Alex Teacher-Defender of Small Children Against Evil

Well, defender of evil in the eyes of a 6 or 7 year old. After kindergarten was over for the day, I was sitting at my desk doing some lesson plans when one of the 7 year old students came into my classroom. Her speaking skills aren't the greatest and of course, deteriorate with anxiety like all of my students.
Student: Alex Teacher!
Me: Yes?
Student: Bathroom!
Me: "May I go to the bathroom please?" (The standard way students are required to ask to go to the bathroom before they may go, except for the 5 year olds who we generally want to go as quickly as possible to minimize the chance of them pissing themselves which happens fairly regularly. If they fail to ask properly I go over the question afterward. No need to traumatize the children more than necessary.)
Student: No!
Me: Um...no bathroom? Hwa jong sheel? (Korean word for bathroom)
Student: Yes but there is.... *looks highly agitated*
Me: Yes but there is what? No toilet paper? Is someone there?
Student: No. Bathroom ...there is...*thinks hard* BUD!
Me: Bud?
Student: No, buG!
Me: OH! Bug! Okay, let's see it then.

She then followed me to the bathroom and pointed out a microscopic bug that was on the toilet seat. She wouldn't come near it. I quickly squashed it with some toilet paper and reassured her that it was gone and she could go now.

Was I this frightend of bugs when I was a child? I remember being deathly afraid of spiders (not so much daddy long legs as the black ones) but little bugs I could generally deal with on my own. For crickets I would actually scream and make my dad or brother deal with because they would hop at you! Outside, I thought crickets were lovely, as invaders of my bedroom they made me want to cry. In any case, I just don't rememer being that bothered by little bugs. I have many memories of getting obscenely large wads of toilet paper to deal with them and throwing shoes from far away but I could handle myself. I wonder if it comes from living in the woods and always playing outside versus living in the city. My little girls tend to freak out if a fly comes into the classroom, not a bee but a generic fly.

Alex Defender of Small children is celebrating not having work tomorrow by going out tonight. Hurray for no school!

Paradise, Pleasure and Poverty

The first night in the Philippines we decided to stay in the hotel as there was nothing nearby and it was already pretty late. We ended up having pitchers of frozen margaritas at the hotel bar and marveling over the fact that there are limes in the Philippines. Question: if Korea is always importing mangos from the Philippines, why can't they get limes?! The first expat bar to figure this out will make a killing on Corona and margaritas. Right now I'm chowing down on Oreos and procrastinating really diving into this blog entry. I love writing about day to day life but sometimes writing about vacations is tedious. It feels more like a detailed itinerary than writing.
The next morning we got up at 8 and took advantage of our lovely free breakfast, chock full of fresh fruit, eggs, pan cakes, strong coffee and juice. Holiday Inn has a lot to learn on what a free breakfast should have. Being based in a 3rd world country probably helps keep the prices down though. We ended up at a resort, Plantation Bay and spent the day in the sun and swimming. There was everything we needed, a swim up bar, lounge chairs, sand, palm trees, the works. There is virtually no public beach access in the Philippines. While this ensures that beaches are clean and well looked after it also ensures that the poor have no beach access. On less politically disturbing terms, I got to gloat about the fact that I did not come away from day 1 violently red as I used sunblock that was not SPF 4. I generally try to avoid the whole pain and cancer thing, tans be damned. In any case, I still got some nice color though I did get burnt on my left shoulder (which I seemed to have missed on my first application of sunblock) and a tiny bit on my nose. Silly protruding appendages! After a day in the sun we headed back to the hotel to take a nap and get ready for a night on the town. Only, when I'm in a foreign country I am much too excited to possibly calm down enough for a nap. As the Birthday Girl mentioned, I was definitely the puppy dog of the group. Also, strangely enough I was the youngest in our group by a few years. the Birthday Girl was celebrating her 26th, making me the baby by a good 3 years. I guess a lot of people don't decide to pack up and leave everything they know straight out of college.

