Let the Good Times Roll!

Sooo remember that time, ohhhhh, about 8 months ago where I was bitching and moaning about how (GASP!) BORED I was??  To quote myself (is that proper blog etiquette?): 

"I came to Korea expecting to be blown away with how different and strange and foreign it is.  I wanted to be able to feast on dog, and go to a Buddhist temple and get a new soul (according to that Mayan Shaman, I am in dire need of a replacement)....I guess I wasn't expecting to end up in such a... sterile environment.  But then I guess the source of my issues isn't necessarily this environment, but my expectations.  Maybe I'm too culturally insensitive and dense to perceive the subtle nuances that make this culture exciting and unique.  Perhaps the year in Central and South America dulled my senses.  Perhaps, unless I'm being hit by a neon-colored, reggaeton blaring chicken bus, I can't recognize culture." 

I was wrong.  Wrong, wrong, wrong.  I'll admit it.  It's not that I couldn't recognize culture (really, isn't everything that surrounds us technically part of culture?)  It's that I didn't think I'd have to work to find my happiness. (God, how lazy can I BE?) Anways, once I figured out that the fun times weren't going to magically appear on my front doorstep (this isn't South America after all!), I learned to be a lot more proactive in my quest for the goodtimes.

In the months that have passed since writing that post, I HAVE feasted on dog:

More beer, please!

It tastes exactly how it looks.  No, actually it tastes worse.

and visited several Buddhist temples:

and gotten a new Seoul:

Pretty sure this is what the Mayan Shaman had in mind...

And while I didn't get hit by a neon chicken bus, I did get hit by a black KIA last weekend (don't worry, I'm mostly okay). 

So, there. Check, check, check.  

In the months that have passed, things have shifted.  I'm no longer an outsider (ehhh, let's be honest though, I'll ALWAYS be an outsider).  But I no longer feel like a tourist wishing I'd picked a different vacation spot.  I've settled into Korean life, and I'm in love with it!

I still dislike the town that I live in (boring!)  but have learned to cope with that.  Namely, I leave it as often as possible.  In Korea, oftentimes the company men will go into Seoul and stay at 'Officetels' (hotels for office workers) for the week, and then go back home to their family for the weekend.  A friend was commenting to me the other day that I have adopted the opposite lifestyle. I only hang around home when I have to be at work, and then take off to go stay in Seoul or travel somewhere else around the country on the weekends. 

Because of my eagerness to get outta town, I've managed to see a LOT of this country. So here is a whirlwind tour of what I've been up to since April:

I've found friends...

...who I ADORE!

I got dressed up as a Korean tramp....

...and then mobbed by the Ajumma paparazzi...

I gambled at the Seoul Race Tracks....

...and then got a riding lesson.

I made more friends.  I hugged more friends.

I got a lesson on clam digging.

I did some island biking.

I went deep sea fishing.

I climbed this rock.

I took this picture to aggravate my mom.

I celebrated gay pride!

I joined an ultimate frisbee league! (I'm mostly the team drunk)

I partied!

I partied some more!

I watched some soccer.  We lost.

I got to see my parents!!! And hope we didn't all perish in the extreme heat!

I went bungee jumping!  Eek!

Someone let me drive an ATV... questionable judgement...

I went rafting on the world's most crowded river.

I went river trekking..

I tried to find where I was on a map (and gave up).

I explored a beach...

 

...and another beach....

...and another beach....

...and another beach...

...and yet another beach!

I partied at a music fest...

...and enjoyed a laser show.

In short, life has been happening.  In South America, I travelled with some really rad friends, and we used to have "all the fun, all the time".  

I finally feel like I'm getting to have all the fun, again.  It feels good.  Real, real goooooood.