Jan. – The weather has certainly grown chilly (30’s and 40’s). I’m not too fond of it. Missing the Florida “winter.” Wake up early so I can have the pleasure of watching OSU lose to Texas at the last second. Whatever. Monty and Kevin head back to the states. Inside Foxy Club at 5a.m. Scott mistakenly makes a move on a trans-gender. One of the more hilarious things I’ve seen here. Visit a cave bar for Erin’s b-day and then proceed to partake in a pub-crawl.Six of us take an overnight bus to one of Korea’s best ski resorts called Muju for the Chinese New Year. It’s dumping snow… fresh powder galore. Spend three days snowboarding, eating and partying. Back to Busan. Begin cooking for people… the secret is out, no turning back now.
Feb. – Jesse and I take the train up to Deagu, the county’s third largest city. We have agreed to be extras in a Korean film on the west coast of Korea. Crash with Glen and Yumi… Jeff meets us later. Stay out till 4 in the morning… nap for 2 hours… wake at 6a.m., hop on one of the two luxury buses loaded with beer, food and a hundred other foreigners and Koreans that the film company has provided for us. Arrive on set after a 4-hour ride. Eat, film, nap, film some more, eat some more… head back, make a stop at the festival of lights in the famous green tea fields. A producer’s brother has an open bar in Deagu for all the extras. It’s 6a.m., Monday morning before we know it. Take the 7:15 a.m. train to Busan. Exit the train, watch the Super Bowl with Glen… the game ends around 12:15 pm here. I haven’t really slept for 2 days… extremely tired. Finish work at 8:30 p.m., go home, close my eyes… rise the next day around noonish.
My sister, Cara (see the 2nd pic, top right) emails me from Seattle… writes that she (along with Keith) will be here in a week. Sweet!!! Eating sushi with Scott… meet a guy named Ben from Seattle, he tells me he’s super excited because he just found out two of his friends from home are coming next week. Apparently said friend’s brother also happens to live somewhere in Busan, he says. I realize he’s unknowingly talking about me, smile and inform him that I’m “the brother” he’s referring to. He freaks out, laughing and shaking his head. It’s a small world for sure. Cara and Keith arrive. I show them around… we visit the fish market, order a huge platter of raw seafood… solid. They meet some of my younger students. They’re so cute, Cara decides she “needs” to take a few home with her.
End the month in Deagu at Yumi’s cooking for about 12 people. First, I serve my shrimp and crab quesadillas with the roasted red pepper sauce, followed by a white wine, pesto pasta with chicken. I finish it off by pan roasting strip steak and pairing it with a red wine, mushroom sauce. The Korean women haven’t had anything like this before. In fact, one of them tells me the quesadillas were the best food she’s ever tasted, even better than “Taco Bell.” I’ll take that as a compliment.
March – The weather is beginning to turn. 50’s to 60’s is the norm now… much more manageable. Visit the beach in Gwangan. There is this badass husky I keep seeing. Love this dog. A few days later my friend tells me the husky will most likely be eaten… that “they eat big, beautiful dogs here.” I decide I’m not going to let that happen. Take the metro down to the beach. Pet my dog, walk into the restaurant, ask the owner if she’s planning to eat the dog because if she is, I’ll buy it from her right now. She doesn’t understand. No English. Call my Korean friend Park, he explains the situation to her. She makes a horrid face and chuckles. It’s her pet… not a meal. Thank God! She takes me outside and shows me the dog’s tricks. I feel much better.