That night we headed down to Mango Street for dinner and clubbing. Dinner was fantastic as was clubbing but it was horribly depressing to see the poverty all around. Worse than the little kids begging was seeing them passed out on the street. You'd like to do something but there isn't anything to do. I try to turn off my brain but it doesn't stop the images from haunting me.
Day two we went island hopping, a private boat for the 6 of us, 4 crew. I got to go snorkeling for the first time in my life (using flippers and a mask in your friend's pool when you are 8 doesn't count)! It was SO COOL an much more fun than diving since you weren't so worried about breathing. If you got a little water, you just sat up and fixed your mask or tube or whatever it was. Something about seeing such beautiful fish and coral makes you marvel at the beauty an the sanctity of life. I wish one of us had an underwater camera but at least I have the memories. Besides, if I had a camera I would have been more concerned with taking the perfect picture instead of just enjoying the experience. I should be writing pages upon pages about these 2 days but to be perfectly honest, I'm tired and cranky this evening and not in the mood to be prolific. In short, I had one of the best weekends of my life and feel blessed to be alive. I'll appease you, dear reader from the lack of interesting stories with more pictures. Sound good? It had better, these 10 mega pixel pictures take a lot longer to upload than the 3 mega pixel variety.

I hate the blogger way of uploading pictures. IT MESSES WITH THE FORMAT AND GENERALLY MAKES ME ANGRY. ....

More pictures in a separate post.

Testing, 1, 2, 3, Testing

HA. Blogger doesn't hate me, it just hates Mozilla. This is a pineapple stick stand at Seoul Grand Park which I naively thought might be fun to sit and read in. Seoul Grand Park is a zoo. Why don't they call it Seoul Grand Zoo? I didn't feel like going to the zoo but I did enjoy walking down the main strip before the entrance and eating my favorite cheap Korean street foods. A yummy stick of pineapple is 1,000won (about 60 cents people). Awesome.

Nothing in particular.

I have been reading Jane Austen. This may not seem of great consequence to you but when you find yourself formatting your internal monologue to early 19th century speech patterns you realize that there will be a problem if you continue this trend with your 6 year old students. I'm sure that 5 minutes of "Are those books tidy? No, let's make them tidy!" will clear that problem right up. I have been trying to get a hold of an affordable copy of Jane Austen's unfinished (or finished but unedited or polished) final three works for years. It's (seemingly) never stocked in stores and online searches turn up as 'out of print' or $30. I might spend $50 a month on books but given how fast I read I can't afford for more than half of that budget to go toward a single book, 3 in 1 or not. Before the seder I had a little extra time to kill and as I think I mentioned in an earlier post I found the book on the used shelf for FIVE THOUSAND WON (about $3). Needless to say, I am still ridiculously giddy about this. On the way home today I read it every step of the way, up the stairs, on the train, while walking through the station, EVERYWHERE. One of the things I love best about Korea is that while not terribly common, you do see young people walking and reading at the same time. Usually, they seem to be studying but being lovely and young people just presume I'm a student too! For instance, while on a subway earlier this week:

Me: (Standing and reading Vonnegut avidly)
Elderly gentleman sittingdown to my left: Hello!
Me: Hello! (*GAH! Why do people never chat me up when I don't have a book to read and ALWAYS WHEN SOMETHING AMAZING IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!*)
Elderly gentleman: Are you a student?
Me: ...Errr no, I am a teacher.
Elderly gentleman: *looks startled* How old are you?
Me: I am 24 years old. (24 is my Korean age, also it is best not to use contractions when speaking to people with dubious English skills.)
Elderly gentleman: Where are you going?
Me: I am going home.
Elderly gentleman: What?
Me: I am going home....jeep (Korean for house/home), home.
Elderly gentleman: Oh, okay.
Me: Goodbye! *exits subway*

This is why I am sometimes tempted to wear more makeup to work instead of a little concealer and blush if I'm feeling particularly ambitious. People are always astounded that I'm a teacher at such a youthful age. It's true though, I never had a teacher younger than 30 until I hit college and even then I think they were more of a mid thirties. Whatever, the snooze button and I have a loving relationship.

And for your viewing pleasure:
:SLDKJF:LSKDJFLSDKJFKDIJLKJIDJFIDJFIDJFd. I finally have my ridiculously high speed internet working and BLOGGER WON"T LET ME UPLOAD MY DARNED PICTURE!!!!!!!!!! *PULLS AT HAIR*.....I'm going to go dig into my uber rationed stash of oreos from *cough* March. They are still good. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm chemical sugar!

