Thanks

Just wanted to send out a thanks to Colleen for helping with the counter at the bottom of the page. Thanks Cee!

Merry Christmas!

Here we are at Gecko's Terrace in Itaewon for Christmas Dinner. The dinner buffet was fantastic and I ate until it hurt. We also shared a bottle of Champagne and white wine. It was the festivity that I was missing.

Jo, by the Christmas tree.

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer... um... reindeers?

I have a bit of a strange story to tell... one night after the first snow fall in Korea, Jo and I went to a small tea house on the side of the mountain near Yuldong Park. It is the nicest little quaint tea house with wooden tables, and heated entirely by a clay-covered wood burning stove in the middle of the house. We stayed for a while, but were the only ones there on that cold night. The host invited us to have some baked sweet potatoes from the fire, and to stay until later, when they would be having a special guest come by for a small performance. We were in a very easy-going mood, so we stayed, warming ourselves by the fire. A short while later, a Buddhist monk walked in and explained that the performance would be of a very famous Korean opera singer trained in Italy, whom he was close friends with. Only later was it revealed that she had agreed to because of her previous visit, when the monk had enjoyed her visit so much that he had declared that the next time she visited, he would have to give up being a monk.

While we were waiting, several of the owners decided that we should have an early New Year's Eve party. So, I hopped in the SUV with the monk and headed down the icy slope of the mountain to a convenience store to buy beer and makeoli (rice wine). We got back and had a fantastic time with these complete strangers.

The opera singer then arrived, and sang a fabulous (and famous) Italian song that was fit for a concert hall, but performed in a rickety wooden tea house. Her projection was so amazing that it made my ears warble and shake with amazement. She talked about her experience in Italy and about how she was nearly mugged but managed to resist by giving the would-be-robber a bloody nose. Jo translated for me, but for the most part, I didn't understand much. (Not that I cared that much because I was just having such a good time with these people, laughing and smiling) There was one other man there who had come for the performance who spoke French very well because he had spent several years in Paris, so we were able to communicate. All together, there were about 10-12 people, and we were the only strangers to the group. Because it was a special occasion, they even brought out some cheeses from France to share and some fine cognac. It was a truly magical evening, and something I will remember for a long long time.

In the background, you can see the monk wearing a white toque. The man to my right spoke French. The women to my left owned the tea house, and the man next to them owned a respectable furniture export business. We ate roast chestnuts, fried Korean pancake with onion and squid, and later had long rice noodles.

Christmas lights near Gwanghwamun.

Our most hospitable hosts.

Snow on lanterns.

MMmmmmrrrrrwoaaaaAAAooooooo...

This is the tea house where all the action happened. Pretty, isn't it? On the left is a small Buddhist temple.

Sunset.

Sunset across the lake at Yuldong Park. The large structure on the horizon is a bungee jump that I may try in the summer.

Who told them I liked coffee? Do I really like it THAT much? Well, gee, I'm honoured!

Well-Being is an adjective in Korea. Well, in "Konglish". The drive for healthy products and activities has turned well-being into an adjective.

Anywone care for some Loast Sandwich?

While I'm washing the mud mask off. I'm zombie-licious!

Grrrrrr!

Ahhhh! Jo and I gave ourselves mud masks one night. It was fun. It got all crusty and flaked off. I loved the cracks around my mouth. I totally felt like a.... level 10 mud golem!!!

I stopped back at my old apartment to see if they had finally finished the apartment complex they were building. Sure enough, they had. This is the finished product. Building is so fast here...

Pink and Brown. What incredibly creative colour! I never would have imagined that they would pick those colours! (can you feel the force of my seething sarcasm??). Just about ALL apartment complexes in Korea are pink and brown. Don't ask me why...

This is where the old vicarage used to be. Not anymore!

