After All, Home Is Where Your Rump Rests... Right?

I really didn't expect to be blogging again.

When I got home, I briefly started another blog, Three Dot Monte, but just didn't have much to say. Being thousands of miles from home doing and seeing things in a culture so different led to things worth talking about. Struggling with a tough job market and trying to readjust to life home made for a boring read.

However, almost exactly 9 months after a welcome home that still puts a lump in my throat, I'm forced to wrestle with the very real possibility that I may have something to blog about again. My folks put Jen and I up upon our return, and we both began looking for work. After a frustrating start, Jen managed to find work as an office manager for a tutoring company. The pay wasn't amazing, but it was more than enough to help us get started.

The problem was me. I began only looking for teaching and ministry jobs in the Orlando area. Over time, the area I was looking in got larger, and the jobs I was looking for got broader. 9 months later I'm looking for anything that pays enough to support us, and have applications for different types of work across the U.S.

No dice.

The question Jen and I are wrestling with is simply this: When is enough enough? The answer, after much fighting, praying, and crying, is January 24th. That's when Jen and I will decide for ourselves, assuming I haven't found a position that makes enough to support us, where we will go. Assuming that, we've got two choices we're looking at.

Option #1: Military. Jen has wanted to for a long time, and is a shoe-in to become an officer. My grades make my chances pretty slim, so I'd probably end up being a kept man. Could be worse...

Option #2: Overseas Contract. While it doesn't have the stability and pay the military offers, the commitment is much shorter and doesn't normally involve that whole "getting shot at" thing.

There are going to be problems, of course. The support we had for our first global romp was incredible, expecting that again is presumptuous to say the least. There is a dog, and 2 cars, that make traveling overseas complicated. And when we return we have to find a way to make certain we don't end up in the same predicament we are now.

I don't know what we'll do. Blogging all this now, like my blogging always has been, is mostly to help me process and think through what's in front of me. Given the choice, I'd take a decent job, house, and a baby on the way somewhere a little north of Orlando. If the Lord has other ideas, however, I've learned several times over it's a long pointless battle to go against Him. Right now, a little clarity would go a long way.

I know a few people have asked where we'll head if we decide to go with another overseas contract, so a quick list of where we're currently discussing:

• Seoul, South Korea
  
• Thailand (Either Bangkok or Chang Mai)
• Istanbul, Turkey
• Sao Palo, Brazil
• Other areas around South and Central America, with a dash of Eastern Europe for flavor.

There's a part of me that would love the chance to see more of the world, but mostly I'm just hoping not to have anything else to blog about.

Peace.

Party Details

Ok!! Here's what we're doing.

We'll be gathering at the park in my folk's neighborhood at 1pm on Sunday, March 22nd. There are grills, beautiful fields of green grass, and lake access (Let my mom know ASAP if you've got a boat/jet ski/etc. you'd like to bring). So come one, come all, and feel free to bring a friend.

My mom has picked up the tab for the hall, which gives us some air conditioning and bathrooms, but NOTHING ELSE IS PROVIDED. We'll call this pot luck. If you're so inclined, you can post a comment with what you'll be bringing- drinks, coolers with ice, paper products, charcoal, chips, meat, etc.- or just show up with whatever suits you. Just don't do the thing where you bring one bag of chips and eat 4 hamburgers and drink 3 beers. That's just not cool. Don't be that guy.

Oh, wait. Ivan, you get no choice. You bring ribs. I've heard you've gotten a new recipe, and Jen and I have huddled together on many a cold lonely night with only thoughts of your ribs to provide some small measure of comfort.

Ok, that's crap. But still. Bring ribs.

Few other points:

• I became an honorary uncle repeatedly over the last year. I'd better see my new nephews.
• We're not doing a Facebook or Myspace event. I just don't want to deal with it. You can invite folks, pass the word, etc. but this is a low stress event. Whoever shows up, great.
• We will need help with clean up. I'm not stressing because we've always had plenty of people willing to, but please keep it in mind here.
• Yes, beer, wine, and spirits are fine.
• Yes, this is a family friendly event.

Have I mentioned how incredibly stoked we are to see everyone again?

I've got another post coming soon detailing our Australian adventures. Don't have the time to do it now, but I'll give you a

SIGN TIME!!! as a sneak preview.

I love it. I love it I love it I love it I love it.

But no, I didn't act aggressively. It was too early in the day to hear the words "escort you off the property," even with the cool accent.

See ya (next) Sunday!

-Al

We're Going Home.

Yup. You read it right.

I know a bunch of you already heard, but not everyone, and I thought I'd expand a little on what happened for anyone who is curious.

For the record, we still have an adventure or two left before we get home, and I'll try my best to get those up soon. I'm finishing this blog right, damnit.


As to why we're going home, it came down to a combination of God and numbers. I mentioned before the uphill battle we were having with currencies and timing- well, we got to Queensland, in Australia, to find it about to be hit with a typhoon (hurricane), and posting the highest unemployment in the country- higher than Orange County, too. Combine that with the thousands of displaced workers trying to escape the wildfires and flooding, and we've got a problem.

