Czy mowi pan po angielsku? Do you speak English?

This week I have started the leg work of going around Warsaw in order to establish my life here as a foreigner. Since I have been here only a week, my Polish is pardon the pun; 'unpolished.' For example, yesterday I went to the University to find the building to sign up for Polish classes. It seemed easy enough to find on the Internet, but I in fact had the misfortune of looking in every building at the University until I found it in a decrepit corner nestled behind the music department. The problem was that I tried to speak Polish. After saying 'Czy movi pan po angielsku?' most people replied in English-NO! To their displeasure I informed these souls that I in fact spoke a little Polish and that they could instruct me in their mother tongue and I would probably understand. Because of my decision to speak Polish in finding directions instead of moving on to one of the million other people here who can speak English, it took me half the morning to find a building that was literally in the middle of the capital city of Poland. Anyway, one would believe that I learnt my lesson. Hardly! I continued to press the 'Czy pan mowi po Angielsku?' question around at the hospital, where I received in a steadfast manner that in fact the receptionist didn't speak English. So I bravely tried to explain my curious situation about obtaining the mandatory student health certificate in Polish without looking for an English speaker. After about thirty seconds of another Polish language fiasco, another nurse barked out from the corner:'Go upstairs to the second floor!' With that short chalk talk, I said a cheery 'Dzienkuje bardzo!' and flashed up the stairs. Whereupon I made my appointment confidently in English. After a few hours if pounding pavement, it was a successful day. I managed to enroll in a Polish class, and make a doctors appointment in my own language! Can you get more intelligent than that? I hope not?

The Show Must Go On!

So, it' s been two years of life in Korea. How can I even begin to write about the things I experienced, the people I had the pleasure and displeasure of meeting, the language I failed miserably in speaking, the donuts I consumed. Two years in Korea is a long time as a foreigner and to recount my entire existence as a teacher for two years in a single blog posting is not surprisingly challenging for me. It isn't easy for two reasons. The first one being is that I had such a wonderful time in Korea that it makes me sad just bringing everything to mind. The second, and more interesting reason is that my life here was of course so dynamic. Life was truly a daily adventure. In fact at times I felt like I was inundated with so much culture, hospitality, generosity, curiosity, and a daily life that offered enough challenges to make life seem like things changed from minute to minute.

I must say that however it's overall been a highly positive experience, and if one adopts a very positive attitude, then life as a teacher in Korea can be an endearing experience. Life isn't perfect anywhere, and Korea is no exception, yet walking away in my opinion leaves me with the notion that I should at least say thank you to numerous people, organizations, groups, restaurants, students etc. So that is my intention today. So in no particular order I am going to thank a few souls for making my life here an overall positive experience.

First of all I want to say thank you to the students of Jeil High School. Thank you for being there everyday and making me feel like an important person. Thank you for your politeness. Thank you for your participation, and most importantly thank you for your smiles. You will (mostly) all go far. Thank you for the teachers of Jeil High School for making my life so much easier than it could have been in South Korea. Thank you for all of your support, kindness, free food, patience, and smiles. Thank you to my Taekwondo teachers Haydar and Mr. Baek. Thank you both for being patience with my lack of flexibility. Speaking of patience, I also want to say thank you to everyone at SIFC. You guys were so supportive and I can't thank enough for giving me a social outlet, and for helping me develop as a soccer(football) player. Also, since I was a volunteer for UNESCO, I want to thank O Jeong Mi, for being such a dedicated translator for me during my presentations. I also want to thank Mr. Bahk, at UNESCO for letting me pour Soju for him. Thank you also Canadian Connection for hiring me in the first place. I have to say that I was afraid of daunting task of teaching children, so thank you for giving me an opportunity.

I also want to thank many people in the foreign community for giving me a social outlet. Throghout my tenure in Korea I learned that culture shock is a real thing, and it was great to have so many friends in Suncheon I could get to know. So thanks to everyone in the band; Jesse, Greg, Karen, Dan, Harold, Nina, and Jeff. You guys all rocked and I'm gonna miss playing with you. Thanks to Therese for all of her free dinners. Thanks to my old neighbor Kiwi Dave, for stopping by for coffees. Thanks to Eric for letting me watch TPB, and Liverpool matches in his apartment. Thanks to the boys Alroy, Daragh, Ben, Steve Marshall, Jose, Adam, Kai, Tim, Kevin J. Lee, Alex, Matt, Shane, Corey, B.T, Aodan, Ian, Simon, Mike Thompson, Wrestling Dave, Nebraska Dave and Fraser. It's been great knowing everyone, and I wish you all the best. Actually there was so many great people, that if I forgot you then shame on me, but thanks anyway if I forgot you. Thanks to my girlfriend, whom I am with now in Poland, but since we met in Korea at good ole' Camp England. Also, I had the good fortune to experience life in Seoul thanks to her, so thank you Justyna. Also, thanks Home Plus, taxi drivers, Dakgalbi, Elvis Bar, Speak Easy, TomnToms, Juliana's, Seoul, Suncheon, Busan, Gwangju, Kia Tigers, String Bar, Chunnam Dragons, Kimchi, Soju, Chilsung Cider, Samgeopsal, Gamjatang, The Foreign Food store in Gwangju, Korean customer service, KTX Trains, Korean Express Busses, Yeosu and you.