Technical Difficulties

Sometimes life demands that I not write on the internet. Blame Hemingway, he is making me write the old fashioned way, with a pen and paper in a notebook, jotted down in the subway, at my desk, whenever I can. It's nothing in particular, just the desire to write but of thoughts, feelings, to visceral and personal to ever consider sharing with the world, let alone the blogosphere. Calling it a desire is an understatement. When I have to write, it feels like the words are exploding out of me and I can't concentrate properly for all of the thoughts swirling in my mind, driving me mad until they find release through my hands onto the paper where at least I can contemplate them with distance rather than living them constantly.

Also, my internet has been rather unreliable lately. Should be fixed soon and then there shall be pictures galore. Happy? I know my parents will be at the very least.

Cameras, Crazy Cabbies and Cherry Blossoms

I meant to get up early(ish) on Saturday to go into Yongsan and get my camera checked out/consider buying a new one. My mother called at noon my time and wondered why I was still home/hadn't eaten breakfast yet. I went to a party Friday night, full of teachers and random Koreans that C. met on the street and in shops. It was a lot of fun to blow off steam from a week of teaching and I didn't end up getting home until nearly 3 in the morning. Twelve hours later I ended up buying a camera, a Canon IXUS970IS.
It has everything I need plus I got a 20 minute tutorial on how to use all of the features. I had a blast taking pictures of life in Anyang on Sunday and again today, taking pictures of my kids. One girl, who isn't overwhelmingly pretty in real life, is so happy in front of the camera that she is unbelievably photogenic. I keep trying to use "the magic voice" my mother used on my brother and I when we were kids to get us to relax in front of the camera but A. I don't think it works as well when they don't understand the language and B. I just don't have the knack. I'm more apt to amuse my students by suddenly contorting my face into something very silly.

Going north into Seoul is very easy for me. Get on the 1 train, sit for half an hour or so and then get off and voila--I'm in the heart of Seoul. Technically, 10 minutes and I'd be "in Seoul" but not anywhere very fun. However, coming home is an absolute pain. My line branches off in 2 directions and you have to choose the train going in the right direction but each direction has 5 different names, depending on which city it dead ends in. I got on the wrong train but changed before the branch to another one which was one of the freakish trains that goes to the THIRD branch of this line that I had forgotten about (the branch only has one stop on it). Does this sound confusing to you? It's ridiculously confusing for me. To make matters worse, that one micro branch isn't on the older subway maps because it's brand new. I got off there and realized that it was the same station that I took the high speed train to Busan from and only about a 5,000won cab ride from my house (5 kilometers or so I think). This was around 7:30pm. I got in a cab with my friend, and said my address, one of the only things I know that I say in Korean with a perfect accent. The cab driver had NO idea where it was. Usually they will tell you to try another cab or type it into their GPS before starting the meter. Oh no, this guy drove around for 5 minutes and then stopped (with the meter running to type it in). I also realized at this point that his meter was (for whatever reason) set way higher and a fare that should have cost 5,000 total was already around 6,000 and we were no where near my apartment/decent bus routes. I said forget it, we're getting out here (Korean woot) and handed him the 5,000. It was a nice night and I had a vague idea of where we were. We figured we'd walk until we got tired of walking and hail a cab from the street instead of a station cab. The sidewalk was next to the river, lined with cherry trees in full blossom and it was pretty full of people, young and old, strolling under the street lights, taking pictures and enjoying life. Instead of being peeved about cab, I was happy it had happened, to put me on the street at that moment. To be fair, I freaked out for about 5 minutes and then calmed down and had a lovely time. Anyways, in the grand scheme of things those 5 minutes don't count.

As we walked along, the people meandering with us started to become more numerous until we realized we were approaching the edges of some sort of festival happening down by the river. Thus the mystery of the festive decorations on the streets near my apartment solved! Like many other parks in Korea, it was a cherry blossom festival...at least that's what I think it was. Unlike the popular ones in Seoul, my friend and I were the only foreigners there among hundreds. There was live music, cheap food and Soju stands, tables, chairs, and fireworks for sale. We had a little of everything and enjoyed sitting along the river bank, listening to terrible Korean pop covers. Sitting quietly off to the side isn't an option when you are as interesting to look at as the cherry blossoms. People of all ages came over to talk to us, mainly in Korean though we got a few 'hellos' in passing. My favorite was a "Hi Alexandra!" from one of my elementary school students. It ended with a spectacular, 10 minute fire works show. I love living in Korea.