But we could have prevailed. We had work lined up at the beginning of April, and a good housing situation. However, when we crunched the numbers it just didn't add up. Australia is not the cheapest place to live ($3.15 for a 2-liter of Coke), and we would have dipped into the money we had set aside for the down payment on our house. We already don't have nearly as much as we wanted in there. It just wasn't a good call.

Now, don't let all this negativity make it sound like Jen and I are upset. We're stoked to be able to see everyone again, and we're thankful beyond measure to be able to do what we've done. We plan on traveling out again, though not nearly so long, as soon as we can. We want to get our PADI certifications, most likely on some islands we missed in Thailand. When you're traveling on the US dollar, it's not a bad deal at all.

We've seen some amazing stuff, and we're going to see a bit more before we're done. But as we wrap up, I start to think about what we missed- birthdays, holidays, several friends becoming parents, friends coming home from Iraq, the loss of a grandmother... it's not even something you can say was or wasn't worth it. When I met Jen, I had no intention of leaving Central Florida for longer than a 2 week vacation. Now, with just under a year of trotting the globe under my belt, I've made friends from every continent and have seen things I'd only dreamed of. If I had it to do again, would I? Undoubtedly. Would I do it again now? Honestly, no. I've wandered far and wide, and still come to the conclusion that Central Florida is where I want to live, raise my family, and grow old. I don't know that I'd really want to log another year wandering anytime soon. But who knows? I may feel differently in another year.

I'll post some pictures of Cairns (Australia) really soon, hopefully with some cool Australian animals and all that. We love you all, and miss you terribly.

OH! Before I forget- we come into the Orlando airport on Thursday the 19th, around 10pm. Don't meet us there. Seriously. We'll have logged almost a full 24 hours of flying, and I will not make for good company. We'll set up something where we can all gather, and I'll make sure I even post it here. The jet lag coming into Korea took over a week to get straight, I doubt it'll go much better now.

That said, I'd better see each and every one of you soon...

-Al

Fire, Muslims, and Australia

UPDATE: Sorry, YouTube and I were also fighting, but we're friends again. Videos should work.


You realize this is the 8th blog in one month? I'm spoiling you all...

First off, the spell check doesn't wanna play with me. Sorry about that one.

So we've had a pretty sudden change in plans. We had just crossed the Thai border into Malaysia when we got word from a friend we'd met saying we had a job opportunity at a resort in Australia. This was a mixed blessing. On one hand, we'd just made it to Malaysia. We had several spots to see, and weren't planning on Australia for at least another few weeks, hopefully more like a month. On the other hand, we were running out of money quick and could use the work in Oz to refill the coffers. After some debate, we decided to go for it.

So, we stayed on the island of Langkawi for a few days, then hopped a bus to Kuala Lumpur. I'm writing from a pretty cool hostel in KL, with plans to go into Singapore tomorrow, where Jen and I will hop a plane bound for the land of the Aussies. That'll be 3 countries inside of a week. Not bad, if a little tiring.

Chinatown in KL

But I thought I'd do some filler here real quick, some background for those who are curious.

Jen and I chose a rotten time to do all this. Granted, most of us didn't know we'd have a global economic crisis, but the money we earned for travling, and for buying a house, was all in Korean won, which was the worst performing currency in Asia in 2008.

Think about that. Worst performing currency for the largest continent on earth. Nepal did better. The Mongols posted better currency numbers than South Korea. That no one called.

So we're traveling on a lousy currency. That sucks. And what should be over 10k for a house is actually around 6k. But that's why it's all sitting in Korea, waiting for the world to figure out what the hell is going on.

Part 2: No one told Southeast Asia the world ran out of money. The currencies here, which are not as "globalized" as their wealthier counterparts, were not devalued like the won. So they're actually performing better against the euro, pound, dollar, etc. than they have in quite a long time- maybe ever. This won't last, the readings tell me, maybe a month or two. Guess what we were planning on doing for the next month or two... yeah, traveling on the worst performing currency in Asia.

But that's ok. Australia awaits!!! Of course, it's currency is actually doing worse than Korea, but it's got signs of rallying soon. We hope.

That's all the bad news. The good news is I'm about to visit Australia, something I've dreamed about since I was, I don't know... 8? Benoit can tell stories about a little 7th grade kid wanting to be dropped in the middle of the Outback with nothing but his trusty walking stick.

(Benoit- I don't have the walking stick with me... it's sitting in storage. How nuts is that?)

Oh, wait, one more piece of bad news. Jen and I misread the visa process. We actually can't work in Australia without applying for this special visa, which must be applied for and granted while outside the country. We discovered this after spending $1000 on plane tickets... it'll be ok for the moment, we've got it covered. It just means we'll be going to New Zealand for a week or so. They also have the "Working Holiday" visa that Australia does, and this time we'll make certain we read the fine print.

NG_ERROR_9">Ok, that's the boring stuff.

I'll got some pics of Langkawi up, but I have to share what the pictures don't.





