Poor Man In A Rich Man's World

I'm starting to think that I should just write frequently write little happenings instead of trying to come up with stories all the time. Day to day, there's very little exciting going on. I don't work, or really have any friends, so I mostly sit around and watch movies of episodes of Flying Circus on my lap top. Still there's been some development, and one exciting day since I last published.

I have found a place to live. It turns out that I am moving from the second richest area of Seoul to the richest. This is good... if you are rich. Where I'm living is a quick walk to school and in a much more interesting area than I am in now. Gangnam is apparently very popular with movie stars and the young crowd. Unlike where I am now, which seems to be popular with families and high schoolers. I will be paying $800 for a bachelor. There's no loft, no 15 foot ceilings, no massive window, no video intercom, and most importantly, no sexy talking doors. Just a small basic apartment in an expensive part of town where I will see movie stars that I will not recognize. Perhaps though, this could be where I meet Natalie Portman. It better be for $800/month!

I managed to get off my lazy ass and see some of Korea. I ventured out to Suwon to discover the Hwaseong Fortress. It's a 12km city wall around the a part of this Seoul suburb city with a population of around 1 million. It's UNESCO protected, cheap, easy to get to, and a day well spent, but surprisingly, most Koreans have not gone to see it. People here hardly leave their comfort zone. Though not as spectacular as the Great Wall of China, the wall is pretty neat. As they say, pictures tell more than words:

Pen to Paper

I am now officially done teaching at Maple Bear. Tomorrow I'm going to pick up my release forms and on Tuesday I'm going to immigration to have my Visa canceled. I never really got to say goodbye to people, but those are never fun anyway.

I have considered different options for what I could do. I've considered getting a work visa in England and try my luck there. I'd also get to visit some of my friends I met in Sweden. I also considered going back to Canada to try beginning my career again. Today that all came to a rest. I have decided to stay in Seoul and teach adults. I signed a contract with Pagoda, I believe it's the second largest school here. I'll begin work at the beginning of June. Until then, I have a bunch of free time. I'll have to attend some training courses at Pagoda, but I have a chance to see some of Seoul. Lately I've been pretty lazy though, watching episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus.

I'm looking forward to a new beginning. I'm hoping that I'll finally get to meet people and enjoy my job. It is a demanding job though, requiring I invest many hours. I don't mind, as long as I can enjoy my work. If this job doesn't work out, then I will see the Great Wall, and South East, and I will leave Asia. I get a free trip to Japan soon sponsored by Pagoda. I have to leave the country for 24 hours while a reapply for a new visa.

I'm going to be working in Gangnam, an area of Seoul about an hour from where I am now on public transport. Daniel and I will stay in touch and continue to hang out. I need to find a place to live, since I don't know how long Maple Bear is going to let me live here. Thankfully there isn't anyone coming in after me. The rent is too expensive here to continue having teachers live in this place. I think they should let me stay at least until the end of May since that rent is already paid.

If things go well, I will be spending 12 more months in this country for a total of 15 months. That gives everyone plenty of time to come visit me.

Finally! (Adult Content: Intended for 18+)

Finally I have something to write about. Though my first two months in Korea has been a great experience, I wouldn't say it's been a completely enjoyable experience. This has left me with little to write about. Although admittedly, laziness has played a large part in my recent neglect for this blog. So today, I decided to write about my last hour, as it has perhaps been the most entertaining hour in the last two months.

I was on my way back from dinner and beer with Daniel. Any buzz I had from the couple beers on a weeknight was deteriorated and instead of more beer, I decided to splurge $3.50 on an Earl Grey Tea from Starbucks. I find the tea here very weak, so this occasional splurge on Corporate America is quite comforting.

The weather is quite nice right now, so I decided to enjoy my overpriced tea on a pedestrian street people watching- staring at the pretty girls who despite enjoying the attention, won't give me time of day. An older gentleman sat next to me and struck up conversation. Typically, he started by asking where I was from. After that it was mostly just awkwardness that comes from conversation with a complete stranger mixed with conversation restricted by a language barrier. I generally enjoy these exchanges though, as it's just part of traveling. The awkwardness was quickly interrupted when a passerby came and started trying to talk to me. His English was extremely minimal. He offered me a cigarette. I politely declined, but he didn't seem to want to take no for an answer. I have a hard time believing that he can't accept that I'm just not a smoker.

Like the children in many of my classes, he spoke to me in Korean. I'm not sure if it was expectation or just hope that I might understand some of what he was saying. I mostly just responded with "I don't know." The only thing I really understood was "Tupac," "cocaine" and "marijuana" as well as "nigger" and "white nigger" which he used to describe himself while pointing. I tried to explain to him that he's a yellow nigger, but I'm not sure he fully understood.

In Canada it's much more normal for me to hang out with complete strangers doing vodka and blow in an unfamiliar basement till 8 in the morning, but here it's hard to continually assess my situation for many different cultural reasons; language being the predominant one. I decided again to politely decline. (For the record I declined the blow in Canada too. I didn't feel like it was the best environment for my first experience with hard drugs).

I've become accustomed to being asked if I have a lover. That's just how Koreans ask if you have a girlfriend. I told him no, I don't have a lover. He told me he was a player and began making sexual gestures and used the word home. At the time I thought he was trying to tell me that he can hook me up with girls. I wasn't sure if I'd have to pay for the encounter; regardless, on account I've had a difficult time with the girls here, I was rather enticed. Still, I decided to keep with my theme inherited from the cocaine offer and politely declined.

Turned out his home was in the same direction as mine, so before departing we continued to enjoy each other's company while walking. In Korea it's very normal for girls to hold hands or just be physically close to each other while walking. It's a little less normal for guys to do this, so when he put his arm around mine I wasn't really sure what to think. I gave him the benefit of the doubt, mostly because I just didn't know what else to do. He eventually put his hand on my back as we walked, and slowly moved it down, stopping just before getting a full clench of my ass. Line crossed- I'm officially freaked out! I haven't had anything resembling physical interaction since landing in Korea, and this is very much the attention I've been looking for. Problem is, it wasn't exactly from the person I was hoping for. He wants to see me again, but truthfully, I'm not sure I'm ready for a second date.