Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Taiwanna vacation!!

Geez, it's been a while since my golden shower in Goeje...A bit of an overdue post, but let me bring you all up to speed!!

For my summer break, I took a hop skip and a jump over to the lovely island of Taiwan. Accompanied by my dangerously tall South African neighbor Greg, we knew it would be a miracle if we made it out alive.

We started our trip in Hualien on the East coast. After a day of exploration we decided to do what any educated, responsible traveller would do....find a bar.

After wandering around aimlessly for an hour, we happened upon "All Star Pub."

Approximately 6 hours into a new country, and the G came out.

The All Star Pub had a traditional band playing the stage that night, they were good to begin with, but after several tequila sunrises, they went from OK to FANTASTIC. After they finished their set, the stage was opened up to Kareoke....

Well, after getting the entire bar up and dancing to "I will survive", I got free jäger shots and was asked by other patrons to be the chosen back up dancer for various other performances. This was followed the next night by befriending a German man who lives in Taiwan with his wife. Him and I discussed Travelling, europe, and life, and when asked about other places he experienced during his time in Asia he responded..."I don't go many places around here....I don't like Asians."

Then, to Taipei we went to meet up with our darling friend Ingrid. We spent the time in Taipei at the typical tourist attractions: Taipei 101 Tower, Hot springs, snake alley...etc.

Amidst all the sightseeing, I decided there was one thing left for me to do.

Street Tattoo.

We went to Shilin Night Market, which is a big open air market where you can buy anything from stinky tofu to rolex watches. Now, though I have never gotten a tattoo before, I had been thinking about this particular idea for some time now. I walked past a street tattoo parlor and thought to myself, this is the place to go.

I showed up the next day and met up with Fong (don't worry, him and I are facebook friends now) and told him I wanted a lotus flower on my ankle. I bravely sat down and clenched my teeth, as Fong assured me "Don't worry, you are my woman." I was still unsure of what that meant when the tattoo began.

Barring any hepatitis, it was a great vacation. The food was delicious, the people were fun, and we had a splendid time! Until we had to get back on a plane to the land of the Kimchi.....




Wednesday, August 15, 2012

A pee filled weekend...

Camping! Such a fine idea! Such a nice idea! An idea for some whole hearted foreign fun!

Or so we thought....

The plan was to go to Goeje, an island off the coast of Busan, and spend the weekend swimming, sunning and sleeping in tents. A group of about 20 foreigners showed up, mostly on Saturday, but myself, Rich, Charle and a few others showed up on Friday to start early.

The trip from Miryang to Goeje is about 2 hours...

So 6 hours and half a bottle of whiskey later we arrived.

After a successful scavenge for firewood, AJ and I set off to build the firepit and create the nest egg that would be our home for the rest of the weekend. Friday was a low key night, as we all sat around the fire and prepared for the inevitable shenanigans of the next day.

By the time we crashed it was about 5am. I slid into my little tent ready for some quality shut eye. At approximately 7am I awoke in a pool of my own sweat..as the tents quickly became our own personal saunas. I pulled out a pillow and a towel and slept on the beach for another couple hours, then awoke and ran immediately into the ocean where the others had already found refuge.

The water was crystal clear, and luckily for us, all the fully covered beach Koreans and their umbrellas were down at the far end of the beach, giving us the place to ourselves (minus some Russians who came out of nowhere).

In the distance, probably about a mile offshore, existed an island. We decided to name this Waygook Island and made it a personal mission to conquer the territory by days end.

As a group, we found that our scavenging skills were particularly astute on this day, as we found an assortment of floats, goggles, and other beach accessories that would be crucial to storming the beaches at Waygook island.

Now before I continue, it's important to note that Koreans are not the most adept swimmers. Perhaps it's because they are weighed down by clothing, as they swim fully clothed to avoid the sun.

As if by telepathic genius, we all simultaneously began our swim out.

2 people had paddled out ahead on a raft we found near the bathrooms, whereas myself and a couple others decided to go at it Micheal Phelps style on our own. We had made it about a kilometer out, when we started to here the whistles. Now Korean lifeguards will blow the whistle if the water is merely at your waistline...so at this point they were in full freakout mode. A few immediately turned back in, but myself and a few others continued the quest in spite of him.

Finally, after 10 minutes of whistle blowing and watching him dive in and chase us with his red buoy, team Phelps decided to turn in. The flotation crew were still going full speed ahead, and now were over halfway to the destination.