Langkawi sits just off the northwestern coast of the Malay pennisula. It's a beautiful island, sparkling beaches, the whole 9 yards. Plus, it's a duty free island. You can buy an ice cold beer for .50 cents American. All the time. Wow, you think, this must be a party island like no other, right?

Wrong.

The thing is, Malaysia is a Muslim country. Jen and I walked into four different stores on our little stretch of tourist wonderland only to be told by the owners that they didn't sell alcohol. We found some, eventually, and got to enjoy a cold drink on the beach watching the sun go down. This led to a few thoughts:
1. I still don't like beer.
2. There is something odd about a tropical paradise where half the folks are wandering around in bikinis and board shorts, and the other half are covered head to toe.
3. There was, on one of the tiny islands nearby, a huge "full moon" party, which was banned by "unimpressed local Muslims" (so sayth Rough Guide: Southeast Asia). It felt a little like Saved By The Bell, with Mr. Belding being played by Muslim locals. It's a little surreal.
4. Complain about political incorrectness all you want, but don't judge me until you've seen conservative Muslims owning and operating a Bob Marley shop on the beach front, complete with huge tie-died marijuana towels and t-shirts...



The island was beautiful, though. Jen and I stayed the first night in a dorm-style room, which is where you've got anywhere from 6 to 20 people all sleeping in the same room. We were closer to 20. After an early morning of discovering exactly how loud plastic bags can be, we splurged and went for the beach front room with air con, hot water, and a noticable lack of 18 complete strangers. Cost us $33 American, give or take.

The view from our room

Anyway, we're in KL. I haven't taken many pictures because there just isn't much to show. It's an amazingly clean city, a far cry from Seoul or Bangkok, and a truly cosmopolitan place as well. Chinatown and Little India boast some amazing food, and I'm loving every gut-busting second of it.

I'm a little nervous about Singapore. For those short on history, about 10 years ago an American spray painted a car and got caned for it. The US made some official request to not have him caned, but everyone knew he had it coming. That's the law in Singapore. Chewing gum will get you fined something like $150. Jaywalking is around $100. I'm just certain I'm going to spill my Coke and end up broke and possibly beaten...

Ok ok ok, let's see some fun stuff.



How cool is that? We were at the Babylon Mat Lounge. It sits right on the beach, and they give you mats. surprisingly enough, and you can sit and listen to a really good Marley cover band. We're doing just that when they announced they'd be doing a fire show.


Now THAT guy had better to be able to get a date..


I've had this fire motif going on for a while there. First there was this (watch your volume):





And then there was this:




And... as a result... there was this.





That's karosene, by the way. It's actually tasteless, but you can't help but swallow a little bit. Everytime I burped for the next 12 hours, all I could taste was gasoline. Ugh. But it was SO AWESOME...

Hey, all these vids and pics... here's another treat. Just because ya'll been so good.

How about a SIGN TIME 2fer?


I didn't have a problem with this, until I say the New Town Black Coffee out in the alley. Moreover, I had no idea which one to go to. Then Jen reminded me I don't drink coffee.



Nah. Too easy.

Much love,

For 14k, I expected bigger.

This is it. This is what we hiked 14k- that's 8.69 miles people- to see. Can we talk about this for a second?

I'm not "fit". I don't "exercise", or "take care of my body". I have been told I have "cholesterol problems", and that I am "obese". I'm not arguing any of these points. But 14k? People train for a really long time to do this kinda thing. What the hell were we thinking?

But this isn't about whether we "should have" attempted a 14k hike through a Thai jungle in the mountains. It's not about whether we were "prepared" with things like "water", or "food". It's about the waterfall.

I mean, come on people. It's pretty. It is. But that does not justify 14k.

See this?

We followed a sidewalk about a quarter mile, and boom. Beautiful waterfall. Why did I hike 14k to get something so much lamer? (lamer? more lame? not the point...)


My next issue is the "path". I don't know if you can tell, but this is a treacherous trail, roughly a foot wide, wrapping around the side of a mountain. It's also, just to keep it interesting, strewn with roots, large rocks, and leaves that conceal where the "path" has decided that 12 inches is just making it too easy and decided to shave a little off the sides.

All of this at a 45 degree angle.

Amongst backpackers this kind of thing is among the most popular things to do. They call it "trekking". I call it "stupid". And now that I officially have a full blown trek under my belt I intend to never ever do it again.

...except for this spot in Indonesia, where you catch the sunrise from the top of a volcano. That actually catches my interest. I hate it, I really do, but come on... it's a volcano at sunrise.

No word yet on whether sunset is also an option.


Random Quote:
Al (discussing American football): Do you know who the quarterback is?
Angel, the South African model: Of course I do. The quarterback is the cute boy in the movies.

Gotta love it.

Let's talk bad ideas.


Ok, hint: It's not sunset on an idyllic island off the coast of Northern Thailand. I'll give half credit if you said my choice to rock the sleeveless shirt, the arms are a bit flabby, I know, but it's just so damn comfortable that I can't make myself care.