I have never been so happy to get lost in my life. I kept starting to freak out a little and then realize that it really didn't matter. Yes, it sucks to be lost and not know the language or be able to read the signs or ask a passerbyer for directions but if you don't worry about it, everything works out.

Sunday I spent in a park in Pyongcheon. My camera died before I actually got to the park but I managed to take lots of photos of the best part: the street in front of the park that the city closes off every Sunday afternoon for kids to roller blade in and drive automated toy cars (different sections). Think Hot Wheels Barbie cars meeting Korean entreprenuerial skills. And yes, I did get not one but two cotton candies from the vendor on the sidelines. I have a sweet tooth...and I like to indulge it.

It was a fantastic weekend and made me loath to start another grueling work week. I love teaching, I just don't love teaching quite so many classes. Next year I want to work in a public school. I'm tired of being jealous of the public school teacher's time to do things during the week like take calligraphy or taekwondo classes.

Right now I'm in between Hocus Pocus (another Vonnegut novel) and Borges' collection of short stories, Ficciones. I've been working on the Borges since December. It's not to say that it's boring or slow, it's just incredibly challenging. I like to savor every bit of it and it's unusual for me to have something I know I won't finish on the way to school and then be bored on the way home. That is, for the rare occasion where I forget to put 2 (or 3) books in my backpack. There is something magical, surreal about Borges' writing that makes me feel like he couldn't possibly be human, only to realize that his writing is marvelously human.


There would be far more pictures in this post only the INTERNET IS BEING EVIL and not cooperating with me. I've given up. More next time.

Misogyny, Pesach, and Beauty

Misogyny (and books, you can't leave out the books)

Last night I trekked an hour into Itaewon to go to a Passover (Pesach/Passove, whatever) sedar in Itaewon. The Chabad of Korea had booked a rather nice hall at the Hamilton Hotel and thanks to a wonderful (rich) patron in Brooklyn, all teachers and students got to go for free. It was a little stressful to change at work and dash to the subway but worth it, if only for my little girls cooing over my long, pink, silk skirt (thank you India). I did draw the line at wearing my heels for an hour on the subway though and did what Brooklyn women everywhere have been doing for years: I wore sneakers and put my nice shoes in my bag. Freakishly, I arrived in Itaewon with half an hour to spare, and since large events never start on time I skipped off to What the Book with my very shiny gift card from my birthday. I have to say, that I love, love having gift cards to bookstores. I got 2 new Vonnegut books, Sirens of Titans and Hocus Pocus. Then, out of habit I perused the used classics section and found a book I've been TRYING TO GET FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It contains Jane Austen's last and partly unfinished novels, Sandition, Lady Susan, and the Watsons. I started bouncing with glee. Normally, when I bounce with glee I at least get to vent the glee to whomever I've dragged book shopping with me but yesterday the poor sales ladies got my happy ramblings. At least they seemed amused and didn't try to have me evaluated at a psych ward. I imagine they get quite a few outcries of bibliophile induced exuberance there, I've met others like myself in the stacks. Well, sort of.

So after the mania at the bookstore I skipped (literally) back down the hill to the Hamilton where I met my friend, M., outside. Then we were very bad Jews and went and got gyros and the Turkish place on the corner. The problem is that since Orthodox Jews run Chabad and is the only Jewish organization in Korea, they have to cook all the food in the Rabbi's family kitchen. Needless to say, there is rarely enough food at a large event. Which brings me to the misogyny part of my ramblings. The Rabbi is a bit of a chauvinist. Everything was "the MEN are/were free." The Haggadah was all, He, He, He. Though, it did have the one modern revision of referring to 'the children' instead of 'the sons.' However, when the Rabbi discussed it he only used the word 'son' and not child. Another liberal minded female at my table bristled throughout the sedar as well. It wasn't just the wording, it was how he explained things. I understand, that it's the Orthodox view point, that women are not included "because they are on a pedestal." On a pedestal so high that we can't be counted for Minion or anything else. After years of Sarah Lawrence sedars where the orange was always included for Miriam and everything was modern and liberal, the constant chauvinistic, misogynistic tones really grated on my nerves. Not to mention, years of sedars led by my own family, who while not quite as liberal as Sarah Lawrence, at least attempts gender neutral pronouns and ideas. All in all, I didn't enjoy the sedar quite as much as I would have hoped to. I always loved Passover in the past but this year it seemed a bit lackluster. Not to mention that I didn't get home until midnight which is fine-except when you have to work with 6 year old children first thing in the morning. I'm whining, I know but you can always SKIM the whining bits.

