Tall Tales From A Short Canadian

Anyong,

My recent silence online could be indicitive of several things: my riveting rockstar lifestyle, my religious vow of silence, my fasting from all forms of media, or my business doing things of great importance… but it isn’t. In fact, I have had nothing of interest to write about, or when I occasionally have thought of something worthy of publication, I have been too lazy to write about it online. Traveling? None. Adventure? Not really. Teaching and going out for food and drinks pretty much sums it up. I have been seeing a doctor of Oriental medicine. He pokes me full of pins twice a week for three dollars a pop. Not bad, considering how much an uninsured visit to the hospital in Canada cost me before I came here. I shaved my head a month ago, and am about to reshave it today. My hair will be completely grey later today, as I have decided to quit dying it and am now down to the last tips of yellow. It is Saturday, early afternoon. I have quit drinking again. It has been 8 hours now. Check out these pics from a day trip we took with our friends two weeks ago.

Above: Tim the kiwi and his Korean wife, Sujeong. Tim is the head teacher at our Hagwon. It was a blustery day on Jinha beach, an hour or so drive north of Busan. It was quiet following the departure of about 20 rowdy middle-agers who moshed to some obscenely loud traditional celebratory songs. They brought us chicken soup and watermelon before they left.

We made kimchi chiggae on the beach, and cooked up some bulgogi (marinated meat), sipped red wine and played frisbee until it started to rain. With a couple bottles of soju for the drive, we went back to Busan. As they sometimes do when we find ourselves in the company of this fun but dangerous couple, things got kind of carried away. We ended up (how, I’m not sure!) at a little soju hof where we broke out my guitar and had a big singalong with an older couple that were pretty stoked to hear live renditions–albiet messy renditions–of Niel Diamond and Elvis songs. Here they are below.

And below, myself with the ajuma of the house, wearing the Nederlands soccer jersey I stole from Nicole.

My camera takes awful night and indoor pictures, for some reason. However, the effect of the long exposure of these pictures actually matches my recollections of the night with great accuracy… yellow, smeared, dizzy… soju is evil. I have recently learned that soju is made by mixing cheap vodka with nail polish remover, water, and dog urin, and then leaving a heavy, rusty chain in it for four days.

And this was a Sunday night. Honestly, we’re very good and sober during the week! What else is new? We are saving money. We are getting another apartment in the same building because the one we currently inhabit is very small and has recently become infested with Pakweebolles… that’s Korean for cockroaches!  The beach is getting busier and busier, my hair is getting whiter and my skin darker, we’re both getting fatter (because the food here is just so damn good), and our bank account balances are getting fatter, too. That’s about it. Friends and family back home, we send our love in your direction.

Cheers from the tip of a congested penninsula,

Suteebun