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We are back in Seoul, safe and sound.  We may have a few stories to share soon, but for now, enjoy our photos from the trip!

-Jessica and Adam

We’re having a great time in Koh Chang, Thailand. We’re staying in a little Bungalow by the sea. The water is blue and warm, the air is clear, the food is delicious, the people are relaxed, and we’re happy as clams. On top of that, we’re celebrating Adam’s 29th birthday today!

Yesterday, we began a three day certification course to become Open Water Scuba Divers, and it has been amazing so far! The first day included an instructional video, a written test, and two hours learning skills below the the surface in their diving pool. Though we didn’t go deeper than ten feet on the first day, we were breathing underwater for two straight hours! Today we celebrated Adam’s 29th birthday with two guided dives! We took a boat out to two different coral reef sites off of Koh Chang, and at lunch on the boat, they even brought out a birthday cake for Adam.

We’ll be taking some photos on our dives tomorrow, but we’ll probably wait to upload everything until we return. Here is a photo of us in Bangkok, though!

Have a great day!

-Jessica

We’re now good friends with the workers at the Korean consulate in Bangkok.  Today, after our third visit, we have our visa in order, and it’s off to the beach tomorrow!  We’ve enjoyed our unexpected extension in Bangkok, and it has given us the chance to see a few things we hadn’t seen before.  We’ve gotten to dig a little deeper than the backpacker haven of Khao San Road.

We also have a lot of thanks for our friends Tyler and Dasha for showing us around. 

I’m keeping it brief because we’re using the free computer at the consulate, but we’re well and wanted to let you know.  See you later!

-Jessica

Perhaps it would be easier if we just married a couple of Koreans.

The main purpose of our trip to Thailand was to process a new work visa for our acting in Seoul.  But alas, our employer didn’t give us the right paperwork, so we’re hung up in Bangkok with visa woes.  We’ll get to the island, but two days later than planned.  Maybe.

For now, we get to explore Bangkok more deeply.

-Jessica

Yo!  I’m sorry I’ve been a little out of touch, but I’m now writing from a different country.

Adam and I have just arrived in Bangkok for our second annual spring vacation to Thailand.  We’ll be seeing some of our old English Village friends in Bangkok, and then it’s off to the island of Koh Chang for almost two weeks.  THIS year, we’re wearing our sunscreen so we can enjoy it more fully.  We’ll even be taking an open-water scuba course for four days.  :).

Just wanted to drop a note to let you know what we’re up to.  We hope all is well with you, and we’ll say hello again.

Sawadeekaa,

-Jessica

Here is the debut music video of the EV Boyz, our friends Brian, Mike and Christian from the English Village in Paju.  Geumchon is the downtown area of our old country town of Paju, and it’s about the most exciting thing Paju has going (which isn’t saying much).

These guys are hilarious, and though you probably won’t catch half of the hilarity without knowing the context, I thought you might enjoy this.  Here is an insight into the life of our friends up in Paju, South Korea.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjBfy_HVoSM[/youtube]

Intro:
This song goes out to all the waygooks lookin’ for the place to be

Chorus:
Kickin’ it in Geumchon, Oh, Oh
Komsomnida, Annyong Haseyo
Kickin’ it in Geumchon, Oh, Oh,
Komsomnida, Annyong Haseyo
Kickin’ It, Where? In Geumchon Where?
In Geumchon. Where? In Geumchon Where?
Kickin’ it in Geumchon, Oh, Oh

Verse 1:
South Korea’s got Jeju, South Korea’s got Seoul
Busan and Ilsan if that’s how you roll
But when you work at EV, and live in Paju
Then the town to get down is 15 minutes from you, How do I get there?
Hop on the 900 bus
I use my T-money card so there’s never no fuss
Jump off at the station, or shall I say “yuk”
Are you fluent in Korean? No I got a phrasebook
Pang Pang, now we’re off to the races
To the backstreet market checkin’ out pig faces
Octupus on sale, squid 2 for 1
Let’s hit the waterpark for fun in the sun, I got my swimcap!
Baskin Robbins and Pizza Hut
Knock Domino’s down then slam Dunkin’ Donuts
Geumchon rocks, then it rocks some more
The street meat is sweet and corndogs galore

Chorus:
Kickin’ it in Gumcheon, Oh, Oh
Komsomnida, Annyong Haseyo
Kickin’ it in Gumcheon, Oh, Oh,
Komsomnida, Annyong Haseyo
Kickin’ It, Where? In Gumcheon Where?
In Gumcheon. Where? In Gumcheon Where?
Kickin’ it in Gumcheon, Oh, Oh

Verse 2:
Sometimes it’s spelled with a G, I’ve seen it spelled with a K
Sometimes it’s spelled with an E, I’ve seen the E go away
But regardless of spelling, pronunciation’s the same
The town’s so explosive, Boomchon could be it’s name
The movie theater keeps it real with no subtitles
But we never go cuz there’s no subtitles
But birthday party time it’s so simple to rally
We alls grab our balls at the bowling alley
Then to the Sky Golf hittin’ nothin’ but net
The locals wanna wager but it’s illegal to bet
If your mouth is dry, or if your throat’s got a tickle
Part for the Family Mart, to lick a popsicle
Hungry for bibim bop? The choices never stop
The spice is so nice could make a tear drop
We dedicate the bridge, but not in haste
To the cabbage that we ravage with the chili paste taste

