Happy F’n New Year
Good news: There has been less and less blood in my cough-matter over the last day and a half! I begin to feel better!
Bad news: Well, the expected: homesickness, culture shock, loneliness, that whole business.
Our plan is (tentatively) to stay here in Korea for at least a couple of years to pay off debts and save money. Today, I’m thinking if I get to the end of my contract, it’ll be a small miracle. Some days I love Korea, others I hate it. But honestly, being here solo, in a city one quarter the size of Seoul, is harder than I thought. There are, it seems, far fewer expats. A lot of the expats here do the same as they did up in Seoul: drink. Man, people here get sauced, regularly. Now I like a beer as well as the next guy, but I don’t want this year (or more) to be a big, nauseous blur. I want to leave with my wallet bursting, in good form, good health, and a good frame of mind. Only two weeks in, and I am adopting other strange coping mechanisms. My CD-player does a good job of insulating me from the constant noise and alien bantering, but God have mercy, I only have 4 discs, and I’ve played them to death. I sing out loud in public to drown out the noise. I eat lots, and constantly drink instant coffee (which you can get out of dispensers everywhere you go for about 40 cents a pop). I talk to myself, openly, in public and in private. I obsessively read all the Korean signs around me, correctly forming words orally that have absolutely no meaning for me. All in all, I need a routine, lest I go irreversibly mad.
My classes begin again tomorrow, which I actually look forward to, in part simply because I will have interaction, with students and other teachers. I would like to join a gym but A) I have some health issues that make working out unpleasant and B) the one local gym I’ve found out about in Haeundae costs about $150 a month… Pffffffff! I’d like to get into a Korean language class or something on weekends, and then maybe attend Buddhist lectures or something (I found some in English on Sundays… a long trip from here, though). I’d like to get into a band, for sure. I’m planning a full length feature film, a musical, so I’ll need a good camera. Come summer, I’ll be set up for weekends. There is a slightly quieter beach near my school where you can surf, windsurf, rent jet-skis, etc. Apparently, for an annual fee of about $700, you can have free access to all of it, so that sounds good. But winter? Still 3 more months of the shit to go! Hurry up summer. Hurry up Nic!
My New Years Eve party:
Well, perhaps you’ll laugh, or maybe you’ll end up depressed, but check out my New Years Eve… After a day of sitting in a PCBang (the one I’m in now, in fact) surfing around looking for things to do in Busan if you don’t speak Korean, I returned home and read my fat epic fantasy novel. I took a few pictures on the beach, but it was cloudy. I ate ramyon for supper, again. Finally, around 5pm, I said “fuck it!”, I didn’t care how sick I felt, I was going to do something. SO I jumped on the subway and went to Gwangali beach. Felt like complete crap, but walked around and took some pictures. Some young local had carved a giant Buddha head out of sand, so I took what I hope turn out to be some pretty sweet shots with the lights of Gwangali bridge and various neon lights and circus rides in the background. This got me a public scolding from a reverent old Korean man. I actually felt quite bad, and slipped away sheepishly. When I looked back, flashes were going off like Bagdad around the sand Buddha head, so I didn’t feel so bad. Jumped on the subway. Went back to my quiet, sick-smelling apartment, and again, read. Nicole called me at about 11 just as I was falling asleep. Heard some fireworks shooting off at the turn of the hour and year. Stayed awake till 12:30 watching a Buddhist program in English about how we’re all going to essentially rot. Sat up and coughed violently a bit, and then went to sleep.
whooo wooohoo happy new year
Tee Cha Su Tee Bun
ps photos coming soon……………………………………………………………………..