If you thought "Holy crap!!! Who the hell gave Al the keys to ANYTHING with two wheels and an engine? And what made Jen get on the back? Is she %&^#@ crazy!?!? And, for the love of all that is holy, WHY AREN'T THEY WEARING HELMETS?" Then I'd say, "Whoa, whoa, calm down there Mr./Ms./Mrs. Freakypants. There's nothing to be concerned about. We took the helmets off for the picture. They're clearly sitting in the little basket on the front.

Ok, wanna see a worse idea?

That's right. Not only did I learn to drive this thing in a foreign country at the same time I learned to drive on the left side of the road for the first time, a few days later I taught Jen. Ha! We're wacky.

Time to talk toilets people.

Now this, you spoiled Americans, is a standard western toilet. See if you can figure out what's a little off by the time we come back to it.



This beauty is the standard around much of Southeast Asia. Notice that while it does have the beginnings of a Western toilet, it's missing something. Not the seat- well, ok, yes, the seat, but that's because this was a bus transfer stop. Not even a bus station- this is where you waited after you rode your first bus to ride the second bus. Point is, most have seats.

The thing that's missing is the big tank that assists in the flushing. Sans that, we instead use that big black garbage can with the pretty pink bowl. The garbage can is filled with water, and you use the pink bowel to pour it into the toilet, and the water pressure causes a flush. Sort of. As the sign in the corner indicates, toilet paper doesn't go in the toilet.

But if you wander a bit into the sticks, or just happen to guess wrong, you get one of these bad boys.


Say hello to the squatter. The physics of these gets a little graphic, but you get the idea. Not fun. These also come in the "pour bucket" variety for those who want the joys of trying to do their thing in the woods, but with a much more disgusting smell and less hygiene. They were also really popular in Seoul. No idea why.

Speaking of graphic...


Don't feel bad if you didn't catch it- notice the lack of toilet paper? How about the spray hose on the wall? Yup.

I haven't the foggiest idea how in the WORLD that's suppose to work. But it's what the natives do. I know what you're thinking. No, I haven't tried. And yes, I'll ask. I just have to find someone who speaks English well enough to explain, and won't be totally embarrassed at telling me. I probably won't post the answer, though. It just can't be good.

Ok, running out of time here. But guess what I got?

SIGN TIME!!!! It's not just for Korea anymore.


These dotted the trail to our less than ideal waterfall. And sure, the trail after these were places where injury wasn't just possible, it was likely, but looking at it I kept feeling like that guy was having way more fun than me...

We'll be in Malaysia in about 2 days. More to come!

-Al & Jen

Photos and Youtube!

Ok, I hope this works.

If you click here you should be able to go to a photo album of the wanderings of your favorite duo. I've tried to include captions and things. I'll still post the blogs, with pics, but this I'll add as we go. It's a thing with the amount of space I get on blogspot, and me fiddling around with new dork stuff.

Speaking of which, we also loaded a few videos on YouTube. If you search for Wanderingandrambling (our profile name) you should be able to see the videos. I'm not certain, though, because YouTube and the internet cafe are fighting.

NOTE- There's a ton of spelling mistakes in the captions. Layne, no. Dan... NO....

Love ya! Miss ya!

-Al (& Jen)

Bangkok Dangerous?

Hey everyone!

Ok, so the laptop doesn't do so well with this whole "internet" thing unless it has "access". I don't follow, personally, but there is a lovely internet cafe here in Kanchanaburi, Thailand so the blogging will not be interrupted.

Our flight here was uneventful. I didn't mention the six hours we spent in the Beijing airport. That sucked. A lot. I mean, huge Oh-My-God-Are-We-Still-Here amounts. So, you get to look at a picture of it.


Somehow, it doesn't quite capture the experience, but it'll have to do. After that ridiculously long layover we finally hopped on 5 and a half hour flight to Bangkok.

Ok, I'm just going to put this out there. Microsoft owes the Thai people a lot of money. Here's why.

Tell me those aren't wingdings. Microsoft totally ripped off Thailand. Not cool, Bill Gates. Not cool.


We started out at the Soi1 Guesthouse in Bangkok. The place was, overall, great. The first night we simply crashed, but the next day we got to met some really interesting people, and that evening we ventured out into the Bangkok nightlife. Jen and I behaved ourselves, but some of the folks we were traveling with got themselves into some situations that... well, let's say that they'd have been arrested back home.

Speaking of home, here's a tale to tell.

I'm sitting in the hostel's common room chatting with some fellow travelers. We were discussing standards of living between Thailand and the West, leading me to share something that my mother shared with me- that being born in the USA (or, for the company, the UK, Australia, South Africa, and I believe somewhere in the Scandinavia area) was winning the "birth lottery," everyone smiled and nodded politely, except for Silvia. She was a beautiful young lady from London that said, and I can't make this up, that she sometimes wishes she was born in a 3rd world country.

JUSTIN- Your comments for this blog is hereby limited to 500 words or less...

