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..."

Malaysia!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. Sorry, it's been a long time since I have posted anything on my blog and I will certainly try and do much better in 2011 than I did the latter part of 2010.
I had a chance to go to Malaysia for a week at Christmas and had an amazing time. Of course it was freezing cold here in Korea when I left for Malaysia, so the warm breezes and t-shirt and shorts weather was very welcoming! One of the first things I noticed about Malaysia is that it is much different than the other S.E. Asian countries I had been to. The infrastructure and housing in Malaysia was far superior to any of the other countries, I was actually a little bit surprised at how nice it was when I arrived. Malaysia is an Islamic state, so it was interesting to see many women wearing the Muslim burqa and to see the different mosques scattered around the city and country. There are also a lot of Hindus, Buddhists and Christians in the country, so there was an interesting mixture of worship sites all around as well.
One of the first places I went to was the Batu Caves, which were about 9 miles north of the city. Around the late 1890s the caves were dedicated as a place of worship to the Hindu god Lord Murugan the god of war and victory. Outside the caves is a 140 foot high statue dedicated the Lord Murugan. Each year there is a huge festival at the caves called the Thaipusam Festival, in 2007 over 1.5 million people went to the caves for the festival. Fortunately when I was there it wasn't that busy. There are 272 steps leading up into the caves. Along the way there are hundreds of wild monkeys who are climbing around on light poles and jumping out of trees. I had read to hold on tight to your backpack or handbag because the monkeys sometimes snatch stuff away! HA! When I was there a monkey stole a water bottle from a girl and then scampered up the light pole and was chewing on the bottle. I'm OK with monkeys and everything, but I didn't really want to feed them. A lot of people were feeding them peanuts, bread, etc. It was fun to see other people feed them, but they seem a little dirty to me to want to have them grabbing stuff out of my hands. Anyway, the caves were cool...they aren't very deep, but it was very interesting to see. Kuala Lumpur (I'll just call it KL from now on) is well know for it's pewter and Royal Selangor is the largest manufacturer and retailer of pewter in the world. The factory was open for tours and it was interesting to see the skill that the workers had in making the different items. One of the coolest things at the factory and gallery is the world's largest pewter tankard. It is 6'6" and the girth is 5'6". It weighs in at 3432 lbs and it took 3 months and over 2000 hours to complete!
The next day I left off for Kuala Selangor which is an area a few hours from KL. The main reason I went there was to see the lightning bugs at the nature park. It was really cool...the bugs were blinking like Christmas lights, the only disappointing thing was that it was impossible to get any good pictures of it. It was too dark to get a picture without the flash, but then when I turned the flash on it just lit up the trees and you couldn't see the lighting bugs. The guide said this was one of the largest areas of lighting bugs in the world. It was very peaceful, the guides rowed people down the river at night, I guess they rowed instead of used a motor so as to keep it quiet and make the trip more memorable and maybe not to scare the bugs too. It was so nice and quiet out there at night.
After that I headed down to Malacca which was probably one of my favorite places during the trip. I really love history and so going to see historical places is one of my favorite things to do. Malacca has a rich history, it was under Portuguese control for around 130 years from 1511 to 1641 when it was taken over by the Dutch. The Dutch then controlled at area from 1641 until around 1824 when it was taken over by the British. The British controlled it until the Japanese took over during World War II. Malacca has quite a few famous structures there, the "A Famosa Fort" which was built in 1511 by the Portuguese. Most of the fort has since been destroyed, but there is still one small gate house that remains, one of the oldest surviving European architectural remains in Asia. Another interesting building in Malacca is "Christ Church" which was built by the Dutch in 1753. It is the oldest functioning Protestant Church in Malaysia.
Most people associate Petronas Towers with KL...these buildings are really beautiful and amazing. From 1998 until 2004 they were the tallest buildings in the world standing 1483 feet tall! They are functioning office buildings and I thought it was interesting that you can't go all the way to the top. Tourists can go early in the morning and get tickets to go up to the bridge that connects the two buildings, but I heard that you had to be there around 7 AM and I just didn't feel like going to get tickets! HAHA! The last few days in KL I did like I always do and just wandered aimlessly around the city just exploring whatever I could see. This is usually one of my favorite things to do...I like to roam and just see what I can see. Some of the cool things I stumbled across were the National Mosque of Malaysia, the train station, some really cool parks, and all kinds of cool looking buildings. I spent New Years Eve there and it was a lot of fun to see the fireworks up over Petronas Towers, I was really happy to get some good pictures from my hotel room!
There were several things that stood out to me about Malaysia. As I said before, I could tell that the economy and infrastructure there was much different than most other SE Asian countries. Another thing I really liked about KL was the food choices. There were SO many restaurants there, and the food was really good. In the week I was there I think I ate Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese and Malaysian food. It also seemed that Malaysians have quite a bit on national pride...while I was there apparently there was some sort of soccer tournament and Malaysia won the championship over Indonesia. There were 100s of people honking horns and waiving the Malaysian flag (which looks quite similar to the US flag, in fact there were a lot of times when I saw the red and white stripes I automatically thought of the US flag! HA). Also, with a high Muslim population it was really interesting to see the mosques and hear the calls to prayer throughout the day over the speakers from the mosques. Muslims pray 5 times a day, and so one more than one occasion I heard the call from the speakers (at least I assumed that was what it was for). Malaysia was really beautiful and I had a great time there...I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to go!

