And wrapping up my chronicle of The Philippines

The other side of my new Advanced Diver's License

The last day we spent sightseeing and shopping. This was a way of killing time off-resort while we waited for our bodies to readjust to being above water for 24 hours.
(Warning, science alert)
You see, when diving, nitrogen compressed in the air in your tank stays compressed in your body. The compressed nitrogen dissolves more readily in one's blood, and thus, if that person suddenly resurfaced, the excess nitrogen dissolved would basically undissolve, causing what is known as "Decompression Sickness" or "The bends." Actually, although we take measures to slowly return to the surface and avoid it, the nitrogen levels in our blood still do not fully re-adjust for many hours. Therefore, if we were to fly shortly thereafter, it would induce a similar or possibly more severe case of The Bends. In addition to the Nitrogen issue, the sinus passages and in general the respiratory system can become inflamed due to the changes in pressure, and if not adjusted properly, can trap compressed air which then will expand in a high-altitude setting and cause severe pain.
Ok, science lesson over.
Summary: If we fly within 24 hours of our last dive, severe pain/sickness.
So we waited.

Um, "Buddy Christ"?

And I saw this wonderful Bleeding Heart Jesus Statue in a cathedral next to Magellan's Cross. Man, people are serious about some Christianity. But this being in the cathedral was comical. I guess seeing Dogma made me lose some of my reverence.

Shopping. Gigantic shopping mall. Most of my students don't speak English well. I spent about 30 minutes getting money changed and directing a few of the ones I could help. Then I abandoned everyone to look around on my own.
Everywhere you go, people are people. The sky is still the sky.
I saw college students in school uniforms playing DDR. And bored Filippino Nike store workers. And Jollibee.
For those of you that don't know, Jollibee is like McDonalds, only kinda creepy. So actually I guess it's just like McDonalds.
I found a clothing shop called Human that I really liked. My style clothes. And not expensive. Apparently an originally Filippino clothing company. I rocked about $60 and got a bunch of stuff.
Then we came back .
Waiting for planes sucks.
What sucks more is that when I extended my Visa for the second year of teaching here, the extension on my Visa was not a "Multiple-Entry" Visa. And I was not told this. I found out later that even the people who renewed my Visa (as in Daejeon's official Immigrations Office) did not know this. So what happened? Well, obviously, they confiscated my Registration Card. (like a Green Card) I had unknowingly invalidated it by leaving the country and attempting to return. And my Visa was completely nullified and cancelled. I am on the verge of finally correcting this, but it is too much a headache to discuss further right now.

Me in Korean Airport Mode.
Which is not unlike flip mode.
I throw down.
On Swine influenza, that is.

Lastly, I had the odd experience of running into about 40-some soldiers fromthe US Army and Air Force waiting for buses in exactly the same place we were supposed to meet ours. I felt bad for talking with my students about them in Korean. I know they couldn't understand me. But we didn't say anything bad. Just "Hey, are these Americans?" "Yeah, they look like Americans. Accent is American. Oh, look, there's a tag, yeah, they're American." And then I said, very kindly, and in English, "Welcome to Korea." For which I just got weird looks. Then one of my students laughed. That didn't help. Awkward.

So, who has an advanced scuba license?

Yeah, add another point to my resume.

Luc does.

Alright, scuba was not bad. In fact, I was worried I'd forgotten everything, but I hadn't. Just a few small things. Like which direction my BC connects to my air tank. And that if you stop-breathe (hold your breath momentarily at the end of exhalation or inhalation) for a long time, you come out of the water with a headache. I'd also forgotten the strange sensation of my sinuses being basically inflated. It feels like the passage between your nose and mouth is somehow closing, and you want to blow your nose or something, but that's impossible. So, after the first 1 or 2 nervous dives on the first day, I was fine. We did 3 dives, rested, ate, and played for about 6 hours, then went for 1 night dive. (Only a small group. I was leader of the Advanced-Course group of students) The night diving was incredible, but a bit scary. I know I used considerably more air than normal. (Rapid breathing)

Sleep, wake up at 5:30, repeat. The advanced group went out on boats the second day. We did 3 more dives, this time reaching depths of 45 meters, and saw stingrays. (That's 148 feet, or roughly 15 stories underwater. Sweet, right?) We ate and played in the waterpark at a brand new resort where our scuba center was located. The buffet was so awesome it had made-to-order pasta, pizza, and udon, as well as salmon and (holy shit) tuna sashimi. O.O But the best part, (chocoholic warning) was the chocolate fondue fountain.

