Some Details of my Christmas Trip

This is a note that my travel buddy wrote to his friends about our upcoming trip to Nepal. He knows the details, so I just borrow what he wrote. I don't know anything I just give him the money.



"Hey,

So I wanted to let ya'll know what my next adventure will be. This Christmas, me and 2 other guys will be going to Nepal to hike to Everest Base, Gokyo Lakes, and try to summit Island Peak. It will be an amazing trip, where we will see another 4 8,000m peaks. We will be able to see Everest (world's highest), Cho Oyu, Lhotse, and Makalu!

It will take us about 18 days to complete the whole trek and we will be staying in tea houses along the way instead of camping. In Nepal they have a lot of little towns along the way that you can stay at. In these tea houses, you sleep on beds and get your food made for you from the person who owns the tea house. It's quite nice!

We will start by flying into a town called Lukla. From there we will hike up to Gokyo lakes which are some really high altitude lakes near Everest. From there, we will cross the Cho La pass (over 5,000m), and go to Everest Base Camp. From Everest Base Camp, we will hike up a hill nearby called Kala Pataar. From that vantage point you can see Everest really well. That again is over 5,400m.

Finally, as we hike back down the valley, we will sidetrack to go to Island Peak. Island Peak is a Himalayan Peak at over 6,145m and is what it is. It's a mountain that is an island among the greatest mountains in the world. This will be our first ever attempt at mountaineering and luckily it's one of the easiest mountaineering peaks out there. Basically, we trek up the mountain until we reach a headwall. We then latch into ropes with harnesses and climb up a steep (50% or more) section of about 100m. Then we climb a narrow ridge to the summit! From the summit we will be able to see Makalu very well, along with a beautiful mountain called Ama Dablam.

Anyway, I'm super stoked for the trip. I'm hoping the weather will hold up for us. As you know, December/January is the heart of winter and it will be cold there. Especially when we try to summit the peak, it will be really cold. Some estimates that it could be -15 to -20F. So we'll see if it will be possible. I'm just praying for no snow. That could halt our attempt at the summit.

Just wanted to write this note to let ya'll know what was up. 

As for safety, Nepal is safe for hikers and tourists."

Exciting!

Swine Flu

The number of high school students makes up half of our school population. The high school has eight confirmed cases of Swine Flu and four pending. I'm not for sure how many are in the middle and elementary schools. Numerous international schools and Korean public schools are being shut down. There is talk of the same for us. Though a few days off would be nice it only means that we will loose one of our breaks in the spring...I definitely don't want that to happen!! Let's hope for the best.

Update on Decisions

No official decision has been made as to where I will be next school year. I have spoken with my school and we came to an agreement that I will be looking for a new placement elsewhere and they will be looking for my replacement. If both of us are unable to find what we are looking for, then I will remain here in Korea for one additional year. At this time there are not many counselor positions posted in Europe, but I did find one in Warsaw, Poland, and I will send them my information. Poland is cheap, developing, beautiful, and has great access to so many places...

Better Late Than Never

Going to China's capital city over its 60th year celebration made for an interesting, people-filled trip. Our flight was delayed 5 hours, which meant that we arrived at night on Oct 1st. Due to the massive celebration of Communism and all the fun festivities that entailed the subway line that we needed to take was closed. So we followed the masses into more masses into even more masses of people. I have never felt so out of place. After walking around aimlessly for nearly 2 hours we managed to get a taxi that could take us near our hotel. I say near our hotel because our hotel was located in an area that was blocked of to the public because of the celebration. We were not allowed to cross. After finding someone that spoke both Mandarin and English we were able to borrow a phone and contact the hotel. Another 1.5 hours passed and we were finally allowed to go to our hotel. Night 1 over.

Day 1 stuck in the airport for an additional 5 hours. One of hundreds of thousands of people walking the streets.

Day 2 consisted of a 2.5 hour, lightening fast, wild taxi ride to a drop off point on The Great Wall of China. We chose to do a 10K hike on the wall from one point to another. Spectacular weather. Spectacular scenery. Greg is a soccer player and pretends to be a tough guy, but I had to listen to him whine about carrying a small backpack for 5K (the easy 5K). It was a great hike. For Night 2 we went to one of the foreigner districts in search of a quality brew. Success. Wandered around with some people from the Philippines, Chicago, and LA.

Day 3: Tiananmen Square Attempt 1. Due to the national holiday, the number of people at the historically significant landmarks was insane. We walked around for a few minutes, then bailed. Went to the Temple of Heaven instead. Less people, but still thousands. Met up with Sue and her friend Jooyoung for the late afternoon and into the night. They took us to the Silk Market, an art district, a jazz club, an awesome restaurant, and a couple other great spots. It's so great having a local to show us around. Went back to the hotel and watched soccer.

Day 4: More walking and more pictures at The Summer Palace and the back streets. Night 4 we went to an English pub and then ventured out to a China night club. Danced. Danced some more. Met a group of Koreans and hung out with them. Kinda funny how we gravitated towards them.

Day 5: Tiananmen Square Attempt 2. Just as crazy as the 1st attempt. Braved the crowds. Had random people come up and take their picture with me. Funny. Walked around for several hours before heading to the airport to catch our 7pm flight home.

Beijing was great! I want to go back. So many different vibes to experience. Despite the absurd visa price, China, "I like you and hope to see you again!"

Click on the picture below to go a small photo album of the trip.

China

A Preview To My Nepal Trip in December/January

December 20 - January 9th I'll be in Nepal with two friends that I went to India with last year. We are doing a trek to Everest Base Camp and on our return back we'll attempt to summit Island Peak (20,305 feet tall). This is a video of what we'll be doing.

A Gift

Today I met with a mother of a new student that I worked with. The student started about 6 weeks into the school year and I had to spend some extra time trying to get things sorted out for him. His mom wanted to stop by work today and say hello to me. We chatted for a few minutes, talking about his opportunities at our school, how he's doing, etc. And as the meeting wrapped up I was given a gift. It was a fancy gift. I received a Coach passport holder. This is a gift that my ex-girlfriend would be excited about, maybe even proud that I own a designer accessory. It was a thoughtful gift from that mother. Thanks.

Cycling and Eating

I think last Saturday will probably go down as my best day (or most American day) in Korea! I woke up at 6:30am and drove an hour north to Hwajeong Mountain to meet up with another 30 mountain bikers plus their wives, girlfriends, friends, etc. Despite being surrounded by like-minded people and enjoying a great day of riding the best part of the day was what came after putting in the miles. Jerry, who heads up each weekend, brought two of his coworkers that are from some southern state. They brought their red Chevy, and their SMOKER! While we were out riding they were preparing a feast of smoked meats, vegetables, salads and much more. There was a total of 75 lbs of meat...all from the USA. After a morning of hard riding we were treated to a most amazing meal! I sat and ate smoked pork, smoked sausage, corn on the cob, garlic bread, Doritos and drank good beer. It was a perfect day!! I also met a fellow Mizzou grad who was there the same time I was...small world.