I have gone down to 2 days a week for Taekwondo which is really helpful. It's too bad that I have to cut it down since I love it so much and its good exercise, but something has to give. I just earned my blue belt last week though! I have a video, but the file is too large to email to myself from my phone, and the chord that I used to transfer files with to my laptop, isn't recognized by my computer at school.. so hopefully that is sorted by the next belt test! My friend Norah who has joined my Taekwondo studio just took her first test, and earned her yellow belt. That was on Wednesday, and on Saturday Master Lee and his wife treated Norah and I to dinner! This is the third time they have taken me out, and this time we went to a western style buffet that had amazing chicken wings, ribs and lots of other great foods I don't get enough of here. So that was really nice. I like having dinner with Koreans like this, because it allows us to communicate using their limited English, and my limited Korean. We both learn new words, and make a strong effort to have a conversation (also using the smart phone translator when necessary).
This is one of the Taekwondo students who I have mentioned before. He is now known as "HELLOOOOOOO" since that is how he always greets me, haha.
This is me looking goofy, with my friend Norah, Master Lee and the students with ice cream/popsicles.
Moving up the belt ladder!
The band is coming along very nicely. We have been practicing every Tuesday evening and performing at the open mic every Thursday. We have several original songs, but are focusing more on cover songs, since that is easier for the audience to get into (since we are so new). A couple of the songs that we have covered are Wonderwall by Oasis, Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye, and a couple songs by the band Against Me. I absolutely love playing in the band, and can't wait until we do a real show!
Here's Tom from the band. We played pool after we performed last Thursday.
There are Tom and Keenan on the right doing a Beatles song with the drummer and guitarist from another foreigner band here in Ulsan. Their name is Karaoke Doky.
This is my friend Bethany who came and performed at open mic 2 weeks ago. She was amazing! (sorry the pic is a little blurry!)
My classes at school have been great. I am able to spend about 10 minutes at the beginning of every class teaching a song, and my new 3rd graders just did their competition on Friday! I'm not sure what my editing capabilities are right now (with out my laptop), but I will have some sort of footage on that soon!
I am currently looking over my options for traveling for the next year. I had originally planned on going to the Philippines or Nepal for summer vacation, but I don't know if I can swing that just yet. I have had some unexpected expenses in the last couple of months, so my travel budget is not what it should be for those kinds of trips (also SE Asia is not ideal for the summer months.. too hot!). Because of this, I think I will take my summer vacation to Jeju Island, and perhaps to Guang-Ju (SE province in Korea). I went to Jeju during the winter months, and it was great, but I need to experience it while the weather is warm. Since it is a domestic vacation, it will be a little more affordable, and still amazing!
I still have vacations next winter, and in the summer of 2013, so there are plenty of chances to continue exploring Asia. I think I will go back to SE Asia again in the winter, since it is in the 80s and 90s during that time. (BTW South East Asia includes Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, and a few others.)
A couple weeks ago I finally played the Korean 4 ball version of pool. It was really difficult because it is all about putting 'English' on the ball, pretty ironic right? Haha. I started to get the hang of it though, and hope I play it again soon so I can remember the pointers my co-workers gave me!
For this version of pool, there are 2 players (or in this case, teams). One team shoots the yellow ball, and the other shoots the white ball. The goal is to make your ball hit both of the red balls. If you do that, you get a point, and you continue to shoot until you miss. It is very tricky!
We thought about studying in Malaysia but I found out when we visited the reptile house at Columbus Zoo and Aquariam that reticulated pythons live in Malaysia and Indonesia (and I HATE snakes and espeically constrictos that can kill and eat you-thanks National Geographic Wild Channel). That's cool that you got your blue belt. I've only done Karate and was in no shape for it. Is Taekwondo like Karate or is it more advanced? Afraid I do not know much about it other than that it's some type of Chinese/Korean (?) martial arts. I want to try that Chinese Tai Chi Meditation class , that looks neat and I think it'd be beneficial to me since I overly stress myself out. SE Asia vacation.... Well I must be an idiot because I've never heard of Burma. Should probably get my geography straight before I begin my first teaching job lol! Vietnam wouldn't be bad but they're really hot and humid I know. Philippines... they treat Americans like their rich (used to have a friend there) and they have some Chocolate Volcano I think it is, I know it's something to do with chocolate but you said you can't afford that right now. Palu... another country I've never heard of. Honestly if I had to pick I'd go for China (but that's because I want to see the Great Wall so I may be biased). India would be interesting... heard they have some rat temple there that they believe the rats are their dead ancestors reincarnated as rats (kind of weird if you ask me but it's their beliefs). Sorry I'm not much help. I know. What's one place there you really want to see and is nice in the summer/cheap? Maybe research some of the countries and figure out if one country has things that stand out. I'm sure 'Nam has cultural history-I'd be worried about the snakes they say lie in the rice patties. If you want to be by the Ocean... like literally surrounded.... try Indonesia or one of those little island nations. Good luck and whatever you decide I hope it is fun and you have a blast!
ReplyDeleteThanks RB for the comments, I appreciate them :)
ReplyDeleteI almost went to Malaysia this past winter, but passed on it. It is definitely on the list of places I have to visit before I die (or hopefully before I leave Asia). As far as snakes go, I'm only afraid of the poisonous ones. I actually have a pet snake (red tailed boa constrictor) back in the States, and it's super friendly! lol
I honestly don't know much of anything about Karate, so I can't compare it to Taekwondo. I do think that they are both Martial ARTS though. I may be wrong about Karate, but Taekwondo focuses on the poomses that I've done in my test videos. They are very nice, but not very practical in self defense. However the kicks are pretty real, and I know it takes a while to get as flexible as it has gotten me!
I don't know anything about Chinese Tai Chi meditation, but I did dabble in some Buddhist meditation here which is very relaxing. I still do it from time to time, but not every day like I originally did. You can learn a lot about these things by plugging it into Google or Youtube if you're interested.
SE Asia vacation.. don't feel bad, not everyone is an expert in Asian geography, myself included! I know nothing about Palau, and Burma is also known as the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.. not sure if you've heard of Myanmar.. In any case I think SE Asia is beautiful no matter what country you go to. I went to Thailand (not sure how far back you looked on this blog) and it was gorgeous in December. The Philippines are really great I hear, but they are very poor. You might get treated like a rich American anywhere you go, so don't let that stop you! You just have to travel smartly and safely. If things work out I will spend a year in Taiwan, and from there I will try to visit China. There is way to much to do and see there, but I want to hike a mountain and see the Great Wall while I'm there (at the very least). India would be very interesting, but unless it is a long trip, I probably won't go for a vacation. I have heard many stories of unexpected things happening (like a 8 hour bus ride turning into a 40 hour bus ride), so I don't want to risk ruining an 8 day vacation. I hear Nepal is very similar, but more reliable, and I would like to vacation there in the near future. And oh yeah Vietnam is a must see, just not sure when. I have a friend living and teaching there now, and he LOVES it. Another place that is very poor though, and you need to be very careful traveling there!
Feel free to ask any questions like this, or even suggest posts about things you are curious about!