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Archive for July, 2011

Jul 29

Flashback Friday: Boston, March 2010

I’m currently sitting on a beach in Bali, soaking up some sun and hitting the waves.  The reason I’m here?  Besides the fact that my school gave me a week off for summer vacation, I’m here reuniting with two close friends, one of whose parent’s own a vacation home here.  One of the hardest parts of always moving around, sometimes to different parts of the world, is that your friends are everywhere.  It can make it difficult to sustain relationships and keep up with what is going on in their lives.  But on the flip side it makes for a great excuse to travel.  Last year my closest friend’s in college and I took full advantage of this reasoning and spent a weekend in Boston celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.  Two of my friends who moved there after college graduation provided us with free accommodation (they even set up an air mattress so we wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor!) and acted as our tour guides for the weekend. Read more

Jul 26

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The Most Heavily Armed Border in the World

This past weekend I crossed off the most important thing on my ‘Must Do While in Korea’ list by visiting the DMZ.  The DMZ is a 160 mile (250 km) long line at the 38th parallel that separates the two Koreas.  This area was created in 1953 when a cease fire agreement between the two sides was signed.  Because the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) are still technically at war, the DMZ has become the most heavily armed border in the world.  As a total history geek and recently turned North Korea-phile, I was ecstatic to finally get the chance to visit this area. Read more

Jul 22

Flashback Friday: Jamaica, February 2008

I have one thing on my mind this week.  The beach.  The seemingly never ending grey mass of clouds hanging over Seoul finally parted this week giving way to the bright sun and perfect temperatures in the mid 80s.  Prime beach weather.  Also feeding this sand and sun lust?  The fact that I will be in Bali in less than a week.  I’ve been to various beaches over the past couple of years, but my last real vacation to somewhere that could be described was tropical was a spring break trip to Negril, Jamaica my senior year of college. Read more

Jul 20

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Inside a Korean Kitchen

When I arrived in Seoul I had eaten Korean food all of one time, the day I signed my contract for this job.  I was unfamiliar with even the most basic dishes and flavors of Korean cookery.  As someone whose life basically revolves around eating I knew this situation would have to be rectified as quickly as possible, which is why when one of my friends mentioned a Korean cooking class in Seoul I jumped on the offer.  Less than two months after my arrival I was sitting inside the cooking studio of Sekyung An. Read more

Jul 15

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Flashback Friday: Naples, December 2009

I’m currently reading Gomorrah, Roberto Saviano’s account of Naples’ Camorra crime organization, and my mind keeps wandering back to the day I spent in what many consider to be the blight of Italy’s beautiful landscape.  Because Italy is a traditionally Catholic country they celebrate wonderful holidays such as the Feast of the Immaculate Conception which falls on December 8.  This is the day the big Christmas markets and celebrations begin and is also a day off of work.  My friend and I decided to take advantage of this and hopped on a train to see Naples, which purportedly had some of the best Christmas markets in the country. Read more

Jul 8

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Flashback Friday: Liverpool, January 2009

Have you ever met someone in a bar and hours later, when you said your goodbyes, had plans to visit them?  I have (twice, actually).  My friends and I were at Scholar’s Lounge in Rome during out first weekend of study abroad.  We were casually sipping whiskey and cokes and watching the NFL playoffs when some English guys insisted that we explain this confusing game to them.  I’m still not sure if this was just a line or if they actually didn’t know, but anyhow, a few hours later they invited us to come visit them in Liverpool in a few weeks and tour all the city had to offer (spoiler alert: it involves The Beatles).  We figured, they were nice enough and, I mean, nice enough is totally reason to cross international borders, right?  Right.  We decided we would book a hotel as to avoid any awkward situations (as in, we are here to see Liverpool and have fun but none of us want to bone you) or getting killed. Read more

Jul 1

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An Introduction to K-League

This past weekend I attended my first K-League soccer game.  K-League is the highest league of professional soccer in South Korea and is currently comprised of 16 teams.  FC Seoul, the only team located in the capital city, are reigning league champs and currently hovering around mid-table.  Soccer is popular in Korea but K-League has a hard time drawing fans away from international soccer (Korean national team and European domestic leagues) and can’t compete with the popularity of Korean Professional baseball at home.  Part of the reason is the fact that the quality of play is not as high as it is in Europe.  Not helping the Korean soccer’s case?  Match-fixing scandals are currently rocking the league causing distrust in the league and even suicides of former players. Read more