Lists

Since August, 2004 (when I left my job and apartment)...


I've spent at least one month in the following foreign cities:

Chirchik, Uzbekistan
Gullistan, Uzbekistan
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Daegu, South Korea
Pohang, South Korea

I've spent at least two months in the following foreign countries:

Japan
Uzbekistan
Argentina
South Korea

Fukuoka, Japan

I just got back from a little jaunt across the sea to pick up my E-2 visa. It was a quick 48 hours, but it was nice to get back to Japan. By my count, it was my fifth trip there, and I've now been to three of the four major islands. Fukuoka is a very interesting city, much different then any Korean city, and equally different then the cities I visited on my last trip.

On Shikoku, it seems as though everyone between the ages of 20 and 40 has been evacuated. You see a lot of school kids. And a lot of middle-aged and elderly people. But nothing in between. Fukuoka is filled with 20somethings, dressed up in very chic fashions, and stylsh hair dos. There are wide sidewalks and lots of bicyclists to be weary of as well. At least there aren't mopeds to dodge, like in Koea. Several rivers run through the city to the sea, and the city has done a good job of making interesting riverside areas. There are also ruins of a castle, mainly just the walls, but from the top you get a nice overview of the city.

Anyways, here are some pics to enjoy.


One of the river fronts in Fukuoka


Part of the Fukuoka skyline - if you look real, real close, you can see the "largest Ferris wheel in Asia" (far left), the Fukuoka Tower, "highest seaside tower in Japan" (tall, thin building on left), and the Fukuoka Dome, "the first convertible sky-roof in Japan" (big dome like thing right of center)


Part of Fukuoka Castle


The cherry trees are starting to bloom.


Part of Shofukuji (Temple ("ji" means temple, so I hate to be redundent))


More from Shofukuji


A bridge in Ohori Park


Marizon - a very unJapanese looking boat house.

This is Pohang

Highlights of the last week:

--Our school opened. I taught three whole classes this week, for a total of 75 minutes. But hey, I'm salaried. We have another student starting next week, who I'll be teaching for 2 hours and 40 minutes once a week - she's cramming for the Foreign Language School entrance exam.
--Met an Australian guy, who lives in my building complex. Went downtown with him Friday night.
--On Saturday, I walked around town and found the soccer stadium and POSCO, the giant steel manufacturer in town. Skies were hazy white - in large part due to dust and sand being blown in from the Gobi (yes, it travels that far).

That's about it. Here are some pics.

a new tunnel

POSCO

more POSCO

a beach, and of course, POSCO

The cost of living

Haircut in...

Chicago $10.00 + $1.00 tip
Ayutthya, Thailand $ 1.50 + $0.50 tip (received free pen)
Chirchik, Uzbekistan $ 1.00
Buenos Aires, Argentina $ 3.00
Pohang, South Korea $ 5.00

Moving on

So it looks like I'll be headed to Pohang, which is about an hour east of Daegu and on the coast. It's home to the second largest steel manufacturer in the world. So I'll be getting sand and smoke. Population's about 500,000, with a small cadre of English teachers and a smattering of US Marines.

In the meantime, some of the good and bad things I've found about living in Korea:

Good: Walmarts! My favorite grocery store in town.
Bad: Walmarts! I can't believe it's my favorite grocery store.

Good: The Subway line I take is brand new, super clean, and rarely crowded.
Bad: The 8 flights of stairs I have to go up and down twice a day at the subway station (they really buried those things deep)

Good: Heated floors are nice when you sit on the floor all day.
Bad: Sitting on the floor all day. At least I can almost get into a half lotus now.

Good: Armed Forces Network - the Super Bowl, Leno followed by Letterman, all English all the time.
Bad: Armed Forces Network - the ads or a mixture of military retention spots (I'm almost ready to join), military history, safety tips, and general announcements.

Speaking of the Super Bowl, I've now watched the last three Super Bowls in foreign countries. Two years ago, I was in Mexico City at a hotel outside the airport, watching the game in an empty bar (except for a couple of bartenders / waiters). Last year, I watched the game at the Ambassador's house in Tashkent, Uzbekistan with about 60 other Peace Corps volunteers. And this year, I watched the game in my apartment on Monday morning.

One thing to be careful of are the food delivery guys, who ride around on mopeds, and seem to favor the sidewalks over the streets. and they don't just deliver the food, but the plates, bowls, and utensils. When you're done, you just leave the plates and stuff outside your door, and they come back to pick them up.

And it looks like the Christmas trees are finally coming down.