Annabelle's Trip to the Doctor

As you already know Annabelle tore her ACL on the way home from Busan so one evening this week I decided to taker her to the hospital to have it operated on. There are many motorcycle hospitals in Korea and so having no one to recommend one I chose the one that was closest to my house. I had no idea how it would work seeing as I am sure that they do things differently in Korea and I speak no Korean.

I pulled up in front of the shop and waiting at the door to greet me was one of the mechanics, I greeted him and pointed to the problem and he took it from there. He took it in to the shop and immediately started drilling. He grunted and said that would take a long time, I figured that meant a few days. I made to give them my phone number so they could call me when it was done but they motioned for me to stay. I stood off to the side and watched as they worked intermittently, stopping to help other customers with easier fixes as they pulled up.

Finally when the other traffic had slowed they got serious about tending to Annabelle. They took out the welder and extended the bolt that held the brake lever. Once they had cleaned the new weld they put every thing back in place and welded an nut on the end of the bold so that it will(should) never come off again.

They asked me to check it and when I found it to be satisfactory they told me how much. This was the part that I was worried about, not that Annabelle wouldn't be worth it, but that as a foreigner I would be taken advantage of.(stranger things have happened) But they ended up charging me a price that I thought fair, which was awful nice of them. I paid up, said my thank-you's and Annabelle and I were on our way.

She loves me, she loves me not...

This past Saturday I made the trek once more up to Busan to see what fate had befallen my beloved Annabelle. There were two possibilities, either she would be faithfully waiting for my return and in this proving me a good judge of character or she will have flow the koop(got stolen) and played me like a cheap fiddle.

As I boarded the bus I tried to convince myself that I would be alright whatever the outcome, if she was gone, I did not have a lot of money invested and, I reasoned, Annabelle was probably just a wolf in sheep's clothing. Plus if she was still there I would have the task of navigating through the Korean countryside for the next 3 hours. On the plus side, if she was still there it would be quite the adventure getting her home and then spending time with her for the rest of the year. It was a toss up.

But as the bus neared the subway I began to feel more and more strongly about the situation, hoping that she would still be waiting for me. The feeling grew with each stop on the subway. My heart started to race,  my breath became shorter and shorter and my palms lubricated themselves with a cold sweat. When I got to the right stop on the subway I collected myself, hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. I reminded myself that whatever Annabelle had decided, it would be alright with me.

I some how mustered up the strength to climb the three flights of stairs to get from the subway to the sidewalk and made my way towards our meeting place, 2 blocks away. As I neared I noticed a truck and a car on the sidewalk parked right about where Annabelle said she would be, my heart fell. Did she stand me up? I made my way around the truck and there she was in all her beauty, just like she said she would be. I should have never doubted.

This was my starting point. When I looked at my location on a map I could not have stopped been at a better place. I was parked right on the number 7 which I would follow till it turned in to the number 2. Then I would follow the number 2 until the turn off for the number 14. Then number 14 would take me all the way to Geoje.

This was the coolest man made thing I saw on my ride, it was a typical American 2 story house build on the top of a 10 story building. (I guess the tunnels were pretty cool too)

As I was driving I did not have a good sense of how far I had gone and so I ended up stopping only a few times. This was the first time, coming in to a large valley.

This is what the scenery of most of the trip looked like, small mountains, up and down. When I merged back on to the highway here I nearly got run over by a car going through some yellow no drive lines.

The next time I stopped was when I accidentally turned on to an express way that had a no motorcycle sign after I could no longer turn off. So I looked at my map really hard hoping some one would stop and help me but when no one did I continued on along that road until there was a turn around. I was possibly the first motorcycle to drive that road.

During my trip I found out my favorite thing ever in Korea is no longer leaving school at the end of the day, it is now driving through tunnels with Annabelle. There is something about it I just can't explain, but I can encourage you, so I will. Go out and try it!

The roads in Korea are top notch, and they are constantly building them bigger and better.

