David's 2012 Compilation

This is the last video of 2012.  It's a hodgepodge, so I hope that you enjoy it.  :)  click the red words below. love, David.
Happy New Year

Is it October already?!

I went with some friends to Seoul for the Chuseok holiday.  I will be getting the photo's here to you soon.  In the meantime, please enjoy this video I put together from my vacation to the U.S. during August 2012.  It's a bit long (I realize) but mostly amusing (I hope).  A special thanks to my younger brother, Hank, for allowing me to upload things on his YouTube account.  For whatever reason, YouTube doesn't allow people outside the continental U.S. to post videos longer than 15 minutes.  Anyways, lots of love from the land fast wifi and Gangnam Style. -David-

Back in "the Gu"

 Warm greetings to the folks who read my blog.  Many of my blog posts start with an apology for my having neglected to keep the audience updated on my life.  This one is no different.  I'm sorry to have gone dark for so long, but believe me when I say that my days are busy...and there is rarely a dull moment.  I have made the decision to renew my teaching contract, so I will remain in Daegu for at least another year.  I was given a lovely three-week vacation, during which I returned to the U.S.A. to spend time with friends and family.  As I am still sorting through the photosand videos from my trip to the states, I hope you will be patient and anticipate a full debriefing in a later post.  This post is a hodgepodge of Korean summer time, and I hope you enjoy it.

 My good friend YongSung Park let me crash at his house in Seoul on my way back home to the U.S.A.  He's a righteous dude studying to get his CPA, and he knows his way around Seoul quite well. 

 I asked my students to create some simple newspaper headlines.  One of my young boys seems to be asking the question, "Did all of the beautiful women perhaps leave the earth on phallic rocket ships?"

 In Korea I experienced a typhoon (in Korean 태풍 = 'Tay-Poong') for the first time.  Typhoon Bolaven.  As it approached from the East Sea, all of the major news networks were making it seem as though doomsday had arrived.  Some of the southern cities were even instructed to board up the windows and turn of electrical appliances.  While the storm did strike with a force (25 deaths in the southern island provinces) it was nothing more than wind and rain in my city, Daegu.  I enjoyed watching the storm blow through...I would liken it to a junior-varsity hurricane.    

 The two photos above are from the international bodypainting festival (featured a year ago in the blog).  Because I know how speak a bit of Korean these days, I was able to gain access to the photo area.  It was a swiveling white backdrop thing that the girls 'handlers' would orient such that the shadows improved the photos.

 This photo comes from Jecheon at ChungPoong Land.  It is a lake/adventure park where I went bunjee jumping with my friends BK and Kamili.  You can rent small watercraft, and night concerts are sometimes held on that big pier accompanied by laserlight shows and sometimes fireworks.  We did not stick around for the night show, but be sure to check out the video below!




A 65 meter bunjee cord was the only thing that separated me from my maker.  I didn't scream though. (I couldn't even breathe much less squeal)  I would totally do it again though and I have plans to make that happen. 





More baseball games at Daegu Citizen Stadium.  We root, root, root for the home team (Daegu Samsung Lions) and if they don't win... 안돼군요 'ahn-dwey-goon-yo' = it's a shame



Hiking in the summer heat is not for the faint of heart, but here's a view worth having.

This is a video compilation I made.  (MOM click the box above these words) As the title suggests, it is my summer in South Korea.  It includes bunjee jumping, white water rafting, spelunking, relaxing with friends, Korean calligraphy class, and some of my summer English camp activities.  I hope you'll watch, it took me a long time putting it together.

The Subway Song!

In my city, the Daegu subway has a lovely jingle that plays when you arrive at the station.  It only plays the full tune when you reach the end of the line; however, I've heard the song almost every day for the past 300 days.  I've finally taken then time to figure out what the words mean (with some help from my good friend Louisa and my Korean coworkers etc).  I thought I'd share it with you.  Daegu Subways: Happy DTRO!

