July 2009
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a stop i probably won't be making in cambodia
Outside of Phnom Penh, there is an unconventional shooting range that is described in this article from here:
“Thirty rounds for an AK47 or M16 cost $30. One hundred for a US-made M60 light machine gun and the similar Russian-made K57 LMG costs $100. Then prices jump for an M79 launched grenade, which cost $100 per shell. However, you certainly get more bang for your bucks — an M79 can...
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sanur, bali
Our next (and final) destination was Sanur, which was about 30 minutes from Ubud. I would guess it’s one of the better beaches to visit on the island because it really wasn’t that touristy. We had heard that Kuta was packed with people so we opted for another place. It was easy to find empty areas on the beach, the water was calm, and we were barely bothered by ladies offering...
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ubud, bali
I was waiting to post Bali pics because there are SO many. Ubud has got to be one of the most beautiful places in the world, with such an interesting culture. It is rather touristy, but not nearly as bad as the major beach areas. We stayed on the edge of town, so we saw a lot of Balinese people and countryside there. I really really loved it, even though it rained the whole time we were there....
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singapore
Singapore was another really hot city with more great food. It’s hardly Asian, though, because everyone speaks English (even if it is an almost incomprehensible version of it), there are tons of Westerners, and it just looks really Western. Just the fact that it reminded me so much of North America (but with more Asians) kind of turned me off. I would much rather go somewhere exotic and...
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KL
Kuala Lumpur was a pretty good time. It was possibly the hottest place I’ve ever been in my life, but the food is beyond delicious and everything was hella cheap. I would love to see more of Malaysia.
The Petronas Twin Towers. I’ve never been so amazed by buildings.
The Kellers. There were a ton of people trying to get themselves perfectly photographed in between the...
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8 days in southeast asia:
I only spent 400 USD while living and eating like a queen. Compare that to roughly the same amount for 3.5 days in Japan, where we stayed in crappy hostels and had to seek out cheap food.
I took 461 pictures!
I probably gained a couple pounds stuffing my face with delicious Chinese, Singaporean, and Indonesian food. The Western food in Bali was also super cheap, so we took advantage of that...
Southeast Asia quick update!
Right now we’re in our Singapore hostel and I decided to type a short update from my ipod touch since we have wireless.
Kuala Lumpur was our first stop and honestly none of us were super excited about it, but I really loved it. It was exotic and really diverse and I didn’t really ever feel unsafe despite its appearance. We ate awesome food and saw cool stuff.
Now we’re in...
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goodbye, korea (for a week)
I’ll miss your kimchi and attractive men.
See you next Sunday~~~
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I have neighbors who have had their door open for about three days straight. No matter what hour of the day I am leaving or arriving, whether in the morning to go to work or coming home after midnight, their door is wide open.
I’ve had Koreans tell me that certain parts of the city are dangerous and I should be worried about pick-pocketers. I laugh and tell them that my tiny hometown of...
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I finally have hot water and gas for my stove after going to the gas place today and telling an uncooperative lady in terrible Korean that “Friday bank go” so she can turn my damn gas back on.
This summer I have learned useful life lessons, such as:
- I should pay my bills
- living without air conditioning in a nasty, über-humid summer climate sucks
- cold showers are an awful...
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maybe they've watched too many veggie tales
Also while in the sea animals unit, the kids had to make little books that had a different animal to color on each page. The cover was blank, so I told them to draw their favorite water animals.
Amy [total spacehead] finished and brought me her book.
I looked at the cover.
“So, Amy what is this?”
“Octopus.”
“Good! …And what are these?”
With a...
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yum
I just paid 1,500W for one stick of string cheese. So worth it.
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grading essays
What really happened:
Jack and Annie saw Viking ships on the horizon.
What my student wrote:
“a viking people are going to restaurant and they are eat meat and liquor.”
…Wait, what?
A girl also described the monks as being “ugles”, and a boy wrote “sleepers” instead of “slippers”, which I thought was cute.
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I don't understand...
Why Koreans seem to never sweat. I just got home via subway, where I had to transfer at Jamsil. I swear, that transfer is straight-up awful. It involves a lot of walking and both stations are always sweltering. I get to the pink line side and sweat is literally gushing out of every pore in my body. I look around for someone experiencing the same misery as I, but everyone’s just hanging...
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체납
I had a pink slip of paper from the gas company on my door when I came home tonight. Thinking it was just the gas lady trying to come check my gas, even though she just came, I discarded it.
Fast forward to 7pm when I want to take a shower since I was too lazy to this morning, and I realize I have no hot water. Shit! I dug through all my bills and realize that I had about four-five months of...
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tonight the moon will be 99.9% illuminated
hiddentreasures:
did anyone else have the shit show of a day that i had?
in my first class, a boy picked up a girl and dropped her.
in a later class, a boy was holding a black belt with silver studs on it and swinging it around s&m style.
then a girl started writing “i’m dying i’m dying i’m dying” over and over in korean on her homework.
students were crying in 3 out of the 4 classes...
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“Teacher!!! 0-0 equals glasses. Hahahahaha!”
– One of my favorite kids ever said this to me today, while drawing 0-0 in his book. He was so excited about it. Dork.
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Aaaand now there is bird poop on my washing machine. ≥-≤
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The air conditioner man told me to keep a window open in my porch/laundry room so the motor doesn’t overheat. Now, there’s a bird trapped inside, flying around and preventing me from washing my towels. I am not pleased!
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WatchSinging the national anthem, led by a Canadian. Cheesy.
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4th of july
Agatha’s bf, Tom, lives in a sweet building near Itaewon, so we took over the roof and had a party. Javabot was there, woo tumblr!
The food just kept coming. It was so delicious and I’m really grateful for all the work everyone did to make it, yum.
Jon, Agatha, Katie
Tom, Jade, Michelle, Katie
Asian pose #26: The Salute
With the Polish girls
The army base lit...
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After a super-sweet 4th of July party, Sakura and I headed to Itaewon where we hung out at Bedlam, which is a pretty cool place with hot bartenders. I just remembered that I had been writing down quotes I heard people say while walking around. Itaewon is a good place to see and hear ridiculousness.
Guy running down the street: “I’M FUCKING SINGLE!!!”
Awkward white guy waiting...
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“Dream as if you’ll forever
Lives as if you’ll die today.
-Dean,...”
– From a shopping bag. Apparently James Dean spoke Konglish.
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the transformation is almost complete
I suppose there are people who wouldn’t like to hear this, but I love it when people tell me I’m becoming Korean. This guy I’ve seen a few times now always gets surprised when I know Korean songs or can understand some things he says. I’ve heard him say this several times: “Wowww.. I think you are almost Korean!” I can only respond with...
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one of the many good things about korea
A year living among people who adore and covet super-pale skin means that I’m the whitest I’ve probably ever been in my life. Since I’m naturally ghostly, it works out pretty well. No nasty sunburns until I go to Bali where I’m going to get fried to death. I hate the sun.
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dongdaemun's magical powers
Yesterday after work, I had been planning all week to go to the gym since I hadn’t gone all week.
Me: So, do you want to go?
Sakura: Well… do you want to go shopping???
Me: What?! No! We have to go work out!
Sakura: Come on, we just got paid. We could go to Myeongdong.. or Dongdaemun.. wherever you want.
Me: Ohhh.. ugh ok fine.
So we went to Dongdaemun and shopped until 11:30...
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