Overall the ride was pretty uneventful, it was quite chilly so once I got out of Busan I stopped to put on my long-johns, scarf and winter gloves. This helped but did not stop the shivers.

In one of the cities that I passed through I was stopped at some lights and this black car pulls up beside me with the window down. Inside is a guy in a suit trying to tell me something. It's Korea so I don't understand but he is pointing to the back of my motorcycle and talking. I assumed that he was saying that I don't have a licence place or registration(I don't even have any papers for that matter). At first I just tried to ignore him in the hopes that the light would turn green and I would blaze away... but the light stayed red and he was persistent. So finally I took a look behind me and found out that the rope that was attached to my rack in the back had come loose and one end was dragging on the ground. I thanked him and hopped off to tie it up more securely.

The road(except for the minor detour) was pretty easy to follow, so I made good time and before I knew it I was seeing signs for Geoje. Then about 30 km from Geoje disaster struck*... I was coming to a light and I pushed my foot brake and got nothing but air. Thankfully I was in a city and so I was driving at lower speeds and I still had a front brake so I piloted my Annabelle in to a parking lot for inspection. It turns out that a bolt had sheered off at a pivot point for the rear brake and so the pedal was dragging on the ground. (*It turned out not to be that big a deal but disaster has a dramatic ring to it.)

Because I was so close to home I just propped the arm back in place using some rope that I had along and then for braking I just used down shifting and the front brake. (In the bottom left corner on the brake arm you can see the hole where there used to be a bold)

I made it home safe and sound arriving just a little more than 3 hours after I left Busan. When Annabelle is parked in her spot I can see her from my room.

This is hopefully just the beginning of the adventures that I will have with Annabelle but now it is time for a well deserved rest and a trip to the mechanic to see if we can mend her.

Sky Pizza

As you know Sky Pizza is the pizza place that opened next to my school a couple of weeks ago. I finally got around to eating there this past weekend thanks to my boss. Let me tell you a little story.

Friday was a bit of a hectic day at school we as teachers did more work than we would on a normal day. Then to add to it, at 6:00 when it is time to go home, my boss was still not back from dropping off kids so I had to stay late. As a thank-you my boss ordered me a pizza from Sky Pizza that I could pick up on my way home.

It was some sort of a meat pizza and it was delicious. First there was meat on it, then the sauce and cheese tasted good, which isn't always the case in Korea, then they put hot sauce on top. In addition to that I was also pretty hungry, and it was free. It came with the standard pickles and parmesan cheese.

KFC - Korean Fried Chicken

Just in case you are wondering Annabelle was waiting for me right where she said she would be so I took her home with me. Story and pictures to follow in the next few days.

In other news last week upon my return from Busan I was hungry and so decided to finally try some fried chicken. It seems like fried chicken is huge here. I assume this fact(yes) from the fried chicken restaurants that are on every single block. Just to give you a scale of it, with in a one block radius of my house there are 5 different fried chicken specific restaurants.

To get a taste of this Korean delicacy I decided to try out Mexicana, the newest restaurant on my block.  Initially when the sign went up for Mexicana four weeks ago I got quite excited at the prospect of having a mexican restaurant so close. But it was it was in vain as Mexicana is not a mexican restaurant, and as I have since found out it is a chain.

It went down just as I expected it would, I walked in pointed at a picture of what I wanted, they took out the calculator and showed me the price and 15 minutes later I walked out with freshly made chicken.

My order was half an order of regular fried chicken and half an order of sweet and tangy chicken. It came with pickled radishes and a coke for 16000 won.

I think that it is meant to be shared by two people but I had little problem finishing all of it in one sitting. It tasted fantastic and I would definitely recommend it but keep in mind that this is my first fried chicken in Korea. I will let you know how the next place compares.


In addition to telling you my trip motorcycle trip home today, I made it to Sky Pizza yesterday so I will let you know how that went as well.

