Al's Wearing Women's Clothing. Again.

Hello Readers!

So among the more interesting and thrilling parts of the job is new students. See, if a new student doesn't have an English name, we get to help them choose one. This is always fun. Several of the teachers had gone on some pretty random trips with it (I taught a child named Golden Human, and another named Golden Mouse), but I'm more of a theme kinda guy. So when some of the others went on a "Random TV Name" trip I grabbed shotgun. And now I've done it.

I named a girl Topanga.

I also named a girl Leia. And then another girl was being difficult, so until she comes up with a better one she's named Topangaleia.
As soon as possible I'll name a child Slater. If I manage to convince a kid to take the name Screech then somebody owes me a Coke.

I was in the grocery store with Jen and we wanted some onions. I had my handy dandy phrasebook, so we opened it up and found that the word for onion was pronounced "Young Pa". So before we went and asked, we wanted to make sure we had it right. So I sound it out a few times. Around the fourth time it occurred to me how incredibly stupid we looked standing in the middle of a grocery store repeating the word "onion" over and over, trying different inflections, etc.

There's a pretty cool market in a section called Dongdaemun (Dong-day-moon) that goes 24 hours. Jen and I headed out that way with some friends, and you get to see some pictures from it, you lucky lucky people.



This is just a random shot of the market.



Here's a picture of Colin after he stole the wig of a mannequin. Don't worry, he put it back.


Here's a collection of some of the more popular "street meat" they offer in Seoul. I can tell you the bratwurst looking things are NOT, in fact, brats. But they've got a chicken terryaki thing that's pretty good and runs about a buck. It's not in the picture because this person sucks.


You may be sitting there thinking to yourself "Is that pizza and waffles being served side by side?" The answer is yes. The pizza was better than I thought it'd be, and was less than $2. The waffles are a very popular here. You can find them all over Seoul, usually with some kind of apple butter syrup thing, and occasionally with two scoops of ice cream. In any event, the whole thing is folded in half and then you go to town on it. I almost finished an ice cream waffle, but went into anaphalactic shock and collapsed due to sugar overload. Some guy who tried to help me after I keeled over got diabetes.


But this, my friends, is as good as it gets. They take a hot dog, bread it like they would a corn dog, but then before frying it actually cover it with french fries. Yes, I'm serious. I started crying right then. I'm not ashamed. I also ate 7.

Ok, ok, I only ate one. See, the thing is that I'm upset. How in the world did Korea come up with this before us? Seriously, what the heck is going on? We didn't let Russia beat us to the moon, did we? NO! So how can we let Korea beat us in developing food to kill us before we finish it? We're getting lazy, America.

And that's fine. I mean, look at what we eat. But we can't let laziness stop us from making food that makes us lazy. Consider yourself inspired.

Oh, yeah, the market also sold clothes and stuff.







Hey! I got a cool hat! And by that I mean that Jen said I could have it, and that I didn't look like a complete moron to the point she wouldn't be seen in public with me. Equally as good, I found Cherry Coke!!!!!!!!!!!! And by that I mean that Jen was out with some of her girlfriends and they came across it, then Jen took me there the next day. I am *SO* the man.



It turns out Orlando doesn't have a nightlife. I was a little surprised at first, but I've just been forced to come to that conclusion. It's not only about the 2am cut off to serve alcohol, though that obviously plays a role, it's also the types of nightspots. Check out this place. It's a little tough to make a picture work, but the place had a real nice set up. This was the VIP area (someone else paid). Nice sofas, nice decor, the whole nine. I've got a few other cool spots we've hit up in a little bit.

Oh, and that thing sticking up in the middle is the top of a hookah. It's out of the Middle East, and you smoke with it. Yes, tobacco.



So guess what amazing advertising medium the U.S. is COMPLETELY missing out on? Stairs! That's right, just think!! We'll start with the set Rocky ran up, and give us a year or two and their won't be an Aztec temple without a Pontiac ad across all one hundred thousand trillion million steps.




Speaking of things we're failing at- matching outfits. These two didn't actually know I was taking their picture, but they did seem a little nervous after I followed them around for several hours trying to get the perfect picture without them noticing. I have 800 more if anyone wants to see them.



I really can't say enough about golbi. I love this stuff. I'm literally eating it 3 or 4 times a week. It's just SO DAMN GOOD. This is a picture of the carnage after we said goodbye to another teacher.

Maybe I should be more concerned by the overabundance of people leaving lately. I'm starting to wonder if there's something I don't know...

Speaking of which, Jen and I have made contact with an orphanage in Cambodia. We're planning on volunteering there for a bit after we're done here. We got the contact through yet another teacher whose leaving soon. She's had a great experience with them so far, and I figure if a 100 lbs. blonde girl makes it through then Jen and I will be ok. I know, I know, it's classic Al to send a someone smaller and more of a target to figure out if it's going to go bad. Reminds me of when we use to take nature hikes through the swamps and I'd make the bad kids walk up front as gator bait. Good times...