And as luck would have it...the lifeguard reached me first.

"WHATEVER!" he said to me, a face full of pure anger.

This was not the correct greeting for someone in the middle of the ocean.

"Whatever what man? Don't worry about us, we are ok."- Annie

"Not ok! Dangerous!"-anger guard

"Nah man, we are good swimmers! We are fine!"- Gold medalist in guard dodging

"I call coast guard on you!"-pure rage

"That seems a bit excessive"-Waygook jerk

He gestured to the flotation crew asking if they were my friends, and telling me they cannot swim out there. At this point I responded that there was not much I could do about that unless he wanted me to swim after him.

At this point I felt there was nothing much left for him and I to discuss so I swam ashore. Later, the flotation crew would also come ashore, except this time they would be in speed boats accompanied by angry covered Koreans. They made it to the island but told us it was covered in trash and jagged rocks.

The day progressed with many giggles, laughs, and even a few guffaws. Everyone was getting along great, I even learned how to play cricket! But then...disaster struck.

We had been playing water frisbee. I missed the one thrown to me, and I went to swim after it, afraid that it would float away otherwise (a mistake I had made earlier in the day with a beach ball...I screamed "Wilson" as it floated out of reach). I focused on the frisbee, began to swim after it, and it was just out of reach when AHHHH. My whole arm felt like it was on fire and simultaneously being pricked with a thousand death pins. I had swam right through the tentacles of a jellyfish.

Now back home, I have been stung on more than one occasion, and never has the pain or discomfort lasted more than 10 minutes or so. Even earlier that day, on my journey to Waygook island, I had felt a sting on my knee, but it disappeared rather quickly.

I jumped out of the water to see my arm rapidly swelling up. I could see where the jellyfish stung my flesh, as it was white and bubbly. I have a fairly high pain tolerance, but this was not subsiding and was spreading to the entirety of my left arm.

Joel, a guy who was also in the frisbee game, had been stung years ago and jumped into action. He helped take me to the lifeguard stand, where he said they would likely have ammonia to neutralize the burn.

Well the lifeguards had no such thing, but I sat there with ice as Joel and I laughed at anger guard as he sat there stewing at us. The guards insisted that I go to the hospital, to which I replied "aniyo, Soju joseyo." translation "no, I want to drink." They finally understood that a hospital trip would really disrupt the long night of drinking I had planned ahead, they let me go, saying if I became nauseous or felt dizzy to immediately seek help.

The only problem was the ice did nothing for the pain, and as I walked back to base camp, I remembered hearing about an alternative way to neutralize the sting....

"Hey....does anyone need to pee?!"

Now if you had told me that morning, that I would be getting pissed on, I would have laughed and thought, oh what a silly thing to say! How silly! What a silly thing!

But there I was, arm burning an swollen, with my friend Charle and y new friend Chris (we bonded quickly) preparing for the first Golden Shower of my life. We were outside the bathhouse, amidst the stares of the Koreans (only their eyes were uncovered) preparing for the urine bath I was about to endure. Charle, beig a female, took the courtesy to pee into a coke bottle ahead of time, and we poured the 98.6 degree liquid over the top of the sting. Because the tentacle had wrapped all around my arm, and because I was trying to limit the amount of excess body juice that would be getting all over the rest of my body, Chris was crucial in aiming for the underarm. I stood up, with my arm fully outstretched, my eyes closed, and ready for the taking. Chris had no stage fright, and soon my sting was fully covered in urine. Fortunately and unfortunately, both friends had been evidently dehydrated that day, so the antidote was pungent and concentrated.

Nonetheless the golden shower did help the sting a bit, and mostly made for a good story. The rest of the night went off fairly smoothly: drinking, night swimming, cooking on the fire, playing guitar, and vowing that I would seek revenge on the jellyfish who did this to me. I will find you one day you little blobby jerk...and when I do, I will pee all over you and your jelly family.

The next morning we awoke in our saunas, hungover, shamed and dirty, and prepared to pack up for our journey home. I was in desperate need for a shower (fear not, I did wash the pee off my arm after the sprinkling incident). We bid everyone adieu, and drive-of-shamed it back to Miryang. We were tired, salty, tan, smelly, and still a little drunk, but mostly happy that we were probably the strangest group of people the covered Koreans have ever witnessed in their heavily visored lives.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

English Camp

Poor little Korean Kids.