Thanks to you for reading this, and once again, thank you Korea. Kamsahamnida! Daniel:)

Anyway as the Queen song reverberates 'The Show Must Go On,' I believe that indeed it shall. Someone will take my place in Suncheon, and I think they will do a great job. Also, I will continue to update my blog regularly from Poland for those who might be interested. Instead of all things Korean, I am just going for the jugular and promise to dish out the incredibly misadventures of myself in Poland. I hope you are ready, because I know I'm not.

A Food Lover's Paradise?

I must say that when I arrived in Korea the initial thing I felt when I tried the food was that it was too spicy. It was only a ramen bowl as well. I couldn't even finish it. The only feeling in my mouth was burning pepper. It wasn't only the spice that took me by surprise, the bigger surprise was the fact that the food was spicy in Korea. I had no idea, as most people do when they saunter through Incheon Airport starting a new Korean adventure. Anyway, just so you know alot of the dishes in Korea are really quite spicy, so just be aware before you come here. You might want to do some spice tolerance training before you come here. Maybe try the spicier salsas in your neighborhood taquerias, or opt for a spicier Pad Thai at the local Thai noodle house. However, there are plenty of non-spicy dishes as well. Additionally, if you decide to stay here a while you will be surprised how quickly the body is able to adapt the spiciness. What's even better is that the longer you stay to build a spice tolerance, your knowledge of the different foods available also drastically grows. This means one quickly realizes how much food is truly available in this country, and how incredibly affordable it is to boot. The upshot of this means that you can eat every meal daily in a restaurant, not cook and basically not worry about having to drain your bank account.



When I came to Korea, I only knew a few dishes; kimbap, ramen, mandu. One can not survive on a few dishes alone, so one always turns to what they are familiar with. In Korea, there are a plethora of familiar western food style chain restaurants (like Outback,) that serve up reliable, familiar to the Americana taste bud cuisine. Places like this were a gift from above for me for the first year in Korea, since I couldn't speak or read much Korean- which made it more difficult to investigate new and interesting foods to partake in eating. That all changed over the last six months though. I am happy to say that I basically cut out Outback, and *McDonald's from my diet completely in the land of Kimchi. I even had a dining routine during the week with some friends rockin' different Korean food establishments. For example; There were Dakgalbi Mondays, which is spicy grilled chicken with cabbage and rice noodles, there was also Kamjatang Sunday lunch, which is a potato and pork soup. They are both amazing dishes. Anyway, there are so many styles here that it's difficult to describe in a single anecdote, however, since I am no longer in Korea, I must say that the biggest thing I miss-other than my friends, job, and soccer, is the food.


I think if you are curious about the food here, you should check out my friend Therese's blog. I enjoy eating food a lot, however, she does a much better job capturing the whole food and dining experience in South Korea. So any attempt on my part would only fail in comparison to her blog. So instead of carrying on incessantly, I will simply mention the fact that if you are a food person, her blog is worth a look. I also want to add though is that I am going to really miss Dakgalbi Mondays. I get sad just thinking about it. So I will stop here, but please check out some pictures I've saved.








* I must admit that the Mcdonald's Shanghai Chicken sandwiches are spectacular!

Get Out the Red in Gwangju!

Well, for a creature living in South Korea right now one could state with a high level of confidence that spring has finally greeted us with her warm touch. Sandals once again are the desired shoe choice and the chance to finally don a red Kia Tigers T-shirt with jeans(minus a sweater,) is a welcome added bonus.

Furthermore, the most awesome part of Spring in my opinion is of course baseball. What's even better is that I am fortunate to be in a country whose national baseball team is still reeling in their recent successes with a Beijing Olympic Gold Medal, and a WBC second place finish. As of now Korea is one of many exploding baseball nations in the world. Their team is quite talented, but I wouldn't say they stack up as one of the most talented teams in the world. What is unique about this nation and their baseball is the unflinching amount of energy and spirit the players and fans show. I think it is this mix of determination and their typical 'fighting spirit,' that makes them currently a standout nation on the diamond.

Because of this recent surge in baseball dominance, *it seems that more and more Koreans are coming out to the ball park and exerting some of their energy in support of their local teams. Last week was the opening week, and this last weekend I was lucky to visit two games between the Kia Tigers in Gwangju, and the Samsung Lions of Daegu. Both games in Gwangju were great. The crowd had spirit, and their pitching kept the Tigers competitive on both days-yet their offense lacked spirit and(more importantly) clutch hits that would've given them more runs.

Friday's result: Lions5, Tigers 2, Saturday's result: Lions 2, Tigers 1 (10 innings)

The offensive highlight of the two games was a solo shot from Che hisom,(who's an ex-Dodger.)while the overall highlight was the stellar pitching from the Tigers that kept them close in both games. Anyway, sometimes going to a ballpark to see a game isn't about winning or losing. Anyone who is a baseball enthusiast knows that, and also knows that there is more than a handful of wisdom about enjoying a ball game.

