Catching up...

I've been promising to post some pics of my new pad and have just been slack in doing that, so I decided to finally fulfill my promise and get some on here so you all can see my new diggs! My place is small, but actually I really like it. By American standards I guess you could call it a studio apartment, in Korea they call these one room (even though it's not one room...hmm??) I have a nice and tidy little kitchen, it has a good sized fridge (which I have stocked with three bottles of water and a pack of bacon!) for this sized apartment. One of my friends has the same kind of place with a dinky little fridge. It also has a nice little built in 9 kg washing machine (yeah, kg don't mean anything to me yet either) but it's big enough I can wash my clothes and wash my blanket, so that's good enough, right? I love the sliding glass doors, I am very funny about smells, I love to eat bacon, but don't like my blanket to smell like bacon, so I can conveniently slide that door and it traps the bacon smell on the kitchen side! Inside my "one room" area I have my floor bed and that's about it. I'm a less is more kind of guy and hate having junk all over the place. Don't feel bad for me sleeping on the floor, I chose to, they have beds here, I just like sleeping on the floor. Not sure how much you know about Korean living, but the floors here are heating with water, and so they are very warm and comfortable at night. A lot of Koreans sleep on the floor and I guess over my years here I have just followed the tradition. I sleep well, and always feel cozy. One of the features of my apartment that sold me was the back balcony. This apartment and one other were the only two that have the balcony. I was surprised that other tenants didn't chose this place first, the balcony is almost as big as my apartment and has a nice little picnic table out there where I can sit and read or eat in the mornings. I figure when the weather warms up, I can even sleep out there if it's nice and cool. Almost all Korean bathrooms are small (even in the bigger places I've been in anyway) and so I didn't take a pic in there, sure you can imagine what a bathroom looks like! HA! One thing I like here aside from my little balcony is that you can go on top of the building and they have an area to sit up there and just relax on top of the building. There are some flower boxes, so I'm hoping that when the weather warms up they plant some flowers up there. One of the hardest things for me to get used to (and still is, even after two months) is that my lock is just a digital punchcode lock, so I don't need keys. Being the OCD freak I am I have always patted my pockets before I leave the house to make sure I have my keys...well, now I don't even need them and it just feels too weird having an empty right front pocket! Maybe some day it won't feel strange.
Things have been going well...we've been busy with the school and changed our schedule to an everyday schedule, I think the kids can learn better that way, but it's made Dana and I a lot busier than before. We changed to American text books and I'd like to say thanks to my awesome sis for helping us order and ship books over...I know it's been a pain, but I appreciate it. The books are really cool and I think that the kids will enjoy studying from these. They are quite expensive in Korea, so buying them in the States saved a lot of money. We finally got some business cards too, so if you've ever wondered what my name looks like in Korean, well...now you know (it's right below the school name).
Last month was Lunar New Year and we had a few days off from school. I really wanted to head out and see somewhere new, but I didn't really have the money and I don't have any more passport pages, so I decided just to stay around Korea. I met my good friend Zablon at Christmas on the flight from Shaghai back to Korea. He had gone to California for Christmas and I was coming back from Malaysia. We struck up a conversation and quickly become friends. Anyway, he teaches down in Busan and is also a sports nut like I am. So, he came up here to Asan and stayed a few days. We had a good time, went bowling one day, met my friend Sangeun and Byeongjae and played basketball and screen golf, and then the highlight of the weekend was going to see Dongbu Promy play in Seoul. It's kind of a funny story. Not sure if any of you have ever heard of a basketball player named Rod Benson, well...he's semi popular in the basketball world for the blog he kept while he was playing in the NBDL (developmental league, sort of like minor league basketball). His blog is hilarious and I've read it for a few years. Well, anyway...Rod came to Korea this year to play and just so happened to come and play for Dongbu Promy which is my favorite team. Well, Dongdu was playing Seoul the weekend Zablon was here, so we went up and watched the game. I had e-mailed Rod and told him we were going to go and cheer for him, so be on the lookout. He's a cool guy and e-mailed me, back and said he'd watch for us. Well, I decided to get some front row seats so we could be close to the action (plus, front row seats here are about $12 compared to $200 in Charlotte). We went over and said hey to him before the game, he was really cool he came over and said "what's up?" to us. We told him we'd be loud and crazy and cheer them on. Well, before the game they had some balls they were throwing out to the fans, so he came over and threw us a ball, the ball I have in the picture. I thought that was a cool thing to do, I mean the ball is just a rubber ball, but I thought it was cool he acknowledged us. So, anyway...Dongbu was the visiting team, so most people were cheering for the Seoul team. Zablon and I are both really loud, so we were causing all kinds of commotion. Most Korean fans just cheer for their team and don't taunt the opposing players...well, we aren't Korean! HAHA! Each team can have 2 foreign players, so the Samsung team (Seoul) had a dude named Aaron Hines from Boise State and then a big huge huge huge chubby guy that used to play at Florida State named Nigel Dixon. Well, anyway...we were clean but we gave those guys all kinds of grief. Every time Rod shot freet throws Zablon and I were chanting "MVP. MVP, MVP!" and so the Samsung fans started booing us! HAHA! We cheered so much we had both just about lost our voices by the end of the game. Rod had an awesome game and scored 23 and had 17 rebounds, so he and Dongbu pretty much dominated the game. It was a blast...and the end Rod gave us a little head nod as they headed back to the locker room. So...good times.
I'd like to wish my brother a Happy Birthday on the 10th of March, and also my cousin Don Diego...40 years old man? Good grief Charlie Brown! It makes ME feel old just knowing how old y'all are! I was joking with Becca last time we chatted that I can't believe it's been 30 years since we sat under that huge tree at the old house drinking goats milk and eating homemade PBJ sandwiches...where does the time go?
Most of you know I love quotes and I was reading the other day and came across this and wanted to share it with you:

"...the sea's only gifts are harsh blows and, occasionally, the chance to feel strong. Now, I don't know much about the sea, but I do know that that's the way it is here. And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong, to measure yourself at least once, to find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions, facing blind, deaf stone alone, with nothing to help you but your own hands and your own head..."