I went to Hokkaido last weekend with my co-workers for an Amity convention. This is a gathering of the best Amity schools in Japan and because we were rated number 1 of course we got to go. The vice president even asked that I give a speech and use Japanese....I was a bit shocked when I heard this, but I thought it would be fun to speak Japanese in front of 300 people...!
So we arrived and right away we went to the reception. There were a bunch of people who gave speeches before me and none of them used Japanese. So when my turn came I was kinda nervous, but I went up there and gave my 1 minute Japanese speech and I think it went well. In fact I heard the president's table oooing and ahhhing. That gave me an extra boost of confidence and I delivered the English portion of my speech without looking down at my notes. It was a nice experience and I'll never forget that. I took a video, so you can all see it when I get back because I won't be putting it on fbook.
I am winding down here, I'm kind of in that weird state that feels like the end of college or high school. It's kind of exciting, but kind of sad to think that this part of my life is over. I am ready to come home because I am sooo home sick and miss everyone dearly, but I've made a little family over here and it is going to be hard to say goodbye. Sorry to get all dramatic, but I'm listening to the new Bon Iver album as I type and it kind of makes me all emotional. The thing I am going to miss the most is my students, I have some truly amazing students. I'll miss the way the young ones tell me stories about their day in Japanese and I just go WOW or SUGOI! and they get so proud because they impressed me. I have these five 3 yr old students who I have taught since the day I got here every Saturday morning. They are like little angels, they all sit in a perfect semi-circle around me and say all the weather and feeling words perfectly as their parents and other interested parents watch from the window. It is moments like this I am going to miss.
BUT, none of that can compare to the excitement I am feeling from the thought of being able to talk face to face with my family and friends again. It is a lonely life out here. I have friends, but only on the weekends usually. I can't wait to see you all.
I have a couple more adventures planned, so stay tuned and I'll be home very soon.
JB
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
BANGKOK AND KOH CHANG
The Thailand trip was a success. I did exactly what I had planned to do which was relax. My previous trips involved a lot of traveling and changing hotels, which is cool, but not very relaxing. In Thailand we stayed in Bangkok for two nights in the same hotel and then we moved on to Koh Chang and stayed in the same Bungalow for four nights. It was the perfect way to spend a vacation.
That is the Giant Gold Buddha in Bangkok. Quite a site. I arrived a day later than my friends because I had to work on Thursday. So I arrived in Bangkok and had about 4 hours to kill before meeting them. I hopped in this Tuk Tuk or motorcycle taxi and he took me to all the major sightseeing spots for like $5!!! Everything was soooo cheap there. It was a good way to kill time and he was a funny guy who kept saying I was a bad boy because I told him I had multiple girlfriends....haha I wish. I then hopped on a boat and it took me all around Bangkok and I got some really nice pics of the river. This picture is of a lady hard at work in the floating market. She was weaving and sellinng fruits at the same time while being blanketed by the extreme heat. I don't know how people do it!
After finally meeting up with the guys. We couldn't find each other at the first meeting spot, so we got lucky and met at the second more American spot... McDonalds! It was so exciting to see them because for a little bit I thought I might be spending my vacation alone.....We checked into a hotel and headed out for a bite and some beers, which again was ridiculously inexpensive. $10 for a full meal and 4 beers. We then headed to the Muay Thai arena. We were waiting outside for the matches to start when I heard some Japanese being spoken, I got all excited and marched right up to these four cute Japanese girls and began putting on the charm. But they had just finished watching the first round of matches and were leaving which was a shame. So the matches started and I was so excited because we got to sit ringside, which was awesome. You could hear every punch, knee and kick hitting the skin or the bones of the opponents. It was quite the show. Again we had some Japanese guys behind us and we spoke to them the whole time. It is quite a feeling to be speaking a language other than English in a different Asian country. Below is us before the match showcasing our muscles and bad ass faces.
