Ready... Set... Go….

Arrive in Busan. Su picks me up. Lots of neon, lots of people. Apartment is awesome. Wake, explore a bit, nap, meet my students… fall asleep in orientation. At the supermarket, meet a Canadian named Kevin… he offers a quick tour. I take it. Still very jet-legged. With Kevin and some people on our roof, it’s 8:30, they’re ready to hit the bars and insist I party with them. I shake my head and say “goodnight.” They respond by calling me a “pussy.” I readily agree and reply that “I’m sorry, but my eyes literally are shutting by the minute.”

Have a reoccurring nightmare that I slept through OSU’s first game. Awake abruptly with sweat dripping down my face. Decide I have a problem.

Snap some photos, see some sights, eat Pizza Hut (not sure why). Ride in a jam-packed elevator… I’m the tallest person by at least 2 inches… this is a first. Begin teaching class. Have a moment of clarity and decide Monty was quite possibly the cutest Asian kid ever.

Sitting on the floor of a Korean style restaurant in an older part of town with my friend Sarah, her boyfriend and a couple from Australia. The food is decent. Suddenly, I spot a cockroach en route to our table. It’s rather gross, so I make a disgusted face and leap to my feet. A Korean man next to us smashes the bug with his bare hand. Dude’s real!

After eating more food and having some rice-wine (which we drink out of bowls while sitting on the floor) at a bar across the street, we’re now on a side street in one of like a hundred tents that have full bars inside. Only in Asia!

At the beach… crazy crowded… but crazy beautiful. Meet a surfer named Ryan… tells me the best places to surf (or in my case, to learn to surf). Back from the beach. Kevin and I meet up with some people at a bar down the street. The sound of shattered glass catches our attention. A catfight has broken out between two Korean girls. They seem very pissed. We notice a reasonable amount of fresh blood on the stairwell as we’re leaving.

Back to the beach with three friends (all girls… and I didn’t plan it that way, I swear). Eat solid – or should I say “tasty” – Mexican food in a back alley of the beach. Walking on the sand, a young Korean dude with an ear-piece and a clipboard stops me, says they filming a movie and that I’m in the… “Oh, yeah, cool man,” I interrupt. “You want me to be in the movie. Okay, I’ll do it, just tell me where you need me.” Strangely, he laughs and shakes his head (I honestly wasn’t expecting a sense of humor).

Chill in the water, chill on the beach, run into Ryan again, head back. Twelve of us go out for Italian. It’s like 6 bucks for a massive bowl of pasta with shrimp and cream sauce. This place is the shit. Life is extremely good.

The beach...

Here's some fishing for ya Mike, along with some random shots of the beach, the boardwalk and the surrounding cliffs.

First weekend photos

My view from the apartment. The building where I work. I thought they ate dog here, didn't know they like to decorate them. Daily life on the outskirts of my area.