We'll ignore the obvious struggle to survive, find food, and avoid the ravages of, on occasion, 1000's of years of war and famine. We'll ignore corruption on a scale unheard of in the USA, or atrocities such as female circumcision or children being forced to work as soldiers. We'll ignore all of this for the simplicity of life, and the family structure.

Granted, I come from a family with divorced parents. But somehow, someway, I feel like my brother and I managed to overcome this hardship, and while I can't say for certain, I'm thinking he'd agree that divorce was easier than watching our family members die from diseases that are cured as a matter of course in the USA. But who knows, maybe Dan also yearns for that family structure to the point that a parent selling his daughter into prostitution because that's her best chance at a better life is not such a big deal.

(long, slow, sigh) Better now.

No, I didn't unload on her that way. I began to gently point out the lunacy of that claim when another girl joined her side, and I remembered that I've got about 5 years on most of these folks, if not more, during which point apparently the brain finishes developing. I watched Shaun Of The Dead instead. Nice.

I gotta say, I liked Bangkok a lot. It is not a town for the feint of heart, to be sure. This city takes New Orleans and Las Vegas combined for stuff that ain't kosher, but the people are so kind and helpful. Hardly anyone stared at us as we ventured around, and were happy to welcome us (and our money) wherever we went. We sat and ate at stalls along the side of the road, and the people were kind enough to ask whether we actually wanted the food spicy. Which, it turns out, I'm developing a taste for...

But back to the not as pleasant stuff, because lets be honest, it's more interesting.

-Jen and I wandered around a really popular night market on Saturday night. We knew it was located next to a popular red light district, but after Gerium we weren't all that concerned. So we're looking at all the different wares when a man approaches with a laminated menu to show us. We make it a point to ignore anyone who approaches, but we glanced at the menu. We both thought we were looking at a list of drinks, maybe cocktails. Turns out they were shows available not far away. Disturbed, and to be honest, a little confused, we hurried on.

-Did I mention how cynical Jen and I are? We've got code words for when we think trouble is afoot, and even make sure we stand perpindicular to each other when we're wearing our backpacks to avoid pickpockets. We've had no trouble at all, partly because we're careful to a fault. Unlike our friend... he decided to go hit up one of the big foriegner "party zones" with some folks from the hostile. After getting entirely too drunk, he left his friends and contiuned partying. He came to sitting on a concrete stump several hours later to a small crowd of Thais and a Thai police officer poking him with a stick. He found he was missing his wallet, MP3 player, and a few other things. Luckily for him his passport and ATM were still on his money belt under his clothes, but some of the locals felt bad and paid a taxi to run him back to a section of town he belonged in. He says he's pretty sure he was drugged- not sure I buy that, but a 22 year old foreign guy very drunk and wandering alone in that part of town is kinda asking for it, I'm afraid.








Also, here's an elephant in downtown Bangkok. Note the lack of a huge crowd of people jostling and yelling 'Holy shit! There's an elephant in the middle of the city!'


Ok, I'm bored. I'm hoping to pet a tiger for my birthday tomorrow. Yea for me!

First Impressions of Bangkok

Hey everyone! Thanks for the warm wishes.

We've been in Bangkok a little less than 12 hours. We really made a good call on our hostel- I emailed the owner of the hostel, and he sent us directions to give the cab driver in Thai. I printed it out, made some copies, and kept one folded up in my wallet. It was the best move we made. The visa desk at the airport wanted to know where we were staying, and their English wasn't great. After a moment of confusion, I gave her the slip. She laughed and Jen and I went through quickly. ::phew::

The taxi drive got us here quickly, and without incident. It was pink, much to Jenn's delight, and they drive on the left here. After our arrival, we found our room. We're sharing a room with 6 others, one of the smaller rooms, but it has air conditioning and it was clean. We slept wonderfully. Jen's still asleep. It's around 10am, local time.

First thoughts-
It's a lot harder to tell who the locals are. In Korea the look is very homogeneous. Here there is a wide variety of people. But they seem very friendly, and helpful.

Backpackers are much friendlier than teachers. We've only met about 4 other backpackers, but all of them have been engaging.

Ok, computer battery is dead... more later!

-Al & Jen

Made it!

We're here, write more later.

-Al

So Long Seoul

Hello Readers!

Well, here we go again. All of my worldly possessions are back into boxes and bags, though now on two continents. We leave in about 15 hours for Bangkok. A flight leaving Seoul will drop us in Beijing for 6 hours before another flight gets us to Bangkok, estimated arrival around midnight. We'll be lucky to see our beds by 2am.

Dear Lord, are we excited.

So how are we doing at the end of our tour here in Korea? Well, let's see..

