Cinco de Mayo

So how has everyone been? I am looking at my blog now and it seems that it’s been a month since my last post. What a month it has been. Finally after a particularly arduous Korean winter, from what I’ve been told, the cherry blossoms have come and gone and the sun is beating this little peninsula pretty hard. With temperatures averaging in the 70’s and 80’s and humidity at a consistent 80%, it’s hot. As if someone flipped a light switch, the temperature changed. Frankly, I haven’t waited a month to talk about the temperature, who cares anyway. I could have told you this from back in New York.

Here are a few things that you may not know, unless you have lived in South Korea. The bugs: they are giant. Mothra, the popular oversized insect villain in the Godzilla movies, was not the result of a failed nuclear test. They just took any common moth and took pictures of it. They are that big. Birds: they exist, but in far fewer quantities than I thought possible for the amount of insects (and spiders) that exist. For every 200 birds I would see in New York, I see 1-2 here. Why? This would be a bird utopia. They would probably eat so well they would be too fat to fly. Celebrity status: It doesn’t go away. I lived in quite a small city for 6 months now (half a contract), and in comparison to what I’ve seen by actually visiting surrounding cities, it is quite small. Yet, somehow, my constant presence is still somehow a novelty to literally everybody (this includes other teachers I work with). I really don’t know why. I guess it’s a pitfall of growing up in the most diverse place in the world.

Anyway, the other day I was having a couple drinks* with Simon and Rick and they told me that they had read my blog and were upset that, although they were mentioned, they didn’t have a picture. So I decided to oblige and find the most embarrassing photos of them. This is what I came up with:

Simon – You can randomly encounter this wild animal if you are very quiet while creeping in tall grass. He can commonly be found next to areas with an ample supply of food and water such as riverbanks or marshes. Be wary, if approaching this massive beast while performing a mating ritual, like the one seen here, back away slowly. Do not run, for the wild Simon is nearly blind and will charge at random.

Rick – This mystifying creature, known scientifically as the ‘Enrico smashedicus’, is as elusive as he is dangerous. Get too close to him and he is likely to drool on you. In this photo, he is using a very unique ability gained through years of focused training and wisdom passed down through generations of Ricks before him. It is called ‘black out’.

To be serious for a moment, these guys are awesome. Rick leaves for Seoul in a month and a half to start another job and it will definitely not be the same without him. In fact, this experience, as amazing as it has been so far, would only be a fraction as awesome had these two dudes not rolled through this city. Sorry for the embarrassing pictures. Actually, no I’m not, that was really fun to write.

Unfortunately I still have more to talk about, but it’s Friday, I have two classes before the weekend and I need to get back to my job. I’ll try and get back to the updating on a more frequent basis. In fact, I might even bring my camera everywhere I go for the next couple days and take an obscene amount of photos. At this point I only have a couple hundred, but I’ll try and double that in 2 days. Why not?

*getting bombed