Introducing Annabelle

As you know I bought a motorcycle last weekend. I already mentioned that there were some complications. This is the story of what took place:

I left for Busan at 6:30 in the morning needing to meet the seller by 8:30. I made it just in time. He was an interesting character, friendly but not overly knowledgable about the bike or otherwise. He was selling the bike for a friend who had already returned to America so I forgave him for that lack. I had seen pictures of the bike and so I knew what to expect, to some she might look like an old and beat-up Daelim Advance VC125 Custom motorcycle. But to me she is Annabelle and she is beautiful.

Before buying I took the bike for a ride and let me tell you the ride was exciting, the motorcycle on the other hand was simply average but the price was right. Upon that inspection I handed over the hard earned won and with that I accepted the challenge of owning a motorcycle in Korea. Little did I know what I was in for.

Before I had left for Busan the principal of my school mentioned that he did not thing that motorcycles were allowed on the new bridge but I decided to not heed his advice. Turns out that he was right, the bridge for understandable reasons is closed to motorcycle smaller vehicles. Understandably because of the reliability and hazard that they are.

Thankfully there are two bridges to Geoje and so this meant that I would just have to take the other bridge. But having relied completely on this bridge I had not even looked at this other route. It was 3+ hours compared to less than 1 which meant that there would be plenty of room for error.

Instead of taking the chance and getting hopelessly lost I decided to park the bike, bus home and come back next week to pick her up. I just found a spot on the side walk and left her there. Before I left the bike I thought I would feel safer if I locked her up. I searched high and low but all I could find was a flimsy chain and small lock at a cost of $12. It was worth, at most, $2. If I am honest I wouldn't trust the lock on my bicycle in Winnipeg, but being the only one I found, it would have to do.

The plan now is to bus to Busan tomorrow(Saturday) and, if she is still there, I will pick her up and bring her home. It will be 12 degrees Celsius and sunny and so it is looking to be a scenic ride through the Korean country side. There should be lots of swell photo opportunities if I take the time to stop. I will let you know how it goes next week.

Art

I tell my kids that they are artists every morning as an encouragement to keep coloring because the other option is having them run around yelling. That makes this art.

The last picture is a picture of me, for a few days in a row they would draw a face and then grab all the crayons their little hands could hold and scribble until the page was full and say it was me. Cute right? Maybe if I was a girl.

(For those of you waiting for news of the motorcycle I will try to post some info and pictures this afternoon.)

Due Date

I will start off by saying, yes, lot's of people are pregnant but that is not what this post is about. This post is about Korean milk and its Due Date. Milk in Korea tastes different, not terrible just different in a not as good kind of way. The first time I tasted it I wondered if all milk tasted that way. Yes it does. So I wondered, would it taste much different if it was old? This weekend I had the opportunity to find out.

I was at the local HomePlus and found some milk on sale for 900 won, it was on sale because it was due that day. Milk is usually 1400 won for 1 liter so in this case I would be saving 500 won. That is almost $0.50. So being who I am I did some quick calculations on how much money I could save if I would always buy old milk. I buy 1 liter of milk every 2 weeks

Here is the math:

$0.50 every 2 weeks
$1.00 every month
$1.00 x 12 months
= $12.00 savings!

As you can see if I continue to buy old milk, by the end of the year I will have a healthy sum to put towards a down payment on a house. That is just a side benefit, the real reason I was buying the milk was to see how long it lasted.

The milk said it expired on the 20th which was the day that I bought it. I drank a bit of it, still just as good as new. The next day, the 21st, I a had a couple of bowls of cereal. Same thing on the 22nd. It was still tasting as good as any other Korean milk. I had another bowl of cereal on the 23rd, the milk still tasted the same. It was already 3 days past due and it still tasted the same. Unfortunately, by this time the milk had run out.

This tells me one of two things: either the milk I got was special, or Koreans aren't nearly as good as Canadians at guessing milk's expiry date. If it is the later, I can be confident that when buying old milk it will retain its taste until I have finished it. But if my milk was special I will be in for a surprise next time. I will keep you updated.