• We didn't make it the full year, something that irks us both. But the stories coming from PLUS in the 5 days since we left are enough to confirm that, if anything, we stayed too long.
• The biggest noticeable difference is the weight loss. I arrived in Korea weighing in around 245 lbs. I leave weighing right about 215 lbs. It'll prolly be coming in around 200 lbs. by the time I get stateside again.
• Less fantastic is the sudden paleness I've noticed. All this time in a big city, with winter, is just making me more and more pale. I hate it. Plus, all this time wearing jeans actually wore the hair off parts of my legs. I'm looking forward to flip flops and cargos again.
• Speaking of which, this winter thing sucks. When I blogged earlier about it I talked about the snowball fights and the snowmen, and left out the hell that is winter. The black slush that just covers the whole damn city is disgusting and maddening. I'm tired of having a stuffy nose, and it taking fifteen minutes to get dressed to go outside. You want a white Christmas? Great. Go north, take pictures. Don't mess up my home with your prayers for snow...
• Did I mention I'm tired of the cold?
• This part feels like a game show: if Jen and I pack up now and come home (not gonna happen), played it safe and waited on the exchange rate we'd have 17k in our pockets. Nuts, huh? If we travel and spend some we'll have less, obviously, but there is a chance we can make even more than we thought. So do we take the money, or see what's behind door number 2? (The answer is Door #2... hopefully you've already figured that out)

I promised pictures.



This is the staff of Rocky Mountain Tavern, where I spent entirely too much time. These guys were amazing. They are, from left, Julie in the white, Thor is the guy above her, Sarena is the one whose face is poking between Jen and I. She quit a few months back, as did the girl in black on the other side of me (I don't remember...) Hi-yah is above and behind Jen, Joy is in the green, Ronin is the one looking confused. That last duo has Jackie Chan with Don Juan on his shoulders. Hopefully a few of them will make the jump across the pond- they were a trip.



Here's a picture of Al's Korean Wives- Angel, Rachel, Whatsherface, and Jennifer. Don't get worried, they're only Korean wives. They don't count in the USA. Except Whatsherface, apparently. She thinks she's coming to Bangkok with me.


This is Drew. He wore Guiness pajama pants with a belt to brunch on Sunday morning. Now, you could point out that we have brunch at a bar, but that's not the point. The point is he wore a belt with pajama pants. And that is AWESOME. Drew and I have been tearing apart Seoul alongside the gents in the next picture. I think you'll get a chance to meet them...


This is Harrison, aka Tank, Mike, and some goofy lookin old guy. I don't have time to get into why he's called Tank. Just trust me, he deserves it. But I *do* have time to tell you he's Jewish, and I got his bacon at breakfast. Friend Status: Confirmed.


Here's some random pretty girls to make all of you single guys feel dumb for not coming to Korea with us. See how sad they are?!?!


:::LONG PAUSE:::

Ok, now it's around 6am. We still haven't slept, but I gotta get this out before I go. We're off like a rocket, folks. Say a prayer.

But we are, for better or worse, bringing the laptop. Wifi is plentiful in Southeast Asia, and the streets are made of cheese. So sayth Fivel.

We'll try to post when we land, if only a line or two. We love you!!!!!

-Al & Jen

Cambodian Orphans

Hey everyone!

I'm posting one more picture filled post before heading to parts unknown, but this one isn't going to be it. This one is actually about where we're heading later.

You may have heard Jen and I mention that we were looking at possibly volunteering at an orphanage in Cambodia. Our friend Melissa, one of the most amazing people I've ever met, by the way, has been globe trotting for several months now. She told us about it before we she left, and when I asked her about it yesterday she directed me to her blog.

A few notes before you follow the jump-
1. It's sad. Really, really, this sounds fake sad.
2. Melissa is a better writer than I am. No fair jumping blogs.
3. I had a stronger desire to rally some support for these guys the second I read what Melissa had to say. I am, however, a cynic. I'll wait and see for myself, but if Mel's right (she normally is) Jen and I will be looking for organizations back home to help support them.
4. Yes, we'll be careful.
5. Yes, we'll be careful.
6. Yes, we'll be careful.
7. Yes, we'll be careful.
8. Mom, I get it. Yes, we'll be careful. Promise.

Ok, now that you've read my intro, go here. But not if you have a date or something where you have to be happy. Then wait and do it later.

-Al

Finally. A Proper Blog.

Hey everyone.

Sorry the last few have been so scattered, I'm back and focused. At least until Naruto finishes downloading.

We're going to miss Korea. Lately there have been some really great folks we've gotten to spend some time with, and it sucks that we don't have more time with them. But, at the same time, we are SOOO ready to blow this pop stand.

Let's talk Obama, shall we? Is he getting any press back home? (That was a joke...)

Good Lord, it's a tad unnerving out here. The thing that I can't get past is how excited folks from outside the U.S. are, especially Canadians. One girl posted on her Facebook that she "just cried all night," she was so happy. Our friends from South Africa, Europe, and elsewhere are just so freakin' excited. The Americans are happy, for certain, but not like the foreigners are. I haven't decided if that's entirely a good thing. I kinda prefer that other countries were a little more wary of whoever is running the show... just a little.

That said, I'm sure I've got better things to report. Ah! Yes! Jen's birthday.