Shortly after my arrival in this fine country, I had a bit of a crash course in the life of a Korean student. Being a teacher, I felt it necessary to understand the ins and outs of the education system here, but was a bit surprised at what I found out....

The first shocking fact came within my first week. It was here, in my class, that I found out that corporal punishment is still alive and well in the classrooms of Korea. If a student is acting out, it is perfectly acceptable, nay encouraged, to smack him or her in the back or face. Occasionally, students receive a swift kick to the side, or the friendlier pinch on the neck. Sometimes it is a more lighthearted slap, other times it is a beating that leaves the kid in tears. I have seen teachers even reward the good students by letting them stand up and smack around the bad student.

Needless to say, this was a bit of a shock at first, but what is arguably more shocking is how quickly I became unphased by such actions. In fact, I didn't even think about it until the other night when I was on the phone with Debbie and explained to he these classroom activities. "Ya Kiddin me Annieeee" she exclaimed in her Tauntonesque accent, "isn't that a little hahhhrsh?"

Well yes ma, it is, but to be honest, it is the least of a Korean students worries.

When it comes to physical abuse in Korea, well that's a whole other post entirely. But when it comes to educational abuse (for lack of a better term) quite frankly, being a Korean student suuuuccckkksss.

When researching a teaching opportunity in Korea, you are faced with two main options, public or private. I work for the public schools, so technically I am a Korean government employee with all the benefits and protections clearly stated in my contract. Private gigs, at places called "hagwons" tend to have a bad rap by being a bit shadier, because they are businesses and tend to be a bit more labor intensive.

You see, the average Korean student goes to school from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm every day. Then, they go immediately to hagwons for further instruction, often coming home past 10pm. Basically, a Korean kid is studying from 8:30 to 10 everyday, and typically when they finish, they go home, do homework (or play computer games, but more on that another day) and go to sleep.

The education system here is broken into trimesters. The first trimester begins around May. The kids receive summer "break" for about a month in August, then they begin again end of August/ early September. There are log holiday weekends sprinkled throughout the year, then they get winter break for December or January, come back for a couple weeks, another break, then may semester begins.

However, their breaks are merely a facade, as often they continue to go to hagwons daily...or they are forced to go to...dun dun dun...English camp.

English camp is a week of in-classroom activity that is supposed to be an intensive language acquisition program...which it rarely is. The native English teachers are fully in charge and have to develop the lessons..which usually involve games, movies and minimal educational absorption.

This break, I have a total of 3 weeks of English camp. I just completed the camp for the city office of education, and now I have two weeks of camp for my school (which has basically been me babysitting the one or two kids who show up).

For the Education office camp, all the foreigners here in Miryang (there's about 16 of us) got together for a week of enriching the minds of the Asian youth. We all paired up and chose both a topic, and a 7- minute "play" that our students would be performing in a grand closing ceremony.

Naturally I chose the hit theatrical production titled "goiter man" for our young thespians. If you are wondering what goiter man is about...just think about the title..it will lead your way.

Anyways, our topic was culture, and I basically just spent time telling the kids about American and Italian food and played a game. The week was boiling hot, so I taught all students to say "It's wicked hot out heaaaaahhh." My class was very cute, and though it was a week, we all created a solid bond and they told me they would miss me. ::tear:: I even got a few hugs out of the deal!

At one point, Greg and I told the students that we were married and had 2 children named Shadynasty and Ezekiel. The students were shocked beyond belief, and fell for our charade hook line and sinker.

The last day, the goiters were ready, we had painted our faces, and our little play went off without a hitch..except for all the hitches that went off. But all in all the kids had a great week.

What made me sad though, was that a lot of these children were having fun for the first time in a long time within a classroom environment. Because this camp was for the most gifted of the students, most of them spend their days in schools and hagwons, trying to constantly appease their parents dissatisfaction. Some of them don't get hugs on a daily basis, and don't even get a "good job" or a paper on the refrigerator from their parents. This causes two interesting things about Korean students, 1) spontaneous crying and 2) the highest suicide rate in the world.