Beauty

It's cherry blossom season and I've never seen anything so beautiful lining industrial streets. I shall endeavor to steal someone's camera. (Yes, Saturday I'm attempting to get mine fixed/get a new one.)

Getting my feet nibbled

There seems to be an aquatic theme in my life lately. Last weekend I went diving with sharks (and fish) and last night I had my feet nibbled by fish. Once you get over the tickling sensation it's quite nice. Of course, for the first 30 minutes I twitched violently every time they started to nibble because my god, am I ticklish. Especially when they were munching away at the arch of my foot. It was fun to sit around a pool of fish with 10 girls, sipping beer, gossiping and getting our feet eaten by fish. Apparently, doctor fish (what the experience is called) is catching on in the States. The price: around $75. Here, the price is the cost of one drink. Admittedly, 5,000 for a beer (about $3) is overpriced by regular bar standards but it was worth it. In fact, I had 2 at that price. There are pictures, and I wish I could post them with the blog entry but alas, I'm at the whims of my friend's cameras. I think I want to just buy a new camera but it's not in the budget for this month, what with going to Cebu and all. So far on the itinerary: going to one of the big markets (yes, watch your bag closely) and snorkeling (thus continuing the aquatic theme). The only thing I don't like about big groups is that inevitably, at some point, the conversation turns toward television or movies, something that everyone, presumably, will have an opinion on. Last night it was Gray's Anatomy. Thankfully, I have seen a few episodes and could comment a little but for the most part I was bored and wished that someone had brought up something about books. This is my never ending quest to find like minded literary people. At the moment, I'm hopelessly tangled in the middle of several books that I've been working on for awhile and getting distracted by other books. I currently have about 8 books unread in my room that are also clattering for attention. The fact that I have a 100,000 won gift certificate to What the Book burning a hole in my pocket is not helping matters. I might head up to Itaewon tomorrow and buy an unseemly number of Vonnegut novels. Also, a better teach yourself Korean book because mine are terrible. Or at least, they are terrible for my style of learning.

This entry is hopelessly rambling. I just reread it to see if I could untangle it into more sequential paragraphs but I would just have to rewrite it. I give up, I want to go out to dinner.

Shark Attack! Day 2

Ironically, one of the least scary things about the dive were the sharks. Grey nurse sharks, leopard sharks, white tipped sharks and black tipped sharks are pretty mellow. To be sure, they are quite intelligent, but they are mainly just interested in seeing what you are up to before swimming away again. On the other hand, the breathing underwater thing was much more frightening, something I hadn't even given much thought to beforehand. It was standing on the edge of the tank, doing training when all of a sudden, the entirety of my survival instincts went:

Survival instincts: What are you doing?!!! HUMANS AREN'T MEANT TO BREATH UNDERWATER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Logical part of my brain: Oh dear god, you are right. But it will be so much fun!
Survival instincts: Land is good. Underwater is not. YOU HAVE LUNGS NOT GILLS.
Logical part: But I already paid! I HAVE TO DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Survival instincts: SO not my fault if you drown and have a horrible death getting gnawed on by the giant grouper.
Logical part: Thanks ever so much for cleaning that up.

