Calligraphy at HanBeopSa

APEC Day

A line of police guarding BEXCO, one of the sites of the APEC conference.








Gwangali Bridge at night.








A phalanx of police outside of Haeundae subway station, near the primary site of the APEC conference.





The day GWB touched ground in Busan, a few of us went looking for trouble. Unfortunately, there was none to be found. We were warned profusely about the volatility of protests in Asia, and were tremendously disappointed when we were the only pedestrians on streets we had anticipated to be seething with protesters. However, the beach was deserted.

T'aejongdae

Zach and Drew in an old Military Foxhole








Drew and Andrea on a Boat Tour










T'aejongdae Lighthouse

Sunset over the water

Catch Up

Ok, so the fact is, I havent really devoted any time to 'updating' per se, though hopefully the pics with barebones narration does the trick. I've been in Busan for a while, long enough to have a sense of the city and confidently order food, but not long enough to stop looking around everywhere I go. Life is good. I eat everything regardless of smell or appearance, and have yet to truly dislike anything set in front of me (though I've not yet tried dog or silkworm larvae). Andrea and I have been exploring the city in increments, balancing the cultural and the alcoholic, with hopefully good results. This past weekend we attended a buddhist temple to learn traditional Korean calligraphy, and the week before we went to T'aejongdae, and the week before we went to Haeundae (see pics below). Satisfied?

Haeundae Beach

Andrea at Haeundae Beach










Sunset at Gwangali Bridge








Haeundae Beach at Night

Hiking Pt. 1 and 2

1.

Andrea in Hadan, about 10 minutes walk from our house,

finding the trail that leads up the mountain that lies directly behind our apartment building.







Andrea and Drew, 30 minutes walk from our apartment, halfway up the mountain.

2 Going Solo

A shot of Busan from near the top of the mountain behind our house.







Drew, self-portrait, having reached the apex.

Going Out?

Dinner: Korean Bar-b-que
Drew, Evan, Andrew, Sunny, Carolyn, Andrea (photographer)








Noraebang what? Soju?







Noraebang: Private Karaoke Room
Soju: Sweet Potato Liqour, .5 the strength of Vodka, about $1 a bottle.





Payphone/Canned Coffee/Pepsi Dispenser

Around the City

Andrea in Hadan (where we live)







Quick shot of the area where we live--its Toronto equivalent would be the Bathurst/King area in terms of how it looks, though for Busan we are near the far western edge of the city.




Carolyn and Andrea and Drew in Seomyeon








Seomyeon: One of the three or four downtown areas (incl. Nampo-dong, Dongnae, Texas Street, Haeundae Beach Area, Kyungsundun). Evan and Carolyn's neighbourhood. The neon is blinding in the evening, and it is a sea of milling people.

Eating and Other Adventures

Eating Samgeopsal at a street restaurant with Denis, the other English teacher at my school.






Samgeopsal: Fried Pork Slices, do-it-yourself on the grill in front of you, wrapped in a piece of lettuce/sesame leaves with red pepper paste/soya sauce, and eaten in one bite.


A random kitten beneath my foot.







Cats: In Korea are not pets as they are in Canada. Most often wild, tail-less (through accident, not breed), and used exclusively as pest control.

Leaving

Vancouver - Seoul









Incheon International Airport



The flight was nothing to speak of (nothing positive, anyway), and for those who cannot help but wonder--yes, we flew Air Canada. The reasons why the flight sucked (itemized):

1. A flight attendant spilled hot coffee on me twenty minutes into the flight.
2. A flight attendant then told me "shit happens."
3. A flight attendant filled our overhead compartment with paperplates and plastic cups, so there wasn't any room for our carry-on baggage.
4. A flight attendant then told me "not my problem."
5. A flight attendant locked our carry-on baggage in a secret compartment, and we had no access to it during the flight.
6. Many flight attendants had verbal confrontations in french in front of Andrea and I, assuming we couldn't understand. Note: We could.

Of course, once we landed in Seoul we still had to fly to Busan. That was when we found that our recruiter had booked us on flights that were leaving from a different airport (Gimpo, while we landed at Incheon), and there was no way for us to make that flight, which was about a 1 hour bus ride distant. At this point, though, after 30 hours of sleepless, uninterrupted daylight, everything was hilarious.

Sorry About The Wait.....

It's been a long time, but finally I managed to drag my ass into a smoke filled internet cafe (locally known as PC Bangs), with the intention of updating and emailing, and it's hard to know when/where to begin. It's surprising to believe that I've been here for six weeks already, and the time has really flown. Anyways, pertinent info only, as promised, with some pics to spice it up.