Holy Crap, He's Back!

That's right folks, after a solid month of postlessness, I'm back in action! A little explanation is in order, I guess. Like I had said previously, the end of July and beginning of August marked a joyful period of time known as intensives. Before intensives started, my head teacher John had mentioned that they were planning on doing a new class based on an interview that the kids had to do to get into the international schools here in Korea. It was a class only our branch had planned on doing, so there were no materials for the class and it would have to be entirely made up. Stupid me, I thought, "Awesome, a chance for a little creativity and chance to experiment with all this teacherliness!" So I jumped at the chance, not thinking what was in store for me. When about the 3rd week set in, I was getting so exhausted at the end of the week that death sounded like sweet release. But anyways, I made it through, and after a couple of weeks of recovery time, I feel much more like normal Erick, whatever that might entail.

Things are going well here; it's a new term, and though I definitely miss things about the last term quite a bit still, it's onward and upward! I'm teaching a new set of classes that I wasn't previously trained on, so it's been a learning experience, but apparently people think that I'm up for it, so I take that as some sort of good sign (right?). I'm working Saturdays now, which kinda sucks since I don't really have a solid couple of days off anymore, but it's one class and not something very unheard of here in Korea, so it's fine. I've got a gym membership and have been trying to get into a more healthy routine instead of staying up super late every night going out and waking up groggy and mopey.

We went to the beach yesterday, which was fun except for being there for 5 hours and getting a nice burn victim red on my skin. In Korea, there's a specific beach season that starts at some unknown (to me, at least) date somewhere towards the end of June and lasts through August. It finally ended this weekend completely, which is fantastic for a number of reasons. First of all, let's outline a typical beach visit, Korean-style: one first gets fully dressed, pants and hat and whatnot, and heads over with the fam. When one gets there (Haeundai is the nicest one, but there are a couple others that are not quite so bad/nice), he/she proceeds to swim through a veritable sea of people to the beach. How does one know where the beach is? Why, where the perfect row after row of umbrellas are, of course! Silly me, why would I want to see the sand? If one wants to jump in the water, one should grab a yellow intertube or just walk right in with the shoulder to shoulder wall of swimmers that crowd the shallow end. Why not go out deeper? Because there is a line about 15 feet out where no one can cross, under penalty of incessant whistling from one of the now-present lifeguards that never seem to leave the makeshift towers where they sit. And of course, don't think to have any fun while on the beach, as any kinda of ball or enjoyment is prohibited. So now that that's over, the beach is a much more pleasurable experience.

Lately, the other teachers at our branch have been hanging out altogether much more. Sadly, we lost two teachers after the end of this term, but then we just got two more. They're pretty cool guys, and we've gotten to bring them out and show them around more. We've also become known in the area for being a branch that sticks together, like a teacher gang except without the drugs and guns and murder (ok, maybe a little of each...). I've developed a few favorite haunts around the Busan area, so here's a list for yall.

Seomyeon area (where I live):
Dakgalbi restaurant (right across from the Lotte department store): One of the first places we ever went out to when we first got here, Dan and I love this place despite it being not very typical Korean food. Basically, it's fried rice and chicken that are made right in front of you at the table. But what really makes it is the cheese. That's right, they add cheese to the middle, and it's amazing! A favorite after-work haunt.

Mandu place (next door to the dakgalbi place): Mandu is Korean dumplings and you can find them all over the place, but this place is the best I've found yet. It's a typical Korean place; you go in and grab a table, and they feed you quick so you can be up and out of there with little time for pleasantries. Boiled and fried are the best, and the jajangmyung (brown noodles, Chinese-style) is pretty damn good too. Another favorite work place.

Yakisoba restaurant (near the big cross street, between a bakery and a bar called Girl and Beer): A relatively new find for us, this place has some delicious Japanese-style BBQ. Korea is also big on set meals, which means you pay a larger amount for a variety of food to share with everyone at the table. This place has some great sets, and they have Asahi on tap!

Guri bar (new place, hidden in the mean streets): The first bar I came to here in Busan, it just reopened at a new location. The place is pretty chill, and the owner knows us all, which is cool. Dan thinks it may be mob-owned because of how the other bartenders talk to the owner guy, but I dunno.

Gwangalli beach area:
Thursday party (ummm, on the beach? About halfway down): Somehow, we always seem to end up at this bar on the weekend. A lot of the foreigners in the area meet there, especially the teachers, so you see a lot of people you know. Also, it's right across the street from the beach, so you can play around on the sand and buy some fireworks for a nice Roman candle fight. Just try not to fire into the street; people don't seem to appreciate it.

Haeundai beach area:
OPS bakery (side street between the beach and subway stop): A delicious Western-style bakery that's a must when you're hanging out at the beach all day. They have nice sandwiches, amazing chocolate croissants, and fantastic raspberry smoothies. However, they only seem to have two cds that they play incessantly: Mariah Carey and Maroon 5.

Mexican place (down an alley off the OPS street): Supposedly the only decent Mexican place in the Busan area (sez everyone else, I haven't tested other places yet), the owner used to live in Southern California and has supplies shipped in to make pretty damn good burritos and tacos and whatnot. You only ever see foreigners there, but they can be lined up waiting outside. Another must for the beach, though word is that they're moving to Seomyeon and will be shutting down soon. So pack it in now!


That's about it for now. I'll be updating much more regularly again, so until then!