Needless to say this debate went on for a few minutes until we actually practiced going underwater, just kneeling. I was much calmer after that, just getting used to breathing through the mask and focusing on keeping my breath nice and even. (Take that survival instincts, I can too breathe underwater.)
Do you see the terror in my eyes? Okay, terror might be a bit strong so let's go with serious apprehension.Notice how I'm not looking at the diving instructor at all? That is because we are simply on the ledge at the top of the regular tank and the fish and sharks are SWIMMING BY AND AROUND US WHILE WE TRAIN. Usually, they do training in the holding tank but since they are getting ready to transport/sell the lemon sharks there were 5 sharks just circling in there. Why were the lemon sharks being sold? Because they started eating everyone else in the tank. I'm quite pleased that we were not training in the very small (comparatively) holding tank with 5 restless sharks. Just saying. Second thing to notice: see how my hands are neatly folded together instead of at my side? This is because fish and sharks associate hands out with being fed (they are hand fed to assure that each one gets to eat instead of just the strongest). If you wave your hands all about they come over and want to be fed. I didn't really want to leave the tank with less than 10 fingers so dorky clasping, check.While waiting for everyone to reach the bottom we stood in line, holding hands. S., my diving buddy, and I didn't let go for most of the dive. I think we were each a bit nervous. It's also incredibly disorienting underwater. What I should have thought of in advance: bobby pins to get my bangs down. They weren't in my face or anything but they look a bit strange in the photos. I was wearing a headband that day and just didn't think about it, I was more giddy about swimming with SHARKS.So there was no zoom on this last photo, this is the nurse shark up close and personal. Lovely teeth eh? We did find some great teeth on the floor of the tank. I want to make mine into a necklace but it's Really sharp. I'll probably need to file it down a little first.This really big fish is Paulie, a grouper. Apparently, they once found a human head inside the stomach of one of these bad boys. Who knows, it would certainly fit though.
Imagine going to the aquarium with your kids one Sunday morning. You are by the side of this Gigantic tank oohing and ahing over the sharks and fish when suddenly a bunch of divers get in and start wandering around. Everyone was smiling, waving, pointing, and taking pictures of us.Me, underwater, with a mohawk and freakishly white hands giving "Asian Fingers" as they have been dubbed by a friend of mine. Yes, I risked getting nibbled on by a tuna for this picture. It was completely worth it.Thirty minutes later, here we are getting out. I was shaking pretty hard by that time from the cold. It's not too bad when you move around but we were standing still doing training for awhile. If I ever go diving again, I want it to be in tropical waters. Tropical I tell you.Look how happy I look! This is just after getting out. A minute later the instructor notices how hard I'm shivering and gets my tank off first so I can run to the showers and warm up. Overall, the dive was a blast and as it got put "a life experience." I mean really, how many people can say I went swimming with sharks?

Tonight is a ladies night. We are going to Dr. Fish, where you sip on beer while you put your feet in a pool and have fish nibble at your calluses. This seems to be a theme lately, the fish. I love ladies nights, you get to hang out with all of the girls and people generally feel obligated to stick together and not flirt too much until later in the evening. It's good fun and most men are too intimidated to come over and bother you. Will probably regale you all with stories on Sunday or Monday.

Shark Attack! Day 1

Since uploading pictures to the blog is a bit of a pain, I think I'm going to do a photo entry with extended captions rather than writing a full entry and adding pictures. First up are pictures from Saturday, the day we arrived in Busan (diving was on Sunday). The pictures are of rather inferior quality since I have yet to get the original files but it's better than nothing. Except where I've indicated otherwise, these photos are by my friend's Luis and S. who promised me enough photos so that my parents and friends wouldn't kill me. I set up pretty quickly on the KTX (high speed train in Korea, reaches speeds of up to 300km/hour). I finally got to finish off Your Mama's Dysfunctional which was a fantastic read, I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in urban poverty and welfare policy.

As seen from the road, in a taxi going from Busan train station to the hotel. No idea who this is other than a pretty awesome looking historical Korean figure.

Dried squid is fantastic. Imagine beef jerky, only with a fishy flavor. Do not believe the doubters for they are infidels!


Our first view of cherry blossoms in Korea. They aren't quite blooming yet in Seoul but they are going in full force down south.
It was grand central for foreigners on the beach. It's hard to imagine that many young expats in one place after living in Anyang.
Flash back to the 80s. I'm not quite sure what this guy was thinking but maybe he is a time traveler!
I actually stole Luis' camera for a bit to take this shot. This woman was just crouched on the side of the road, butchering her fish. Why not?

Another one of my pictures. This seemed to be a smaller dock than the main business hub. Probably just the local's boats.
Sunset, enough said.

On the way to dinner we spotted lots of people playing with fireworks. There was a vendor on the street selling them to whoever wanted them. Imagine the hot dog vendors of New York City and you will get an idea of how common these guys are at night in Busan.

Sparkler madness! I wasn't too adventurous with the fireworks, unlike certain others in our group. I am strongly attached to all 10 of my fingers, thank you very much. After the explosives detour we went off for margaritas and tacos before heading to a local expat bar. Ladies night is a beautiful thing, 10,000 (around 7 bucks American) for all you can drink. Granted, I don't drink very much but buying even 3 drinks makes that well worthwhile. I ended up going home around 11 because I was tired and I wanted to be in good shape for the dive on Sunday.

Next up, shark pictures!