After three hours, I arrived in East Soul and, after one hour and a few more subway transfers, arrived at my first interview.  I was sweaty and due to lack of sleep (and a nice little pimple that showed up the previous day beneath my right eye) my eyes looked like a 53 year old on a three-day drinking binge.

Left the first interview and made a beeline to the nearest coffee shop before heading to the second interview.  With everything finished, I collapsed on the bus, only to find myself sitting beside a couple who desperately wanted to watch the television show on full volume — this despite me saying “I hate you” in the international language of The Glare.

After spending 14 hours on buses, trains, and their respective stations, I was ready for bed.  But a friend called and we met for some beers.  Then friend #2 called and we had more beer.  Then friends #3, #4, and #5 called and we headed to a singing room.

After singing Patti Page and Barry Manilow (both to 100 scores), I finally headed home.

On Sunday, a friend and I went to Gounsa — a very nice temple near Andong.  I really enjoyed it and can’t believe I waited so long to see it.

You can view the full photo set here.

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But as I was eating I noticed her talking to the owners of the restaurant… and then my chopsticks stopped midway between the rice and my mouth as I saw them all staring at me.

One of the owners comes over to my table, opens the menu, and points to another dish and then points to me — clearly wanting me to eat it.  I say “No, no, no” because I did not want (or need) any more food.  Owner walks away and Pretty Girl leaves.

Then, Girl #2 comes over to my table to tell me what just went down.  Evidently, Pretty Girl bought me take out.  For the record, we never spoke.  She did not ask if I wanted take out, and I did not send body language signals telling her that I was unable to feed myself.  Nevertheless, I left lunch with an extra pork cutlet.

To make things even better, Girl #2 comes over again and tells me that if I ever need anything, I should just give her a call.  Then she slid me her number.

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There were several moments I didn’t think I would make it, but that was mostly due to some work issues and receiving “anonymous” hate mail from someone who accessed my Facebook account.  Those things have passed for the most part.

And, there were many more moments of fun and (if I can be completely un-Adam for a moment) happiness.

I’m so glad I came to Korea.  Every day is interesting.  And most importantly, I’m constantly learning.

When I came here I told myself I would wait until the six month mark to make a decision about my future.  Having gone back and forth approximately 283 times, I think I’ve decided to stay in Korea for at least another year while I prepare for graduate school.  It would be dumb to ignore how good my life is here, no matter how much I miss hamburgers and grandparents.

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There are more small businesses everywhere given that they don’t purchase everything at Wal-Mart and Target… but there are A LOT of lingerie shops ranging from the simple to the bedazzling.

As a Fruit of the Loom kind of guy, I’ve never understood spending disposable income on underwear… but well, here you go.

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Dosan Seowon was one of the premier Confucian academy’s.  It was established in 1574 “during the 7th year of King Seonjo’s reign during the Joseon Dynasty” by disciples of Lee Hwang (pen name Toegye).

Lee Hwang was born in 1501 and is considered to be one of the two most prominent Confucian scholars of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).

Dosan Seowon is actually located in the town I’m living in now.  It’s one of the reasons Andong’s tagline is the “Capitol of the Korean Spirit.”  And while I won’t pass judgment on said tagline, I do find it cool that this little town has so much history.

Here’s the photos (full set here)… click on the picture to get more information.

the path to the academy

the river that flows in front of the academy

student dormitories

from the front of the student dorms

the two rooves on the right are the two libraries; the building on the left is another dormitory

from the central walkway

one of the libraries

walkway up to the servants quarters

a stele commemorating the place for civil service examinations

the courtyard outside of the academy

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Some of you may know that as a singular statistic, I fall down stairs way more than any normal person should.  So whenever I walk down stairs I’m gripping that rail Britney on a Cheetos bag.

So, you can imagine my horror upon seeing rusty old barbed wire wrapped around my life support system.  And to make matters worse, once you scale the hill with barbed wire stairs… there’s exercise equipment!

Here’s the 2 minute video (be sure you have sound):

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The bestest news is that I moved into my apartment after a week at the Hotel 9, which seems to specialize in blue hallway lighting.  The apartment is great and is close to the school.

I’ve spent the last two days buying stuff for it though: lamp, iron, fan, etc.  There are about 5 “marts” within a few blocks of my house.  These are basically little Best Buys.  I have no idea how there is demand for this many stores, but I’ve been walking from store to store to find the best prices because some things are REALLY expensive (e.g., a regular $15 coffee pot is like $90 here and my cheap fan cost me $50).

Here’s a short video tour:

Click here for all the photos:

bed

all in one bathroom

my kitchen with gumby

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