tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67244958055486272762024-02-06T22:00:00.379-06:00The Cleventures 2.0'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-41848751162059406112010-09-15T02:16:00.002-06:002010-09-15T02:37:27.935-06:00Just an updateHi. Me again.<br /><br />I'm sitting at home(in Korea), not doing much. It's been a strange 3 weeks back here-job less. I'm holding out for a 'good job'. I get daily job offers but they're usually for either terrible jobs-or jobs not in the city I live(frustrating.) I've still got the money to hold out awhile longer, but I'm really hoping something pulls through soon. (I'm tracking down 2 potentials as we speak.)<br /><br />The time hasn't been totally wasted though, I'm working to become the next Korean Top Chef. I've made about 5 or 6 dishes I never thought I'd be able to make. (None of which would make sense translated in English, but trust me they're good!) I even made chili for the Broncos game.(Which I ate at 2 AM, but whatever.)<br /><br />Anyway, it's been strange because it's the first time in, well, probably my adult life that there's no 'plan'. Which I know can be a good thing, it just feels awkward. I've always had a "In 2 years I will..." Anyway, I've been formulating a few ideas. Small and big, and I thought I'd run them down here. You can pick where the blog goes next!<br /><br />Here's a few small things I plan on doing as soon as I return steady income:<br />1) Join a boxing gym here in Yongsan. Jeong claim's there's one here. I'd love to do it. Have to, HAVE TO, do something to work off all this vacation weight I've put on.<br /><br />2) Join Korean academy to try to get serious about learning Korean. (Only if I'm planning on staying in Korea long term...more on that in the future.)<br /><br />3) Write in this friggin blog. MUST. PRACTICE. WRITING.<br /><br />Big plans:<br />Option 1) Work 1 year in Korea. Move to China...just...because. I like China. I'm interested in China. I think there's a lot of potential in China. After a year in Korea, I'd have the cash to either open a business or just chill in China for a year. It's just be a continued travel thing.<br /><br />Option 2) Stay in Korea long term. (Maybe 5 years) Open my own small business here in a year or so. I'm not sure I want to run my own academy here, but man there is a ton of money in it if I do it right. Like, a lot a lot. If it worked out right, I could move back to the U.S. with enough money to set myself up very very well.<br /><br />Option 3) Save cash in Korea for a year. Open hostel somewhere...warm.<br /><br />Option 4) Get offered a job by the Denver Broncos.<br /><br />I'm still mulling all of this over. I guess mostly, I just need to start by getting a decent job in Korea before I run out of money!<br /><br />Anyway, keep checking up here, I'm going to try to just write some of anything. Maybe some 'what I did', maybe some 'what's bothering me these days', maybe some fiction even!'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-23873260683775537612010-06-08T07:21:00.002-06:002010-06-08T07:38:07.225-06:00Bufana Bufana!WHen you're going to be somewhere for 7 weeks, getting the roughest week out of the way first is always best...or, at least that's the positive spin Im putting on the first 10 days here in South Africa. I've been in Jo'Burg, for the most part, sitting and waiting but, to be fair-it has by no means been terrible, save for a few scary/crazy incidents I've gotten myself involved in.<br />I've managed to meet up with long lost friend/roomate Alex. Happened to be in town for his birthday, so a group of us went out for dinner. Which is definitely one of the big plusses of South AFrica. You can eat at the finest places in town for what-after traveling in Europe-feels like free.<br />The next morning Alex, his girlfriend, and I went out to breakfast at a nice little bistro. Full English breakfast and coffee for $10 Euros. In Rome you can't get bread and jam off the guy on the street corner for $10 eyros.<br />This is good. This will keep the spending down. Anyway, the next night I had a bit-massive-scare. I had gone to the super 5* hotel-The Melrose Arch-to have drinks with Michael, Ally, and Michael's friend Kev-who works for a major corp and is doing work down here for the world cup and got Michael and Ally in for free-yeah, don't think they're better than me!<br />Anyway, got a taxi and headed home about 1:30.<br />Buzzed the gate to the hostel. (All houses are locked gates in Jo'burg.)<br />No answer<br />BUZZ!<br />Nothing<br />BUZZ BUZZ BUZZZZZ!<br />Nothing Nothing Nothingggg<br />Finally, another guest walked by on the inside of the gate<br />"Hey man, is there anyone in at reception?"<br />"No."<br />"Well, could you help me out and go find someone to let me in"<br />"No." Door slams as he goes into his room.<br />(Lots of cussing from me after that.)<br />Luckily, I had asked the cab driver to stick around-otherwise I literally would have pooped myself right then and there-so I was able to just have him take me back, and I slept on floor IN A FIVE STAR HOTEL WOO HOO.<br />The next day I was feeling a bit down, so I stayed in the swanky area the hotel was in and pretended to be rich. Trying on $1,200 watches and that. Was a nice morning. Much better than sitting around the craphole Im in at the moment.<br />Anyway, all this is almost over. In a few days I head down to Durban, which Im pretty excited about. For me, it's 18 days in the same condo-with people I already know. No more moving around, no more constantly meeting new people. Just lots of food, drink, sport and friends. Should be a nice change of pace. Hopefully there'll be more(and better) internet access down tehre, and I'll be able to update down there once or twice.<br /><br />That's it for now. More after the soccer.'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-6612084700450391222010-05-28T04:23:00.001-06:002010-05-28T04:26:15.663-06:00Hello agian.Greeting.<br /><br />I know. I know. Blog. Fail.<br /><br />I decided to take a bit of a break and go 'hermit' for awhile. Not just from blogging, but, in fact, sorta from everything. Strangely-or not-when I travel by myself I come up with a lot of Theories that I want to try out. One of them was a bit of seclusion-and in fact, I went back to Korea for 3 weeks to try it out-I got what I wanted out of it.<br /><br />Now, Now, I'm on the road again. Back in Istanbul(Still not Constantinople.) I'm only here for 2 more days. Then I fly out to South Africa for the start of the World Cup Adventure. I'll try ot update there as much as possible, but due to the lack of internet accesibility often found in SA-no promises. I'll try though.<br /><br />That's all I'll write for now, maybe I'll come back with more later. Just want to get back on it htough.'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-56582362175661927562010-04-23T00:32:00.002-06:002010-04-23T00:53:04.275-06:00Let my people goWell, stuck in Athens an extra day now. No worries though, I'm used to it by now. And really, you can't be stuck anywhere when you've got nowhere to be, right?<br /><br />When I last wrote, I said I was on my way to the Greek Islands...I still am, it's just been a week of taking the long route.<br /><br />I woke up early on the 17th for my 7 AM flight to Athens. Called a cab to the airport. Headed for the door. I thought there was no way a flight from Rome to Athens could be cancelled by a volcano in Iceland.<br />Wrong.<br /><br />Shut down.<br /><br />My hostel was already completely booked with stranded travelers, so I had to move to a new place. All the decent places were booked, so I wound up in a roach motel that smelled of mildew and old curry.<br /><br />There I met a man who was the opposite of all the great people I've met. Manjul. The dest clerk at "Beautiful Hostel". He was a night clerk at a dive. But if you ask him, he was a world famous titan of hoteleering. A genuis his boss loved so much he was ready to give him the hostel.<br />Being the kind and gracious man he is, he game me a 'free' coffee on my arrival. (All coffee is free at hostels.) in a dirty cup(and it was cold instant coffee at that.) then said "See, I am a very kind man..hahaha! aren't I? aren't I??" and wouldn't stop asking until I said "Yes, yes, you are."<br />Then he regailed me with stories of his genius and charity for an hour or so before I, fearing for my sanity, went to bed at 8. (And it wasn't a bed, more a cot with an itchy blanket.)<br /><br />The next morning I woke up-with a stiff neck-to check my flight. The hostel, obviously, had no wifi and no computers available. So I had to ask to use the office computer to check flight status.<br />"Of course!" he said "but first, can you check your email?"<br /><br />I knew where this was going. You see, in the hostel world today the single most important thing is your online rating. My sacrafice of rating the hostel was my betrayal, checking my flight status would be my 30 pieces of silver.<br /><br />And boy did Manjul get his money's worth. Not being under durress my rating probably would have been a 40% or so and my comment "Not recommended." But with Manjul over my shoulder I tried an 80%. "Oh no. No. We need a 100%! Give us a 100 I'm very good to you!"<br /><br />Ugh. 100%<br />Ok, no comment at least.<br />Not with Manjul!<br />"Please write: 'Great service. Manjul is the best ever.'"<br />And, of course, he made sure I spelled his name right.<br /><br />What a moment of utter shame-betraying fellow travelers everywhere like that.<br /><br />And my flight was cancelled to add injury to insult. I was pretty aggitated at this point, decided I needed a break from the wait and see if the volcano has stopped game and gave myself 2 days instead of 1 before I rebooked.<br /><br />So, I bid a fond farewell to the great Manjul (not before he gave me a special breakfast of more dirty coffee and the butt of a loaf of bread-my final shame.) and got the hell out of there.<br /><br />There were enough stranded backpackers that finding a hostel was a bit difficult, and I definitely noticed the prices go up 5 or 10 euros a night. I spent 2 hours in an internet cafe-banging my head into my rock of stability, Jeong, before she managed to tear me out of my shame induced rage.<br />I got up, put on a fake smile and headed to the hostel that just gouged me for 30 Euros a night. Determined to be friendly god damn it.<br /><br />The line was chaotic. A good 20 miute wait to check in. I decided to find like minded people to bitch with.<br /><br />The girl in front of me seemed friendly so I asked her if she was stuck too. Nope, she'd just arrived on a train from Switzerland. I told her my story and her response was...unexpected.<br />"Oh, well, if you're here for another 2 days, you can show me around the city!"<br />"Uh...well...yeah, yeah I guess I can."<br />Hell, my alternate plan was to brood in my room and read depressing books about starving North Koreans. Giving a tour sounded better.<br /><br />I have to say, the next 2 days completely changed my opinion of Rome. A few reasons 1) I already knew the city layout, so there was no wandering around lost, pulling out maps. The less stress the better. 2) You take the time to read information, and remember it more, when you're telling someone else the facts of a city. So I definitely had a smoother, more informative time.<br /><br />So those last two days worked out perfectly, both for her(who doesn't love a free tour?) and for me (we all know how much I love to tell people things.)<br /><br />The next day my flight to Athens went off as scheduled. Yesterday I took a tour of the city and visited the Acropolis. (Which is the home of the Parthenon.) I had planned to leave for Santorini this morning, but we (me and a New Zealand guy who decided to go too) found out when we got to the port-general strike in the city today. No boats going anywhere.<br /><br />So another day in Athens. No problem. A chance to write, a chance to check out the museum.<br />Tomorrow the strike ends and it's off to the islands!<br />Unless there's a plague of locust, or maybe a down pour of frogs.<br /><br />(An update the next day. Stuck in Athens again! Overslept this morning. Stupid iPod stuck under the pillow. So, to recap-Volcano, worker's revolution, personal stupidity. Seriously, about to give up.)<br /><br />Though Athens is really a great city it seems. Fun, clean, easy to walk around. Definitely suggest it.<br /><br />More in a week or so.'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-49777944273021718402010-04-15T10:12:00.005-06:002010-04-16T09:06:31.084-06:00Rome/NaplesThere's a simple economic term most of you know-diminishing returns-which states, more or less, that the more you have of something, often, the less you'll get out of it. Rome is diminishing returns in city form.<div><br /></div><div>Imagine an entire city made up of historical sites. Like a bad game of Sim City where youve filled your entire city with monuments. Rome, literally, has monuments built on top of monuments built on top of monuments. An example; I took a walking tour through the city on my first day here. We were standing a black from the famous spanish steps-a beautiful monument of its own.</div><div>Without moving the tour guide points. First, to his left-"This is the traditional, ancient, home of the Medici family in from." To the center-"This is the home where the famous English poet Keats wrote most of his works" and then to his right-"And this is the Cafe di Greece, where the great Roman artists of the 17th century congregated and, essentially, created the Italian form 17th century art and literature. </div><div><br /></div><div>All of these would be major attractions in nearly every other city. In Rome, mere asides to a more interesting tour. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's all a bit overwhelming at first, but days 2-4 I definitely settled in and soaked up as much of Rome as possible. (I think it's impossible to really see ALL of a city like Rome.)</div><div><br /></div><div>The truly ancient part of Rome is quite ruinous now. (Thanks mostly to Christians tearing things down to create their own monuments.), but I'd studied enough about Ancient Rome-and seen enough Gladitor and HBO's Rome to have a good idea of what the original structres looked like. </div><div>Walking through the Roman forum and the Coliseum, and similarly through the ruins of Pompei a few days later, left me primarily with the impression that we take too much pride in our advancements. The technology of 2000 years ago is simply amazing(and even more so, their understanding of HOW to build things.) that taking another 2 millinium to reach where we are now seems like poor progress that would have dissapointed our Roman ancestors. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Coliseum is essentially the same architectual structure as old Busch stadium, and really doesn't look much more ancient than Wrigley Field...though I think that's equal parts compliment to the Coliseum and condemnation of Wrigley.</div><div><br /></div><div>The other major attraction in Rome is, of course, the imprint of the Catholic Church. Let me start by saying, St. Peter's is one of the most orntate, detailed, and inspiring places in the world. </div><div>This is well known already though. I tried to focus primarily on tihs as I walked through the Basillica and the museum, but I have to admit my personal feelings on all th ehistorical evils of the church put a definite damper on my inspiration. </div><div><br /></div><div>You see a statue built to a 13th century Pope. Impressive. You find out they built it buy destroying a 1500 year old ancient roman temple and reusing the marble. Less appreciative. </div><div>You see the world's largest collection of ancient Roman sculptures. Brilliant. You see the obviously out o fplace fig leaves tacked on. Dissapointing. </div><div>The best example of thi swas the Parthenon. Orginally built as a temple to the Roman Gods. It's absolutely stunning from the outside. However, on the inside statues of Christian saints are poorly placed on the walls and uninspired, rather redundant, Christian murals have been painted over the ancient culture. It felt like the midevil equivalent of putting a discotecque in an ancient church. A sad loss of ancient heritage. </div><div><br /></div><div>Never-the-less, as I said, Roman history is, essentially, the history of me and I was inspired by it. Able to draw lessons from it, and reflect on the lives of peoples past-good and bad-which is the primary reason for going to such antiquated sites. (And, of course, to take the shameless touristic pictures as well.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Naples-Here's something I wrote while at the castle over looking Naples. I think it describes the city well.</div><div><br /></div><div>Naples is a step in time. Forward or backward, I'm not sure. It's an ancient city. Used by the greeks thousands of years ago, but also the only city in Italy with a modern skyline that I've seen.</div><div><br /></div><div>The first impression can only come from the garbage. It's impossible not to notice. It seems to seep out of the streets-like the city's 5 day old beard. The buildings are scruffy, smudged with sut and smog. There is a much heavier crime element here than Rome, and you do have to be careful. The 5 dollar word for the city is "Dickensian". </div><div><br /></div><div>I find myself wanting to ask the Neoplitans "How could you let it get this way?" as if they were my 10 year old with a messy room. The city is situated so perfectly on the sea. Views from the hills are inspiring. Mountains, valleys, palm trees, seaside. </div><div><br /></div><div>And yet, Naples has far more charm than any other city I've been to in Italy. The people are more animated, less bothered by the tourists. They are real people. Their ability to still have such a vibrant feeling despite the delapidation makes them far more interesting to me. Naples has the same feel, the same character, as Hanoi. And is much more related to that city than any of the other Italian cities.