Playing with Fire

Greetings friends and family and weirdos that are reading my blog. Just kidding, we're ALL weirdos right?

So, this week's episode is all about...
CLUBBIN! (ya know, bottle full o' bub and all dat)

Since I'm really bad at remembering to take pictures while I'm busy dancing and mingling and such, these shots were compiled over three or four different nights of clubbin.

My favorite spot (and pretty much only spot) I go is in a part of Seoul called Hongdae. And the name of the club is Cocoon. A typical Friday or Saturday night would start at about 9 or 10pm, when my friend Lee and I depart our homes in Ansan. We ride the subway to Hongdae for about 1.5 hours (yea kind of long). But it only costs $1.25 each way.

When we get to Hongdae, we often grab a ziplock bag of gin&tonic or tequila&juice from a street vendor before going into the club. Naturally, not many people get there until about midnight or 1am. You might be thinking, "But if the club closes at 2, then you traveled an hour and a half for only 1 hour of fun?!" No need to worry, these clubs all stay open until about 6am! Yee haw!!!

Okay, so here's what Cocoon is like: underground, many levels, fog, strobe, crazy lights, loud music, and LAZERZ LAZERZ LAZERZ!!!
Music is rap, pop and techno, a pretty good mix actually (especially for dancing), and it's almost all American music save a few Korean hits. Okay, picture time!



So here's what it looks like on the dancefloor with a camera-flash ruining the actual light and mood.









And here's what it really looks like while you're there.
*_*








The bar is also protected by LAZERZ.




















So here's one of the coolest things I've seen ever. The bartender takes out a special molotov cocktail bottle and lights it on fire. Then starts dancing with it. Then he takes out another one.
Seems kinda dangerous with all the drunk people around, but it was freaking cool!




FREAKING COOL!
I think it's called Flaring.

And THEN, when he was done they started ringing a shot bell, giving out heinekens, and pouring free shots into people's mouths.





So, when you're really awesome people like my friend and me, you get to go to the VVIP room. Not JUST a VIP room. The VVIP room.








Here's where the party's at in the VVIP.

















This is my boy Sam. Basically, his friends are rich (dad owns Korean Levi's or something) and go to Purdue for school. They get the VVIP room all the time. Lee and I met them, and they let us chip in like 15 bucks and chill in the VVIP. We got all we could drink and eat, plus be all exclusive and stuff.









Here's Lee dancin it up.








This kid was cool, but he thought I was gay.








I got my priorities though.








Lee and Yen. This was from a different club called Super Dome.









Claire and Me at Super Dome.







It's called Super Dome because the roof is a dome that opens up so you can see the sky outside. Every night they play some Star Wars emperor music and open the colorful dome.








At the end of a night of clubbin, we take the subway back home. This is at like 6am. It doesn't run from 12:30 to 5:30 anyway, so you don't have much choice unless you want to pay for a cab.








The VVIP life can be grueling, but we can still grab breakfast at good ole' Dunkin Donuts.

Ryan's First Hike: Gwanak-san

Hey everyone!
Or should I say, "Annyeong haseyo!"
I will now, finally talk about my very first experience of real, hardcore hiking. It's hardcore cuz there was also rock climbing involved--the manly kind without any gloves or fancy ropes or caribeeners or whatever. Just bare hands and tennis shoes and ROCKS (warning: rocks may be harder than they appear).


I hiked on Gwanak-san, or Mt. Gwanak (san means mountain in Korean). There were really like 5 or 6 peaks that we hiked. So we'd go to the top of one, then back down, up, down, etc., along the spine of this little range until we got to the highest peak--Gwanak-san. 629 meters (=2,063 feet)!

Ok, PICTURE TIME!



What's the most important piece of gear to bring on a hike? Ok, probably water. And shoes. And a pack. But after all those...
Hiking Buddies! Especially one that knows the way :-)

So this is my co-teacher and new buddy Mark. He had hiked this mountain just a couple weeks earlier, so he was our guide (a very good one at that). Mark's from Cali and is super helpful at showing me the ropes at work, as well.




Hiking buddy, co-teacher & new friend #2: Yen.
Yen arrived in Korea just a month before I did, so we have been sort of figuring things out together. He lives in the same building as me, so that's convenient for hangin out.