To elaborate on the first point, every day I have a cryer. Usually it is about something ridiculously stupid. Now, when the little 3rd graders start crying, I try and comfort them a little bit. But when the 6th grade boys are having a sobfest, I just tell them to walk it off. So let's look at the English Camp, at one point, a bunch of girls were accusing a boy about having many girlfriends. He got embarrassed and stormed out of the class. I gave him a minute or two, and went to go find him crying on the staircase. I sat next to him and asked "Tom*  What is wrong?" To which he explained the situation about the girlfriends and he had a best friend who was a girl but they were not in love. I explained to him how the girls in the class probably had a huge crush on him, and how next time they say things like that, for him to respond "Of course I have ton's of girlfriends, I am awesome!" I gave him candy, patted him on the back, and sent him back into the classroom. Problem Solved.

But onto the bigger problem. Because of the insane amount of stress put on these students, there are constantly reports about preteens and teenagers committing suicide. During test days, they have extra street guards out just to make sure kids don't jump in front of cars. A lot of them decide that they just can't take the pressure anymore and try and end their lives. It's insanely sad, but what is also sad is the fact that Koreans don't change their ways to better the system and decrease the suicide rate. Reduce Hagwon time, or allow for more time off during vacation. Do not put such pressure on standardized tests, or try and praise a student for doing a good job. I know this is all radical and crazy sounding, but sometimes Koreans lack that type of problem solving ability.

Anyways, I have about a week left of my school's English camp. Yesterday I had the students all dancing the electric slide and the cotton-eyed joe around the classroom because we had a lesson in line dancing, because screw learning, it's camp time!

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Things Koreans Like Part 1.

So in another series of postings, I will be investigating some of the various like of the general Korean populus. The list is long, and continues to grow, but I will be updating throughout my journey here in the Far East.

1) Kimchi.

For those of you unaware of Kimchi, it could also be known as the national pride of Korea. It is eaten at every meal, and constantly praised for its miraculous health benefits. Now for those of you unaware of what Kimchi actually is...it is fermented cabbage mixed with spices. It tastes like a soggy, spicy piece of garlic, and causes your breath to smell like the seventh layer of hell. One would think it would be easy to avoid such a food, but they want to shove it down your throat like its going out of style. They love to talk about all the good bacteria in it, and how it cures all these diseases and stuff. All I know, is that it is seriously reeking havoc on my breath. 


2) Driving like idiots.

I have LITERALLY seen someone driving full speed on the wrong side of the road here. They have no sense of right of way, they use their horns randomly and inappropriately, they ride the brakes, and stop for no reason. They will pull a u-turn in the middle of the street into oncoming traffic. They will ride with a family of 4 on a moped, with no helmets...I have seen a man driving a scooter while holding a baby...all helmet-less. I have thought my life would end in a taxi cab in numerous occasions now. There is no stopping for pedestrians at walkways, or stopping at red lights even. And when they do stop, they ALWAYS put the car in park and put the ebrake up. They always back into parking spaces. It is so bizarre. So the stereotypes about Asian drivers...they are ALL true.

3) Angry Birds and Hello Kitty.

There is a straight up OBSESSION with Angry Birds and Hello Kitty. Now, I was expecting the Hello Kitty...this being Asia and all... but the Angry Birds caught me for surprise. As far as copyright infringement goes...that's a whole other topic...but all I know is that the little birds and pigs are on EVERYTHING...socks, bags, clothes, bus cards, food, commercials...everything.

3) Relationships.

Relationships in Korea are the worst. I mean the worst. First off, the society is not focused around "sexiness" like the west is. In the west, Sexy sells...and people try and appear sexier to attract the opposite sex. Nay, Korea is the land of the Cute. Cute is what gets people going. Hair bows, soft giggling, headbands, t-shirts with puppies on it. And one of the cutest things a couple can do.....matching outfits. I kid you not, couplewear is all the rage here. the first time I saw it, I assumed it was accidental. It's not. It is on purpose. They wear matching outfits. Everyday. Down to the shoes. It's sickening.

4) Nonsensical T-Shirts

The current "in" style here in Korea is T-shirts with English phrases on it. This would be fine....if they could understand what they are wearing. I guess it all started my first weekend here, I was waiting outside the train station in Busan when I saw a young teenage girl with a t-shirt that said "Free Mustache Rides." The poor girl must have felt uncomfortable as I stood and laughed at her. Some other gems have been a teacher with a shirt reading "Bitch, Please" and the various "Boston Massachubatts" shirts I seem to see everywhere.