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tomorrow I fly(very early) in the morning to Athens. A few days there and I think I'm headed down to the greek islands for a few weeks. Im not sure yet if Ill island hope, or just find one I like and stay there for the duration. Then, instead of going straight to Istanbul, I think Ill head up from the south of Turkey...or I might make a crazy pit stop somewhere else in the world. It's all an open book.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next post, hopefully from a beach in the Agean, sometime next week.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>(PS-wrote this in a hurry. Didnt edit it. All apologies.)</div>'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-15228816244104016772010-04-06T10:20:00.003-06:002010-04-06T10:46:30.814-06:00Venice/Florence<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">What</span>'s <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">nomrally</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">most</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">arduous</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">part</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">any</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">journey</span>-the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">long</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">train</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">rides</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">wasn</span>'t <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">awful</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">between</span> Budapest <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">and</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Venice</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">course</span> 14 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">hours</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">from</span> 5 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">pm</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">to</span> 7 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">am</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">got</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">long</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">but</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">it</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">was</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">shortened</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">first</span> 4 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">hours</span> or so by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">watching</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">sunset</span> on a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">cloudless</span> night <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">over</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">plains</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">Hungary</span>.<br /><br />I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">arrived</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">Venice</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">right</span> on time. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">Around</span> the station <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42">was</span> a bit <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43">ugly</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44">but</span> once the water taxi <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45">got</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_46">around</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_47">to</span> the grand <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_48">canal</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_49">views</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_50">got</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_51">much</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_52">better</span>. The city <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_53">was</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_54">still</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_55">waking</span> up <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_56">and</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_57">was</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_58">filled</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_59">sparsley</span> by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_60">locals</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_61">preparing</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_62">for</span> the day. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_63">Unfortunately</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_64">this</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_65">was</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_66">best</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_67">part</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_68">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_69">my</span> 24 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_70">hours</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_71">Venice</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_72">After</span> I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_73">got</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_74">to</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_75">hostel</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_76">settled</span> in, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_77">and</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_78">had</span> breakfast the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_79">tourists</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_80">had</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_81">woke</span> up. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_82">And</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_83">closer</span> I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_84">got</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_85">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_86">Basillica</span> di San Marco(the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_87">main</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_88">monument</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_89">Venice</span>) the more <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_90">disturbed</span> I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_91">got</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_92">It</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_93">was</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_94">like</span> Disney <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_95">world</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_96">except</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_97">instead</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_98">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_99">being</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_100">an</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_101">amusement</span> park <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_102">designed</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_103">for</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_104">such</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_105">thing</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_106">they</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_107">were</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_108">trampling</span> on some <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_109">of</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_110">World</span>'s <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_111">great</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_112">heritage</span>.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_113">There</span>'s <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_114">an</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_115">essay</span>-"<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_116">Consider</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_117">Lobster</span>" by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_118">David</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_119">Foster</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_120">Wallace</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_121">which</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_122">Wallace</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_123">discusses</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_124">how</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_125">tourists</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_126">change</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_127">thing</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_128">which</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_129">they</span>'ve come <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_130">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_131">see</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_132">and</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_133">when</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_134">enough</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_135">people</span> do so-the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_136">thing</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_137">worth</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_138">seeing</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_139">is</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_140">essentially</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_141">destroyed</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_142">If</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_143">he</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_144">got</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_145">such</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_146">dark</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_147">impression</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_148">at</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_149">Lobster</span> Festival in Maine, I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_150">can</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_151">only</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_152">imagine</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_153">how</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_154">he</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_155">would</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_156">have</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_157">felt</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_158">sitting</span> in the center <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_159">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_160">St</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_161">Marks</span>.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_162">Between</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_163">pillars</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_164">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_165">an</span> 800 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_166">year</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_167">old</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_168">basillica</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_169">one</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_170">of</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_171">world</span>'s <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_172">greatest</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_173">he</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_174">would</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_175">see</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_176">tours</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_177">led</span> by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_178">guides</span> holding '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_179">funny</span>' <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_180">umbrellas</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_181">street</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_182">artists</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_183">making</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_184">pendants</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_185">with</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_186">people</span>'s <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_187">names</span> on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_188">them</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_189">vendor</span>'s <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_190">selling</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_191">everything</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_192">from</span> 20 euro, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_193">fake</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_194">venetian</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_195">masks</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_196">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_197">protraits</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_198">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_199">Sylvestor</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_200">Stalone</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_201">Nigerians</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_202">with</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_203">arms</span> full <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_204">of</span> 7 euro <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_205">handbags</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_206">italians</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_207">trying</span> the '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_208">petition</span>/<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_209">donation</span>' <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_210">scam</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_211">and</span> a 5 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_212">hour</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_213">line</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_214">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_215">get</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_216">into</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_217">church</span>.<br /><br />I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_218">took</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_219">few</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_220">ugly</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_221">pictures</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_222">and</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_223">got</span> out <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_224">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_225">there</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_226">It</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_227">was</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_228">not</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_229">for</span> me. I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_230">did</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_231">find</span> a park <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_232">about</span> 30 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_233">minutes</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_234">away</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_235">which</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_236">was</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_237">quiet</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_238">and</span> I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_239">sat</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_240">and</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_241">wrote</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_242">for</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_243">afternoon</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_244">and</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_245">my</span> day <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_246">was</span> ok, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_247">but</span> I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_248">didn</span>'t <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_249">need</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_250">to</span> be in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_251">Venice</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_252">to</span> do <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_253">that</span>.