The next day we headed east towards Cambodia to an island called Koh Chang which means Elephant Island. I was so excited to see and ride some elephants. It is on my bucket list to do that and I can safely cross that one off. The bus ride down there and ferry were definitely rough on all of us. It is difficult to go out and party all night and then sit in an uncomfortable bus seat with a disgusting bathroom for 6 hours. But, we made it and it was ecstasy arriving at our Bungalow on the beach. This place was exactly what I wanted. We were on a hill in the jungle and only 30 seconds from the beach. We had an amazing view and there weren't any other tourists around our bungalow. We proceeded to sit and chill on the beach for two days while we rebooted our bodies. Below is a picture from our first night there. SUBLIME!
The third day we decided to rent some scooters and drive around the island. It was my friend's first time riding on scooters and they were a bit shaky and slow at first, but they gained confidence and we were zooming around that island at like 55mph. In Thailand there doesn't appear to be many traffic rules because we kept getting passed on one lane streets and what not, so we said screw it, so we started going fast and passing all the slow drivers too. It was a nice little rush to be driving something that has an engine. It was my first time doing that in over 18 months!! We visited a waterfall and some other picturesque places along the way. It was one of the best days of the trip.
The first night in Koh Chang there was this amazing fire spinner. I didn't have my camera with me at the time, so I couldn't get any pictures. But on the last night this man and his child showed up at our hotel and starting fire spinning with these cool sticks. It was an amazing show especially because this kid was like 6 or 7 years old. Below is a picture of him by himself doing his thing.
I left the next day by myself again, because I had to work the next day...so lame. The way back was that bad, I picked up the Red Hot Chili Peppers autobiography by Anthony Kiedis and I couldn't put it down. I must have read 350 pages by the time I got back to Japan. So that was my trip, a lot of relaxing, scootering and swimming.
Until next time.
JB
That is the Giant Gold Buddha in Bangkok. Quite a site. I arrived a day later than my friends because I had to work on Thursday. So I arrived in Bangkok and had about 4 hours to kill before meeting them. I hopped in this Tuk Tuk or motorcycle taxi and he took me to all the major sightseeing spots for like $5!!! Everything was soooo cheap there. It was a good way to kill time and he was a funny guy who kept saying I was a bad boy because I told him I had multiple girlfriends....haha I wish. I then hopped on a boat and it took me all around Bangkok and I got some really nice pics of the river. This picture is of a lady hard at work in the floating market. She was weaving and sellinng fruits at the same time while being blanketed by the extreme heat. I don't know how people do it!
After finally meeting up with the guys. We couldn't find each other at the first meeting spot, so we got lucky and met at the second more American spot... McDonalds! It was so exciting to see them because for a little bit I thought I might be spending my vacation alone.....We checked into a hotel and headed out for a bite and some beers, which again was ridiculously inexpensive. $10 for a full meal and 4 beers. We then headed to the Muay Thai arena. We were waiting outside for the matches to start when I heard some Japanese being spoken, I got all excited and marched right up to these four cute Japanese girls and began putting on the charm. But they had just finished watching the first round of matches and were leaving which was a shame. So the matches started and I was so excited because we got to sit ringside, which was awesome. You could hear every punch, knee and kick hitting the skin or the bones of the opponents. It was quite the show. Again we had some Japanese guys behind us and we spoke to them the whole time. It is quite a feeling to be speaking a language other than English in a different Asian country. Below is us before the match showcasing our muscles and bad ass faces.
The next day we headed east towards Cambodia to an island called Koh Chang which means Elephant Island. I was so excited to see and ride some elephants. It is on my bucket list to do that and I can safely cross that one off. The bus ride down there and ferry were definitely rough on all of us. It is difficult to go out and party all night and then sit in an uncomfortable bus seat with a disgusting bathroom for 6 hours. But, we made it and it was ecstasy arriving at our Bungalow on the beach. This place was exactly what I wanted. We were on a hill in the jungle and only 30 seconds from the beach. We had an amazing view and there weren't any other tourists around our bungalow. We proceeded to sit and chill on the beach for two days while we rebooted our bodies. Below is a picture from our first night there. SUBLIME!