Busan - It's Not Lonely at the Top

While in Busan I also went to the Lotte Department Store. I was looking for something specific and expecting something else so I did not find what I was looking for but it was interesting. It reminded me of The Hundson's Bay Co. in Winnipeg at Portage and Osborne, just bigger.

It was about 10 floors of stuff that I didn't need and each floor was a different theme. The ground floor was perfume, the next two floors were women's clothing, then men's clothing, then, athletic wear, then childrens wear, then household goods, then electronics and then a floor of restaurants. Finally on top of the building there was a nice park like area with a look out area over Busan.

At the top there was also a fence with hundreds of locks locked to it. As with a few other places in Korea, what happens(I think) the couple come here together and in an effort to declare their lover for each other lock their lock on gate and throw away the key. The locks are generally decorated with names or initials, the year and usually a heart or two. Right beside the fence there was a large container to deposit the key. I really hope it works out for all of them because it would be quite a chore to find your key again to unlock your lock. Personally I would just throw my(our) key off the roof. Chances are that we wouldn't find it and if we did it would probably be a sign that we shouldn't be together anyway.

Also of note construction has started right be side the Lotte Department Store on the building of the Busan Lotte Tower. It will be, upon completion, the sixth tallest building in the world. More info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busan_Lotte_World_Tower

Busan - Jagalchi Fish Market

Another part of my Busan adventure was a trip to the Jagalchi Fish Market. I had heard a number of things about it from others and knew that I just had to check it out for myself and was it worth it? Yes!

Being on a tight schedule I went straight to the main part of the fish market. It is a large modern building that I would guess is about the size of a football field maybe a little larger. The ground floor is where the live sea creatures are held, the second floor is the restaurant area and the third floor has other stuff.(I don't know what)

When you walk in on the ground floor you are surrounded by different sizes of aquariums al holding different kinds of fish. I'm not exaggerating when I say that there were over a hundred different kinds of sea creatures represented.

There was also an out door market right on the docks that also sold all kinds of sea related goods.

Unfortunately, as I already mentioned, I was on a tight schedule so I was only able to do a quick walk through but I hope to come back another time and actually get something to eat. I saw several tempting options, there was the 11000 won Fish and Seafood Buffet, or the side of the road stand with a 4000 won fish meal.

But the option that interests me the most is found in the main building. Here you buy the fish that you you want from any of the fish stalls. They gut it and clean it for you at the stall and then tell you where to go on the second floor. There they prepare the fish for your eating pleasure, for what I am told is a minimal fee(I have heard under 5000 won). I will try it out one day and let you know when I get around to it.

Busan - Books

As you know I went to Busan on Saturday. I did a number of things while I was there. I will use the next few days to tell you about it. Today I will share with you some new reading material that I acquired.

Before heading out I saw an ad for a few books that I was interested in reading and figured I should pick them up on the same trip, using what my brother Brad calls "farmer mentality".

"Farmer mentality" as my brother puts it is trying to fit as much in to one trip as possible in order to make the trip more worth while, to get the most bang for your buck. A common saying among those with farmer mentality is, "It's(pretty much) right on the way."

So I got in touch with the seller, he was agreeable and said it sounded good but he wanted to be leaving for Seoul. I assured him I would be able to meet him early enough for him to still make his bus and we arranged to meet.

As it turned out I was running a little bit behind schedule(not surprisingly) so I called the number for "books"(as labelled on my phone). Andy assured me that it was no problem and told me to call him when I got to a subway station. Finally half an hour later I had found one and we arranged where to meet.

I ended up meeting him at the same time that he wanted to be boarding a bus for Seoul. Sorry! But he was a real class act and delivered the goods. Thanks Andy!

So now on my to read list is Jules Verne's 'Around the World in Eighty Days', Charels Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities', Ernest Hemingway's 'For Whom the Bell Tolls', and Robert Pirsig's 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' (to go with my bike).