<br /><br />More on the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_254">tourists</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_255">Venice</span>. I know <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_256">there</span> are some <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_257">conflicts</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_258">with</span> me <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_259">complaining</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_260">about</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_261">tourists</span> in a city I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_262">too</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_263">am</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_264">touring</span>. I'd <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_265">like</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_266">to</span> go <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_267">over</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_268">those</span>.<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_269">First</span>, I know <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_270">everyone</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_271">has</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_272">right</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_273">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_274">see</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_275">great</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_276">monuments</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_277">of</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_278">world</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_279">They</span> are <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_280">not</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_281">for</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_282">my</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_283">eyes</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_284">only</span>. I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_285">get</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_286">that</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_287">and</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_288">it</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_289">definitely</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_290">redirects</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_291">most</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_292">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_293">my</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_294">frustratin</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_295">from</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_296">individual</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_297">people</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_298">and</span> more <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_299">to</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_300">general</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_301">consternation</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_302">towards</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_303">situation</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_304">for</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_305">which</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_306">there</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_307">is</span> no real <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_308">remedy</span>.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_309">However</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_310">there</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_311">is</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_312">certain</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_313">style</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_314">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_315">tourists</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_316">for</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_317">whom</span> I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_318">feel</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_319">my</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_320">frustration</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_321">is</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_322">justified</span>. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_323">term</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_324">that</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_325">comes</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_326">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_327">mind</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_328">for</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_329">them</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_330">is</span> '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_331">Fat</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_332">Tourist</span>' <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_333">but</span> I know <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_334">that</span>'s <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_335">hardly</span> a far <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_336">adjective</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_337">for</span> me <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_338">to</span> use. A( <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_339">because</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_340">they</span>'re <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_341">not</span> all <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_342">fat</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_343">and</span> B) <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_344">because</span> I'm <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_345">not</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_346">one</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_347">who</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_348">can</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_349">fairly</span> use the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_350">term</span> '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_351">fat</span>' in a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_352">derogatory</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_353">way</span>.<br />So, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_354">best</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_355">way</span> I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_356">can</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_357">describe</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_358">them</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_359">without</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_360">using</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_361">that</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_362">term</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_363">is</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_364">perhaps</span>, '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_365">unconscious</span>' <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_366">tourist</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_367">They</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_368">seem</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_369">to</span> be so <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_370">wrapped</span> up in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_371">act</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_372">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_373">being</span> "on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_374">vacation</span>" <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_375">that</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_376">they</span> don't <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_377">really</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_378">consider</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_379">where</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_380">they</span> are. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_381">Typically</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_382">they</span>'re the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_383">families</span> (Or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_384">lots</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_385">and</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_386">lots</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_387">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_388">couples</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_389">Venice</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_390">obviously</span>.) <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_391">Mom</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_392">dad</span>, 9 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_393">year</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_394">old</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_395">over</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_396">maked</span> up <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_397">daughter</span>, 12 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_398">year</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_399">old</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_400">chubby</span> son. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_401">kids</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_402">push</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_403">line</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_404">climb</span> on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_405">you</span> in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_406">train</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_407">Dad</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_408">pays</span> no <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_409">attention</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_410">because</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_411">he</span>'s on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_412">his</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_413">blackberry</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_414">Mom</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_415">talks</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_416">entirely</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_417">too</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_418">loud</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_419">Chubby</span> boy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_420">wants</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_421">an</span> ice cream. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_422">He</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_423">gets</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_424">it</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_425">Then</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_426">he</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_427">wants</span> a pizza, a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_428">snow</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_429">cone</span>, a 15 Euro <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_430">character</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_431">drawn</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_432">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_433">himself</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_434">He</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_435">gets</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_436">them</span> all. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_437">Over</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_438">make</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_439">upped</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_440">gets</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_441">angry</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_442">and</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_443">watns</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_444">it</span> all <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_445">too</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_446">Gets</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_447">it</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_448">Blackberry</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_449">dad</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_450">has</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_451">dropped</span> 100 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_452">euros</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_453">waiting</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_454">line</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_455">Then</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_456">mom</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_457">takes</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_458">picture</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_459">of</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_460">kids</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_461">with</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_462">fake</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_463">screen</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_464">backdrop</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_465">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_466">David</span>(<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_467">who</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_468">stands</span> in a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_469">Museum</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_470">down</span> the road.) <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_471">and</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_472">thinks</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_473">that</span>'s <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_474">just</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_475">great</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_476">As</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_477">they</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_478">reach</span> the end <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_479">of</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_480">line</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_481">make</span> up <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_482">is</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_483">crying</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_484">because</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_485">she</span>'s <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_486">had</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_487">to</span> stand <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_488">for</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_489">an</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_490">hour</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_491">and</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_492">wants</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_493">her</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_494">PSP</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_495">Chubby</span> boy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_496">is</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_497">asking</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_498">where</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_499">they</span> are <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_500">anyway</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_501">Dad</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_502">says</span> "A <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_503">church</span>".<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_504">Bret</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_505">just</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_506">walks</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_507">away</span>. Tese <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_508">people</span> I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_509">am</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_510">not</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_511">like</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_512">These</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_513">people</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_514">destroy</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_515">what</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_516">they</span>'ve come <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_517">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_518">see</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_519">These</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_520">people</span> do <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_521">not</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_522">consider</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_523">lobster</span>.