The third day we decided to rent some scooters and drive around the island. It was my friend's first time riding on scooters and they were a bit shaky and slow at first, but they gained confidence and we were zooming around that island at like 55mph. In Thailand there doesn't appear to be many traffic rules because we kept getting passed on one lane streets and what not, so we said screw it, so we started going fast and passing all the slow drivers too. It was a nice little rush to be driving something that has an engine. It was my first time doing that in over 18 months!! We visited a waterfall and some other picturesque places along the way. It was one of the best days of the trip.
The first night in Koh Chang there was this amazing fire spinner. I didn't have my camera with me at the time, so I couldn't get any pictures. But on the last night this man and his child showed up at our hotel and starting fire spinning with these cool sticks. It was an amazing show especially because this kid was like 6 or 7 years old. Below is a picture of him by himself doing his thing.
I left the next day by myself again, because I had to work the next day...so lame. The way back was that bad, I picked up the Red Hot Chili Peppers autobiography by Anthony Kiedis and I couldn't put it down. I must have read 350 pages by the time I got back to Japan. So that was my trip, a lot of relaxing, scootering and swimming.
Until next time.
JB
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
THAILAND
I officially bought my tickets to Bangkok tonight! I am flying out of Tottori and going to Tokyo and then it is off to Bangkok!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Bangkok
Sooooo, after failing numerous times trying to convince my Amity friends to go on a beach vacation I decided to book it to Thailand. My JET friends are going to Thailand for our Golden Week vacation and I decided to tag along. I just want to visit another country while I'm over in this part of the world and China doesn't seem too attractive, so Thailand it is! I have no idea what I will do once I get there, but the plan goes something like this. Hangout in Bangkok for a day and then book it to a island off the coast. My main goal is to relax on the beach. If god forbid, there is some waterskiing, I'll probably spend all my money doing that. But if not, I'll settle for some snorkeling, elephant rides and some much needed beach time. All I know is that I'm excited for another crazy experience. It should be awesome and hot, also I've been working out like a fiend for 5 months, so I want to showcase the beach bod......haha.
Today was a good day minus the triple double (ice cube anyone?) I woke up at like 10am, and headed to the city. I went to the bank and sent 140,000 Yen to my American Bank and it will come out to like 1,700 DOLLARS!! I need that to buy my expensive plane ticket to Thailand ($1,450).....it will be worth it, I mean it is Thailand. After that I went to the 100 Yen shop and bought 2000 Yen worth of crap...well not crap but some stuff for school mostly. I also bought some $1 ties. Who can tell the difference??? I also got a zip up tie, it reminded of Ron's, the old suit rental place on Penn where me and the homies used to get all of our suits for the dances.
After that I headed back home and put my Nikes on and ran out the door. I recently found this great jogging route. I run past the mall and head to Tottori Port and then past the port there is this great beach that has a wall that is next to the beach and it runs all the way to the end of the beach. Basically the feeling I get when I'm running next to the ocean can't be topped, so I have been running this route twice a week for about a month, since it became warm enough to jog comfortably outside. It is a feeling that I only dreamed of back in MN, that feeling of looking out at the huge waves crashing into the pier is amazing. I also like running in the sand, it makes it more challenging and I feel like Matt Damon in the Bourne Supremacy film. The jog is about 8K or so. I have completely forgotten about miles and pounds...haha.
After that I went to the gym and work on the most important parts of the beach bod, abs and chest. I didn't have a great workout though because I was a little tired and I strained my groin a bit during the jog.
Whale Rock off the coast of Tottori.
So overall a good day.
Everything else is going well, my coworker Jeannie leaves in a couple of weeks which sucks because we have had fun at work joking around. It will be weird to see her go. The next teacher studied Japanese, so it will be fun to practice with her.
Next Thursday is my B Day and it is strange to be turning 24....it kinda sucks. It seems like yesterday I was going to get my license.. I guess I'm an adult now...haha. I still don't feel like an adult. Maybe at 30 I will.
Until next time, I'm safe, far from all the bad radiation and what not. So don't worry!