For her birthday Jen went to America. And by that, I mean the Army base here in Seoul. It is the only place in Korea where you can find a Taco Bell, which was a pretty big deal. She and a few of her friends went on base (they were dating a few of the soldiers) (and by they, I mean Jen's friends, not Jen.) (I mean, they're my friends too, but they're girls, and they spend more time with Jen than they do with me, so ya know...) (Jen wouldn't date one of the soldiers anyway. I know. Because she told me. It's not like I told her to string along a GI so we could get Taco Bell and access to the grocery store or anything. And it's not like she got really mad and told me to do it myself, and then I tried, but the guy didn't like me, and I felt ugly, and then came home and found Jen was even more angry because she wasn't serious, which wasn't fair, but now the GI's gay friend Phil won't stop calling me, which sucks cause he's not even a GI.) (Nothing like that.)

Anyway, they hung out on base and enjoyed the comforts it provides. Little known fact: Korea is considered, by the US military, to be a hardship tour, which means families are kinda discouraged and you get paid more to be here. Pretty strange, considering the fact that the soldiers have it a heck of a lot better than we do, aside from the curfew thing. I mean, heck, they get to stay out later than I do.

...I mean, I don't have a curfew. I do what I want.


Hey, wanna see where we're staying in Bangkok?

Click here.

AH!! See how I put the hyperlink on the wrong word!?!?!? I am SOOO hilarious.

Ok, enough of that hilarity. This place is much nicer than what we'll be staying in normally. We went for something a little nicer for our first time out. We should only be in Bangkok for a few days. We'll do some wandering and hopefully meet up with a friend from here before heading south down the peninsula and into Indonesia. Her name's Jesse.


That's Jesse on the bottom left. Rachel is the name of the girl above her, and the devilishly handsome guy is Brendon. I'm the leftover.

Jesse is from South Africa. She's a sweetheart, and she's been wandering around China and Southeast Asia for a month or so now. She'll be in Bangkok the same time, and has been eying Australia herself, which works out. Brendon is from Australia, though he's currently in Canada, and is in a caliber of Nick and Dave on Al's Mancrush-O-Meter. He cares for me too.

But I digress. Rachel is from Michigan, which explains her leaving. She's been hanging around a lot lately. She's a trip...

By the way, this wasn't Halloween. We just do this sometimes.

Ok, Naruto finished. I miss Dattebayo. And no, that shouldn't mean a thing to you.

-Al

Name Game!!

So one of the highlights from this little slice of insanity is giving little Korean children cruel English names.

They have Korean names, of course, but since we don't speak Korean we give them an English name too. And it is fun.

Here's some of the favorites that I can't take credit for:

Mario
Luigi
Smith
Wesson
Golden Human
Golden Monkey
Golden Elephant
Bubbles (Big Korean kid. HILARIOUS.)

There are a ton more. But I'd like to share the ones I *CAN* take credit for. Because I'm proud.

Saved By The Bell. All of them, including Mr. Belding. (Ok, not Ms. Bliss. But give me a break.)
Leia (as in princess)
Tiger Lilly
Topanga
Moonbeam

That doesn't count all the kids I've named after you guys. Yup, all of you. I had a Dan and Eli in the same class, which was entertaining since Dan was an idiote and Eli was a punk. Their Korean counterparts weren't much better. HIYO!!

Sorry Jose, no luck. I managed to land a Maria, but that's as close as I could get to giving them Hispanic names. They just won't take...

Just thought I'd share.
-Al

Here Ya Go Laney (And Anyone Else Curious)

Dear Layne (& et. al.),


...no, not really. But I loved all the questions. Made me feel like she was there next to me. Honest, for a second I could almost imagine being back behind the wheel of a Mercury Tracer trying to sing Barenaked Ladies with the guys in the back while Laney asks a million questions and feeds me french fries on our way to Shine Choir. We're running late, of course.

They hate that.

Ok, let's see if I can clear up the questions.

We're breaking contract, plain and simple. That means no bonus or airfare home. It's a considerable chunk of change- around $6k- but they can keep it. This place has taken 1st place as job I liked the least, and when you've got a resume as long as mine (read: novel), that's saying something.

Actually, with exchange rate the number is lower, but that's another tale.

The idea is that we are not losing all of it, we're just earning it later. That's why we're swinging back up to Korea in July. We will do it legally, of course, because I'm not the type to break rules. Even if those rules are pointless bureaucracy that is obviously lining the pockets of some not-so-nice people, but is full of loopholes that people take advantage of all the time. Never that.

But there are a lot of camps in mid-July, many of which will let us earn two months salary-each- in about 3 weeks. We've also got some really good connections. I am certain that the camps will be a God-awful experience, but after some time on the beach I feel like I can handle a three week cannonball run.

Despite the breaking contract, though, we've given Plus Academy almost a full month notice, and there isn't much that they can do by way of retaliation, even if they were so inclined. I don't think they are. I think a part of them will be glad to see my backside, and not just for the obvious reasons everyone does.

(Insert obvious joke here)

As to the money and the traveling:

Our plan is pretty much figured out now. We're flying from Seoul into Bangkok, Thailand. From there we'll follow the peninsula down into Malaysia, and then catch a ferry into Indonesia. Indonesia's long string of islands stretch all the way to Darwin, Australia. There's a well worn path from previous backpackers, we'll hardly be blazing new trails with it. Once we get to Australia we'll be on a "Working Holiday" visa, which allows us to do any temp work we can find.