<br />I, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_524">at</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_525">least</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_526">try</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_527">to</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_528">leave</span> no <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_529">imprint</span> on the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_530">places</span> I've <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_531">been</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_532">Give</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_533">vultures</span> no <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_534">reason</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_535">to</span> be <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_536">around</span>.<br />(<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_537">And</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_538">if</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_539">any</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_540">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_541">you</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_542">take</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_543">pictures</span> in a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_544">church</span> or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_545">museum</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_546">that</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_547">has</span> a "No <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_548">Photo</span>" <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_549">sign</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_550">every</span> 5 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_551">feet</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_552">Consider</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_553">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_554">friendship</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_555">over</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_556">That</span>'s <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_557">pet</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_558">peeve</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_559">number</span> 1.)<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_560">This</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_561">was</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_562">Venice</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_563">and</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_564">first</span> 36 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_565">hours</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_566">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_567">Florence</span>.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_568">Although</span> I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_569">did</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_570">manage</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_571">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_572">witness</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_573">Easter</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_574">celebration</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_575">here</span>:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/0e/88/bf/el-duomo.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 243px; height: 182px;" src="http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/0e/88/bf/el-duomo.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_576">It</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_577">was</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_578">one</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_579">of</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_580">most</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_581">colorful</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_582">and</span> grandiose <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_583">evens</span> I've <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_584">ever</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_585">had</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_586">priviladge</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_587">to</span> be <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_588">at</span>. So <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_589">much</span> so <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_590">that</span> I'm <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_591">not</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_592">sharing</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_593">That</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_594">experience</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_595">is</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_596">just</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_597">for</span> me. (Or I'<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_598">ll</span> show <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_599">you</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_600">pictures</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_601">when</span> I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_602">get</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_603">back</span>.)<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_604">These</span> 2 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_605">and</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_606">half</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_607">days</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_608">though</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_609">did</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_610">teach</span> me <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_611">my</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_612">first</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_613">important</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_614">lesson</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_615">of</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_616">trip</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_617">Ive</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_618">learned</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_619">this</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_620">trip</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_621">will</span> be <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_622">less</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_623">about</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_624">where</span> I'm <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_625">going</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_626">and</span> more <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_627">about</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_628">who</span> I'm meeting. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_629">And</span> by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_630">proxy</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_631">where</span> I'm <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_632">staying</span>. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_633">quality</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_634">of</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_635">hostel</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_636">leads</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_637">to</span> meeting <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_638">people</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_639">there</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_640">leadns</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_641">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_642">not</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_643">spending</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_644">dats</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_645">at</span> a time on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_646">my</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_647">own</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_648">Which</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_649">unsurprisingly</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_650">got</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_651">boring</span>.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_652">However</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_653">my</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_654">second</span> night in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_655">Florence</span> I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_656">was</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_657">able</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_658">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_659">remedy</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_660">that</span>. I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_661">stayed</span> in a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_662">hostel</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_663">Florence</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_664">Dany</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_665">House</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_666">run</span> by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_667">an</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_668">older</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_669">Italian</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_670">couple</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_671">For</span> 25 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_672">Euros</span> I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_673">got</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_674">bed</span>, free <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_675">win</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_676">and</span> a piano <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_677">concert</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_678">from</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_679">guy</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_680">who</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_681">owned</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_682">place</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_683">And</span> all the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_684">friends</span> I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_685">could</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_686">handle</span>.<br />I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_687">wound</span> up <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_688">chatting</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_689">with</span> 4 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_690">other</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_691">people</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_692">who</span>'ve <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_693">been</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_694">traveling</span> alone. All <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_695">as</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_696">desperate</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_697">as</span> I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_698">was</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_699">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_700">meet</span> some <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_701">other</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_702">people</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_703">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_704">chat</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_705">with</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_706">There</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_707">were</span> South <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_708">Caroline</span>, Argentine, Texas, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_709">and</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_710">Lithuania</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_711">Names</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_712">weren</span>'t all <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_713">that</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_714">important</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_715">Sunday</span> night(the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_716">first</span> night in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_717">hostel</span>.) <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_718">we</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_719">went</span> out <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_720">serching</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_721">for</span> more <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_722">wine</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_723">Caroline</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_724">yelling</span> "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_725">Dovè</span> Vino!?" <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_726">at</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_727">everyone</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_728">who</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_729">walked</span> by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_730">while</span> Argentine-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_731">who</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_732">can</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_733">get</span> by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_734">speaking</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_735">Italian</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_736">tried</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_737">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_738">ask</span> "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_739">Excuse</span> me, do <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_740">you</span> know <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_741">where</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_742">perhaps</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_743">we</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_744">could</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_745">purchase</span> some drink?"<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_746">Then</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_747">Monday</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_748">we</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_749">went</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_750">together</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_751">to</span> Siena-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_752">an</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_753">ancient</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_754">Tuscan</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_755">town</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_756">about</span> 90 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_757">minutes</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_758">from</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_759">Florence</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_760">Lines</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_761">and</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_762">museums</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_763">and</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_764">Gilato</span> are all <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_765">better</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_766">bared</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_767">with</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_768">friends</span>-or I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_769">guess</span> I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_770">should</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_771">say</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_772">days</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_773">aquantennces</span>.