First is the Seoul National Museum of Modern Art. This was such an awesome place to check out. The museum is part of Seoul Grand Park which includes an amusement park, a zoo, a science museum, a digital/gaming museum thing (lol), a rose garden, and the museum of modern art. Oh and a tram that runs around. This is all within a park setting. I felt a little out of place just because there was a million families strolling around, but once I found the museum, I didn't feel so awkward. As you can see, Korea is in full swing autumn and it is so beautiful here! It has been sunny and crisp almost everyday which makes it very enjoyable to visit places. I visited the museum last weekend (10/22). They didn't allow cameras inside the museum and at the exhibits (although I heard the cell phone cameras clicking away behind heavy wool coats, lol). I'm sure I could have sneaked a pic or two, but I honor art as window in the soul of a society. It is an experience to me, and thus, it is something that I really can't convey to my reading audience as to why I would appreciate a certain piece of artwork. There were several very moving works of art, but these reasons can only be understood by myself. I think that is why we really can't explain art because it means something specific to every person. Anyway, all that to say is that I don't have much for show and tell on this occasion. I can just invite you to visit me in Korea and I will take you on a trip to the museum of art. :)
So this week at school was Halloween week. I have never had so much fun for Halloween. I've never been that much into Halloween as I remember standing in the freezing cold in the Nevada desert and asking for candy from scary looking neighbors (that was without the mask) but really wanting to ask for hot chocolate, a warm blanket, and a fire place. I had to work hard for that candy. Anyway, as you can see, I really got into the mood. I'm now officially known as "Shrek Teacher" LOL I absolutely love it! As you can also see, my friends (coworkers) were just as excited and in the Halloween 'spirit' ... wha wha whaaaaa. The Korean teachers were also very scary as they were dressed in school uniforms, cats with black wings, and Adam's Family like dresses. They also had blood coming out of their eyes, mouths and neck. Since I went all out on the Shrek costume, I decided to go ALL the way. As you can see, I have completely shaved my face. I have been clean shaven for four years! It is quite an experience to not know the person you see in the mirror. I still don't know what to think when I see myself, lol. The best part was that I had all my students completely fooled. They didn't really believe that it was Isaac teacher. They would say, "Oh, it's Isaac teacher" but their faces would say, "I'm so confused by what I'm seeing right now that I'm going to turn around and when I turn back around I want you to not be there. Thanks" LOL While it was very exhausting hosting a halloween party for all the students for two days, it was a lot of fun and a great break from routine.
Another great moment was Thursday night. Thursday night, after a day of Halloween party, we had a scheduled business party of going to the movies together. We saw "True Steel". Because of my heavy make-up and the fact that we left soon after school let out, I decided just to go green face and all. Wow! The looks I got were priceless! I wish I had taken pictures. One gentleman's jaw literally dropped when he saw me. Most everyone had to take second looks. One man even shielded his young daughter from horror of my face. That was without the ears and added fat. It was such a great experience. I typically received stares periodically walking around Korea with my belated beard. But never did I feel like I was the Phantom of the Opera unmasked. LOL Such a great social experiment. Fortunately, all of my coworkers were understanding didn't shun me because I looked like some ghastly green creature that had crawled from some primordial scum. LOL
Friday night, our friend Eun Heay was having her birthday party. I decided to go 'not green'. However, the occasion would have been more appropriate if I had decided to remain Shrek as Eun Heay and some of her friends decided to also dress in costume. I only wished that I had brought my fantastic ears. Home-made by the way. As I had been wanting to do, I took pictures of the great food that we had that night. As you will see, I did eat octopus legs as well as calamari. It was actually very good! After we ate, we all decided to go to a near-by "nora-bong" or karaoke place. What you do is rent out a room where they have speakers turned up all the way and a big screen TV that splashes the words of each song on the display. It also plays music videos in the background, but the two times I have been, these videos absolutely clash withe the song being sung. "Nora-bongs" are really fun, but I like listening and not singing. Everyone likes me listening as well :) After all was said and done, it was a fantastic night!
So going back a couple days, Wednesday night my 'new' bike completely broke down. The back tire would not budge. My initial assessment was that I had somehow bent the rear frame where the rear axle attaches to the bike. This fortunately happened as I took off to cross a crosswalk. The few days I was bike-less, I realized how much I really appreciated the relatively quick and inexpensive transportation. Saturday, I took it back to my bike repairman. Since his store is called 'Bike-bong', I call him my 'bike-bong guy'. He is actually my hero. As you can see, the rear axle completely severed in the middle. I assume that it happened as I pushed down in a high gear to take off. This force thus caused the brittle axle to break entirely and thus bend the rear frame. While the previous visit to my "bike-bong guy" was a great experience, I felt that this was going to be a more severe and expensive visit. However, my bike was repaired in about an hour and all for under $40. This included a near rear rim with gears, mounted and aligned tire, and new gear adjusting cable. I think that when I move away from Korea, I will fly back to have my 'bbg' repair all my future bikes :)
On Sunday, I went hiking with the Seoul Hiking Group. This is the same group that I went with to the Jinju Lantern Festival. My friend Eun Heay, who had the birthday, was also able to go. Again, I really enjoyed being able to meet so many new people from all sorts of places. It was also so great to be able to go hiking with someone I already knew. I also finally met the leader of the hiking group, Warren. He is such an awesome person. Like I said before, he coordinates these weekend events for every weekend and even during the week. This is all after his job and regular life.