I recently took a trip to Japan to acquire my working visa. I flew into Fukuoka and stayed there for 3 days. My trip was lots of fun and it really gave me an interesting glance at a different culture. When I hear people say "asian" culture, I kind of laugh, because the cultures of Japan and Korea (for example), are so incredibly different that it's like night and day. There are buttloads of differences between the two, and I can't even get into all of the things that I saw that were different. The people are different in their manners (Japanese people are more reserved, by-the-book, and have two separate faces - a public one and a private one), in their style (Koreans are very high-fashion, but tend to be more ubiquitous, while Japanese are more diverse in general - they don't dye their hair when they go grey, they opt for coloured suits, shirts, and ties instead of the Korean standard black suit with white shirt, and they are much more likely to have a wild hair colour when they are younger), their architecture (Korean architecture is largely utilitarian, made almost entirely of concrete, while Japanese architecture pays more attention to aesthetics), and even their attention to foreigners (Koreans are much more openly curious and inquisitive, giving them either a rude or friendly disposition to foreigners, while Japanese are more reserved, and cautious about forming friendships - so I'm told, because I didn't spend enough time meeting any Japanese...). Wow. That was a long sentence. Here is Fukuoka International Airport.

In previous posts on my blog, you will undoubtedly have read about my frustrations with the Korean subway system. As you can see here, Japan's subways are far safer than Korea's. And cleaner. And brighter. And... don't you sort of get the sense that you're in a late 70's Japanese Utopia cartoon?

The subway in Fukuoka.

Wow. So clean. So wonderfully planned and laid out. Seoul seriously needs some city planners...

Japan is a shiny happy place.

A typical Japanese rural street, nestled in amongst the urbania.

They have 7-11 in Japan! And strangely, only RECENTLY did I actually find one in Korea as well... but all last year, I couldn't find one. Anyway, no slurpees.

Isn't Japanese architecture cool?

A house.

The Japanese got style, yeah. The man crossing the road here has a bowler hat on. You may need to lighten the picture or your monitor to see properly...

The Korean consulate in Japan.

I only caught a blur of this crow that decided to say hello.

In Japan, they drive on the other side of the street. I was reminded of Europe, and luckily, my "don't get creamed by a car" instinct had survived from then. I checked right then left instead of the other way around before crossing the street. It's important!

It was a pleasure to see houses instead of just sprawling apartment complexes.

Lillies? Hanging from some random person's house. Cool.

A Dental Clinic for Kids & Mothers. (but NO fathers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Fathers cause cavities.

More Japanese architecture.

Mmmm. Milkis. Japanese style. It's like carbonated fruit juice with milk added. Reminiscent of a sprite float. I bought it for the pretty bottle.

Next Earther. Are you as confused as me?

This demonstrates some of the numerous drink choices in Japan. Vending machines are quite popular. My friend Miles has a blog, in which (at one point) he goes into an explanation of a cross-section of the drink choices in Japan. Check it out if you have a minute! Miles is a funny guy.

This picture didn't turn out so well, but I wanted to show the coolness of the train as it twisted. All of the doors between subway cars were left open, so you could watch the entire length of the train, and as it turned, it looked like some sort of strange horror movie where the walls bend and twist. It made me think about the strangeness of Japanese filmmaking and how it really isn't all that strange when you live in Japan.

It's shoft, it's Shmooth, it's Shilky touch!

A subway station in Fukuoka. Look how clean it is!

Ryan's supper, with salted beans in the middle for sharing. I think they're soy beans?

My supper. Mmmm. It was like a cutlet of sorts in a sweet broth with a fried egg, and rice. A bowl of miso soup and some pickled veggies complete the meal.

Supper.

Taken from downtown Fukuoka.

This is what I slept in for several days while in Fukuoka. It's called a capsule, and there are hundreds of them stacked together in a capsule hotel. You pay a fee, get to enjoy a spa and various relaxation areas, and then go to sleep in your cozy capsule. It's comfortable and semi-private.

Here's a nice Canadian I met while at the Visa office in Fukuoka. It's been several months now, but I think his name was Ryan... If you're out there reading my blog, and I got it wrong, I'm sorry Ryan... er, (insert real name here). Ryan is posing in his capsule to show off the size.