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_774">Now</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_775">as</span> I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_776">write</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_777">Im</span> on a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_778">train</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_779">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_780">Rome</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_781">Florence</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_782">had</span> some <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_783">amazing</span> art. I've <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_784">now</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_785">seen</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_786">original</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_787">works</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_788">of</span> all 4 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_789">ninja</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_790">turtles</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_791">including</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_792">Michealangelo</span>'s <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_793">David</span>. I'm <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_794">not</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_795">even</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_796">going</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_797">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_798">try</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_799">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_800">describe</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_801">what</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_802">it</span>'s <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_803">like</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_804">Suffice</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_805">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_806">say</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_807">emotion</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_808">evoked</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_809">is</span>...<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_810">exhiliration</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_811">It</span>'s <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_812">fun</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_813">to</span> be <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_814">contrarian</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_815">but</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_816">when</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_817">they</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_818">say</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_819">David</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_820">is</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_821">perfect</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_822">sculpture</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_823">ever</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_824">and</span> none more <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_825">profound</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_826">have</span>, or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_827">will</span>, be made <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_828">better</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_829">they</span> are <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_830">not</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_831">over</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_832">exagerating</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_833">From</span> 30 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_834">feet</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_835">away</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_836">he</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_837">is</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_838">inspiring</span>. Standing <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_839">under</span> the massive statue <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_840">is</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_841">captivating</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_842">Literally</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_843">you</span> are in a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_844">room</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_845">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_846">world</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_847">famous</span> art, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_848">and</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_849">you</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_850">can</span>'t help <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_851">but</span> stare <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_852">solely</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_853">at</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_854">him</span>.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_855">And</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_856">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_857">think</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_858">it</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_859">came</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_860">from</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_861">crummy</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_862">slab</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_863">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_864">marble</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_865">laying</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_866">around</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_867">when</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_868">Michealangelo</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_869">said</span> "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_870">Hey</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_871">if</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_872">you</span>'re <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_873">not</span> gonna use <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_874">that</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_875">mind</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_876">if</span> I?"...<br />The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_877">greatest</span> "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_878">One</span> man's <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_879">trash</span>" <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_880">story</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_881">of</span> all time.<br /><br />(<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_882">Apologies</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_883">if</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_884">this</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_885">is</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_886">poorly</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_887">editied</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_888">copying</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_889">it</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_890">onto</span> the computer in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_891">an</span> internet <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_892">cafe</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_893">Got</span> 5 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_894">minutes</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_895">yet</span>!)<br /><br />More in a week or so.'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-88551625603591710882010-03-31T08:43:00.004-06:002010-03-31T12:22:03.332-06:00BudapestThe flight into Budapest was as uneventful and tedious as any 13 hour flight is.<div>I was a bit nervous at first. My hostel was in a gothic style apartment with a high arching wood door, which opened into an open air court yard. When I opened the door the court yard and passage way were complete dark. The elevator had been sent down to pick me up, and I could hear it slowly creaking down the shaft. When it reached me I fully expected to be greeted by a throng of vampires. Luckily, I was not.</div><div><br /></div><div>I made my way up to the hostel, opened the door and...4 people sitting on a sofa, bottles of beer and Modern Warfare 2 on the TV. Ah, my home away from home! They were interested in my travels and shocked by how long it'd taken me to get there. I had planned to go to bed immediately, but Danillo offered me a beer and a seat and I quickly shifted from travel mode to vacation mode.</div><div>I met Danillo, a Brazillian studying in Manchester. He was a funny guy full of great one liners and a sort of airheaded-blonde-attitude. He made me laugh, and had a sort of generosity I was surprised to see, but I guess fit the South American stereotype. Always quick to offer a drink or a seat. Even to people we didn't know. Angelo-his flat mate in Manchester-from Chile. Angelo was an interesting guy. Very pretty, long hair, classic South American charm. Gives you the opinion he's not very smart, but he can say some deep, well thought out, things. A nice paradox. Johnny-yet another Manchesterian. and Arwin, from Seattle, and owner of the hostel.</div><div><br /></div><div>The hostel, which is actually just an apartment with bunk beds in the bedrooms, was a great place to meet people. But Danillo and Angelo were quickly ready to go out. At first, I was just going to go to bed, but as t<div> </div>hey were leaving they managed to convince me to come out with them. We headed to a few quick pubs for a couple of cheap pints. Then we went to a club in the courtyard of a closed apartment complex. Dark, damp, eurotrash music. Again, I was fully expecting Wesley Snipes to come plowing through the door any minute. Then again, I was pretty much a zombie myself at this point, so vampires would have been fitting. <div> </div> </div><div><br /></div><div>Finally made it to bed at about 4 AM that night-30 or so hours after leaving my apartment in Korea. </div><div><br /></div><div>Saturday, obviously, started a little late, but I still managed to make the two o'clock walking tour. Normally, I don't bother with tours, but I really didn't know anything about Budapest, or Hungary in general, so I'm glad I did.<div> </div> </div><div><br /></div><div>I learned that Hungary is a lot like Korea. In that both countries have been under the rule of a foreign power for most of their existence. Also, I got the official excuse for joining up with the Nazis. (The Nazis promised them land that they still think belongs to them today...ah nationalism.)</div><div><br /></div><div>But the castle district is absolutely beautiful and the tradition which resonates from the buildings are inspiring and though provoking. The castle stands on a mountain on the Buda side of the Danube river, over looking the rest of the city. It's been there for over 500 years. It's been used during the rise and fall of the Hun<div> </div> garian kings, it was used as a stable during the invasion of the Ottomans. It was illegally destroyed by the Nazis during WWII. In fact, the hill next to the castle was the last stand for the Nazi army resisting the soviet forces. There the Soviets erected a 'statue of liberty' which was considered a joke for the last half of the 20th century, but now symbolizes the first decade of Hungarian freedom in nearly a century<div> </div> . </div><div><div> <div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFLPut9JNz54xYUsrDb56fZec0a_vaejTQH1XThO0uuvM3_ksxPneDVn9iJRZgefg_eRLRX3jby-K3gnyqCOl5zOwyM61_a4uL8AKCdLQdw3p8XkaZYljdxp-nVjHJe0bbQKqAiXfkgg/s1600/Budapeste+001.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFLPut9JNz54xYUsrDb56fZec0a_vaejTQH1XThO0uuvM3_ksxPneDVn9iJRZgefg_eRLRX3jby-K3gnyqCOl5zOwyM61_a4uL8AKCdLQdw3p8XkaZYljdxp-nVjHJe0bbQKqAiXfkgg/s320/Budapeste+001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454864032081393618" border="0" /></a></div> </div> </div><div>That's parliament in the distance(There'll be a huge upload of pictures in a few months obviously, just not at the moment.).</div><div><br /></div><div>Monday morning, Donillo, Angelo, and I. Along with a group of Americans went to the local baths. The baths were built in the 18th century by the Ottomans, and are fully supplied by near by underwater hot springs. At first we were a bit disappointed. It seemed to be only a few tubs in one large room, but as we ventured further and further into small rooms we found an entire cavern of tubs, saunas, and cold pools. It was like a Zelda style map. After going through a door which lead to a room, to a door, which led to another spa, we were in a room with marble floors, cherubims spouting natural hot spring waters into small jacuzzi sized pools, or large Olympic sized pools. Whatever your heart desired. Then we managed to find our way to the outdoor pools. This was, perhaps, one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. There were 3 large pools of varying temperature. Surrounding the pools stood the original Turkish architecture of stone and marble. Small fountains lined the pools. The weather was perfect. You could hear the trees rustle in a near by park. It was a cathartic moment of self fulfillment for all of us. If you don't feel like you're life's pretty damn good while sitting in that spot, I don't know what to tell you. </div><div><br /></div><div>Beyond the tour of the city and the morning in the baths, I've spent a majority of my time writing, reading, and exploring. Budapest is an inspiring city. Not only the city, but the characters in it. Sometimes I question if they are life imitating art, but I choose to think the opposite. The homeless seem to be friendly, older men-always in groups of 2 or 3, always with a loyal dog on their side. Every underpass has a violinist or saxophonist playing for cash, and the ladies behind the counter at the grocer seem angry and...soviet. </div><div><br /></div><div>The City itself is, probably, the closest I've coming to a 'mystic' setting. The largest buildings-parlament and the basillica- stand only 96 meters tall, with most of the buildings being no higher than four or five stories. Yet, the small narrow streets which sit between them and the shadows thrown by the intricate crevices in the relief of the buildings create such an imposing feeling of significance, that you feel as though you're standing among giants. Walking down a side street in Budapest, you get the same feeling you might get walking down Michigan avenue in Chicago. Budapest does in 5 stories what it takes Chicago 100 stories to do. The men who designed these buildings, hundreds of years ago were true masters of their craft-in a sense I wonder if we've lost today. And to have Budapest stand today nearly the same as it did a hundred years ago...In Budapest, I feel like I'm walking in history, not learning it. </div><div><br /></div><div>At, the moment, I'm finishing this between games of Modern Warfare. (Rainy day, kill me.) </div><div><br />This week's been a perfect blend of history, socializing, and relaxing normalcy. From what I gather, I'm a bit lucky-especially to so quickly have met friends. but hopefully my luck continues.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tomorrow, I leave for Venice, Italy. One day there, then to Florence and surrounding area for 3 or 4 days, then off to Rome for 10 days or so.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVPmVyHSGt91ZBIhUkt2tMtczPRzh07AA-JUzIUlcoDXLFhwmw0MpZVDrzuMrSbh4YL-6TwdhmXSP8kzVwxIvRLYxW0JWboM1XsynTyyXDXG7A_FebExaQrXEU8Q-QSZS1evTHm_5kJjY/s1600/Budapeste+002.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVPmVyHSGt91ZBIhUkt2tMtczPRzh07AA-JUzIUlcoDXLFhwmw0MpZVDrzuMrSbh4YL-6TwdhmXSP8kzVwxIvRLYxW0JWboM1XsynTyyXDXG7A_FebExaQrXEU8Q-QSZS1evTHm_5kJjY/s320/Budapeste+002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454864035660729538" border="0" /></a><br />From L to R: Angelo, Danillo, Tim, Me, Shy Korea girl who really wanted to be friends with everyone.<br /><br />Taken on Monday afternoon. Had plans to go out, wound up just drinking and singing songs on the balcany of the apartment.<br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-27810662687893152702010-03-25T02:26:00.007-06:002010-03-25T04:05:58.715-06:00And so the chapter ends.Here we are. 24 hours from now, I'll be a few miles up, somewhere over the middle of Russia. My emotions are actually quite similar to what they were when I left the U.S. for Korea. The long and the short of it being, regardless of excitement/nervousness/worries, I'm getting on that plane. Step on the plane and lets go.<br /><br />Before I go though, I wanted, mostly for myself, to write a little retrospect of the past 3 years.<br />I think the easiest way to sum up what's happened in that time is to describe the scenes then and now.<br /><br />February 28th, 2007. My first day in Korea. My apartment was, well, small. Small enough that I could reach my refrigerator from my bed. Small enough there wasn't room for someone to stay over-not just in my bed-in the entire apartment. My furnishings consisted of 1-3 drawer Tupperware stand. 1 17 inch dull color TV (sans remote). A childrens' sized bed with one sheet. (Thank god for my beloved Broncos blankie.)ln the kitchen I had 1 spoon, 1 set of chop sticks, and a frying pan. A little gas oven to cook on.<br />I lived in the middle floor(It really wasn't 1st or 2nd floor-more 'under the stairs') in a run down neighborhood inhabited mostly by angry ajossis and ajjumas(old people.) and I had exactly 1 friend. Good old Alex. (Who I'll be seeing in South Africa by the way.) If I wanted a taste of home, the nearest McDonalds was a 10 minute cab ride away-and that was the closest thing to Western food we could get.<br />I was-mildly-happy to be here, but you could quite literally fit everything I owned into 1 suitcase. And the size of the apartment didn't matter-I had one friend. It was kind of a shell life. It was a basic existence, and I planned to stay for my year and get back out of here.<br /><br />Things kept building though, one contract led to another. And now.<br /><br />Three years later. The situation is different. I live in a 3 bedroom apartment, in the foreigner district, almost exactly in the center of Seoul. I can no longer reach my fridge from my bed. I sleep in a wonderful queen sized bed, own a full closet, an entertainment center (my beloved TV. Oh, how I love my TV.) XBOX!!1 and even have a spare room converted into a study of sorts. I have a roommate. I have a cat! (The cuttest little cuddly kittie in the world! Yes, he is! Yes, he is!) As I write this I'm sitting in a cafe, from which I can see my apartment. For dinner I have choices of just about anything Western I want, or Middle Eastern, or Indian, for that matter, all within walking distance.