Olympic Dragon Dancing for Chinese New Year - Feb 13 & 14

Happy year of the tiger everyone!

What's the best way to ring in the new year? Hmmm how about running around waving a gigantic silk dragon with 20ish of your new best friends for an audience of 20,000?

Things last Sunday definitely went awesome. In addition to perfect weather, everyone who saw us really had a good time. The Taoist Tai Chi website is keeping tract of the websites that are posting about the event HERE.

The weekend started off like last week

Double Dragon Dancing in Vancouver - First Practice - Feb 6 & 7

My taichi centre is doing a very interesting thing for Lunar New Year in conjunction with the Olympics. The centre apparently owns the largest Chinese dragon in Canada, so it was invited to do a performance and taichi demonstration that will be performed in the O Zone performance area in Richmond.

New Updates - Dec 25

Ugh, I don't like the idea of posting stuff out of order, I find it confusing. But some of this stuff is old, so it would be buried under new posts. So I'll have a page in the beginning to show when new stuff has been added. It will also be a motivator to finish posting stuff that I haven't gotten around to doing yet.

Dec 25: My 25th Birthday - Aug 7-8

Nov 11: Baseball - Doosan Bears vs. LG Twins - April 11, and Dobangsan - June 28

Nov 5: Doohee's Concert, Cheeky in Myeong Dong

Nov 4: I finished my 24th Birthday, Namsangol Hanok Village, Cute Kids at Lynn's, Hapkido, Saturday Class, and Konglish.

Nov 2, 3 edit: I did some work! Buddha's Birthday and Kyeongju Trip I are finished!

March 7-8 edit: Halloween, Boryeong Mud Festival, The Last Jackie's Hiking Trip, Dr. Fish, and the Yeoido Fire Festival are finished!

Feb 24 edit: Thailand and Bali are finished!


To do list:
2008
Mokpo - Aug 15
Osaka and Kyoto - visa run take 2 Dec 15-18
Children's Grand Park

2009
Musangsa Kyol Che - Jan 24-31
White Day - March 15 (ajummas workout)
Cherry Blossoms
Shaman Ritual Festival - April 19
Lotus Lantern Festival - April 26
Musangsa - Buddha's Birthday - May 2-5
Doyang Sabunim's baby's 100 day anniversary
Chiang Mai - July 26 - Aug 2
Jon's going away party - Sept 5
Hapkido Black Belt test - Sept 26
Konglish - Only in Korea
Musangsa - Cheusok retreat - Oct 2-4
Photography lesson - Oct 24
Suwon Fortress Palace - Hwaseong Haenggung - Oct 25
Gyeongbukgung - Nov 8
Haeshindang Park and Hwanseongul - Nov 14-15
Last Chance Musangsa - Nov 21
Going Away Party - 28
Last Day at Lynn's - Nov 30
Hapkido Going Away Party - Dec 1
Arrival in Canada - Dec 4
Around Halifax
New Glasgow
Toronto
Reunion with the Fam
Christmas in Lethbridge

2010
Arriving in Victoria
Around Victoria
Goldstream Park

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all! I have journeyed long and far, and I have made my return home for the first Christmas with my family in 5 years. What do I reap from my harvest of family tidings? Sentimentality and comfort. I am so relieved to be home and have it feel so normal. I know of all the things Korea has given to me, it has clearly retrieved my sense of family value. I am so lucky to be able to share things with my family, immediate and extended. I have never been so close to so many people I'm related to.

Christmas has always been a time of good feelings and family traditions. I love Christmastime. It was hard in Korea when it wasn't so important to the rest of the country. I didn't know much or relate well to the more important Korean holidays of Cheusok or Lunar New Year. Christmas is the BIGGEST holiday for Canada, and I've always felt it's a time of showing others and especially family you care and love them.

I mean, in the past there was a fair share of drama to liven up the cold evenings cooped up with people who "weren't speaking" to each other, but not this year. I just see and feel lots of normal happiness with love everywhere. I really feel loved by my family, and I really feel like this is an excellent Christmas.

May everyone find joy and their moment of solace this holiday.

Changing Gears

As of December 4, 2009, my time as an expat ESL teacher in Korea has finished. I am taking a short family and friends visiting trip during December, then off to Victoria in January to study Oriental Medicine.

May the spinning whirlwind and shaking up of my life once again begin!

Only in Korea

The things that exist here, can only be believed with photo evidence:

Christians are extremely creative here. This is a steeple of a Church near Sungsin University Station with, yes that's right, the Messiah climbing a ladder to the top. Everybody, wave to Jesus!

This cake was given to me from a student. I gotta love the signature.

I saved the best for last. On a bus headed out by Dangsan station on line 5, Aaron spied this piece of artistry:

I wonder if they pour beer with head or without...

One Month Countdown

Today is now one month left until I take the plane back home to Canada. I will have been living and travelling in Asia for 2 years 3 months when I go. I'm beginning to feel the crunch to finish everything on time. Like going on paperwork things, finishing my student loan application as well as banking paperwork here. Also, I have like stuff to buy some good souvieners and things that are just easier to buy here, pack and ship home, not to mention make sure I "see" everything that I've been putting off. Lots to do. I don't intend to waste any time.

Korea Places 25 Out of 30 in a Global Happiness Index

From a kids newspaper my school subscribes to:

Switzerland Is the World’s Happiest Country (30-10-2009)

According to this year’s OECD’s NIW (National Index of Well-being)국가행복지수, Switzerland is the happiest country. The data was released on October 22, after studying 30 OECD경제협력개발기구 member countries in many different areas such as economy, social networking, and general well-being. According to the results, Switzerland ranked top.

Other European countries including Norway, Sweden, and Austria followed next. In North America, Canada was named the happiest country. The U.S. ranked 20th on the list. In Asia, Japan appeared to be the happiest country - it ranked 18th place in the list.

Sadly, however, Korea ranked 25th among the 30 member countries. The other 5 unhappy countries after Korea were Poland, Slovakia, Mexico, Hungary and Turkey.

Educational Materials

As quoted from a Korean-based English textbook:

"When you turn me on, I make a loud noise."

Gotta love when things get overlooked...

BTW: I totally had a kid spell six S-E-X today! Heehee