past week's pics

on our walkabouts, we've discovered a golf course (previously hidden beneath the snow).  at the moment, hitting your ball into the "water" is not a train smash - as it'll just bounce across the ice to the bit of brown you were probably aiming for.

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post-it cafe: a coffee shop window filled with love notes exchanged by patrons.

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isaac's store has a lot to offer ...

"the happiness together", for one.  

"toast and fruit fresh juice vs cafe" for another.

 

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friday

we had a farewell night out for one of the korean-aussie teachers (monica), who was returning to her home. the festiviness started in a restaurant called huge where the very drunk manager kept giving us (the token foreigners) more free food and drink!

 

very drunk manager (on the right) telling us he was bringing another two bottles of j&b rare to the table. 

it was a tragedy i tell you.

monica (farewell-girl) and rachel (fellow korean teacher)

fellow teachers, quite chuffed with the free-bies 

the free whisky and cocktails put an interesting spin on the rest of the evening - leading us down the dark and tempting path of a karaoke bar where we hired a private lounge, piled about 20 of us on top of each other and spent a few hours making complete asses of ourselves.  

naturally, i had to open the singing spectacular with my very own rendition of george michael's "faith".  there were tears of joy.  there were tears of fear.  

post-voluntary-humiliation, we ended up in one of their dodgy clubs ... aptly named lose control.

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sunday

when we'd recovered from our friday tomfoolery, Fathead and i put on our explorer boots and hopped onto the subway.  we decided to pick a random spot, hop off and wander around wherever we found ourselves. 

good in theory.

not so good in practice. 

our selected destination was kyungwon university.

                             it was a shithole.

we climbed the subway steps to the street, and found ourselves in the heart of filth and squalor.

you'll  note the subway abbreviation for "university" is "univ". 
on completion of our visit, we decided it was probably meant as the shortened version of
"uninviting"
... or "under investigation"
... or "UN isolated venue" ... or - okay, i'll stop now.

all the housing is in enormous apartment towers, on top of each other.

they all have euphemisum names to cover up for being kak places to live ... like this one: "sweet dot home"

i basically captured the most picturesque parts of town ...

everything that stood still for more than a minute was covered in carbon-monoxide soot.  buildings, neon signs, bus stops, parked cars, old people - all carried enough grime for you to use your index finger to wipe-write a "wash me please" message onto them.

prime real estate: the person who owns this car is the slumdog millionaire

these were the nicest apartments in town

and this - a welcoming restaurant front.

i post this baby especially for my friends jayman, dr danger and holman - all of whom i know have had to step away from their computer screens, momentarily, to settle their stomachs.

but before we move on - i need you to know that these octopuses (or is it octopi?) are served live, and the key to your meal-time enjoyment is to adequately chew before swallowing - so as to avoid having the living creature attach its tentacles to your epigoltis and choke you to death.

now that, my friends, would be "dinner and a show".

after about an hour (the aroma of human excrement now thick in the air) we conceded explorer-fail and returned back to "civilisation".

a little disappointed by the day's "finds" - we kept reminding ourselves that everything happens for a reason.

and as we stepped off the bus in seohyoen, we suddenly felt like we were "home". 
for the first time since we've been here - we felt a sense of belonging, and relief.  it was the familiarity that comes with the place you hang your hat.

and then it hit us.   everything does, in fact happen for a reason.