My friend Maggie

I received some really sad news the other day, one of the sweetest creatures ever to walk the earth, passed away last Thursday. Heidi e-mailed me and told me that Maggie had some health problems early in the morning and after she rushed her to the vet Maggie started hemorrhaging and her blood wouldn't clot. Heidi and the vet did all she could for Maggie but in the end she didn't make it.
I still remember the first time I laid eyes on Maggie, frankly she scared the heck out of me. She had the most beautiful ice blue eyes but she looked like this big monstrous white wolf! I didn't want to go near her but Heidi assured me that Maggie wouldn't hurt a flea, but I was still more than cautious. She was right though, all Maggie wanted to do was play, play, play. She was so full of energy. She loved being off the leash, just running wild and free. I will never forget one VERY COLD wintry night it had been snowing a lot. We decided to let Maggie out in the yard to just run (she loved the snow). Soon the time got late and we called Maggie to come in...she came close to the door, but every time we tried to actually grab her she would run just far enough away we couldn't get her. It got later and later and colder and colder. Heidi came up with a great idea, she fried up some bacon and we tore it into a bunch of little pieces. We laid the pieces out in a trail up to the door, hoping to trick her into the house. I hid behind the CRV and Heidi waited at the door. Well, Maggie cautiously ate the first piece of bacon, all the while looking around like "this is too good to be true, bacon out here in the snow!" HA! She slowly ate each piece looking around each time before eating it, she got closer and closer and started up the steps and on to the porch. As she was right by the door I ran at her, Heidi opened the door and we somehow managed to get her inside! She was so funny, she had snow all over her, and she just walked right over by the bed and laid down!
Maggie never had any puppies, but she was still the best Mom. We got Chaco when she was just a tiny puppy and hoped her and Maggie would be friends. From the first day we brought Chaco home Maggie loved her and took care of her. Chaco would just lay there and Maggie would lick her ears and face and clean them all up. She was so good to Chaco and I am sure Chaco is really missing her.
I think more than anything Maggie loved the outdoors, where she could run free and be herself. There was a really cool area up near Boone that was called Hebron...a place where Maggie was in her environment. She could jump into the water, swim around, jump from rock to rock and just go crazy. Heidi had Maggie cremated and planned to spread her ashes around Hebron, I think a very fitting resting place for me friend.
I loved Maggie so much, it's sad that she's gone, but I'll never forget her. There will never be another dog like her.
I found a really sweet poem that says exactly how I felt about her.


She is my other eyes that can see above the clouds;
my other ears that hear above the winds.
She is the part of me that can reach out into the sea.

She has told me a thousand times over that I am her reason
for being by the way she rests against my leg;
by the way she thumps her tail at my smallest smile;
by the way she shows her hurt when I leave without taking her.
(I think it makes her sick with worry when she is not
along to care for me.)

When I am wrong, she is delighted to forgive.
When I am angry, she clowns to make me smile.
When I am happy, she is joy unbounded.

When I am a fool, she ignores it.
When I succeed, she brags.

Without her, I am only another man. With her, I am all-powerful.

She is loyalty itself. She has taught me the meaning of devotion.

With her, I know a secret comfort and a private peace.
She has brought me understanding where before I was ignorant.

Her head on my knee can heal my human hurts.
Her presence by my side is protection against my fears of dark and
unknown things.

She has promised to wait for me...whenever...wherever--
in case I need her.
And I expect I will--as I always have.

I love you Maggie!

Cambodia pics

Sorry, as I said before, there was a problem when I tried to post the pics with the blog, so I just decided to split up the pics into Vietnam and Cambodia.
Enjoy