 "밝은 세상 함께 만들어요 해피디트로 
Let's build a bright world together, Happy DTRO (Daegu Metro)

희망의 길 힘차게 달려요 해피디트로
Hope to ride quickly, Happy DTRO

아름다운 꿈을 모아 행복을 키워요
Beautiful dreams of growing up happy

건강하고 여유로운 우리 누리 가꿔요
Let's cultivate happiness and relaxation

다정한 이웃처럼 변함없는 친구처럼
Kind neighbors become friends forever

우리 곁엔 웃음 가득한 대구도시철도
Daegu railway is full of smiles and laughter

밝은 세상 함께 만들어요 해피디트로
Let's build a bright world together, Happy DTRO

희망의 길 힘차게 달려요 해피디트로
Hope to ride quickly, Happy DTRO"

Fan Death and the DUI Checkpoint

THIS IS A VIDEO I MADE
In Korea, people believe that an oscillating fan has the ability to kill you while you sleep.  All of the fans come with a sleep timer.  Check out "fan death" on wikipedia.  The DUI checkpoint in Korea is quite interesting.  Police funnel cars into a corridor of cones.  At the entrance to the corridor, the driver sticks his or her head out the window.  Without actually stopping the car, he/she blows into something that looks like a walkie talkie.  In the time that it takes you to drive through the cone corridor at maybe 5mph, the results from the breathalyzer walkie talkie device have emerged, and the police officer at the other end either allows you to proceed or he cuffs-and-stuffs you.  I thought it was interesting because they (the police) don't ever speak to you or ask questions, they don't ask that you stop your car, and a Korean breathalyzer looks like something from Star Trek.  Live long and prosper.

 I am coming home in August for a visit.  These photo's are representative of my excitement to see friends and family.

 These were river lanterns (pictured above) were set up for Buddha's birthday celebration.  They looked really spectacular at night when they were lit, but I never had the camera handy.  Below are the photo's I took from my visit to Busan for the Hyundae Beach Sand Festival.  The photo's were mostly of the parade and the sand castles (I put my camera away for fear that it might get sand in it or possibly get wet).  It was a fantastic time.

If you haven't already, please watch the video located at the top of this post.  I spent time on it and I think you might enjoy it.

Kindergarten Festival

Last Saturday I came to help at my school's kindergarten festival.  The kids came with their siblings and parents, and we had our own small carnival for them to enjoy.  The kides rotated around in groups of 6 or 7 to different stations that led activity-based-learning.  The different stations touched on music, craft, cooking, dance, language, and science.  My station was the English art zone, where we did oil/water marbling while learning to how to spell our names using the English alphabet.  It was a wild mess; enjoy the photos.   

Spring Sprang Sprung

I'm back to work on keeping a chronicle of my adventures.  March and April included some fun changes of pace and scenery.  First, the school news:  I've got some new coworkers with whom I teach English.  I'll wait to introduce them once I get my next disposable camera developed.  My vice principal has returned from her one-month teacher training.  We are still waiting to hear if she'll be promoted and fast-tracked to another school (as the head honcho principal).  Our school has just broken ground on a gymnasium.  Lastly, you can now meet my students if you so desire.  After some real personal effort, I now have webcam/webcast capabilities in all of my classrooms (via Skype).

This sea dragon guards the port city of Busan.  I went for a visit during the weekend of Saint Patrick's day.  

Got some spectacular views from the Busan tower.  It is MUCH taller than the tower in Daegu (featured earlier in the blog somewhere).  The city is not decorated green for the holiday.  Many building owners use the green color chemical to bond and seal the roof because it is cost effective and energy efficient.  In the upper left of the photo is Hyundae Beach where I went to see the fireworks festival earlier in the year.  

This gives you a better view of the East Sea (Koreans don't like to call it the sea of Japan).    Busan is Korea's second largest city behind Seoul.  It was a hoot, and I can't wait to get back to Hyundae Beach in the hot summer weather for some people watching and also the Sand Sculpting Festival.  

This illustration was created by one of the students.  Their assignment was to design and advertise a sale (with emphasis on adjectives, descriptive words, and new vocabulary).  This student obviously has a gift for marketing.  

These next few images come from an evening trip to the local cherry blossom festival in Jinhae (very close to Daegu).   

