Living in Ulsan has not been all its cracked up to be. Though I like my workplace and a large majority of the kids, I still yearn for the weekend like a prostitute yearns for warmer weather in the dead of Winter (and a better reference letter). The only problem is that when the weekend does roll around Liz and I are either sick with colds (the children love nothing more than coughing or sneezing in your face and then requesting a hug), stuck inside due to bad weather (acid rain here hasn't helped my Phantom of the Opera-like complexion), or at a loss of what-to-do without having to end up at some bar drinking bacteria-laden draft beer hours before you have to work all day with 4 and 5 year-olds.
As well over 2 months has already shot by, I keep telling myself in the mornings to write like a fiend when I get home at night so I have something to show Spielberg and his mates when I get back to the Western world...but alas, I always find myself sitting on my couch eating leftover curry and complaining of a 'tummy ache'. This ache is either the constant physical reminder that procrastination sufferers endure, or just that my stomach can no longer handle curry twice a day...lets hope its not the latter!
Here are some pictures from the recent Halloween Day our school had:
One of my absolute favorites on the left Alice - incredibly sweet and smart.
One of my favorite classes caught off guard (I didn't yell 'cheese') Dream class.
My favorite boy in the school Justin who has gone to the Netherlands for a few months.
Liz and I after a long night of drinking...no wait....usually, I look like the witch after so this must still be at the Halloween thingy.
My 'task' for the day was selling 'Zombie Food' to the monster children. They used IPS dollars they had earned over the past couple of months (for being good, speaking English, not defecating on the floor) to buy little treats served in a fey piratish-way by moi. An autographed picture of myself was offered for 200 IPS dollars, but I had no takers.
Liz in the middle of her task, explaining that game "Witches Body" where the children close their eyes and have to touch things from the "Witches Body". I balked at this and became extremely jealous until Liz explained patiently that though she is dressed like a witch, the children would in fact be touching food hidden in a box (like spaghetti for the witches brain, carrot sticks for the witches finger, my poo for the witches poo, etc.)
In other news Liz and I get vacation soon enough and I have been trying like mad to find a good spot to tan away my paleness once again. I believe we've settled on a spot in Indonesia called Gili Air, which is just off a huge island called Lombok in Indonesia. There are 3 islands that make up the "Gilis" and this particular one would be Simon (from Alvin and the Chipmunks) as it has a higher local population (thus more culture) and seems to spend more time reading than drinking. The other two islands Gili Trawangan and Gili Meno (Alvin and Theodore respectively) can be easily reached by speedboat. I had been looking at some places in the Philippines until after further research (and Liz loudly huffing and puffing over my shoulder) I discovered that a fair number of the guests (pictured in photos from the guesthouses websites) all seemed to have Filipina hired-women on their arms. With a little more digging I also discovered that many gave advice on how to "find" these "girlfriends" and how to pick the 'right' one. I know its everywhere (sex trafficking is Korea's 3rd largest industry), but if I can avoid having to endure conversations with a few pathetic middle-aged men and their 'teen' girlfriends-for-a-day than I will. For example, apparently there is a place called "Angeles City" in the Philippines that is almost exclusively for these kinds of patrons...although I am sure from past experiences that there are also many other identical "Angeles Cities" in all the other SE-Asian countries that survive on the money from these open-walleted, 'starved' tourists.
Another couple downsides to this possible destination is that Indonesia is 8 hours flying time away (making an expensive and time consuming flight), there is a great risk for boredom once snorkeling and reading are exhausted, and the food is mainly seafood (something that I don't mind but Liz is not a big fan of). Here is a quick link about the Gilis if you care to read more:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Gili_Islands
Trying to avoid the mass drinking culture this year has also seen me take up a new past-time of doing puzzles and playing board games.
HIP.............
HIP..............
HOORAY!!!!
And the most important thing is that I'm not doing it alone! 9 1/2 more months!
