So how much is 800?

Relatively speaking $800 is a lot of money. Then when you realize it's a round trip ticket to the home of warmth and sunshine and lovely people and Tijuana Flats it's actually quite cheap.

But money's money and it don't grow on trees. So I'm speaking out of my week long hatred of Korea. After my English session with a 9 year old girl who made me laugh I walked home in the cold in my long duck down coat that I got for the equivalent of 12 US dollars aka 15,000 won.

But my hatred started a lil over a week ago when I got super sick. I got a shot from a Korean hospital. She told me to pull down my pants and didn't know how far...so while standing up I was like, ugh, unzip my jeans? The nurse practically saw my whole bum and turns out the shot was like my hip on one side so having her see the whole moon was probably an eye rolling experience for her...I can hear her mind right now..."dumb foreigner." The shot which happens to be a common thing for the nation of work horses was good for the first day. But the next day I took a sick day because I ached in bed. Every time I got up to pee or eat (sounds gross putting those next to each other so closely in text) my body ached and wished I weren't standing.


So that was the first of my hatred....then it escalated as I continued to smell nastyness on the subways and annoyance with the Korean words buzzed all about me and waiting on the bus for 15 minutes or more at a time with killer wind peeling off the nerves of my face making me fester in bitterness all the more. And my school told me to turn off the heater in my office...

But slowly I did things like, play pickup at Yeouinaru with people I haven't seen in a while. OH! I spent Christmas at my Aunt Donna and Uncle Ken's on base in Seoul. That was spectacular. Two of my girlfriends got to come. And then I stayed there again for New Year's. It was awesome.

But today I smiled as I walked home and stopped at the the GS-25 (convenient store) to get Emily a surprise ice cream bar. I like to surprise her with ice cream. We have fun exchanging the ice cream joy...even in freezing weather.

So here are a few pictures from the Taipei Tournament around December 15, 2008.

This is Peyow Peyow in red with another team we played. We were one of 2 mixed (co-ed) teams and beat 3 other men's teams. I'm the 2nd from left on front row.

Thomas took this picture of us after the Saturday party with an old camera
where you have to hold still.

Andrea who lives on the China mainland got a picture of this...much to my fortune
to scrapbook on this blog for you! Notice all the eyes on me...j/k...but not really.

In front of a memorial in Taipei...of a former Taiwanese leader.

Another shot by Thomas. On what is commonly known as a median
but for us this is party central. Yes, the cops broke us up eventually.

Taipei was really cool about having landscaping around the town....very unlike Korea. It was also nice to have weather similar to Florida and see palm trees. =D