The cherry blossoms themselves are white, but at night the festival organizers arrange color-changing LED lights that make the whole area seem like the forest from Alice in Wonderland.  It was a very cool spot to stroll during the night.  

Daisy:  What kind of a garden do you come from?
Alice: Oh, I don't come from any garden.
Daisy:  Do you suppose she's a wildflower?

This was the same area in Jinhae, only this photo was taken during the fading light.  My shoes got wet, but the photo facing up the tiny river came out well.  The weather has been heavenly recently.    

More photos and videos are coming soon; however, I am quite busy and I appreciate your patience (looking at you now Henry).  Last but not least, a special happy birthday to my mom!  In her words "old enough to be wise, and wise enough to be Solomon"  click the video link below to see a short video I put together from clips I recorded around my school.

In Korean, Happy Birthday = 'CHO-uhn SENG-eel chook-HAHM-ni-DA"

Easter in the East

So! I am moving my apartment next Thursday. My utilities cost too much, and my landlord is not willing to help improve on my energy efficiency (or negotiate or listen). So I'm moving to a much nicer place with modern equipment and a VIEW! And it's only about 10 minutes walking distance from the subway. I'm really excited, and I'm really busy trying to get ready. Seeing as it may be some time before I get nestled in, I thought it would be a good time for a photo dump.

This photo was from the wedding of my dear friends Kim Eun Jang (bride) and Yoon Jang Seok (groom). The ceremony was very fast (about 45 minutes). As a wedding gift, I learned to sing a Korean love song. I accompanied myself on guitar. As I finished, I grabbed my camera and snapped a photo of the view from the altar (stage left)

Seated on the right are my principal (Mr. Kim Jong Jin) and Vice Prinicipal (Mrs. Oh Soon Hwa). During the ceremony, everybody chats and plays with their cellphones and fidgets. There's an announcer, and it's sort of like a game show where there is a musical guest and the contestants get married at the end. This represents a more modern and westernized style of Korean wedding.

The beautiful bride coming down the aisle. She is now pregnant with a baby girl, and her delivery date is in late June. The wedding was really quite an experience. I've got quite a few photos left to describe, so suffice to say that it was very cool and I was proud to be a part of it.

This is Daegu's first public library. Now the springtime is in full bloom and I have no enthusiasm for my Korean grammar practice or much reading.

My friends Marsha (right) and Rebecca (3rd from right) are now on the Daegu Roller Derby Team. It's centrifugal combat on wheels. They've both been kind enough to come support me and my badminton endeavor, so I'm a proud spectator of the Derby Gals.

The days pronunciation practice. I did explain that 'fly lice' is a nonsensical thing to say.

Look at the size of this tollbooth! The Seoul Toll. My friend emailed it to me. Yes it is photoshopped. But in the words of a great man: "The problem with internet photo's is that you can't always depend on their accuracy" -Abraham Lincoln-
One of my coworkers modeling a coat that she had put on lay-away at the department store.
One of my school's fifth grade teachers and her husband. We sometimes meet for coffee and language exchange on weekday afternoons. She gave me a very nice sweater for my birthday, which is why I am feeling terribly about drawing a blank on her name right now. (It's definitely three syllables)
These next few photos are my alumni! My sixth graders are now middle school first graders.


I am proud of you all! Come back to visit me anytime :) DUKIN FIGHTING!
She won some kind of award and she asked to be in a photo with me ^^ I quickly wound my disposable camera and asked for a duplicate.
Now onto the late-night photo's. My friends Thai, John, and Jules getting cocktails on our way to Che's birthday party

My hair is starting to get long. It is possible that I will get a perm this Saturday. For REAL.

We played a beverage game called "Tourettes." The name may be somewhat insensitive to those people who have been diagnosed with the disorder; however, the game is a riot.

Harry and Hilary

Myself and Stephanie.

Daegu continues to be a wonderful experience. I am glad to have some nice spring weather. I wish everyone reading this a very happy and restful Easter holiday. I hope that if you get a call from a weird number on your cell phone, be brave and pick it up. It might be me calling (I got my calling card charged up and I've been trying to call family and friends more often)