Bridge:
Kimchi, Kimchi, it is good for you and me
Kimchi, Kimchi, it is good for you and me
Kimchi, Kimchi, it is good for you and me
Kimchi, Kimchi, it is good for you and me

Pre-Verse 3:
Kickin’ it
In Boomchon
Kickin’ it
in Boomchon

Verse 3:
When I go to Geumchon, I look at all the hotties
Those ahgashis, they got the hottest bodies
The padded bras, the high heeled shoes
Hey ladies? Can I buy you some brews?
Drinkin’ Cass-uh, drinkin’ Hite-uh
Feelin’ alright-uh, drinkin’ all night-uh
La festa’s no longer the best
Ride your scooter to Guemchon and head over to Zest
The barman’s got flair, flippin’ bottles in the air
Tom Cruise in Cocktail can’t even compare
Upstairs at Posse yogurt soju’s flowin’
Plus Froot Loop balls and the roofdeck’s blowin’
Nature videos while I’m singin’ my song
Number six one three seven at the local Noraebong
Want a night on the town? Wanna spend some won?
Come kick it with us, come kick it in Gumcheon

Chorus:
Kickin’ it in Gumcheon, Oh, Oh
Komsomnida, Annyong Haseyo
Kickin’ it in Gumcheon, Oh, Oh,
Komsomnida, Annyong Haseyo
Kickin’ It, Where? In Gumcheon Where?
In Gumcheon. Where? In Gumcheon Where?
Kickin’ it in Gumcheon, Oh, Oh

(Written by Christian Zonts.  The EV Boyz are Christian Zonts, Mike Nance, and Brian Peterson)

-Jessica

Spring is pushing through Seoul’s wintry chill with more and more persistence. Yesterday, I squeegeed off the plastic chairs on our balcony and enjoyed the mild afternoon with my feet up on the railing. Adam took the heavy foam hand-warmers off of the motorcycle handles, and today we rode comfortably through the city to our various voice-over jobs with the wind in our faces.

Riding a motorcycle in the city is a much different animal from riding up in the countryside where we lived last Spring. Mind you, I’m not driving, just riding, but it’s like a high-action video game or maybe a roller coaster.

Motorcycles (”Auto-bi” in Konglish) and scooters are to Seoul what I hear bicycles are to New York City. Delivery men and messengers whip and weave between the car traffic with freedom and ease. 20-somethings in their vespa-esque scooters coast by with Stevie Wonder blaring from the dash, weaving up onto the side-walk to skirt a car turning in front of them. Scraggly old men, “Ajushis”, with knee pads, reinforced leather armor, and road-worn stallions lug silver cases of food-delivery as they drive one-handed and coast through red-lights. Other Ajushis, more weathered yet, speed along perilously close to the curb with only a force-field of invincibility keeping them from grazing the cars lined up millimeters away– while the rear of their bikes are rigged with crates piled a meter high with odds and ends bound to be delivered somewhere (on time, to be sure).

In short, Seoul’s traffic laws apparently do not apply to those on two wheels. The thing I enjoy the most about riding with Adam is the feeling that I’m in a motorcycle gang. In heavy traffic, all of these two-wheeled riff-raff emerge from backed-up traffic to wait in front at every red light, together. Then, as the light turns, we take off down the empty road ahead, leaving the cars and their gridlock in our dust.

It sounds dangerous, and it is. But Adam has been driving very well, keeping alert and defensive, knowing in the back of his mind that everyone on the road is trying to kill him. And, of course, he’s picked up a lot of driving skills from the Ajushis.

-Jessica

This chunk of metal has been my constant companion for the last year and a half, but alas, it shall be no more. My phone has died. Getting out of a taxi this evening, mid-text-message, I dropped it in the street, and it was finally one drop too many.

Our first week in Korea, Adam and I took a trip to Yongsan, Seoul’s huge electronics market and paid 100,000 won (about $100) for this used, battered, brick of a phone. It treated me well.

I can’t say the same for myself… I dropped it almost daily. Not long ago, I was running down the sidewalk, it bounced out of my pocket, and I stepped on it, skating a meter or so across the pavement. The phone kept right on working.

It has worn many ornaments that tell stories of my life here. My first cell phone charm still adorns it: a small piece of a stick engraved “Seoul Fringe 2006″ that I picked up in our first Fall, visiting the art festival of that name with our English Village friend Neville. We now live in the neighborhood where that annual art festival is held. Then there’s my “T Money” fob & finger leash that has paid my way onto hundreds of buses and subway trains all across the city. The “Mini” charm is random, but one of my students gave it to me to match his own cell phone charm, and it makes me think of my brother who drives a Mini back in California. The blue “Bourjois” charm was the newest addition, only a week old, that Adam just added as a joke, and I left it. A favorite charm that was retired months ago was my “Little Prince” charm to match Annie’s, as she and I became good friends like the Prince and the fox.