Much Love
JB
Today was a good day minus the triple double (ice cube anyone?) I woke up at like 10am, and headed to the city. I went to the bank and sent 140,000 Yen to my American Bank and it will come out to like 1,700 DOLLARS!! I need that to buy my expensive plane ticket to Thailand ($1,450).....it will be worth it, I mean it is Thailand. After that I went to the 100 Yen shop and bought 2000 Yen worth of crap...well not crap but some stuff for school mostly. I also bought some $1 ties. Who can tell the difference??? I also got a zip up tie, it reminded of Ron's, the old suit rental place on Penn where me and the homies used to get all of our suits for the dances.
After that I headed back home and put my Nikes on and ran out the door. I recently found this great jogging route. I run past the mall and head to Tottori Port and then past the port there is this great beach that has a wall that is next to the beach and it runs all the way to the end of the beach. Basically the feeling I get when I'm running next to the ocean can't be topped, so I have been running this route twice a week for about a month, since it became warm enough to jog comfortably outside. It is a feeling that I only dreamed of back in MN, that feeling of looking out at the huge waves crashing into the pier is amazing. I also like running in the sand, it makes it more challenging and I feel like Matt Damon in the Bourne Supremacy film. The jog is about 8K or so. I have completely forgotten about miles and pounds...haha.
After that I went to the gym and work on the most important parts of the beach bod, abs and chest. I didn't have a great workout though because I was a little tired and I strained my groin a bit during the jog.
Whale Rock off the coast of Tottori.
So overall a good day.
Everything else is going well, my coworker Jeannie leaves in a couple of weeks which sucks because we have had fun at work joking around. It will be weird to see her go. The next teacher studied Japanese, so it will be fun to practice with her.
Next Thursday is my B Day and it is strange to be turning 24....it kinda sucks. It seems like yesterday I was going to get my license.. I guess I'm an adult now...haha. I still don't feel like an adult. Maybe at 30 I will.
Until next time, I'm safe, far from all the bad radiation and what not. So don't worry!
Much Love
JB
Monday, March 14, 2011
Tsunami
I am safe everyone. I am so far from the chaos that I would have to drive for 12 hours to get there.
I now know why we use the Japanese word Tsunami in English. This past week has been crazy over here, well at least on the TV. People are going about their lives like nothing has happened. Just a few words here and there about the Quake and then people continue living. I guess that is the best thing to do, but it is hard for me to act like nothing happened. My friends up in Fukushima are living in a friend's apartment outside of the city with ten other people due to the fear of a nuclear meltdown. I am glad that everyone is safe and I hope that the rescue/clean up efforts proceed smoothly. Keep praying for and thinking about the people of Japan.
I am doing well, I am going to Hiroshima next weekend to meet up with Jeremy. Too bad our reunion won't be as crazy and fun as I would like because of the tragedy that has occurred here. I am pumped to see my favorite dude in Japan. He always has so much positive energy, so it will be nice to see him. I am also meeting my friend Catherine there, she goes home at the end of the month so it will be bittersweet. That is all for now.
I am alive and well, so don't worry about me! I love you all.
I now know why we use the Japanese word Tsunami in English. This past week has been crazy over here, well at least on the TV. People are going about their lives like nothing has happened. Just a few words here and there about the Quake and then people continue living. I guess that is the best thing to do, but it is hard for me to act like nothing happened. My friends up in Fukushima are living in a friend's apartment outside of the city with ten other people due to the fear of a nuclear meltdown. I am glad that everyone is safe and I hope that the rescue/clean up efforts proceed smoothly. Keep praying for and thinking about the people of Japan.
I am doing well, I am going to Hiroshima next weekend to meet up with Jeremy. Too bad our reunion won't be as crazy and fun as I would like because of the tragedy that has occurred here. I am pumped to see my favorite dude in Japan. He always has so much positive energy, so it will be nice to see him. I am also meeting my friend Catherine there, she goes home at the end of the month so it will be bittersweet. That is all for now.
I am alive and well, so don't worry about me! I love you all.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Culture Shock
I love skiing in the mountains!!