In Korea, the only thing you don't get(** other than hot dogs) is green grass. However, once one becomes accustomed to the lack of real grass in this nation, you can accept the fact that there are other nice things to enjoy here. So in the end you can enjoy coming to a ball game for a fun experience, even if your team doesn't win. So with out further adieu, I am going to give you a list of ten things to check out at a Korean baseball game.

1.) Buy Chicken(usually one for two people-costs about 12,000won)

2.) Get there early and take advantage of the incredibly boisterous cheering sections on the first base side.

3.) Pay a visit to the incredibly affordable souvenir stand! I bought a professional style Red Kia Tigers jersey for the equivalent of 30 dollars!...Get the red out!

4.) Check out the game and pay attention, because it seems like it's easier to catch a foul ball here. I think Koreans have a different style of swing and they are always spraying the balls into the stands. Not that I caught one though.***

5.) For the male audience-cheerleaders

6.) For the kids-a very animated mascot!

7.) The 6Th inning 'kiss' camera! The Jumbo tron screen shows couples between innings and they have to kiss if they are on the screen.

8.) Go with as many friends as you can and take advantage of the general admission style seating!

9.) The games are noisier than in America....much noisier!

10.) Affordable tickets-10,000 won and you can sit almost anywhere you want!

* The game on Saturday was so crowded that there several hundred people who couldn't even find seats, but were at least able to stand and enjoy the game.

** If you come to a game here you won't find a single hot dog stand, what you will find is a plethora of chicken restaurants selling off boxes of chicken with complimentary Pepsi in front of the stadium!
*** During the game Friday I asked my friend if he has ever caught a ball at a game, he immediatley said he hadn't. The next day I asked my Canadian friend Tim is he has ever and he also claimed that he has never caught a ball. I also have never caught a ball during a game. Anyway it seemed at the time surprising that 3 baseball enthusiasts have never caught a ball. Regardless, Statistically it seems difficult to catch a baseball at a game. Imagine an average game having 20,000 people. Well, how many balls are hit into the stands during an inning? Let's say 6 per inning for foul balls, and for home runs- let's say on average 3 per game. So that's 57 balls in the stands per game. However, I think that is quite a liberal amount. It is probably lower. Anyway that's about a 57/20,000 chance for you to catch a ball in a game. Another way of looking at it is to imagine a guy in the outfield who was never allowed to move anywhere. What are the odds of the ball just landing in his glove? I bet it's pretty low. Since there is alot of space in a ball park, and a fan isn't able to maneuver around for a ball, the fan is going to have a high amount of difficulty chasing a ball that is hit into the stands. Anyway, if you catch a home run from Boston or New York, just throw it back anyway! Go A's!

Do March Showers Bring April Flowers?

There's an old cliche back home that April showers bring May flowers. Honestly, I never paid much attention to the expression, mostly because of the fact that I had never been much of a flower person. If you said April showers brings May happy hours, or April showers increases solar power, then I would've shown more appreciation of the fact that a colder and wetter April invites a warmer May.

I think there a couple of things I must state here. First, back home the nature of the San Francisco Bay Area is stunning in its own right, however it isn't really famous specifically for flowers. We have stunning ocean views with crashing waves, towering pine and sequoia trees, jagged mountains, and almost any other imaginable natural setting-yet I can't tell you any place you can go to see beautiful flowers. The second thing, is that I am a typical man. Because of my manliness, I think that I have just assumed that I wouldn't appreciate flowers or anything related to the blossoming world in the springtime. I have always thought of flowers in the spring as a 'girly' interest. I have therefore closed myself off from the aesthetic realm of the power of flower for a large portion of my life.

That all changed when I came to Korea a couple of years ago and noticed the breathtaking scenery of the cherry blossoms in April. It is a beautiful world we live in, and one of the things that definitely contributes to that beauty without a doubt are the lucid white cherry blossoms surrounding cities and the countryside. Additionally, as an added bonus the blossoms come out a bit earlier than one would normally expect. Despite the old notion of an April shower, here we are greeted with Spring bloom almost a full month earlier. The temperatures are still quite breezy and a little uninviting, but not in a way that will keep one indoors. All one needs is a free day, a light jacket, and a 1000 won to hop on a bus to a local temple to take a few snapshots of the hundreds of trees lining the grounds in the afternoon.

Which is what I did last Sunday with my friend Eric. Living in Suncheon in Jellonamdo has a couple of temples both within an hour by the city bus. The easiest to reach is Seonamsa, which can be taken directly from the train station on bus 1 for 1000 won. Once we arrived we quickly bypassed the other tourists piling off of the tour buses and made our way to the temple itself up the hill behind the bus stop. The temple is quite small itself, but the highlight is in fact the sheer beauty of the blossoms popping out of the trees in every direction of the temple.

After firing off about a hundred pictures, we both decided to give our lazy feet a rest and have an ice cream from a souvenir shop. Looking at my watch I had noticed that the month was still actually March. Which meant that, March flowers had already sprung! I guess in Korea March Showers bring just March flowers. There was no waiting or anticipation for anything of the like! The flowers just Sprung like Spring tends to do here. How's that for Korean productivity!