Avatar in 3D

This is the reason we go to the movies.

The New Guy

I used to be a lot of things upstairs; I was the only guy, the tallest person, the biggest feet, etc. Then enter Joel. He's 6'5", wears size 16 shoes and has hands like Shaq; except that Joel is white and half Jewish. I would like to see him compared to the other giant Jewish guy I know, who also is named Joel and works with my dad. For those that know my friend Austin, Joel makes him look small and Austin is not small by any normal standards.

Before Joel entered the equation Karill was my drinking buddy, but Karill likes to go home early and not smoke. Joel likes to drink, smoke and stay out way too late. On the pareto chart of why I haven't blogged in so long the second reason would be encompassed in Hanging Out With Joel.

We get along really well, mostly because we just sit back and forth and bullshit. It was also pretty ironic that the most extroverted individual (Joel) has replaced the most introverted (Lori). Everyone had a going away party...except Lori, she just wanted to get out of the country and spent all of her free time in her apartment. I'm pretty sure Joel can't spend more than ten hours in his alone, and that's including sleep.

We've had some fun adventures and I'm sure more will follow.

Goodbye Strangers

Goodbye strangers it's been nice
Hope you find your paradise
Tried to see your point of view
Hope your dreams will all come true
Goodbye Cody, Goodbye Kaleigh,
Goodbye James, Goodbye Meave,
Goodbye Dom, Goodbye Lori,
Goodbye Ryan, Goodbye Frank,
Will we ever meet again
Feel no sorrow, feel no shame
Come tomorrow, feel no pain

Frypan

As I mentioned before, Frypan has the best fried chicken I've ever tasted. Well, apparently the novelty of it has worth off. I ate there at least four or five times in a week and a half time period. Now it just tastes like regular fried chicken, although their homemade potato chips are still delicious.

The main reason I ate there so often was that my friend Ryan had motivation to do so. The owner of the restaurant is a woman who doesn't speak English very well. Ryan is a Korean-American who doesn't speak Korean fluently but can speak well enough to hold a minor conversation. They exchanged phone numbers and had conversations that might make a normal person in my position feel like a thrid wheel, but I had my chicken--and it was good.

I haven't eaten there in a couple weeks now and am relishing my next meal. Perhaps tonight.....

Mt. Jang

I live in a place called Jangsan which translated means Mount Jang. Jang is the mountain that overshadows this part of Busan, and from the top you can see alot of the city; when the smog is minimal.

Karill and I hiked up there on Nov. 14th back when it was still warm. One of the other teachers, Cody, told us there were two paths to the top; "The manly path and the path that is for old ladies." We tried to find the manly but after getting lost and unwilling to ask for directions we took the only trail we could find, which was a very nice, wide paved trail. It was built specifically for old ladies or what in Korea are called ajumma.

The trail didn't take us all the way to the top but we found a "goat trail" to take us the rest of the way. Although I don't think there are any goats in Korea. At the top was a military fixture that looked as though it hadn't been in use since the Korean War ended.

The view was amazing. I could try to describe it or I could just post pictures later; I'm opting for the latter.

On the way back down we found the manly trail thanks in no small part to a crazy Korean hiker that led us down the mountain at warp speed without regard for anyone else on the trail or even his own well being. It took us an hour and a half to get up and only a half hour to get down--to the very bottom, not just the trailhead. It was an amazing trip, well worth it.

“Hi my name is Aaron.” “Hello Aaron.” (Takes a deep breath and long exhale) “I am a bloggoholic. I haven't blogged for four weeks." (The crowd sneers)

So it’s been a while since my last blog; somewhere around the four week mark. The only excuse I have for this is that I’ve been enjoying myself a bit too much here and between the drinking and recovering I just haven’t had time to keep you updated on what is going on with me. The truth is there is a lot, so I will do my best to create an assortment of entertaining stories; a few of which will be intermixed with pictures, so stay tuned.