot of K-pop songs have an '80s feel, but utilize the annoying autotune, ruining it forever.

But this one has a good beat and a rockin' synthesizer with NO autotune. That's all it takes for me, I guess.

Salsa Video!!!

Here's the one I know you've all been waiting. This is a video of me practicing my salsa dance. The dance includes the first 6 moves of our routine. There are, I think, 9 moves total, depending on where one move ends and another begins.

My partner in the video is one of my favorite dance partners. She definitely knows what she's doing, and was infinitely patient with me as I pounded through some of the moves repeatedly to burn them into my brain.

Of course, that patience is a characteristic that all the girls in the academy share. And it's thanks to them that I caught up with the training team routine in only 5 classes. And on Wednesday, my 6th class of the training team, I matched their level, and even put myself a tiny bit ahead.

At the end of class, our instructor was reviewing our steps, and he pumped the tempo to the music up to about twice as fast. My partner and I were the only ones who got all the way through it. It felt really good.

So I'll say it yet again: Salsa is rocking.

Sorry about the quality of the video. It was filmed on one of my dance buddy's cell phones. Then, I had to flip it into the vertical position, and that green bar stuck on it and squished it a bit. But you can still get an idea of how the class is going.

Enjoy the video here!!!

Hambak News Teams

Here are videos of two of our 5th and 6th grade news teams. They did this presentation as part of the braodcast news lesson. It was the final lesson of the week. We had a great time putting this together and the students did really well. Ron Burgundy would be proud.^^*

News Team 1 video

News Team 2 video