Happy 7 Weeks to Me!

As you know now I have been in Korea for 7 weeks and that is a number that needs to be celebrated. So I did so in the only way I know how: I bought myself a motorcycle!

It's a Daelim Something 125 and she is beautiful! I have yet to name her but if you have any ideas let me know.

I do need to tell you that there have been a few complications but I will tell you about those later because right now we are still celebrating.

New Pizza Place

I meant to post this last week but due to no internet at home I forgot.

As you may or may not know for some odd reason pizza is my favorite food as of the past two months. So much so that when my mom asked what I wanted to eat before I left for Korea, I asked for pizza. 

So since coming to Korea I have made pizza and have had pizza from 6 different places. One week I had restaurant pizza 3 times.

So as you can imagine I was really excited about this new pizza place opening up(I think I may have even written about it). It is called Sky Pizza and they had the grand open(as they call it in Korea) last Friday. As a promotion they were selling the first 300 pizzas for 3800 won($4). I had clear my schedule in order to go and had a running count down till it's 3:00 pm opening time I was so excited! 

But there was a problem, I work till 6:00. By this time a line had formed and I was not willing to wait so I will let you know how their pizza tastes in the next couple of weeks.

Case #5 and #6

Today "School till you drool" hit again, twice. First when I was teaching the 5 year olds one girl fell asleep but unfortunately I didn't get a picture of it. So when a girl fell asleep in my afternoon elementary class I was ready.

With all of these kids falling asleep in class by now you must be thinking that I am a terribly borring teacher. The thing is the kids are pushed so hard every other part of their day they just break down. Like any other tired child, before these kids fall they get really cranky and cry at everything you ask them to do and so it is easier to let them fall asleep and have homework than make them cry. Yes, I am justifying it, deal with it.

Strawberries

Two days ago was market day. This time I was looking for some greens, bananas and one other fruit. I found some affordable greens, found bananas for a good deal as well and then at the same stand as the bananas I found my other fruit.

As you can probably guess by the title of this post I found some strawberries. Now normally the strawberries I have seen have been selling for more money that I want to spend, hence I haven't bought any yet. But the ones I found today were going for 4000 won for 2 kgs. To put that in terms you understand, that is $1 a pound. I felt like I was stealing them, it was such a great price for produce in Korea. The sale was on because by the end of the week they would be ready to be made in to wine. But no matter a deal is a deal. They tasted delicious.

When I got home I found out that I get to keep the plastic tub that they are in, which makes it an even better deal. I washed them and cut them up, pretty much all of them were deliciously edible. But their time was running out so I would have to eat them fast. I started off with a couple of bowls of strawberries and milk. Fantastic!

The next day I woke up early enough to make pancakes and had them with strawberries. For my last pancake I switched it up with a banana and peanut butter pancake. Incredible! Side note, since Friday I have had pancakes three times! Have I mentioned that I love pancakes? I do.

Then for supper I bought 6 of those waffle fish with white sauce in the middle, cut them up and drizzled strawberries all over them. Again they tasted incredible! 

I finished up the strawberries this morning with my breakfast of seaweed and rice. 2 kg's of strawberries in 36 hours is not too bad... so far.

A Few of My Favorite Things

I got a chance to talk to my old roommates the other day and by the sounds of it the McMillan house has been massively blessed. Not so much house it's self as the people in side the house. Actually if I were honest the structure might be past saving but the bathroom got a fresh coat of paint(to cover up the mould) and there is now the chance of getting hit by a dart as you are walking down the stairs. Exciting times for the house!

As for the people in side the house: one has gotten a job that he will be great at it and possibly even enjoy while getting pay with perks, another is quitting his job in the next few weeks to start a summer job that will continue until he leave on a trip to England after which he will probably be studying, another just got a sweet sounding job offer in a field that not only he enjoys but he excels at. and the fourth is getting married in May(or April I forget). Big things, I am excited for you!