<br />My collection of books in Korea is now larger than my collection of books in America(something I never thought possible.) Basically, I have the possessions of a real person now.<br /><br />I had a going away party on Saturday. It wasn't the biggest one I've ever had. (How could I compete with a party held in honor of THE Joe Crewe?), but it's safe to say I have more than 1 friend in Korea now.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs175.snc1/6574_705825148848_26719320_40588415_2610184_n.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 421px; height: 315px;" src="http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs175.snc1/6574_705825148848_26719320_40588415_2610184_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />And then I think on all the friends I've met along the way here. The beauty of meeting people in Korea is A) a far higher proportion of them are really quality people when you get to know them. You meet people here and you realize that nationality really has nothing to do with personality. I've met wonderful people from everywhere. and B) those friends stay lifelong friends(Thank you facebook!) which means, I can claim to have close friends on 5 continents right now. (6 when Johnny moves his ass back to Australia.) That's great, firstly, to be a part of such diversity, but it's also great because,hell, pretty much any English speaking country in the world, I got a free couch to sleep on. (Sadly, I don't have many people knocking down my door to come backpack through the cornfields of the midwest.)<br />The best thing I've collected in Korea are my friends. What a great group of people.<br /><br /><br />And then, there's the always overly sappy issue of love.<br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLYobC8yEeRUFvzWw9Nu6WRbTI56p8YjmZ-1E_hwkTJTV3U3lhI77V3LoyZzdHztBGH5YyNd7j9QR5_bNZyTO9F5VJfwlqRn4jcsG8v_xsHpTywNbcPGHFLqfyvT5M01LEpnbLDcWWAcE/s1600/Jeongnme.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 264px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLYobC8yEeRUFvzWw9Nu6WRbTI56p8YjmZ-1E_hwkTJTV3U3lhI77V3LoyZzdHztBGH5YyNd7j9QR5_bNZyTO9F5VJfwlqRn4jcsG8v_xsHpTywNbcPGHFLqfyvT5M01LEpnbLDcWWAcE/s320/Jeongnme.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452492626185438002" border="0" /></a><br />My wonderful girlfriend, Jeong, and I have been together for over a year now. I really detest writing grand opuses of love on blogs, but I think it's safe to say, if I've even mentioned here on here. She's someone worth knowing. I was telling her just the other night. She's definitely made all this harder. If it wasn't for her, I can't imagine a single drop of regret finding it's way into my thoughts, but leaving her behind for 5 months. You feel the pangs. There's no worry there. I have no doubt she'll be here when I get back. It's simply a matter of this-I love spending time with her, and I don't want to be away from her for that long. Simple as that. But, because she is who she is, she would absolutely refuse to let me not go. She knows what it is to have dreams, and she knows how important dreams are. You can't put them on shelves now, or they'll never come back down. We both understand that.<br /><br />The point of all this is, I guess the big jump from America to Korea really gave me a genesis point to watch my life grow from. I look back, and I'm just in awe, life has been good to me. (And I'm of the opinion that most people, if they could really see the progression clearly, could, and would feel the same way about their lives as well.)<br /><br />I speak Korean...ok. I can get around at least. Yet, I realized just last night, I've never learned the word for Sad. Korea round 1-has been a hell of a chapter.'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-62222601182834176672010-03-22T07:24:00.004-06:002010-03-22T08:23:43.234-06:00Backpacker's guide to packing a backpack for your back...pack.T minus 84 hours and counting.<br /><br />I've finished up my packing and sorting. Things are put away in boxes. Full control of the room has gone over to Jeong. All systems go. (Though a bit nervous of a go.) Today I want to go over the list of essentials for any trip of this magnitude.<br /><br />On the trip I'll have one large backpack. Sorta like this one, but not nearly as fancy:<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.travelpunk.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/backpack-with-daypack.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="http://www.travelpunk.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/backpack-with-daypack.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />It includes a regular sized backpack which I can zip up on it and a very fancy fanny pack with similar features.<br /><br />When I've got it all packed up, it looks something like this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.txroadrunners.com/images/pics/Funny7/backpacker.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 262px; height: 345px;" src="http://www.txroadrunners.com/images/pics/Funny7/backpacker.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />so refraining from packing it to the maximum is important.<br />The packing list, by category:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Clothes</span>:<br />Jeans- 4 pairs. 2 smart pairs, 2 pairs holy(my preferred type.)<br />T-Shirts- 5 t-shirts. Only the most comfortable will do.<br />Various short sleeved collar shirts-2. For the 'beach side bum' look. They are less middle management style and more 'Captain Ron'<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://filmgrounds.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/captain-ron.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 168px; height: 238px;" src="http://filmgrounds.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/captain-ron.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />2 hoodies/1 jumper-keep in mind South Africa will be winter time in June/July. I can't imagine it'll get too cold, but between that and Budapest in early April, I imagine there'll be a few cool nights I'm in need of something warm. (Plus the hoodies are comfort clothes.)<br /><br />2 pairs khaki shorts. Not sure I'll need them until August. But prudence is the better part of valour...or something.<br /><br />7 pair boxer-briefs. Can never have enough underwear, because thrice worn jeans are just getting warmed up, but triple usage of briefs leads to soggy bottom. No one likes that.<br />(and yes, I just revealed my undergarment of choice.)<br /><br />5 pairs of socks. Hopefully I'll be wearing sandals for the large majority of the next 6 months, which is good because with my luck, I'll have lost 7 of those 10 socks by the time I reach the airport here in Seoul.<br /><br />1 smart shirt-because you never know when you'll be invited over to the Governors house for dinner. (However, I wear smart pants for NO MAN!)<br /><br />4 hats- Can't travel without repping the STL. (And one Broncos as well. Throw back 'n that.)<br /><br />1 pair jammie pants-because I can't stop wearing my beloved jammie pants. If possible, I'd wear them permanently.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Books</span>: An essential part of this trip. I'll be spending the first 9 weeks on my own. I'm going to need some men with novel ideas to keep me company. (HA! Get the play on words! Novel!)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintanence</span>-my officially favorite book. Any time I'm feeling low, it'll inspire me to keep driving. Plus, I can pick it up and read any 20 pages and be perfectly happy. I've only read it straight through once, but I've probably covered the whole thing 2 or 3 times now in bits and pieces<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Branker to the Poor</span>-It's a memoir by Muhammad Yunus, who was essentially the creator of micro-lending. Which, before I decided to go all hobo on the world, was what I was most interested in making a 'career' out of. I've already got it half done. Interesting enough. I'll finish it on the flight to Budapest probably.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Best American Science Writing of 2009</span>-because science writing is one of my favorite genres. Sure this will keep me head scratching for a few weeks.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Istanbul</span>-Memories and the City. (Written by Orhan Pamuk, who won a nobel prize in literature.) Can't imagine a more exciting way to make my way through Greece towards Istanbul than reading a book telling me all about it's wonders. (Of course, if the book bores me to tears, it'll be a nice early warning to get out of their quick.)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">SUPER EASY TO DO</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> Crosswords</span>-I'm flying a total of 50 hours or so in the next 6 months. I NEED this.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bathroom supplies:<br /></span>Deoderant-1 stick, because you can't find it in Korea. I'll pick up more when I go somewhere where the people stink when they sweat.<br />Bar Soap-it doesn't leak all over my crap.<br />Shampoo-no squirt dispenser(again, don't want my crap to be leaked all over), but this was actually hard to find. Apparently, squirt dispensers are all the rage these days.<br />Razor with a fresh pack of blades-which might be the most expensive part of this whole damn trip.<br />Toothbrush-toothpaste.<br />That's it. I'm a hippie traveler. I don't need to be well groomed.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Miscellaneous:</span><br />Umbrella-always forget it, always regret it<br /><br />Camera-Not as important to me as to others, I'll have one with me regardless. Hopefully 1 GB is enough.<br /><br />Multitool-because I never know when I'll need a 3 inch blade/corkscrew/phillipscrewdriver/nailfile/pencilsharpner-in-one.<br /><br />A super secret hiding pouch for all the important cards(it goes UNDER the underwear. Those perps are really gonna have to work for it.)<br /><br />Cash-lots of cash-6 months is a long time. (Most of it is going in debit card form.)<br /><br />And last, but not least, 3 fresh black ball-point pens and writing pad.<br />The hope of the trip is to manage a collection of short stories from my travels. The point of the trip is to decide if I really have it in me to be a writer or not. If I can't come up with worthwhile material while backpacking across the world, I never will. Put up or shut up time.<br /><br />And that's it.<br /><br />I've got about 40% left to capacity in the bag. (Like I said, trying to avoid that.) I'm sure there'll be some knick knacks picked up along the way though, and I'm sure I'll be needing a lot more books. (Not sure what to do about the book situation. I hate giving up books, but I won't be able to carry them all. Think I might ship them home. We'll see.) So I don't have too much wiggle room left in the bags. Only minor necessities, otherwise we'll be leaving pairs of jeans in the airport, or jumpers in the hostel.<br /><br />Does the list feel complete? Am I missing anything essential? I always forget something, the goal is only to make it as minimal of an "Oh shit! I forgot!" moment as possible.<br /><br />One more update before I go. A Jerry Springer-esque 'Final Thoughts' moment in reflection of time in Korea. In case you aren't able to read that one though, here's how things ended here:<br />Going away party for me Saturday night, I finished in my bed halfway through the party with my pants halfway off and my cat licking my face. Figure that's the way you want to go out in any situation: an undignified, inglorious, crash and burn. Who needs classy speeches and hugs goodbye? Like a good wrestler, I went out jobbing to the Korean scene. 1.2.3. IM OUT!'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-22886956050421920092010-03-15T22:58:00.006-06:002010-03-16T01:31:56.638-06:00On the road again.Well, the blog once again serves a purpose. So I've fired 'er back up. It seems like it's been a long time coming, but finally-next friday-I leave for my 'worlduh touah' as my former boss always told anyone who would possibly listen.<br /><br />I know it's kind of all I've talked about for the past month or so, so most of you know the itinerary, but for those of you who don't, here's a rough lay down of the plan:<br /><br />March 26th-Fly to Budapest, Hungary.<br />From Budapest I plan to travel to Vienna and then down into Italy. I plan on spending 2 or 3 weeks in Italy. Rome has always been #1 on the places I want to see in the world. Originally, I had planned a different direction for the trip, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I better go the places I really want to go, because you never know when you'll get the chance again. But I plan on trying to get down south (possible just south on Naples) to spend some time on the quiet seaside. The nice thing about having 9 weeks, is you don't have to spend it all in cities and tour groups.<br /><br />Then, via plane or speed boat, to Greece. 2 or 3 weeks in Greece. The theme of the first part of this trip is kind of trying to see the origins of Western civilization. Rome, Athens, Sparta, Thesselonia, Istanbul. So I'm looking to do more of the ancient history tour, and less of the euro party trash tour. Hopefully though, I'll get a little of both though.<br /><br />I'll slowly make my way over to Turkey though Greece. Where I go in Turkey is largely dependent upon how long I take getting there. I'm hoping to have 3 or 4 weeks left, I would like to get down to the Lycian coast. It's a bit far from Istanbul, but it seems really nice(and relatively cheap!) So it's definitely on my hope list. I'm sure there's plenty to do in and around Istanbul though if I'm left with only a week or 10 days.<br /><br />The only thing I have booked on this part of the trip however is the first nights stay in Budapest, after that it's up in the air. If I get convinced to go to Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, instead. Fine. If I get convinced to travel up into Germany, fine. Hell, I haven't even totally ruled out that I might get bored and fly back to the States for a few weeks in there. Point is, I have to be in Istanbul on May 31st. Besides that, whatever.<br /><br />Then I have a flight from Istanbul to Johannesburg on May 31st.<br />The main reason for going down to South Africa is for the World Cup. The cup doesn't actually start until June 12th or so, but flying in 2 weeks early saved me about $1,000. So it was worth it. I'm planning on using the first 2 weeks to visit with Alex, maybe go to be big game reserve in SA(Kruger Park), maybe go to Mozambique. Not to sure yet. I'll make those plans along the way.<br /><br />After that it's down to Durban, where all the World Cup games I have tickets to will be held. We've got a bit of a crew coming(Up to 9 guys at one point.) Including Derek DeBarr and Matt Potocki from back home. So we've been able to pool together our money and rent out a pretty nice villa for 2 weeks. This will definitely be one of the highlights of SA. Just be a nice relaxing, fun, time.<br />Games I have tickets for:<br />Germany v. Australia<br />S. Korea v. Nigeria<br />Portugal v. Brazil<br />and a round of 16 game which looks to be The Netherlands vs. Paraguay probably.<br /><br />Everyone besides Michael, Alison, and I head back to their countries after that. The 3 of us though plan to take the Garden route through the southern portion of South Africa for a few days and wind up in Cape Town. 7 or 10 days in Cape Town, meeting up with a lot of old friends. Then back up to Jo'Burg for a day or two before flying out to Manchester on the 16th of July.<br /><br />Once in northern England, Michael and Ally've got big plans for me. All over the country side. Camping up in Scotland. Down to Ally's family pub in Dorsett. Big things folks, big things.<br /><br />Then the Northern Europe portion of the trip is wrapped with 2 or 3 days in Amsterdam with Michael and a few of his mates. No better way to end Europe.<br /><br />THEN, New York for 3 or 4 days-just because-hopefully including a Sox/Yankees game on August 6. Flying from there to Milwaukee to meet Matt for a Brewers game on the 7th. Sunday Cubs game on the 8th. Back down to the St. Louis area in time for Cardinals/Cubs on the 13th.<br /><br />THEN THEN, Jeong is coming over to the U.S. sometime around the 15th of August. I think we're going to fly out to San Francisco, or drive around the grand canyon/yellowstone area. I haven't really decided yet. Depends on what opportunities pop up. (i.e. places we can stay.)<br /><br />Then a week or two or three back resting in good old Illinois, and back to Korea once I pick a job I want. Probably starting sometime around September.<br /><br />So there's the course outline, very roughly. 10 or so countries, 4 continents, 9 sporting events, a ton of cash, and *hopefully* some worthwhile memories/stories.<br /><br />I'm goign to try to avoid being a daily internet user while I'm gone(We'll see how possible that is.) But I am going to set aside one day a week to update on here. So for those interested, you can follow along.<br /><br />Before I go, I'm going to post a few more updates. Oregon trail style lists of things I'm taking with me. (Only 1 back pack for 6 months-lots of decisions to be made there.) My iPod playlist. And some final thoughts on my 3+ years since this Korea adventure started.<br /><br />'Shire.'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-56415168855083966022010-03-10T06:34:00.001-06:002010-03-10T06:34:26.797-06:00Test test'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-84845825647764268782008-04-09T08:10:00.002-06:002008-04-09T08:17:44.752-06:00I wonder what I'm supposed to do with this blog any more? I'm not sure. I'm out of the age where I want to talk about everything I did or everything I think...but I feel like I should write something. For personal growth, and to feel like I'm still a part of people's lives who I don't get to see every day.