Below is an essay I wrote when I was a sophomore in college. It was on Japanese culture shock. I wrote about what shocked Japanese people when they came to America and what I thought would shock me if I went back to Japan. I went on to describe my first time in Japan and how I didn't experience any culture shock because through the eyes of a 13 year old it all looks the same. Wow, was I wrong, first things first: CARS here look like Hot Wheels and the people are just as small. The old people here look like midgets, I don't know if that is wrong to say, but it is true!
Second, people are very quiet and shy, so shy that I can make old women giggle and say "Hazukashi" (embarrassed) by just looking at them.
Just some thoughts that were brought up when I was looking at my old school work. I'm doing good, I went skiing a couple of times and I also have been working out like a fiend, I've gained about 12 lbs in 3 months! It feels good! I'm going to my friend Jamess' B Day party this weekend and I might even get to go Ice Skating! It has been over a year since I've been on ice, way too long. Anyways enjoy the pics and I miss you all.
JB
私のトピックは日本の若者文化です。(My grammar was really bad and simple back then, still fun to look at).
私のトピックは日本の若者の文化について聞きました。私のトピックはとても面白くて、日本の若者の文化を知らないから、トピックを選びました．トピックについて榊原さんに聞きました。
榊原さんは日本人は週末に買い物とかバイトをして、友達と遊んで、映画を見てと言っていました．榊原さんによると、日本で会社に勤めるのに早くて高校を卒業してからです。でも、ときどき大学を卒業して初めて会社に勤めます．榊原さんは今の若者は色々な音楽を聞いて、ぜんぶ音楽は好きらしいと考えています。
この情報はとても面白いと思います．アメリカの若者はちょっと違います。アメリカの文化は毎日、おなじ趣味をしているから、アメリカの文化はちょっとつまらないと思います．でも、日本の文化は面白くて、色々な趣味をすればいいと思います．最近日本の文化は面白くなて、外国人も増えてきているのではないかと思います。
榊原さんは今東京に住んでいるから、買い物をするのが楽しそうだと思います．でも、買い物をする時、高くなるかもしれません．日本人は映画を見るのが好きなようです。アメリカ人も映画を見るのが好きなに気がつきませんでした。日本の文化は面白いから、アメリカ人は日本の文化をしらべるべきだと思います。しかし、アメリカ人は日本のことは知らないから、日本に行ったほうがいいと思います．一つはもっと伝統的な文化で、元気な文化です。アメリカの若者はもっとお酒を飲んで、もっとパーテイーをします。
メールプロジエクトには日本の大学生の生活をしらべました。それは、為になるプロジエクトです。私は日本に行く時、カルチャーショックがないと考えています．しかし、日本に行くまで、知りません．
ジョン バッチ
This is a letter from my cute 5 year old student Ayaka, It says I really like John Sensei. Man do I love being called Sensei.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
South Korea Trip
Getting my Japanese Pose on in Busan.
So we left on Monday the 27th, hopped in Eric's car and started our journey towards Kita Kyushu/Shinomoseki Port. It would have taken about 6 hours or so, but there was some snow and the Japanese don't know how to drive in the snow so it took like 7 hours. It was quite beautiful however and the drive was fun overall, it has been a long time since I took a road trip. Everything in Japan is all trains, so it was nice being in a car for once. We hopped on the ferry at about 7 pm and started the drinking.....too much for my liking. We sat at a bar and there was literally no one there...a little disappointing, but we entertained ourselves. We went to sleep and when we woke up we were in Busan, S. Korea. I didn't sleep well, I guess it was all that rocking on the ocean. It was overall a good experience, but I will stick to airplanes from now on.