Sleep, wake up at 5:30, repeat. My advanced course group was broken up to join the 3 normal groups and everyone did boat diving together. The regular course students were so cute because they were like, "Wow! It's a boat! I never thought I'd be on a boat!" As a side note, riding on the front of a boat is still awesome. That evening, we went back to our resort, had a buffet including one of those whole roasted pigs.... apple and everything. (Just like last year, but still, weird) and we all received our licenses. Then we went out to a club. (Yes, me and 30-several of my college age students and the scuba instructor went to a club together.)

Gangster convention.

Before anything else, I forgot to mention that 2 weeks ago this friday was professor Kim's birthday. (My boss) Just because I remembered, he was touched, and the cake and socks the assistants and I gave him moved him. ^^

Cake in the classroom.

So, I had this funny conversation with a friend yesterday that became way more relevant today.
He said last night that he hates people in my department. Wait, what? He hasn't met anyone from my school yet.... But he meant he hates people in sports majors or exercise-related departments. Ah, ok, I get it. Why would someone hate that university department? Because in Korea it's like a fraternity, just being on a sports team or in a sports major. As in most countries, they get excused from classes and exams, etc, they can effectively get away with anything. In Korea, this goes a step further. Because of age-based hierarchies, the senior students can be pretty terrible to the younger ones.... as in, "Hey, go buy me a soda." or "What did you say!? *kick*" and so on. And we've had issues with seniors getting in serious trouble for mistreating their subordinate students. Anyways, I pointed out the gang-like nature of my department, and how even good or intelligent students fall victim to the mob mentality. (Had to teach him that term) Like me. I'm cool, and would have no part in that stuff normally, but I love my students, and when they have a gladiator-like showdown after a class with people cheering all around them, I just smile and watch and think, Oh, my young rowdy students. (Cue fatherly, proud smile)

And guess what I found when I arrived at the University this morning? A gangster's convention in our gym. The national sports games are going on right now, and our university was chosen to host soccer and wrestling. It was a mess. Hundreds of competitors, hundreds of coaches and directors and such. Honestly, all the angry-looking, scar-faced, short, and squat suit clad men silently waging war against each other while waiting for their students to compete was pretty intense. I was intimidated just going in to give my exam in the lower floors. This is my university, for crying out loud, the way they looked at me like I was encroaching on their turf is just ridiculous. I despise those people for creating that kind of atmosphere. It has never been so palpable to me. I have nothing against boxing, martial arts, sports, wrestling, or whatever, but those specific people are a manifestation of the stigma against exercise.
Vent closed.

Check out some new clothes!

Anyways, I had a pretty bad weekend at first, but the end of it washed away my frustrations.

I had a kind of beef last night that you eat with vegetables and a kind of bean sprout. It was excellent. The beef is sliced into thin slivers, and you grill it (each piece takes about 30 seconds) and then put it on a sesame leaf, add bean sprouts, kimchi, onion, garlic, sauce, etc and wrap up the leaf like a mini green burrito and eat. Sounds complicated, and it is unless you're used to korean style, at-the-table-barbeque, but man, it was awesome. I ate till I was stuffed. And I had some Sake with dinner, it came out in a special pitcher that had ice inside a glass bubble inside the pitcher... weird, but cool........ get it?

Oh, and I gave a test today that I made from scratch with scissors and glue and it looks awesome. Labelling body parts. Teacher Luc=ftw

Bow down, people.

I think I should probably be trying harder to maintain my resposibilities. But I have many, so that's no easy thing. I guess everyone faces this dilemma. We fall behind a bit, we get ahead a bit, we feel accomplished, we feel failure. Our nature makes us inconsistent. We waver between desire and duty, between relief and reproach.
Chuseok (추석) is the traditional fall harvest holiday of Korea. It falls on the Autumn Solstice, which is this weekend. Similar in concept to Thanksgiving or Samhain, only without any indians or bonfires. Chuseok does include some religious tradition, however, from Confucianism (not a religion, I know) and Buddhism. Namely, families visit the gravesite of their family's ancestors and offer food, drink, etc as well as clean the area of the gravesite. There's also a special food associated with Chuseok, which is a type of small sweet-filled rice-cake called Songpyeon.
I can feel myself being swept up in a tide of Chuseok fever, like the swell before a holiday in any culture, I suppose. Everyone gets ready for said holiday, makes plans, collects special gear, gathers loved ones or friends, normal schedules are compromised, and lots of money and time get spent. The holiday comes with all it's associated ceremony, memory, reverance, criticism, joy, and festivity. The holiday is celebrated! Then it passes, and is missed. The feeling wears, and people drag themselves back into the parade of days that aren't so special as that one. Our endless numbered days. The wave receeds and the beach is changed, but no less or more flat than before.
I'm jaded, obviously.
I have a new nickname. From David, out of nowhere. Apparently I'm a greek dessert called Lucamades. lol. That one sounds like a greek god's name or something. God of Tasty Treats, LUCAMADES. Just imagine that in a giant booming voice. ^_^

*Sigh* The end of summer.