Little known fact: the principle job for Americans (& Canadians) in Australia is... fruit picking. That's right. When Americans go to Australia, they're the Mexicans. Now THAT'S irony.

Yes, we're planning on picking fruit. You can clear $200 AUD a day, and you only work as long as you want. So if you make the money you want by 2pm, you can go home. We also have a couple friends with an apartment that have offered floor space, so there ya go.

Now some of you are no doubt wondering, "Al, are you telling me Plus is so bad you'd chance thousands of dollars and/or pick fruit instead?"

Why yes, yes we would. Gladly.

Honestly, it isn't as bad as it sounds. We'll be doing the same thing we've watched dozens of people do. We came to Korea with certain goals, and we'll clear them as much as is reasonable, but among the most important was the backpacking. Our itinerary includes- I'm not making this up- seeing Komodo dragons, visiting an orangutan sanctuary, and a sunrise hike up a volcano. That's just Indonesia. I'm riding an elephant in the jungle, folks. Count on it.

Ok, don't. That's a silly thing to count on.

The blogs will be as often as I'm able, Internet cafes are pretty common, I'm hearing, but we'll see how it actually works out. Our departure date is February 9th-ish (read: NOT SOON ENOUGH), and we're running around like crazy trying to get ready.

FYI- Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and the Philippines are still on the docket, not to mention Hong Kong and Macao if we can make it work. Just too many variables at the moment.

Ok, I'm outta time. More as we draw near, I'll try to get you some more photos soon too.

-Al

We Quit.

Yup, I'm serious.

No, we're not coming home early.


I feel a little guilty, actually. I don't have a horror story. I was paid on time, nothing was stolen, there was no God awful blowout (yet). It was just a gradual wearing down of our patience and the slow sucking of everything that made it worth while to work there.

But the logistics:

Our last day of classes will be January 30th. We'll leave Korea sometime in the beginning of February and head to one of two places: either overland through China and into Vietnam, or possibly via air into Bangkok. We're weighing pros and cons, looking into costs, visa issues, etc.

The plan, though, is to wander from February until about June, then come back to Korea and work a little longer. There are several short term camps that pay really well. We won't make as much as we wanted, but it should work out to us coming home with around $15,000 in the bank, assuming the exchange rate will be nice to us. Not a bad haul, all told.

UPDATE: Bangkok is looking a whole lot more likely. It's the place to begin backpacking for most travelers, and there is a lot more support for rookies such as ourselves. It also doesn't require a visa, which is huge seeing as both China and Vietnam do. The process for those visas is around $600 and several weeks. Not gonna work out.

I will say that we're not leaving because of Korea itself. We really enjoy the country, the people, even the whole big city vibe is nice in a "I'd Never Do This Permanently" kinda way. And the other people we've met... I can't say enough about them. They're some of the most remarkable people I've ever met. They've changed our lives in so short a time. I truly hope and pray that at least a few of them find their way down to Orlando so you all can meet them.

But you're probably looking for a little more back story.
It's been a long time coming, actually. We've been watching our workload ramp up and the attitude of the hagwon tank. They constantly are asking more and more of us with the expectation that we'll gladly take whatever they hand us. It's not unusual for a hagwon, but it's really getting old. So Jen and I have been exploring ways to leave PLUS and stay in Korea until the end of April, like we'd originally planned. There isn't a legal way to do it. And while, granted, that hardly stops me under most circumstances, this time it was playing with fire a little more than I was willing to do. So we decided to just suck it up and deal.

Then came Monday morning. Jen was suppose to start Muay Thai with me. My attendance had fallen off due to sickness at first, then afterwards I wasn't really sure why. Well, we overslept Monday, and rather than be upset I was just... blah. I hopped in the shower, and I really started thinking about all of it. It was then I just about cracked. I had to accept that I hated this job. I tried to deal, to suck it up, but I just hated it. It wasn't about homesickness, money, or anything like that. I just hated the job. It was taking the excitement out of everything else I was doing. I felt like this years ago when working for Fazoli's at the tender age of 16. I got to this point, and I quit. And I promised myself I'd never get to this point again. I wouldn't let work suck the joy out of my life, not if I had any other options. Which, of course, I do.

Truth be told, Jen probably would have stuck it out. She'd have been a bitter bitter woman, but she'd say it was worth it for the money. That's why she's in charge of the finances. But when we talked she saw how I was feeling and agreed. To be honest, I think it will be better for Jen, too.

We are praying constantly for guidance and direction. There's a lot to do, and not much time. But the Good Lord has been keeping a sharp eye on us all this time, and I'm certain he will now too. He likes Jen, after all....

More updates as I have them. Please know that we love and miss you all more than we can say. We do ask for your prayers as we try to plan this next step. I know what they say about God and plans, but He'll have to forgive me this one...

-Al & Jen

P.S. A note of irony: I applied for two different positions at the YMCA the same night we told PLUS we quit. Ha!