I’m not looking forward to the day or two without a phone until I can replace it, but I am excited about the prospect of getting a nice, new phone with a Korean/English dictionary and a subway map program. Woo hoo!

Oh, and if you’re trying to reach me this week, it would be best to email.

-Jessica

Yesterday, we went to the new Seoul Global Center to talk to someone about visa stuff.  If you’re a foreigner in Seoul, you should check it out.  There is all kinds of info there to help you out, and there are people available to help you with any questions or issues you may have.  They even have an immigration desk and can grant a visa extension without a wait!  They’re located in the press center by City Hall.

After we sorted out our stuff, we went for a walk downtown.  We haven’t spent much time in the “downtown” Jongno area since we moved to Hongdae.  As I’ve mentioned before, Hongdae is a university area, it’s awesome, and everything happens here.  However, it’s nice to go where the  buildings are tall and shiny sometimes.

It was a beautiful pre-Spring afternoon, and we meandered from City Hall to Euljiro to Jongno, and then walked Jongno in the direction of Dongdaemun.  There is a big park, Jongmyo Park, around Jongno-4-ga that I’ve seen from the bus dozens of times, but I’d never actually walked through it.  We wandered into the park and saw large huddles of old men watching pairs play a traditional Korean game, like chess.  They’ve probably been playing the game for decades.  All of the spectators were enthralled and murmured their approval as the players took turns, sliding etched, white disks along the board and clacking them down.  We watched for a little while, then wandered the paths to the Changgyeonggung palace gate, but alas it was locked.

We continued our excursion toward Dongdaemun, and approached a knot of old men yelling, and I thought we would have to give the scuffle a wide radius.  We got closer and realized that this, too was a friendly knot of old men, engaged in a competitive variation of horse-shoes.  They had drawn a large, chalk rectangle on the pavement with a bulls-eye at the top.  Each man took his turn, standing at the foot of the rectangle, tossing a coin to the bulls-eye.  They cheered and jeered at their friends as they went along.  We approached, and they cheered again, grabbing us by the hands.  One old guy gave Adam a coin, and he gave it a go.  He overshot the bulls-eye.  I thought I would just watch since it appeared to be a men’s game, but they tossed me a coin too.  Mine bounced through the bulls-eye, but landed outside the rectangle.  We smiled and said good bye as they continued, seeing who would win the pot.

With our destination in sight, we took a final detour into the Gwangjang Market.  Adam had been there before with his photography class, and wanted to share it with me.  We window-shopped then found a stall where we could eat pajan (like pancakes) for dinner.

We never quite reached our destination of Dongdaemun last night, but an evening exploring was just what we needed.  I’m glad Spring is on its way!  It’s time to go exploring again!

-Jessica

The Eiffel Tower has been destroyed. France is reeling at the loss of its public face, its beloved centerpiece, a historical landmark known the world around.

Actually, that’s not true. Don’t worry– Eiffel is doing fine. But it’s like that. A beautiful structure, historical and beloved of its country, similar in reputation, has been destroyed. Whereas the Eiffel Tower was built in 1889, this structure was built 500 years earlier in 1398. Yes, that was before Columbus even made his famous voyage to the “new world”.

Korea’s National Treasure no.1 was destroyed in a fire last night– the beautiful Namdaemun gate. This 610 year old gate, officially named Sungneymun, is the remaining Great South Gate from the ancient wall that used to encircle Seoul, the capital of Korea. Namdaemun Gate survived 35 years of Japanese miltary occupation in the early 1900s as well as the Korean War in the 1950s, when the entire city was left in ruins. It’s devastating that now, on a not-so-special night, this ancient landmark should go up in smoke.

I’m surprised at how strongly I feel about it, but it’s the most public symbol of this city that has given me and taught me so much. I love Seoul. I went to see the gate after work tonight to pay my respects. It has been walled off, and already cranes are assembled, hard-hat crews are sifting through the remains, military police are standing guard, and film crews have staked off their plots with the prime camera angles. I am devastated to see Korea receive such a sucker-punch.

I know a gate can be rebuilt. Of course, it won’t be the same wood, the same paint that stood the test of time, but after a few years, it will look the same. More than that, I wonder what this event will mean for Seoul-ites in the near future. Already I’ve heard old resentments rising with blame and racial slurs. There’s also a new, popular but controversial president-elect. It’s a tricky transitional time for Koreans, and I’m sorry that this has become a part of the story. Koreans do not take their pride lightly.

So, here’s to Seoul. May we pull together to mourn the loss of our beloved icon, but may we remember that what it represented still exists. Seoul is alive and thriving. I love this city.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5elaJl0zNys[/youtube]

-Jessica

*Read the BBC News story

*See more photos of the gate on our Flickr photo set (all fire images have been culled from internet news sources)