<br /><br />What to write though?<br /><br />Ill thinks about it. No one reads anymore, so I can do what I want. this is like yelling into an endless cave. Doing it to hear my own voice reverberate later on.'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-33252765949769845742008-04-01T08:57:00.002-06:002008-04-01T09:10:04.966-06:00Just a testWarning: The following post is not interesting. Probably just go ahead and ignore it. It's Personal.<br />I know when I post so sporadically people aren't going to read anymore. That's fine. I'm actually just really in the mood to write, and wanted to test out my skills on my blog before I started thinking about moving on to my other stuff.<br /><br />Lots and lots to report, but it equals up to too much to report. I have a great time every weekend, and if I were to constantly write about it on here, it'd take days and days and pages and pages. It's odd how that works for me-the more I have to write about the less I feel like writing. That's the way it's always been for me.<br /><br />I spent the last two days hiding in crowds. Whenever I have Heavy thoughts, am low on Essential Fuels, or need to reorganize my head, that's always my answer. I put in a solid selection of music, and quietly go walk in downtown areas among thousands of people. I love the city for it. You've never been more alone-more of an utter nobody-than waiting with 400 people to cross a street. That's where thinking happens. That's where you pull everything together. That's where you start to feel better.<br />Well, that and long hours of heavy lifting. I'm convinced lifting releases chemicals in the body similar to a Cocaine/Pot combination. When I'm lifting I'm king of the world, the harder I push, the better I feel...then when I've finished the animalistic ritual I sit in a park and feel the push moving back in. It's a great feeling, and a great tactic of focusing. I call it "aggressive meditation"<br /><br />So what's been on my mind? Wouldn't you like to know? Put a public forum like this is no place for that kind of cheap emo-banter. You never know who could be reading these things-some drama junky getting off on your problems. No sir, not for me. The People who need to know-know. Don't worry though, there's no doom and gloom here-and I'm quite a happy person-just needed 2 days to stay that way. This is how I avoid being that guy that blows up at work when his ink pen won't work. I think we can all appreciate that.<br /><br />The point of this ramble is to suggest to you that you go find a crowd of people swarming in one direction-and walk the other way. When you hit the sea of bodies-none of whom are even aware you're there. That's when you get to hear the tree falling in the woods.'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-8772282454784959952008-03-18T08:16:00.002-06:002008-03-18T08:29:11.764-06:00Yes, I haven't posted in a long time. I have my reasons. I doubt I'll be posting too much in the future either. It's not a bad thing. It's a good thing.<br /><br />Anyway, the reason I'm posting now is to share someone else's work. Recently a man-Bill Kapoun-passed away in a fire. It happened 2 buildings down from my apartment. It was only a few days before I moved in. The guys who lived in our apartment before us were good friends with him. When we moved in his smoky guitar was still in the room. I feel like I've gotten to know a lot about him since his passing. His sister recently posted a large essay he had written over the years. Largely it chronicles his travels. The man was truly a world traveler.<br />It was striking to read just how similar my ideas were to his.<br /><br />I just wanted to share his last paragragh:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">On its most superficial level traveling allows us to see and discover new and beautiful things, on a slightly deeper level it allows us to know more about our neighbors in the rest of the world, which is one of the things America needs the most right now, but at its deepest level the greatest gift of traveling is the personal journey that allows us to see our own likes and dislikes, passions and perversions, history and future, under a completely different light. Only then can we be truly satisfied for; truly, many will shed a tear when we pass from this world, but besides our nearest loved ones, our days on this earth are quickly forgotten. Few will remember us a year later. The things we do, the attainment of the goals we spend so much time striving for, all mean little beyond the here and now. That is why, when I die, all I hope people to say of me is he lived life. The good, the bad, he took it all in, and relished it. Yes, he lived life for life. Which is how we should all live our lives, never letting a precious moment slip by.</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-style: italic;">William Kapoun<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span>Why do I do the things I do? I couldn't have put it better myself.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /></span>'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-35240574128421707022008-01-11T23:58:00.000-06:002008-01-12T00:20:21.198-06:00Hey guys, what a dying blog eh?<br /><br />For a self proclaimed writer I don't like to write all that much...guess I'm more just a reader than a writer...or lazy, either or.<br /><br /><br />Been having a fun week though. I'm doing a winter camp at a different elementary school than the one I work at, and it's actually been a lot of fun. They're much more organized and supportive than my other school. It's amazing the difference it can make.<br /><br />I was worried going in because I volunteered to take the lowest level kids. The kids are in the 3rd to 5th grade, but they're English is pretty low. "My name is..." "I go to..." "I like...." are about where they're at. They manage though.<br />The nice thing about working with these kids is they all really want to learn English-they haven't been doing it 8 hours a day for the past 8 years like my Kwangwoon kids-and because they're at such a low level you can actually see progress from day to day. I was astounded on Wednesday-I gave them vocabulary words on Tuesday. I can in Wednesday expecting to have to go over them again, nope, got them all down. A great feeling as a teacher.<br /><br />It's also nice to see how far I've come in communicating in Korean. A big part of being able to teach this low of a level is that I can understand a lot of very basic Korean. 10 months ago, I probably would have been really lost in the class. I don't speak Korean back to them(Im an English teacher after all) but when the kids ask me basic questions in Korean I can at least know what they're saying, before I would have been totally lost and probably thought they were making fun of me. In reality they're usually saying "What?" or "I don't know" or "Should I do this?" or "Did we have homework?" not "You're stupid" or "I hate you". It's refreshing to know the difference.<br /><br />Although, on Thursday we had a 'dinner' with the kids where I taught them "Western table manners" (I was pretty nervous ME teaching table manners is kind of the blind leading the deaf.) anyway, it was a 3 course meal soup/salad steak(chop steak) and desert(jello). One of the girls(she's got to weigh about 30 pounds) says it's too much food for her. I tell her "No! I'm still hungry." and a Korean director tells her it's common for Americans to eat larger meals. So the girl points at me and says "America pig!"...touche Maria, touche...Although I told her it was generally a bad idea to say call anyone an American pig.<br /><br />The kids are all great. I've grown to really, really, enjoy teaching them. Still couldn't stay another year though-I'm just ready to not be a foreigner anymore. At least for awhile.<br />And, while maybe I could teach in 40 years when Im retired and bored-I've got other skills to conquer...and well, you know, millions of dollars to make.<br /><br />Anyway, I'm out.<br /><br />Im home in 49 days by the way. So, you should all start getting excited about that.'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-40741360389672378762008-01-04T01:20:00.001-06:002008-01-04T01:54:59.668-06:00YAY!!!<br />For the first time in quite a few years, I'm really actually proud to be American. We done good.<br /><br />Even Huckabee winning-as much as I despise his platforms and think they'd be disastrous for the country-his win shows that Americans are finally thinking for themselves.<br /><br />http://www.barackobama.com/index.php<br />Watch the victory speech-I can never say anything as well as him.<br /><br />That is all.'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-42828645819243450492008-01-02T08:30:00.000-06:002008-01-02T09:33:18.740-06:00Just a dash more politicsTomorrow is the Iowa Caucuses. I'm probably more nervous than I've been since, well, at least the Broncos/Packers Super Bowl. If you haven't grasped it yet, what happens in the next couple weeks is quite possibly the most crucial moment in American history in, at least, the 75 years. We're at a breaking point. We keep going down our path of fear and greed-we're doomed. Asia is gonna blow by us and we don't even see it coming. But if we change our attitude, change our mind set, and change our leader it's not inevitable. Who the Democrats nominate will make that decision. I am not using hyperbole when I say Barak Obama is my great hope.<br /><br /><a href="https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/decmatch?match_campaign_id=5&source=20080102_DM09_02_C_G">https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/decmatch?match_campaign_id=5&source=20080102_DM09_02_C_G</a><br />Check out the video. I'm probably more in love than I've ever been.<br />(Go to www.barackobama.com if you want to check out more.)<br /><br />If you agree, <a href="http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/Bclevenger">donate!</a><a href="http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/Bclevenger"></a> You'd be among 484,000 other little guys(me included). The guy hasn't taken a dime from a big lobbyist committee. The guy owes no company(Hillary owes Pharmaceuticals and Car companies. Generic Republican X owes the NRA.)<br /><br />Omaba owes ME. He owes you too.<br />(Donate at the "donate"button and I'll match it. Call it the "Bring Bret Back" fund.)<br /><br />I've been contemplating a lot lately about what it is to be American-whether or not it's something I should be proud of, something that can give me hope. In a few weeks-I'll have my answer.<br /><br /><br />Ok. There's my pitch.<br /><br /><br /><br />Anyway, I had a good New Year's Eve. Went to a rave kind of party down town. Good time-not totally my scene, but fun none-the-less. I had a string of awful New Years, followed by a string of totally uneventful New Year's. So it was nice to do something fun, eventful, and not disastrous this year.It was very much "The" place to be for Foreigners in Seoul. I was barely good looking enough to get in.(In fact, I think I was only allowed in because I was escorted by 4 good looking women-and Alex.)<br /><br />I'll post some pictures when Alex finally uploads them.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPtg-gvgWhE">One more speech for you all. </a><br />*Fingers SUPER crossed****'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-37846984251336715672007-12-29T09:22:00.000-06:002007-12-29T10:07:42.198-06:00UghI hate Michael Moore. I do. I hate every documentary he's ever made. Just watched Sicko though,<br />http://www.megavideo.com/ep_gr.swf?v=6GLO6VSV There's the link.<br />and I have to agree with him(He's still a sleaze ball, and some of this docu. is very unfair).<br /><br />It's astounding being outside the United States and seeing just how foreign our system is the rest of the world. Alex(South African) was just complaining tonight that one of his friends who was in an accident and is paralyzed and she has to pay an awful amount of about $2500 a year. Shocking...in the states it'd be at least 10 times more. That's AFRICA.<br /><br />Here in Korea? And remember, I'm not even Korean, I've been to the doctor. I went to see an ear nose and throat specialist. How far did I have to schedule in advance? Walked in. How long was the wait? 10 minutes. How much did I pay? 3 dollars. I got a one week prescription of 4 seperate pills. Total cost? 1 dollar and sixty cents.<br />4 dollars and sixty cents. How much would it cost me to see an ENT and get a week of 4 pills? $100? $300?<br /><br />Where does the U.S. rank in Medical services? 32nd. Just above Slovenia.<br /><br />One of the main things I've learned from having lived outside the U.S. is that our reluctance to OMG PAY TAXES FOR SERVICES shoots us in the ass. Although I should say our taxes probably wouldn't go up if we'd just stop with the retarded two thirds of a trillion dollar TERRORIST defense budget.<br /><br />Ugh. Why am I not moving to Canada? I like the cold, I can live with hockey. I don't know...<br />You're all rooting for Obama if you like me living in the states.'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-62911876807979054512007-12-27T23:40:00.000-06:002007-12-27T23:43:17.360-06:00Not dead yet.Sorry, I just haven't had anything particularly interesting to write about. I've been bored the past 3 weeks-and had the flue the past week. Still don't feel like a trillion won, but I'll live.<br /><br />Seriously, I got nothin'. Just wanted to say I'm alive.<br /><br />Going to some uber hip trendy New Years Eve party down town-it's very exclusive-I'm, honestly, not that excited about it, it'll probably be a bunch of people overly full of themselves, but it's something at least. Maybe it'll even give me something to write about!'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-7235540102971423082007-12-10T08:43:00.000-06:002007-12-10T08:55:42.416-06:00Lets take a visit to the most defensed place in the world!Oh hey remember me?<br /><br />I didn't post last Thursday because I knew I'd be doing something interesting this weekend.<br /><br />So what'd I do?<br /><br />Went to the most militarized place in the world. The DMZ-DUN DUN DUN!<br /><br />It was really a rather boring trip, but I can now say I've been there, and seen North Korea too.<br />I didn't actually enter the DMZ itself(no one can) but I went into the special restriction area just north.<br />There's a 1.5 mile special restriction zone, then a 2 mile DMZ, then the North. I was in the restricted zone, and got all the way up to the 2 mile mark. There was an observation deck where you could see the North, and binoculars there to see even closer. I can now say I've seen North Koreans going about their every day lives.<br /><br />For me the trip was both interesting and reflective. To think, there I was, a mile away from people who barely have electricity and think they're leader is part god. Amazing the power a government can have over it's people.<br /><br />This is a lot like China, not really something I can accurately and fully write about, so if you want to know the whole story have a visit with me when I'm back in the States.<br /><br />Here's some pics and a video anyway. If you've got questions, ask, I'll gladly answer.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/bretclev06/prof16.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" /></a><br />The last train stop before the North(I could see the real DMZ from here) they built the station on the assumption that some day the trains could run through the north-when that's possible you'll be able to take a train from Seoul to Lisbon Portugal.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/bretclev06/prof6.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" /></a><br />Freedom Bridge. The only way from the North. This is where reunifications happen, it's a pretty emotional place.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/bretclev06/prof3.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" /></a><br />A memorial wall. The clothes all have hopes for reunification and prayers for family members still lost in the north. (Millions of families were torn apart when the split happened)<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/bretclev06/prof10.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" /></a><br />A shot of the North Korean flag pole. Both the North and the South erected giant flag poles to remind one another who they are in case they forget. Type in "North Korean Flag Pole" in google images to get a better view of this.<br /><br /><embed width="448" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://img.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vidmg.photobucket.com/albums/v115/bretclev06/temples058.flv"></embed><br />Video of North Korea. You weren't allowed to get any closer than that to the edge, there was a "photo line". Basically they don't want anyone to be able to get too serious photographs(there's also limitation on zoom capabilities)'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-59089611073265818302007-11-28T08:36:00.000-06:002007-11-28T08:38:25.615-06:00I'm too lazy to write, but I want to share this.<br /><br /><object width="464" height="388" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000"><param name="movie" value="http://www2.funnyordie.com/public/flash/fodplayer.swf?1194729277"><param name="flashvars" value="key=74"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><embed width="464" height="388" flashvars="key=74" allowfullscreen="true" quality="high" src="http://www2.funnyordie.com/public/flash/fodplayer.swf?1194729277" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><noscript><a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/74">The Landlord</a> on <a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/">FunnyOrDie.com</a></noscript><br /><br />I don't know anyone who won't think this amazing.'