5) Spam
I am not talking about junk emails here. I mean spam, as in the mystery meat in the can. For a health-obsessed nation, this particular product seems a bit out of place. They love it tho. It's in everything, it is sold everywhere. They have Spam Gift packs for crying out sakes! I was told that during the Korean War, Korean people would eat rations sent in for the American Troops, thus introducing and injecting spam into local Korean dishes. They chow down on spam like its a filet mignon, and I don't have the heart to tell them that it is the official delicacy of trailer parks across the nation.

Keep an eye out for more to come.




Thursday, July 19, 2012

Mudfest

This weekend was an event known only as "Mudfest."

Now, you may be thinking to yourself, what exactly is mudfest? Well, if you are one of those people, slap yourself in the face. Mudfest is exactly what you think it is, exactly what it sounds like....a festival of mud.

Now mudfest is in Boryeong, which is a bit of a hike from Milyang, and Ingrid, Charle and I were slated to go there with a crew from Goechang. On Friday evening, the pilgrimage began.

First we were to take the train to Daegu. There we had a single mission to retrieve my lost camera (gotta love Korean honesty) which was at a bar I got properly wasted at a few weeks back. Camera in hand, it was time to take the bus to Goechang for the night.

Now because we had to wake up early for the 3 hour ride to Boryeong in the morning we figured we would take it easy Friday. 3 Soju cocktails and one in the morning later, Charle and I were snuggled up for approximately 4 hours of sleep (I was little spoon).

Bright and early we rose, got on the bus, and arrived at our "hotel", or rather, the floor space we would call our beds later, at around 10:00 am. We promptly donned our matching red t-shirts, gave each other marker tattoos, and took jäger shots.

By noon we were all quite tipsy.

I had befriended some Phillipinos in the window of a chicken restaurant, and was trying to play matchmaker with some of my friends. However, in our marker tattooing brilliance, we decided to get each others phone numbers painted on our arm ("in case we get lost!") the rest of the day involved many phone calls from mysterious strangers all asking for the wrong people.

Then we made our way to the beach, promptly jumped in the ocean, took a picture with a Korean guy dressed as a cow, and moved towards the mud.

The scene at mudfest was something out of Woodstock. People were rolling around in mud pits, smearing mud all over each other, and then jumping in the ocean and cleaning it off to do it all over again. I was cornering the beach ball market by using my superior dart skills to win prizes, use the prizes to make friends, and watch as both friends and prizes disappeared into the muddy unknown.

I found myself as the ringleader of a group of Army men that I convinced to not only play beach volleyball with me, but to buy my bag cocktails for the rest of the day. We created a mega group: the Goechang crew, the Milyang Ladies, the Army men, and other various stragglers along the way.

After an afternoon of debauchery, we decided to get food. We went to a restaurant, and as we often do, pointed to several pictures of food that looks appetizing. We got a plate of what appeared to be shellfish of sorts, mixed with peppers and onions. I tried to eat a few of these but they were just too chewy and tough.

That's when my friend Oliver, as if on cue, entered the restaurant. He is much more well versed in the ways of Korean dining than I, and he looked at the dish with much skepticism. It was then he proclaimed in his New Zealand accent, "I think that's a plate of chicken assholes mate." We giggled at the sillyness until we called the waitress over, pointed to the plate and to our bums, and she confirmed our fears.

We had eaten sphincters.

We left the restaurant in shame, now determined to make it to a bar. After much searching, we found everyplace was way overpriced, and it had started to rain.

The obvious solution was to buy bag cocktails, beers and fireworks and head down to the beach. On our walk over, a fireworks display had erupted, and cheers of Amurica poured out as the migukins sang the national anthem. Amidst this I got hit by a stray coconut....but somethings just cant be explained.

The great thing about mudfest (besides the free coconut) was that there were literally thousands of people there, but it was like we only kept seeing the same 3 groups. In fact, if someone went missing or strayed, all you had to do was will them into existence and they would magically appear. The night was filled with rain street dancing, winning stuffed animals, and other antics, until I decided to call it a nice and crawled back to then"hotel" to curl up in the fetal position, soaked from head to toe, asleep on a hard wood floor.

Now it's important to note, at the beginning of the day I looked great, like Charlize Theron at a red carpet affair. By the end of the day, I looked like her oscar winning performance in "monster". I'm telling you, homegirl looked beat. But it didn't matter, because at mudfest, none of that matters. All that matters is the rain, the mud, the Phillipinos and the beach balls that i lost to a ravenous muddy crowd. Oh ya....and Amurrica.


