A little late on the weekend update

So Miss Annie and I met up on the speed train in Daegu, since she was coming from the other direction.  That way we were able to head to Ulsan together for our a little weekend in my temporary city.  The only problem with taking the high speed train to this city is that you then have to take a bus ride for about 50 minutes to an hour to get to the Hyundai main entrance.  The weather was muggy once we got off the bus and walked into my dorm.  At least we were going to the beach though a little while later.

We took a taxi to the beach, since I thought the area was pretty close by.  It was still close, but a little more expensive than I thought the ride would be; still only about eight bucks.  We went to what's called the Ulsan Sea and Shipbuilding festival.  The skies clouded up, once we arrived at Ilsan Beach (the big beach spot in Ulsan).  The temperature also dropped considerably which was very cool (get it, cool?).  Instead of hang around the festival we went to a park around the coastal mountain range, that was beautiful.  It's actually built in honor of one of the Korean Emperors.  Since there were many clouds and a little rain, you couldn't see much, but rocks and water.

Still we had an enjoyable walk, and even did some rock climbing of our own.  That's something I wouldn't recommend to just anyone, but it made for a good relationship test. We ate some wonderful raw fish after our hike/climb, and then walked around the beach for a little bit.  There was a concert going on, but we didn't take much interest in it.

here are some pictures. I'll post about camp again tomorrow.  I'm not doing too much internet these days, except for some job stuff, or video making (for camp).

Hello from Hyundai World (or at least a dormitory belonging to Hyundai)

So my first week of camp went really well. My best student did cry at the end of it though. I think she told me goodbye ten different times, and even said she would "miss me".  That was humbling enough, but she was a great kid, and some of the other ones were wonderful to teach as well. Everything went very well though last week. We even took a tour of the Hyundai factory and learned a little history as well.

This past weekend I got to have some time with Grandma and Momma Koo.  Grandma got the Tylenol and instant coffee that she had been longing for.  I now have to get three bottles of Tylenol and more coffee for her though.  She's been sharing with others, so I don't mind too much. I get some good bonding time with a grandma, and that's always fun to have.

Momma Koo and I talked for a few hours at the kitchen table on Friday night about almost everything.  She asked me plenty of questions about Miss Annie, and even explained some things that I didn't want to hear.  She was surprised though at how young Annie looks compared to her age. Most importantly, (not really) I did get a wonderful home-cooked meal for dinner and breakfast. I did deliver the family's gifts from my previous travels that I had been holding onto for a few weeks as well.

(Battery is low, so more of this post will come later). 

Hello from the compound

Sorry, for no updates in the last few days. I've been busy, for once. This camp job is a real 8-5 plus some, which is wonderful.  It definitely helps me sleep really well at night.  I haven't taken any pictures yet, but I'll give a  little description of my life for the next few weeks.

I'll put it this way for the moment. This is what I sent in a message to my cousin recently:
  this place is interesting

i work out at the hyundai health room, eat every meal at the hyundai cafeteria

get a special hyundai bus that takes to the building for camp

live in a hyundai dorm with hyundai sandals

and a fat LG TV

the parking lots have only Hyundai and Kia cars as well.

Every morning as our bus is taking us in to the office building we see thousands of cars that are waiting to be shipped all over the world.  There is a ship yard near the plant, and there is a different ship each day responsible for shipping the cars as well.  I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow.  I've been spending tonight editing and putting together a four to five minute video for the Tucson class.  Each classroom is assigned a Hyundai car name.  We also have country names too, which we use for studying the different cultures of those countries.  

BTW -- no worries about the bad weather related things that are happening in other parts of the country. In Ulsan, where I am things are fine at the moment.  

Take care and I'll keep you all posted.

Stuck in the Big D

So today I had a flight canceled because of terrible weather in Chicago.  Due to that cancellation, I am not on my way to Korea either.  Due to the changes, I was rerouted from Memphis to Dallas. In 80 minutes, I'll be going from Dallas to LA.  90 minutes after that I will be going to Seoul from LA.  So instead of arriving at 4pm, I'll be arriving at 4 am on Sunday.

Here's to my weekend!!!

I guess I could have at least bought a book or something, but I've been trying to tire myself out walking and searching for places to find free wi-fi here in DFW.  Instead I bought a CAT-5 cable and hooked it up to a little charging station, so I wouldn't be too bored out of my mind.

Back to Camp

So after an eventful 2 1/2 weeks which included some bonding with my cousin, best friend and big Sis, I'm on my way back to Korea as of tomorrow morning (Friday). Next stop is the big metropolis of Ulsan, the 7th biggest city in the country of Korea. The city's population is about 1.1 million people. I will be working at a camp that is sponsored by the Hyundai corporation.

Ulsan is home to the world's biggest shipyard, oil refinery, and the largest automobile assembly plant in the world too.  I am super glad to be going back to work, and most importantly seeing my little lady.  I will be back to normal, in terms of daily updates starting on Sunday, July 24th.  Tomorrow morning I'll be flying Korean Air from Chicago straight to Seoul, Korea. Then I get a two hour bus ride to Cheonan, where I meet Miss Annie, and then we'll head on to Gongju together. I gotta pick up my clothes there, then I can head to camp on Sunday.

Anyway, check back soon for updates.  Welcome back!

A little Happy Birthday Shout Out to:

a lovely lady, and a super great kid.

First of all, since it's already past July 13th in Korea, let me say Happy Birthday to Miss Annie (my girlfriend).  Since I'm a gent, I won't disclose her age, but she definitely does not look her age.  She's a wonderful woman, who finished her evening early, and came to her workplace just so we could chat on Google Talk.  It was only about 2:30 am her time when we started, and we finished about 4 am her time.  Happy Birthday Annie. I miss you a lot and can't wait to see you very soon.

                                             Yours truly with the birthday lady.

Next, Happy Birthday to my little buddy Ethan. Better known as my sister's wonderful little boy, or my nephew.  Ethan was in some pain yesterday and has a little infection in his hip, but he's a tough kid.  He and I bonded a little bit after his fun time at the doctor yesterday. Ethan loves his Mom, and his dog George.  Anyway, I'm glad to be able to spend some time with the little man on his 4th  birthday.

                                     Yours truly with Little E, while watching some Toy Story 2.

Interesting Calculation

So the following calculation shows the distances I traveled during that 5 week period from July 2nd to July 8th. If you see an l, that stands for layover. Besides that, the list of cities below is where I stayed/visited during that time frame. 

Seoul to Ghangzou (l) 1280

 Ghangzou to Hanoi 493

Hanoi to Da Nang 377    

Da Nang to Saigon 375

Saigon to Hanoi  707

Hanoi to Moscow (l) 4190

Moscow to Sofia  1110

Sofia to Athens 332

Athens to Rome 665

Rome to Cairo 1330

Cairo to Sharm El Sheikh 301

Sharm El Sheikh to Cairo 301

Cairo to Rome (l) 1330

Rome to Boston 4080

Boston to Memphis 1140

Total miles traveled via Bus or Airplane from June 2^nd to July 8^th – 18,011 miles