Broken Bones

Each Saturday, both the girls and boys soccer teams have a game. Here is a picture of what happened to one of the guys playing. A clean break of the both the tibia and fibula. He and the goalie collided and this was the result....


The guys won 3-1 and the girls won 2-1.

Tacos!!!

This past Saturday we took our girls' soccer team to play a Department of Defense school at Osan Air Force base. This was the 1st time the girls were exposed to the "American mentality" of sports. There were a lot of Osan parents and students that came out to watch the game. The fans were rowdy and their players gave our girls an ear-full of F-bombs. It was somewhat humorous. We got smoked, but it was a good experience for our girls to play a tough team.

Visiting a military base was a treat. For 4 hours I did not feel like I was in Korea. I saw cars made in the US and there was a variety of Western restaurants. Everyone spoke English! My buddy and I ate Taco Bell before the game (9:45am) and then after the game we treated our players to a meal at Taco Bell. Ninety USD feeds about 14 girls! I ate again. My Taco Bell experience included: 3 soft tacos, 1 chalupa, 2 gorditas and a Dr. Pepper. Gluttony. I felt disgusting, but I still loved it. Back in the states I didn't really care for Taco Bell and most other fast foods, but when you don't have access to them anymore, you end up craving it. So I went all out!

Sometimes I flash dolla billz, sometimes I flash soft tacos!  We are tough...don't forget! =)

Two weekends ago was our school's winter formal dance.  A few of us spent two days decorating for the dance.  Thankfully I was given a task, which required no interior design skills!  Anyways, here is a picture with the soccer team.

Brief Update

Our girls soccer team is 3-1-1, which is a huge improvement from the previous 2 years where they had never won a game! The level of competition and commitment to sports programs is quite different than in the states. No parents attend the games. The girls don't care if they miss practice or miss a game, which can be a cause of great frustration. But I'm just trying to accept that this is a difference that exists and that I need to accept it.  Despite the times of frustration, the girls crack me up all the time...they are a fun/funny bunch!!

I just purchased a plane ticket to Cebu Island in the Philippines for April 4-11. My coworker/friend Greg and I will be doing a few days of relaxing and a couple days of river climbing and canyoneering. I'm excited for the warm weather and the beach!!

Third quarter ends this Friday, March 20, which means the school year is nearing its end. I hope to book a flight back to KC around June 11 or 12 with a brief layover in Hawaii. I will have to return to Korea around July 24 or 25.

Mother Nature's Strip Tease

I've never been to a strip club. But two weeks ago I witnessed Mother Nature's version of a strip tease! Mt. Kangchenjonga is nicknamed "The Elusive Peak" because a majority of the time it is covered in clouds. Nevertheless, we ventured off hoping to catch the peak unveiled.

It's hard to describe the Himalayas. I guess what you need to do is take the superlatives of the most amazing words, apply them to the Himalayas and then you have a partial description, which does not do them justice. But you have a taste!

Waking up at 4:45am and hiking up to a view point to catch the sun rising behind the mountains was something I was looking forward to. I didn't know that I should have prepared myself emotionally for the moment I first saw the snow-covered mountain tops. Hiking at dawn, wearing headlamps, and rounding a bend, I looked north and saw the silhouettes of the mountain tops that I've dreamed of seeing for so long. Honestly, I was caught off guard.

I was overwhelmed by it all and couldn't get a good hold of my emotions. I laughed out loud, shed a few tears, and continued hiking upward.

Thirty minutes later we were at Dzongri Top ready to continue watching the sunrise.

There were plenty of clouds in the sky, but our guide estimated that the winds were gusting around 80km/h, and that the sky would clear. Despite the initial clouds we still had amazing views of a majority of the peaks. The skies cleared after a while...except for over "The Elusive Peak." We continued waiting, the wind kept blowing, but the only clouds in the sky remained over Mt. Kangchenjonga. We waited for nearly 2 hours hoping to catch a view of the top, but were only rewarded with fading glimpses of its lower, north face.

This whole process was repeated the next day with the same result. As some clouds cleared, more rolled in from the backside of the mountain. The moments when we thought we may get to see it were only a tease. Despite not seeing the fullness of Mt. Kangchenjonga, the trip was a success. All of us handed out our dollar bills and departed satisfied.


That, my friends, was Mother Nature's Strip Tease.