Wednesday, July 4, 2012

I would tell you about my weekend in Daegu...

But that would be too much of the same old same old.

Although if anyone has found my camera please let me know.

Nay, I shall not tell you of last weekends escapades for I have discovered something far more profound, far more life-changing, and far more rocktastic than cocktails in a bag (which they sell on the street here...so awesome).

My friends... I give you.... Extreme Ironing.

http://www.extremeironing.com/

So years ago, a british man, who goes by "Steam" had a rough day at work. He wanted to go outside and enjoy the nature, and figured he would kill 2 birds with 1 stone....Extreme Ironing was born.

My dear friends, I believe this is truly my calling. Lord knows I can't shoot a basketball, I have not the hand-eye coordination for tennis, and I can't run for the life of me...but iron I can...and I will....for...

I Am the Wrinkle Warrior!

I have officially registered as an Extreme Ironist, and my biography is as follows:

"I used to live a very dark life, surrounded by steamers and racks of clothing. I knew things needed to change, so I kicked the steamer to the side, and became dedicated to the cause of Wrinkle Removal in the harshest of conditions."

I vow, as an Iron Enthusiast, to never let wrinkles win. I vow to press shirts so crisply they can stand on their own. I wish not to criticze those that iron in their living room, but instead inspire them to fabricate a grander plan, to think outside of the board and go after a greater iron challenge! Think not what your care instructions will do for you, think of what you will do for your care instructions! Clothing tags see no limitations. Go forth, young ironers! Follow me, as your Wrinkle Warrior, and I will not leave any mountain un-pressed, any river rippled, any sport unpleated!

FEAR ME WORLD, I WILL CUT A STITCH!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Apologies for embodying the American steretype

Dear Miryang,

I'm sorry.

I know you may not have taken particular offense to my actions on Friday night, but I am aware that I made a spectacle of myself in your quiet and peaceful streets and family run establishments.

I am sorry for pounding beers and Soju shots at Coco Rico and making loud an inappropriate conversation as myself and the other foreigners sat on the patio deck.

I am sorry for blacking out as soon as we relocated to the interior of Coco Rico. The following apologies will be for what happened during that mysterious hour that I do not recall.

I am sorry for making my friends very uncomfortable by speaking French poorly and urging them to start chanting various exclamations with no success. I am sorry for consistently telling everyone how good looking they were and how wonderful we were because we all had nice teeth and good bone structure. It is unfortunate that I spoke loudly of my liberal political opinions and my desire to organize and host a beer olympics this summer. I am sorry for singling out the new friends I made by accusing them of being a part of a private Hagwon underground riddled with gambling, prostitution, violence and territory wars. My apologies for insisting that it is time to "mul" it, which is the Korean word for water, and was neither used or pronounced correctly.

I am also sorry to the people at Coco Rico. I am sorry for allowing my drunk self to interrupt your dining experience by practicing how to say hello in Korean and introducing myself. I am sorry to the staff for making them hug me and telling them how beautiful they were as we held hands to and from the bathroom.

Also, I am sorry that the song "call me maybe" is so good, and I felt the need to stand up and sing it loudly to the entire restaurant.

I am sorry for insisting upon a street photo shoot, and dragging it out due to an inability to focus. To the taxi driver who apparently took us to the singing room, I am sure that I was unruly in the backseat.

To the other people at the No Ray Bang, I am sorry for screaming Whitney Houston at the top of my lungs and insisting that Backstreet Boys and Gloria Gaynor were in fact, the music of our generation. I am sorry for standing and dancing on the furniture and playing the tambourine...which I am sure was not on beat. I am NOT sorry to the gross Korean man on the scooter outside who I had to push away on the street because he was being a complete jerk.

Also, I am sorry to my vocal chords, for ruining them. I am sorry to the toilet, for throwing up in it. I am sorry to my parents, for having to read about this. I am sorry to my friends who had to listen to my antics all night. I am sorry for being labeled the "american stereotype." And I am sorry for being so awesome and fun that the majority of Koreans don't know what to do.


Please forgive me Miryang, because I have a feeling that this will all happen again in due time.

Love always,

Annie G.

Ps. I am NOT sorry for my face in this picture...which is hilarious.