I've been having one heck of a time lately. Having just returned from a weekend long trip to Daegu, I should be wearily collapsed on the floor. It really is a miracle i'm not, especially when others have been dropping here and there. If one thing for sure has changed about me since my time in Korea, it's that I can hold my liquor twice as well as when I left.

Oliver (L) and  Anthony (R) upon their steel steeds 

Now, Daegu is one of the 5 major cities in Korea that is just a BLAST to visit, let alone live in. So i am thoroughly jealous of all those teachers who got placed there. Being a huge city is great, but also being a huge city that specializes in western hospitality is fantastic! For the first time in months, I've had food that reminded me of home. A nice fat Chili Burger with French Fries.

I almost cried while eating it.

The last fry. I ate the rest too fast...

So yes the food was good. Almost as good as the drinks!

Breakfast at Noon

They have this quaint little gimmick that attracts plenty of people to the drink stalls. Essentially, you can order any cocktail for $5 and chose to have it made as weak or strong as your want. The fun part is, its sold in a baggie. Yes, a Baggie.

The oddest Rum and Coke i ever had

The set goal for everyone was to buy 6 that night and get the seventh one free via stamp card. Only one of us  made it to the finish, and he wasn't enjoying anything that morning.

I, on the other hand, made it through 4 or 5 but held up surprisingly well. Steady on my feet the whole night through, and never getting too lost in town.

The best part of Daegu was that I kept meeting people I knew. Which is a surprise since I didn't know I knew that many people!

A hilarious happenstance is that I ran into a guy that was on the same flight as me coming out of LA. Four months since then and we still recognized each other. So of course, each bought the  other drinks. First impressions are pretty funny too. I don't remember him from back then all that much, but he seemed to recall me as a very serious and stern person.

I tried convincing him I wasn't stern at all, JUST PANICKED! Having never traveled on my own before, I felt like agent straight out of a spy thriller, watching my back everywhere I went. That's just me though, I can't help being insane.

Not all that glittered was gold though. Most major cities like Daegu house American Military Bases. It was a little jarring seeing MP's walking amoungst the crowd in fatigues. I thought it must be tough being on duty on a lively Saturday night like this, but i'm sure they found plenty to do by the end of the night.

I'm sure plenty of people back home are familiar with the comedic scene of drunk, angry black women fighting. Well let me tell you, its even more comedic with a bunch of Korean waiters and passerby turn pale in fear from all the screaming. It went something like this:

"Girl I kno you DID NAT jus sat dat!"
"Wat, now you deaf AND stupid- biatch?"
"Oh no yu didnt!"
"Aww yus I did guuurl. Wut yu gonna do!?"

--insert chicken like squabbling and scratching here--


Ya. We all had a good laugh.





Also a quick update on my friend who was injured by her bike fall.

She's is keeping up conversations with family and nurses and can even remember quite a few details of that day and past. Which is pretty good considering they REMOVED A QUARTER OF HER SKULL!

When she tumbled off her dainty little street bike, she landed and rolled on her head, immediately going into seizure. It only took about 7 minutes to get to the hospital. After a day or so, they say there was blood and swelling in the brain so they had to remove chunks of skull to relieve pressure. I've only seen the scans myself, but everyday its some new development with her. Usually good. Best wishes Yeaji.

A bit Sour

So these past weeks have been pleasant enough. Been keeping busy with work and when I'm not working i'm busy playing. Working up a nice fatty pair of callouses on my hands from all the golf.I've even taken plenty of mountain hikes and bikes around the area, but I don't feel like saying too much on it right now.

Actually, its a pretty somber day. Recently, one of our friends had an accident. While Riding bikes out of town, her mini-street bike collapsed underneath her. She fell to the road and apparently hit her head pretty hard, since she was bleeding out of the ears. Pretty traumatic for her boyfriend who was riding with her.

They were able to get assistance and make it to the hospital in 8-minutes flat, but she's going to be in intensive care for a while. It was a double shock for her Korean parents though because they first met the American boyfriend at the hospital, covered in her blood.

A pretty strong first impression i'm sure.

So it falls on me to explain to his co-teachers and principle why he won't be in the rest of the week. A task none too appreciated by them.

As for her, she's stable. Stable enough to kick the nurses and fight her way to the bathroom to take a piss, But still confused enough to talk all in English even though the doctors cant understand her. She'll be mover to Seoul this weekend for better care and some of us may pay her a visit as well. Its just one of those kind of things that sours all the good stuff of late. But she'll be fine afterall.