So, this hike was to the "Hidden Wall of Bukhansan". Bukhansan is a towering granite monolith on the north side of Seoul. Well, that was what I realized after scurrying up a granite rock face, whose incline was pushing for the need for ropes, only to see a bellowing tower of granite trusting itself from the simple river valley below to almost infinite summit which plunged into the azure skies above. Within in the captivating moment of standing as an ant beneath such a bewildering height, I caught myself thinking, "Wha foo in their right mind woul call that behemoth a 'hid'n wall". That aint no hid'n wall! There aint noth'n hidden bout it. Even yo mama look small next thang!" Haha, anyway... I was in for lesson in the language translation.
No trail for the cliff ... no problem in Korea! 
Oh, that's why I was having a hard time getting up the hill, lol
I thought this was the summit...
These pictures are on the way down. This is where I learned what 'wall' can mean in Korean. I asked Eun Heay why there wasn't any 'wall' like I was expecting to see. She said that we did see the wall and that it was the cliff at the top of the mountain. At the top of the mountain, there was a narrow passage where the granite slab had split vertically and worn away. Except for that one spot, it is a solid rock cliff that towers on either side. It really is a hidden wall because you would never see it unless you hiked into the mountain. Unfortunately, my camera had died and I was unable to get a picture of this amazing mountain pass. I only thought to use my cell phone camera when we had almost come to the end of the trail.
After a long day of hiking, we all stopped at a Korean restaurant famous for it's tofu. It was really good! There were some spicy dishes, but I liked all of them. The red dish is kimchi.
I was trying to take a picture of the after dinner carnage. When you have a Korean dinner, you have several dishes set out. It is like an eight course meal all at once. Really fun and it really creates a setting that encourages group discussion. You are not thinking about your plate, but what and who is at the table. In this picture, Warren is wearing the orange fleece jacket on the left. The man in the middle with red hair is my friend Christopher from Hungary. He is a mathematician and professor at one of the local universities. He is really cool guy to meet. The man to the right of him is Thomas. While hiking, I started a conversation with Thomas and found out that he was also from Hungary. I said, "Oh so do you know Christopher?" but he actually didn't. Both of them said that they have not met any other Hungarians in Korea. It was really cool to be the one to "connect the dots" as my good friend Drix would say. They seemed to really enjoy being able to speak in their own language to each other. It is a small world here in Korea :)
Two more items before I can wrap up this weeks session. First, I learned from my friend Mark that hiking is translated to a more vertical sense of the word in Korean. Thus, when people go 'hiking' in Korea, they expect to do more climbing than walking. Either way, it is so rewarding to go hiking in Korea whether it is vertical or horizontal. Korea contains so many wonders of nature.
The second piece of business is a reflection upon a critical analysis of the Korean sidewalk in my previous weeks edition. Since, the issue is not one that will go away, I was faced to come to terms with it again. This time I began to think about why people walk in the middle and in groups in Korea. I came to realize that I was the person who was in the wrong for criticizing such behavior. Forged in centuries of warfare, invasion, and plunder, the Korean people have formed a shared identity that is attached with those who they interact with on a daily basis. After having things stripped away due to warfare, they have learned that the best thing to do is to watch the back of those who are closest to you because they are the ones who can best help you and protect you. Thus, a high importance on community has been interwoven within the fabric of the Korean culture. While this analysis is amateur at best, it quickly defeats that argument and thinking that Korea would be better if Koreans did it my way. Coming from the US, I only have a view of life from a extremely individualistic and independent viewpoint. While I would be unable to say that my individualistic lifestyle is wrong, it is definitely not grounds for me to criticize anthers way of life. Walking down the middle of a sidewalk in Korea shows that they are not thinking about what themselves and how to get their job done to advance themselves. I think it is a small window showing that they are concerned about how their life can benefit and support those closest to them and the community in which they live. They have a better understanding of what it means that you cannot stand-up alone in the middle of a flood. While I really like being individualistic and independent, I have come to the understanding that I have a lot more to learn than I thought from the Korean culture. I also had thought about editing my previous post, but I decided not to. I want to remember what I used to think, to think about how that has changed, and to understand that I always need to push forward in my understanding. I need to find the truth in life, but truth only comes to those who patiently seek it. I want to see where I was, where I am, and where I am going. Thus, I am keeping my errors open to my readers and hope that they read with a bit of grace as I learn and change. If I think I am there, I am further away from where I need to be. So, before I put myself to sleep... lol
Cheerios ~ Isaac
Hello, my name is Jack Sparrow. I'm a 50 year old self-employed Pirate from the Caribbean.
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