I also got to talk to my parents and sisters which was a treat, and by the sounds of it, in their own special way they too have been blessed and have exciting things coming in the future. Graduation for one sister a potential house for my other and brother, an active retirement of golfing, riding the Harley and going for coffee for my father and my mother continues to bless others with the gift of language. (Take it from me this could be the best gift for that foreigner on your list who has everything else)

These are a few of my favorite things, feel free to put them in the next package that you send me.

To be fair I do not miss(very much) the snow storm that just enveloped many of you.



On a related note I just got paid for the first time on Thursday and I just thought you should know that I am officially a multimillionaire, no big deal or anything. How has my life changed? you ask... Let me tell you.

My car:






My clothes:



My toilet paper:



My bed:



As you can see just a few minor but necessary changes.

Peace! Peace!

Thoughts as of late:

From the least to the greatest,
   all are greedy for gain;
prophets and priests alike,
   all practice deceit.
They dress the wound of my people
   as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace,” they say,
   when there is no peace.


As found in Jeremiah 6 and 8.(and The Storm and What Became of It by The Fortunate)

Case #4

Had another one today:

That makes four different kids falling a sleep this week and we still have one and a half days left in the week. I have to say they are a lot easier to take care of this way than when they are screaming their heads off.

Changwon - Young City Adventure

This past weekend a group of us made our way to Changwon to celebrate a friends birthday. Being 10 in number leaving from Geoje we were a legitimate crew. We left on Saturday morning taking the 5:45am bus(11200 won). This is early to begin with but being misinformed I was at the bus station at 4:45 and this after going to bed around midnight and waking up at 2:30 to my neighbor throwing all of her pots on the ground. Needless to say I was tired and I slept the 1 hour and 45 minute bus ride away.

My first impressions of Changwon were that it was a nice spacious city as there was an abnormal(to Korea) lack of tall buildings in the area of the bus station. The sun was shining, the air smelt fresh and we in a city that no one really knew anything about, were on a real life adventure!

We took city bus 103 (1100 won) to a place where we would be spending the night, the Hotel Jeowon. It was a nice looking place with clean rooms which was more than we could ask for so we dropped our bags and headed out to explore the city.

We made our way to the sporting complex which had a soccer field, a basketball stadium, a velodrome and a mystery building that looked like it was from Star Wars.

Here we found a bicycle museum with sweet (stationary) bikes to ride.

This amused us until we saw real bikes that we could rent to tour the city. To rent the bikes you needed to have a special card. Since we didn't we went to the office and with a bit of difficulty, gave them a couple of phones as a deposit for them to rent us the bikes. It ended up being 1000 won for 2 hours which was cheap and it was great fun!

On our ride we saw the sights and ate some lunch. Top Tip: Pizza Pro has Koreas worst pizza.

After bringing back the bikes we made our way to the velodrome for the 2:30 races which were interesting to say the least. In Korea the velodrome is a gambling facility, people go there with the purpose to bet on who will win the race. As a result entry is a cool 400 won($0.40). No pictures were permitted so I have no way to show you but there were 7 riders per race, each was wearing a different color jersey and you would bet based on their color. We never really did figure out the odds off winning something based on a random guess and it took 30 minutes between each 4 minute race but definitely a worth stopping by to check it out at least.

Stopped by an arcade with a batting cage to test our mettle.(20 balls for 1000 won)

We then split up, some went back to the hotel to get a bit of a rest while the others went shopping. We met back up at 7:00 and by this time our number had ballooned to some where around 15. We went for supper at Bombay, an Indian restaurant in the same building as the hotel. It was fabulous!

I would dare say that it was the best meal I have eaten in Korea. Prices for a meal range from 15000 - 20000 won($15-20) pretty standard price for what it was and most definitely worth it. From there we finished off the night at the place next door called O'Brians. The next day some of the girls were going to a Korea wedding so the crew broke up and we went separate ways.

Overall I would have to say Changwon was a great place to spend a Saturday hanging out with friends.
I recommend.