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-53888350184739656792007-11-23T10:51:00.000-06:002007-11-23T11:34:03.063-06:00Thanksgiving conviction and I'll miss my kids.I know, I can get lazy sometimes. This is one of those times.<br /><br />Thanksgiving:<br /><br />For Thanksgiving I was planning on going to an American pub in Itaewon for a Thanksgiving Buffet. My plans ended up changing though.<br />Thursday afternoon I was in downtown Nowon. I had just run into a friend,I talked to him for awhile. He wished me a happy Thanksgiving, which was nice of him to remember-he's Korean-and I complained that the Turkey would be dry, and more than likely the potatoes would suck. Then I went to cross the main street to go get an afternoon coffee at Krispy Kreme.<br /><br />Standing at the crosswalk I noticed two beggars. They're there every day. One is in a wheel chair, and has what appears to be muscular dystrophy, the other guy has nothing below his waist and deformed hands. Neither can speak. Both their boxes are filled with a couple of singles and change. Both are clearly malnourished.<br /><br />Then there's me. Im in $100 shoes I bought the day before, on my way to get a $4 Latte, and complaining that my turkey was going to be dry. And it crosses my mind-"Man am I thankful I'm not them."...and then I feel about as convicted as one can possibly feel.<br /><br />These guys are on the same street corner 10 hours a day, they beg no one, just desperately need a few dollars to stay alive, and I'm going to go spend $40 on turkey and cranberries.<br /><br />I decided if there was a shred of decency in me there was no way I could spend that money like that. So instead I gave each guy $20, went to the department store down the road and bought a piece of pecan pie(that ended up tasting like crap.)<br /><br />So, I ended up waking up at 3 AM, watching a quarter of the Packers/Lions game and eating ramen noodles(traditionally Korean by the way) and then a piece of Pecan pie.<br /><br />I always like getting smacked in the face like that. Sometimes I can get so wrapped up in my comforts that I can easily forget just what there is to be thankful for, and that no matter how crummy I may think my life is there are hundreds of millions of people in the world that without hesitation or qualification would trade places with me, or if you can afford the internet to read this-you.<br /><br />I'm not one of those utilitarians that look at the world that way and feel totally crippled and unwilling to do anything but give everything away. But I still feel like I should, and can, do a whole lot more than I do. When someone is so utterly desperate it's so easy to change their outlook. A dollar here, a dollar there can do so much. If I can't remember that on a day dedicated to giving thanks, I have no idea when I can.<br /><br />Anyway, I wrote out that whole story because I know there's a lot of good people who read this, and maybe it's a chance to remember how lucky you are, and how unlucky others are, too. To remember how much you really have to be thankful for-and not the cheesy crap none of us really mean around the dinner table-and how easily you could give someone else a chance to be thankful.<br />Now go find a bell ringer and give them $5 damn it!<br /><br />Other than that:<br />Well, it's been cold here. Like in the 20s most of this week. We even had snow on Tuesday and Thursday. It's feeling really Christmasy over here-snow, cold, there are Christmas decorations everywhere already-and that's something even the Koreans can't really mess up. Christmas in the city seems like a lot of fun, or at least ascetically pleasing.<br /><br />I do have a couple day trips in the works in the next couple of months, so hopefully I'll get a chance to talk about those. I'm trying to do all the typical Asian stuff I can before I leave-who knows if I'll ever get to come back.<br /><br />I only have a couple of weeks left at the Elementary school. I don't know how regular elementary school teachers do it-letting their children go every year. As much as I can't wait to leave the school-I'm going to miss the kids like crazy.<br />Even the kids I don't really like I've come to care about. It's funny, there's a couple of boys who are totally out of control-notorious through the whole school, not just my class-but still, when they take their speaking test, and I can see how nervous and vulnerable they are I really feel for them. As bad as they want to act, they're still just little kids.<br />I'm awful in general at giving tests though-I like all the kids too much-it kills me to have to give someone a bad grade. I have to force myself to stick to my rubric, otherwise I'd just give them all A's and hugs.<br /><br />There was a school wide English contest Wednesday. I wasn't a judge, but I had to go watch-I was actively rooting for my kids, not to win, but just to be proud of themselves.<br />Actually funny-not sappy-story from the contest. Koreans are UBER competitive when it comes to their kids. This was a speaking contest, each kid told a story. They were encouraged to dress up and make props. Sounds nice. But these parents took it SO far. Apparently there's a large industry for MAKING this crap for them. Every single kid had a professional visual aid-either a giant pop-up book, or an illustrated flip book. And each kid was dressed in tailor made turtle suit or sheeps suit. I mean, sure, they all looked good, but I think it's pretty pathetic that it's a contest of who can spend the most money on getting it done by professionals than actual personal talent.<br />(My 5th grade student colored his own picture. He just had his one picture, not a 7 page artistic rendering of the story with attachable velcro pieces. It looked like he was totally outclassed, but I was so much more proud of him for making his own than I would have been if he had done what everyone else had done...of course, the next day he told me I was lazy, so I don't think the admiration is mutual.)<br /><br /><br />Ok, this is long-and lots of overly thoughtful thoughts too. Sorry. I'll be funnier next time. I promise.'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-5170454684852744612007-11-08T06:45:00.000-06:002007-11-08T07:03:06.617-06:00Hi guysJust wanted to let everyone know why I've been gone. My computer broke. *tear* but I'm back online now, so no biggy.<br /><br />Nothing really interesting has happened anyway, well it has, but it's a long story. The climax of the teaching year was Wednesday. OMG PARENTS OBSERVATION DAY. Everyone freaked out, except me, I couldn't care less. For multiple reasons-one being I don't care what the school thinks of me, and two I'm confident enough in what I do I didn't change anything. But the work environment was high stress for a few weeks. Thursday we went drinking for lunch with our bosses to celebrate and one of the retard Board guys even wrote a mediocre speech in English to thank us. Whatever. I really don't like the school-it's a total sham. Love the kids though-they thought the day was as hilarious as I did. "Teacher! Usually the heat is off, but it's on today. WHY?!(wink wink)" "Teacher! Should I say I love your class? Will that make everyone happy?(har har)" Seriously, I love the kids. I feel like it's me and them VS. the stupid school. I think sometimes the homeroom teachers think I'm not serious enough, and I know a lot of the other secondary teachers(like music and chinese) teachers don't like me because the kids always talk to me in the hall and stuff-I play this cool version of stair-stickball with the boys. Again though, I care way more about what the kids think of me than the adults. The kids I like. The adults. Not to much.<br /><br />Sunday was an awkward day. An old student of mine asked me to go to a "famous Jazz club" around 2:30. She said she was bringing a friend, and asked if Alex would come along too. Alex didn't want to go, but I talked him into it. I told him it'd just be a quick cup of coffee to placate some fairly nice Korean ladies. (They're in their early 40's). This student's English isn't so good either, so I knew it'd be a tough trip. Hopefully it'd be quick and her friends English would be better.<br />So we meet at the subway station and I ask where we're going. She says "Apukjong" You know..only AN HOUR AND A HALF AWAY. FOR COFFEE?? She says "oh no, not coffee. It's a famous restaurant. I have reservations for 7:00" It's 2:30!? So we get there, walk around some street, then she takes us to some modern art showing. It was like 5 pictures-that all sucked-and it was like a meeting of the pretentious club. That takes like 20 minutes. So now it's 4:30. Her friend still hasn't shown up, and we're sitting at a coffee shop buying $8 Lattes and speaking broken English, asking questions like<br />"Did you major in Literature in college?"<br />"No"<br />"Oh, what did you major in then?"<br />"Literature."<br />Sigh. Let's just call it frustrating and leave it at that.<br /><br />Then her friend shows up, and her occupation is midly interesting-She works for a television station as a director of a travel show. She's been all over the world. Unfortunately the conversation went something like this:<br />"Oh, you've been to Tibet? How was it?"<br />"Beautiful and fun."<br />"Oh, ok. Well how about Madagascar? How was that?"<br />"Beautiful and fun...yeah...and hot."<br />...Man, it's practically like I've been there myself!<br /><br />So anyway, after like 3 excruciating hours of that crap we get to this jazz bar, which is admittedly really nice...but the cheapest thing on the menu for dinner is $45.<br />Ugh. So I spent $75 for dinner(I DID have surf and turf, a nice class of wine-$18-and a tiny cup of gelato-$5. And it was probably the best meal I've had in Korea)<br />but basically what it turned out to be was, we were great accessories for the girls night out-I think. It's very hip to be seen with foreigners in places like that-especially much younger ones. So it was pretty embarrassing, pretty much a travesty of a day, and borderline kidnapping.<br /><br />Worst of all, I felt so ashamed for telling Alex he didn't need more than $10 for a quick cup of coffee, and getting him into a 9 hour, $100, painful, fiasco that I now also owe him dinner this weekend.<br /><br />Man. Korea. The crap you'll get into over here.'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-51800552718004902172007-10-30T11:19:00.000-06:002007-10-30T11:42:03.373-06:00It's 2:18 AMand I can't sleep. It's been this way for about a week. I don't know what it is. I'm really really tired, but I can't get my body to shut down. I want to go to sleep, but I just don't <span style="font-style: italic;">want</span> to go to sleep. I guess it happens to everyone now and then. Hopefully I'll get back to my semi-regular sleeping habits soon enough.<br /><br />I've also had a couple of days of making an ass out of myself. Not in any serious way or anything, but it's definitely been hit after hit the past 4 days or so.<br /><br />Thursday I was meeting a couple of friends for lunch. We were supposed to meet in front of the big department store. I showed up on time. It's a big meeting area. I'm scanning the crowd, can't find them, can't find them. Then over on the side of the building I see them waving. Ah, there they are! I give a big wave back and walk over towards them. When I'm about 20 feet away another girl enters from just behind my left shoulder, and says hello to them. I take a closer look, and, yep, not my friends at all. I've been waving and walking towards complete strangers. We've all done this one though, and I feel like I can't blame myself. They were both wearing hats and big coats, and well, they looked similar damn it.<br />Still kinda sucks.<br /><br />Then this weekend. I'm walking along the street with Alex, another guy friend, and two girls-not really friends-just girls I've met a couple of times. The other guy friend, a Korean, is heading home. He asks me what I'm planning on doing, I tell him I think I'm going to go to dinner. He says "oh, well why don't you ask the girls to go to dinner with you."<br />(First, let me interject. It seems to me Koreans have no tact-I think it's largely to do with the second language thing, but they're never subtle, at all. Another quick story-must have been about six months ago-I was sitting outside a bar with Young(the middle aged gambling alcoholic) there were a couple of cute girls sitting at the table next to us. One of them says "Hi boy, nice to meet you!" It's sweet that they're trying to speak English. But Young, oh Young, says-loudly-"Hey Bret, they want to have a sexy time with you! Say Hello!" Of course they understand enough of that to be embarrassed as much as I am, and that ended that conversation)<br />Ok, so anyway, this other Korean friend puts me in an odd position-like I said I don't really know these girls, and I think they have other plans-so to keep him from saying something to them and telling them the same thing, I react quickly and say "eh, I'd rather eat alone."<br />He says ok and gets on the bus. About 20 seconds later the girls say they've got to head the other way and take off. Alex and I get a few steps further, and he says "I hate to make you kick your own ass." "Yeah?" "You know the one you thought was cute?"(I thought one of them was cute) "Yeah" "Well, she told me earlier that she had a thing for you, and they wanted to go to dinner with us tonight...and I'm pretty sure she heard you say 'I'd rather eat alone'."<br />"F*#$^"<br />Mostly, I just feel bad because if she heard me, and understood the meaning of what I said. "I'd rather eat alone" is about the rudest damn thing I could have possibly said, and I was only trying to save them an awkward situation. I haven't heard from them again sense. I hope I do, only to make an unass of myself. Ugh.<br /><br />Yet another, 'Bret's a dumb ass' story.<br /><br />Today I was in Itaewon(the Western part of the city). I was walking down the street known as hooker hill. I see a couple of guys, they're clean looking, dressed well, middle 40's I'd say, obviously businessmen. I hear one say "That place has a Guinness sign, I wonder if they're open." Now, many of guys have gotten conned on hooker hill. They think they're going into a bar when they're actually going into a brothel. (By the way the English bookstore is also on hooker hill-that's where I was at, promise-the hookers are all ugly and way to expensive anyway)<br />So I turn around. "Hey are you guys looking for a bar?"<br />"Yeah, kind of"<br />"Eh, you better not look here. There's a nice Scottish place a couple of blocks over, and a whole row of decent pubs behind the Hamilton."<br />"Oh....ok"<br />"Yeah, you really don't want to look here. This is called hooker hill. It's all shady places with more than just Guinness"<br />"Uh. Yeah. We know. That's what we're looking for."<br />"OKAY! Best of luck to you then..."<br /><br />Lesson learned: When you come across men searching for something on 'hooker hill', it's best not to stop and ask them what they're looking for-you probably don't want to know.<br /><br />Happy Halloween. (I didn't dress up, Alex is a liar and said there'd be no dressing up. Everyone went all out-except me-I was too sick to care really. On sinus medication though, standing on a dance floor between an Asian nurse in a mini-skirt and a full body Preditor-well, lets just say it's a trip. Yes, there was a guy who showed up in a full bore, straight off the set, version of Preditor-and there was a guy dressed as Alien too.)<br /><br />G'night!'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6724495805548627276.post-19418161918074144922007-10-26T23:32:00.001-06:002007-10-26T23:59:11.866-06:00A post. Just a post.Hey kids,<br /><br />It's been a busy week. Good busy. Not worth writing about good though. So anyway, here I am.<br /><br />Nothing much really to write about, in the way of Korea news. I stayed in last weekend, just didn't feel like going out. I'm always much calmer in the winter than the summer. I suppose we all are. Works been going ok. There's still a lot of crummy tension with people the elementary school. It's such a sham there. And every day I hate more having to listen to the incompetence and not have a say. I don't take directions well when I know I could do things better. It's far to detailed of a story to explain any further. It just sucks.<br /><br />I suppose I can announce at this point what I'm going to be doing when I leave Korea. I'll be coming home for a couple of weeks to a month at the beginning of April. Then, I'm moving to Argentina for awhile. It's pretty much set now. It's much more relaxed there, I can work whatever hours I want, the culture isn't nearly as offensive to me. Overall, it'll be a much better situation. It's going to be like a semi-working vacation for me. I'll probably stay there for 6 months to a year-I might move on to another country(probably Europe), my goal is to be back in the states permanently by August 2009. Ryan is going to move down there too, and a couple other college buddies are considering it, so I really think it could be a hell of a lot of fun. Ryan used to live down there, has a lot of contacts, so it won't be going in blind. I'm actually a lot less apprehensive about it than I was coming to Korea. I guess once you experience that type of change once, a second time isn't as big of a deal. I find it odd though that I'm moving from Seoul to one 3 cities in the world that might be considered bigger(Buenos Aries) I guess this little town of 12 million just wasn't big enough for me...<br /><br />I can't think of any good kid stories at the moment, they're always making me laugh, but nothing stands out right now. They love practicing the new words they've heard on TV. As you can imagine that makes for some funny moments.<br /><br />I might have some pics to post tomorrow. Erin is leaving Korea this week, so we're having a going away party tonight. It's been awhile since I took any group pics, so I think I'll try to do that tonight. No Halloween dress up though, stupid commonwealth people don't celebrate the holiday. Bunch of tossers they are.<br /><br />I'm done. More soon.<br />Later'Shirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262046723147507789noreply@blogger.com0