Pictures From The Trip

Here are a couple links to photos from the trip:

http://picasaweb.google.com/darby80/Himalayans2009#


http://web.me.com/ericm.george/Travel/My_Albums/My_Albums.html

Frustration

Today was one of those days.  A day where I kind of hate Korea.  I miss my friends and family back home, but I'm definitely not homesick...I enjoy being here most of the time except for when the little things add up.  Today I was almost hit by a car while I was walking across the street at a crosswalk.  The driver ran a red light and nearly hit me and 3 students, so while he passed I decided I would punch his car.  He stopped and rolled down his window and started yelling at me. He was yelling in Korean, so I don't know exactly what he was saying, but I have a good idea =).  This evening I had an appointment in Seoul like I do every Thursday.  Traffic was horrible due to the rain, plus I didn't know it was going to rain, so I didn't have my umbrella, so I was looking like a wet dog by the time I got on the bus.  Because of the traffic I nearly missed my appointment, but thankfully I made it.  After my appointment I always go into Itaewon to eat some Western food, and then I take a taxi back to where I catch the bus to return to Suwon.  It is quite the process getting anywhere via public transportation...especially when you live outside of Seoul.  Anyways, after eating dinner in Itaewon I hopped in a cab and told the driver where to go.  He ended up taking a route that I've never seen before and wanted to drop me off at a place I did not want to get dropped off.  I told the cab driver another landmark and he got me there.  The cab ride cost twice as much as usual.  I missed the bus that I planned on taking, so I had to catch the next bus.  When I got on the bus I went to the back where there is normally more room, but instead I was greeted by a Korean man that had too much Soju and spicy chicken.......he was puking his guts up into a plastic bag and the bus reeked of the partially digested combo of Soju and spicy chicken...disgusting!!  Dude, if you're going to be stupid and drink yourself sick at least take a taxi, so others don't suffer because of your stupidity.  At 11pm traffic was still a nightmare!  But I was on the bus and I had a seat, so I turned on my music and tried to relax for the extended, smelly bus ride home.  I got home a midnight!

Ok, my bitch session is over.  Please pardon the language in the picture, but it's  how I feel tonight.

My Trip

So I'm back from my trip to the Himalayan mountains and I'm wondering how I should write this post. Here's a brief rundown of my days away...

Day 1 Feb 20: Ater work two hour bus ride to Incheon Airport. Six hour flight to Bangkok. Five hours of sleep in a hotel
Day 2 Feb 21: Two hour flight to Calcutta, India. One hour flight to Bogdogra, India. Six hour jeep ride to Yuksom, India. Arrived at our destination at 10pm.
Day 3 Feb 22: Started the Dzongri Trek. About 5 hours of hiking to our first night on the trail. Weather started at about 80 degrees and ended up around 40 degrees.
Day 4 Feb 23: A very short day of hiking to small village of about 13 families. A day of relaxing, reading and farkeling
Day 5 Feb 24: A long day of hiking up to Dzongri (~13000 ft). First night here we got about 6-8 inches of snow. 15 degrees.
Day 6 Feb 25: Woke up at 4:45am to hike up to Dzongri Point (14000 ft) to catch the sunrise over the mountains. Hoped to see Mt. Kangchenjonga (it's spelled so many different ways). Clouds cover the mountain.
Day 7 Feb 26: Again, woke up at 4:45 am to hike up to Dzongri Point (14000 ft) to catch the sunrise over the mountains. Hoped to see Mt. Kangchenjonga (it's spelled so many different ways). Once again the clouds covered the mountain. Did a day hike to an alpine lake. More snow. Started back down.
Day 8 Feb 27: Finished the Dzongri Trek at noon. Went to a couple markets. Six hour jeep ride back to Bogdogra. First shower in 7 days =)
Day 9/10 Feb 28/Mar 1: 3pm flight from Bogdogra to Calcutta. Eight hours of hanging out in Calcutta. 1am flight to Bangkok. 8am flight from Bangkok to Seoul. Arrived back at my place on Sunday evening at 7:30pm.

Now to briefly elaborate...

I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to go on this trip. It's not everyday that a dream comes true, but over the last week I had the pleasure of living out one of my dreams - seeing the Himalayan mountains. There were 5 of us in our group and we were taken care of by 5 Indians (1 guide named Phurba, 2 cooks, 2 porters). Our guide was the only Indian with us that spoke English, so unfortunately we didn't get to know the others that well...just a bunch of smiles and hellos back and forth! Our hope was to see Mt. Kangchenjonga, the 3rd highest mountain in the world, but knew that it all depended on Mother Nature as to whether or not we'd get to see it. The hiking wasn't too difficult as we didn't really have to carry much and the mileage wasn't too much either. We had plenty of down time, which I spent playing "Farkle," reading "Eat, Pray, Love," "The Road," and "Three Cups of Tea." I've never played so much "Farkle" in my life and we taught our guide how to play as well...he loved it and I left my "Farkle" game with him, so he could play it with other groups and the guys in his crew. We were in bed at 8pm every night because you can only read and play "Farkle" for so long. The nights were cold, but my sleeping bag did a good job keeping me warm. We were served amazing food, meal after meal. I didn't shower for 7 days and didn't smell that bad either =) Our group got along well. India is an extremely poor country, but the people are friendly...even when they're not trying to get something out of you. I thought I felt out of place in Korea, but that feeling was much greater in India. While in Calcutta I had several kids come up and introduce themselves to me because they wanted to shake hands with a foreigner...the kids were hilarious! I plan on going back to India. I will post a link to my pictures very soon...