And how do I know it's the end of summer? The last of the parade of visitors that came here has left. It was: (in order of appearance) Deanna (big sis), Nate+Laura+Maren(big bro & fam), Mom, Ross, Carl. Not sure if I should count Ross, since he didn't explicitly come here to see me, but he left yesterday. So, now I have a little over one week left to relax before classes start.
It's been an intense summer. In retrospect, there were only a few weeks, I think, in which I was not hosting or entertaining someone. And that's way more intense than it sounds. Korean people on average, don't speak English. I mean, there are a lot of catchphrases from English that are well-known or words taken from English, but that doesn't mean a lot. Getting around and staying well-fed are ok, but the best sightseeing, foods, and situations require quite a bit of Korean. (That is, unless you live in Itaewon, in Seoul, where all the foreigners live.) So, just having a parade of people relying on me to basically be a tour guide for them almost every day for several months has taken its toll on me. And then I remember how it was with my Korean friend/roomate the first few months I was here. And then I feel really bad.
I did a lot of travelling around Korea this summer for everyone. And I saw and did a lot of really cool things. And my bank account only suffered a little bit for it. That's pretty awesome. Lots of good pictures and awesome memories.

(following pictures credit to Carl and Ross)

So, it's been a long, crazy week. Got Carl from Gimpo airport, we hung out in Seoul with Ross and Hee Jeong, and Eun Ji. We went to 63 building on the South Side of the river, and drank some beer before Eun Ji had to leave.

The crew parting ways in the Subway. -_-

Then we went to eat dinner and such. Samgyeop-Ssal ftw. I was really surprised at the end of the night when Ross and Carl both agreed to go to a public bathhouse/sauna (찜질방) to stay the night. It's a wonderfully relaxing and cheap way to spend the night. The next day, we went to COEX (largest underground shopping center in Asia) and its aquarium. I like COEX. We then parted ways to head back to Daejeon. Carl and I just hung out and met my friends in Daejeon.

My sexy dinner pose in Daejeon.

He also saw 2 english classes and 2 taekwondo classes. I gave carl some "free-talking" time alone with them so he could see their English ability. I made my students try teaching him taekwondo as a test of their english ability and patience. We also obtained my Foreign Registration card for the coming year.

That's it, folks, it's official, down to the contract and the Visa....... I'm staying.

Carl did not tell me he'd shortened his stay to a week until we went back to Daejeon. Bad huubae. (junior) I was a little pissed about not being able to do much, but I was more sad than anything. oh well. So we went back up to Seoul for a day and a half, stayed in a hotel this time. We went shopping in the super-fashionable Dongdaemun market (where Carl bought possibly the pimpinest polo tee I've ever seen.)


We then failed to make it to the palace (Kyeongbokgung) on time, but we saw lots of cool things along the way. Like Gwanghwamun Plaza:

The recently opened Gwanghwamun plaza.

Then Carl and I went to Jogyesa temple, where we learned that the former president Kim Dae-Jung had died. We also met a very interesting woman who was researching the bronze bells of Korea, and because of her and a very friendly temple attendant we got to walk right up to the 4 sacred intruments at the temple. Pretty cool. I find those instruments fascinating.

Carl in front of the Dharma Drum and the Brahma? Bell

That night we met Ross and Hee jeong again for a bit of shopping in Insa-dong (Carl and I bought awsome hats) and then "The Ice Bar" near Honggik University.

It was so cool, cooler than cool....

"An' what's cooler than bein cool? ICE COLD!"

Hilarious. Once I took a couple basic pictures with Ross' and Carl's cameras, I got excited about the photo opportunities. So I spent most of the rest of the time arranging "glamour shots" like that one. lmao Here's mine:

Yes, that's a glass made of ice. And a fur hood.
And that makes me a total b-a.

Deep thoughts.
Manly deep thoughts.
And Ice.
Sub-Zero, for Men

Then Ross went totally crazy.
And killed Carl.
While Heejeong and I stood aside and laughed and took pictures.

And then we went to another place to play darts and so on.

The next morning, Carl and I failed again to see the palace, this time on account of sleeping too late+rain. But we saw the palace museum instead, and then I bid Carl farewell at Gimpo.

It's been a damn good summer, everyone. To those of you that visited, I worked damn hard for you, and some things failed, (I'm not a perfect tour guide yet,) but I'll remember those golden times in Korea with you all for the rest of my life. It was beautiful. And I was really happy. ^^,
To those of you that didn't come, I thought about you a lot. You know, I love the people in my life back there in NC and here in Korea. To be honest, my people are the only reason I even want to come back to NC. So even if you didn't come to visit, and even if I hardly ever talk to you...... Well, when I look at the sky, I think of you, and smile.
*LOVES*