Actually, Melissa (the 100 lbs. blonde girl) is a world traveler and a tough cookie. She's been all over, and is basically wandering for 6 or 8 months throughout Southeast Asia, Australia, and ending up in India for a while. We're hoping to see her in Australia when we're done here- it looks like the timing will work out. The point of telling you all that is that I'm hoping she'll let me know if the orphanage will be too hard for me...

It's going to cost us $5 a day for food and lodging while we're there, and we're figuring on staying a week or so. They should be dropping a DVD in the mail, I'll post more info as I get it.
I'll be sharing more of our travel plans as we get closer. The beginning of September will find Jen and I taking a few days in Jeju Island, the honeymoon spot for folks in this part of the globe. It's off the southern tip of Korea, and features a bunch of random stuff, including a park called "Loveland". Based on what I've seen, I won't be able to post pics here. But it looks hilarious. Korea is a strange place sometimes.

But who am I to judge?

So let's chat about this past weekend. I've got a slideshow running after I'm done, most of which I've already put up on Facebook and MySpace, but it's only here, on the only (aside from Jen WhiteCastle's) blog worth reading, that you'll get the play by play.

So I mentioned earlier about the nightlife in Seoul. I'll say again, for those with short term memory loss, it's incredible. Even if I never touched another drop of alcohol, these places are just too cool to pass up. Friday night was Daisii's birthday party. Jen, Daisii, and I, along with some new friends Molly and Stacy, started out the night at Ice Bar. The place is, predictably enough, made entirely out of ice. The cups, the bar, all of it. They give you some parkas, and around $15 gets you in with a free drink. It's one of 7 Ice Bars on the planet, and you can see a pic of the folks who held out the longest. They were Americans, and they cleared 13 and a half hours. Since they were from the good ol US of A, I'm not going to take the record from them. That, and I don't have the time/money/fortitude/permission from my wife. They also have a special "louve shot" where they take an ice sculptures with a small tunnel through the middle, and pour the shot in the top. You drink it when it comes out the other side. I can't post the pics of Daisii enjoying her free birthday drink here, because NSFW (Not Suitable For Work) doesn't begin to describe it. Hilarious stuff, none the less. I'll be saving these pics for blackmail at every major moment in her life from now on. What can I say? I'm an amazing friend.

Following the Ice Bar, we went to a night spot called OI. OI looks like the inside of an ice cave, despite it going for a more "beach theme". Every weekend in August they fill the canals running all throughout the place with water, about ankle deep. That's right. It's a bar full of people in ankle deep water. A girl was telling me she was there last weekend and she slipped and bashed her head so hard she bled. Not being the picture of sobriety, she merely splashed some more water on it, and continued her evening. She apparently passed out 2 or 3 times as the night (morning?) wore on.

Our crew managed to make it out without any concussions, but I watched some awesome wipeouts while I was there. Beautiful stuff. Jen and Daisii, after being splashed so many times they just stopped caring, also decided to hang out in the outdoor area. This place was relatively calmer, aside from a random guy who decided to take of his clothes (awkward, and not me), but that didn't stop them from hopping into a pool, and throw rose petals at each other. In case you're wondering, they're sober. That's just what happens when Daisii and Jen decide to have some fun.

After arriving home entirely too late, I got a call at 11am from my buddy Sam, who informed me I was going with him to the Hi Seoul Festival at Yoiedo (Yo-EE-Doe) Park, which goes along a stretch of the Han River. We saw the Ice Sculpture in the 90 degree heat, as well as the snow machine, a couple pools, and a really good live jazz band. But the pics... well, see...

It's called BirdMan. Red Bull does this thing too, where you make a contraption and try to make it fly by going off a cliff, or high dock, and seeing how long you stay afloat until you hit water. Welp, if you didn't make one it turns out you can also just dress up in one of their costumes, and see if you can fly on your own. It was free to sign up, and it included a free gym bag with doughnuts in it. I was sold.
Sam opted for the muscle suit with the Luchador mask and nunchucks. Strong, yet understated. I liked it. Personally, I went for the Sailor Moon outfit, accessorised with a sombrero and a battle axe. The Koreans got a real kick out of it, and I've even got a video of my interview and jump. Note the jump- it was good form all the way around. They also took a TON of pictures of me, and videoed everything. I can't be sure, but I'm pretty sure I made Korean TV. Pretty cool, huh?

And by cool, I mean wicked awkward.

The weirdest thing of all was the number of Korean girls who were trying to chat me up. Maybe it was the way the outfit hugged my hips, or the way the pink bow brought out my eyes. Don't worry, I was a good boy. Gesturing to the ring finger still gets the message across.

Saturday night found us back at my favorite volunteer spot, RMT, where we just had a good ol time. I got to do a few games with the guests, and in general had a blasty blast. Sunday Sam dragged me, yet again, out before I should have been out of bed and made me join him at Hamilton Pool, the spot to see and be seen on any hot weekend. I don't want to brag, but I am an amazing wingman.

Anyway, enjoy the pics and the video...







Well, I'm feeling like this was more than enough to keep you entertained for a day or so. We miss you guys so much, and want to send out even MORE congrads to the Benoits and the Scullys. Your kids are adorable!!!!!

Love always,
-Al (& Jen!)