타코벨 먹고 싶어요 → Yo quiero Taco Bell → I want Taco Bell

Korean food is incredible. All of it is so good. If you get tired of Korean food, however, there are several “American” options. There is a 24 hr. Burger King a block away from my apartment. There is a McDonald’s with a seating area that is bigger than any high school cafeteria I’ve ever seen one subway stop away. You can get Pizza Hut. Papa John’s. Dunkin Donuts. Baskin Robbins. Outback Steakhouse. Et cetera. Et cetera.

The one thing that isn’t readily available is Mexican food. There is an On The Border a ways away, but besides that, nothing. Thankfully you can buy tortillas at the Costco here, but that isn’t always enough to satisfy my continual desire for Mexican food.

Good news! Korea’s first Taco Bell opened in Itaewon (the U.S. military district – about 40 min. from me). Taco Bell is hoping to infiltrate the Asian market through Korea because as of now the only Asian countries with T-Bells are India, The Philippines, and South Korea.

Now, I’d much rather have a Chipotle or Qdoba, but Taco Bell is a good stepping-stone. Chris and I made the journey 6 weeks after the joint opened because we heard that the line was a block long for a few weeks. It was a little different from your run of the mill Taco Bell seeing as it was 3 stories tall, but the food was all the same. I left with a Grilled Stuft Burrito, a Burrito Supreme, a hard taco and some diarrhea.

Lauren's Birthday

Lauren's birthday was this last week on August 19th. At school the kindergartners labored over a birthday cake for Mrs. Haws. Their faces were close to it, and their hands were all over it. The teachers were advised not to eat it. It was a mound of whipped cream and an eclectic group of fruit including strawberries and apples. They were sooo proud of their creation. Also, they showered Lauren with gifts from homemade cards to their little toys to pencils or erasers. They just wanted to show Mrs. Haws how much they appreciate her. It was so adorable.

The next night a group of about 14 got together to celebrate Lauren's birthday. We met at Big Rock Brewery to enjoy some tasty brews from their infamous beer towers.

Here's a little video of the two occasions:

I want to know, have you ever seen the rain?

Monsoon season or jangma (장마) typically lasts from June to mid August on the Korean peninsula. Korea gets 60% of their annual rainfall during this period. There will be heavy showers of 8-12in. I’ve never experienced rainfall like this. All you have to do if it rains in Colorado is wait twenty minutes for it to stop. In Korea, the people do not have that luxury; rainstorms can last all day long. Monsoon season is a part of life, and life must go on during it. I’ve had to make an adaption in my life to adjust to the rain. I never owned an umbrella before coming to Korea, and I’ve already gone through three in my short time here.

Korea and Vietnam aren’t exactly neighbors, but whenever it rains I think of the scene in Forrest Gump when he talks about all the different kinds of rain:

Lauren and I getting ready to take on the rain:

Beer and Internet: It is What Post-Collegiates of the 21st Century Do

I met some amazing friends in college. I believe it is a necessity that we stay in contact with one another. My roommates from my senior and I decided to conduct at a video chat conference with one another. Joel Vanderworp, Shawn McKinstry, and I met on August 7^th at 12am (EST – 1pm Aug. 8^th Seoul time) to conduct a video chat. Because of the incredible technology available to us, we were able to share a beer together, catch up with one another, and recount some good memories.

Sharing a beer with Joel and Shawn via iChat

There are several ways to video chat with people. Skype may be the most popular. Skype is good because it works on basically every computer. There are other options, however. I like iChat because you are able to share screens or watch movies with one another. iChat is only available on Macs and the connection seems to get dropped a lot. My favorite is Google’s video gchat because it is reliable, the picture quality and sound are the best, and you can minimize your own face so you aren’t constantly looking at yourself instead of the person you are actually talking to. It is such a blessing being able to have face-to-face conversations with the people who I am closest with despite being thousands of miles and several hours away.

Watching Mad Men with Amanda

ATTN: I have a hairy situation on my... arms.

I’ve never really considered myself a particularly hairy man. I have my sparse chest hair, my full beard complete with blonde mustache, and my “invisible” eyebrows (according to the girls who used to make fun of me in elementary school). I think I have an average amount of androgenic hair, albeit it blonde. Well, I thought I had an average amount before I came to Korea.

Asian men just aren’t hairy. I’ve seen very few with facial hair. The little body hair that I have seen on men’s legs or arms is laughable compared to the yellow jungle on my arms and legs. This isn’t something I would normally start noticing, but I couldn’t help it since my students instigated my attention to my own “hairy” arms.

It doesn’t bother me at all; I think it is pretty funny, but, without fail, at least once a day a student will notice the difference of my arms compared to his or her father’s. “Teacher, fur,” is the most common statement. I have also gotten, “Your arms are like a bear.” The most startling, however, will be when I am walking around checking homework and a student begins rubbing my arm. The kindergarteners first discovered it, but they are not the only ones who do it. Even the curiosity of the 5^th graders leads them to poke at my arms. The other day a first grader asked if I would cut off some of my arm hair and give it to him so he could show his mother. I didn’t.