He went to USC, the South Carolina one, haha. So he's a fellow SEC-er, but booo Gamecocks. He also speaks Chinese but not Korean yet, so we are helping each other learn.

The first notable thing we encountered was this really cool Buddhist temple near the foot of the mountain. It had this very ornate gate at the entrance:

Oooooo.... Aaaaahhhhh....

Here's the temple (yea that car kinda seems outta place, right?)











And a VERY large stupa (a monument to Buddha). The tiny thing wearing yellow in the bottom right is a person.










Here's me, scaling that rock cliff with the aptitude of a pro. Gloves? don't be a pussy. Ropes? PUHleeeeze..












Oh. Did I say no ropes? Welllll, there were a few.
But NOT everywhere! It's not like I asked for them, they were just there.

There was REAL climbing involved!









Like this!











And this! Reeeal rock climbing.
(This one's for the ladiez...)














Even rock lifting (ladiezz...)











EVEN rock... surfing?

Ok that's enough.








Btw, my hat says:

"Rashan
You are my own personal
Mad monster Since 1923
Los Angeles Chapter"

So... prize to anyone who can figure that one out.



Here's a little informative interlude. Take it away guest host Morgan Freeman,

On this mountain there were several concrete bunkers with places for gun turrets--remnants of the 3-year Korean War. Yet, some of them still seem well maintained and blocked off from nosy hikers. Mark informed me that if there were an invasion from the North that took Seoul (just north of these mountains), this range would be the last line of defense protecting the rest of the lower country to the south from attack.
I don't want to think about that though.




There were also entrances to underground tunnels, bunkers, and trenches scattered about, like this one.













Hope it's not booby-trapped!












Forget poison ivy, they gots barbed wire!













We claim this mountain for the Republic! (of Korea!)
















Van Damme style.















Jackie Chan style.












Gangsta style.


















Quite a view. I like that it's green with trees and not all rocky and snowy.































Ohhhhmmm.....












Big bonsai tree.

Views from the top:

Big city

So this old couple took the above picture of all of us. They must have been in their sixties just hiking the mountain. OH! And we ran into this one guy who actually spoke pretty good English. He seemed like he was in really good shape, so I had to ask how old he was. 68!
And how often does he walk through these mountains?
E V E R Y D A Y ! ! !
I know right!? That's awesome! I know, I totally should have gotten his picture now that I think about it.




Finally at the very top!

As you can see, it says Gwanak-san. Or maybe you can't read Chinese characters.

Well, you can definitely read at the bottom where it says 629 m. So there's proof of how high it is.

OK, that's all I have for now. After reaching the top, it was faster just to jump down. Hope ya'll had an explosive 4th of July. I just went clubbing, no fireworks but good enough. I'll let you know when I take some more pictures.

Peace out everybody!

Teaching Job

Okay, so I'm still sorting through some pictures of my hiking adventure, sorry...
But I got some great questions from my good friend Alex Pepperoni about what my teaching job is like, hours, students, etc.

Korean Students go to public school starting at like 7:30, and then they go to private schools like mine (called hagwons) for extra tutoring in English, Chinese, math, science, etc. Some are at our school till about 11 at night. They are freaking nuts! (meaning their parents are). I feel bad for the kids, but it's only my job to teach them. I think they'll probably all be ridiculously brilliant in the near future, but also hate the rest of mankind. So I think we're pretty much breeding evil geniuses that will take over the world.

I get to work around 3pm, start teaching at 4 or 5, and stay until 10 or 11. 2 days a week I have 4 classes of about an hour each, 2 days I have 3 classes, and Fridays just two classes. The rest of my time is spent planning for class, eating, surfing the web and youtube, planning my weekend, or doing this (like I am right now).

I try to wake up at like 8 or 9 and run. It is really beautiful around my apartment. Even though I live near downtown Ansan in a really tall building, if I take a 15-minute walk I get to a forested mountain (or very large hill, i dunno, seems like 100 meters high). There is a track that goes all the way around and it's really nice to run on. There are lots of people also jogging or walking around it. AND there is a covered outdoor gym, with weights and all kinds of stuff that is free to use. People actually use that, too. Seems like everyone exercises. Oh, I'll have to tell you about the old guys we saw climbing the mountain. I haven't got to use that gym yet, but I think I will soon.

Peace out.