Once in Pusan or Busan or whatever the spelling is, we headed to our hostel on the other side of town. We hopped the subway and had our first experience of being totally unable to speak any Korean. It was a weird, helpless, and shocking feeling. We became so accustomed to being able to order and ask for directions and now all that was out the window, and once again, we were the stupid foreigners.. Once out of the hostel we went to PIZZA HUT and had some real pizza, pizza that isn't paper thing like the Japanese style. I know it sounds stupid, but I don't really like Asian food all that much, so why only eat that nasty stuff. I like to enjoy good ol American Food! We then headed to Igidae park on the coast. We went hiking around the coast and it offered an amazing view of Busan. Check it out
The next day we went to this sweet gun range. Again, I know, why do all this American stuff?? Well they don't have guns in Japan and we were with this Brit named David who had never fired a gun of any kind in his life. So we jumped on the opportunity, we headed to Huandae Beach, which would be awesome in the summer and went to the gun range. When we arrived, they said sorry we don't speak English, but Eric and I looked at each other, smiled and said to them, we can speak Japanese, to which they responded oh good ok let me explain. It was an interesting experience being in another country and using a language other than English to communicate. The reason they could speak Japanese is that most of the people that go there are Japanese because they don't have any guns in Japan. So we went in and my guide was speaking to me in Japanese, saying breath in and out, Sutte, Aite. I took up the Glock and fired away to the tune of 99% accuracy. The next gun was the Luger, aka cowboy gun. I asked him to put it back to 15 m and started shooting away. I got 7 out of 10 terrorist head shots!! haha, so much fun.
I wasn't lying about the 99%
After that we went to Beomusa temple or something like that. It was nothing special, I did get one really cool pic though (below). I have decided that I am done going to temples. I have seen the best ones in Japan and now nothing can compare to them. Most temples look the exact same, so I think this was my last temple visit. Unless I go to Hiroshima, in that case I will go to the Water Temple, but other than that they are getting boring, kinda like churches in America. Once you've seen one, you've seen them all.
We partied it up on New Years at this Foreigner bar, but it seemed like they all knew each other, so it was hard having any good conversations. It was fun though, a different experience ringing in the New Year in a different country while everyone I know is back in 2010....
The next day we headed to Seoul on a bus going on no sleep and still intoxicated. It was a nice nap, the countryside in S. Korea is definitely not as breathtaking as the Japanese countryside, but it was still fun to see more of the country. We arrived in Seoul, ate some Subway, Taco Bell and then checked in to our hostel. It was a fun little place and we met some cool foreigners. I was at one point having a conversation with a guy from France, a girl from China, a guy from Japan, and a girl from Cambodia. Everyone could speak English. I love our language, haha.
The next day we went to this Japanese Prison that they used during the occupation. The history between Japan and Korea is very bitter because the Japanese violated all sorts of human rights from 1910 to 1945. For example they would take young girls and use them as sex slaves for the soldiers. Japan has yet to admit it did any wrongdoing, so the grudge continues to this day, much like some Japanese hate Americans because of the Bomb. This prison was very interesting because it showed the oppression suffered and the unusual torture techniques of that time. There was a box lined with nails on the inside, they used to put Koreans in this box and kick it around stabbing the prisoners with nails. They also used a form of water boarding back then too. The prisoners were forced to work 12-14 hours a day making clothes and other things to fuel the Japanese war machine. After that they would return to their cells which are located outside with no heat.. I can't imagine the cold they had to deal with, many died from hypothermia. There was also a execution building, it was very eerie there, basically it is just a noose and a hole that the body goes into after to be disposed of. It was a very sad place, but it was eye opening and it was nice to learn more about the conflict between the two countries.
After that we went to the War Memorial museum. It was so much fun to see all the big planes and tanks with American stars and stripes on them. The U.S. was basically fighting and funding a lot of the Korean War for the south. I like being an American in S. Korea because you can tell that Koreans appreciate Americans for helping them fight the North. We took some fun pics in front of all the tanks and planes. Inside we wandered around for about 3 hours. There was so much history to read that we were there for longer than expected. It was good because now I can understand the conflict between north and south more clearly.
AMMMMMMERRRRIICAA!!
We went out and did the Seoul nightlife, which is crowded just like Tokyo and Osaka nightlife. It was fun, but not really my style. I don't like dancing shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of dudes. We also went to the Seoul Tower, not great, but it did offer a great view of the city at night.
So that is the trip in a nut shell, fun, interesting and educational. I have some more stories, but you will have to ask me when we talk next! Miss everyone and wish you all a Happy New Year.
So we left on Monday the 27th, hopped in Eric's car and started our journey towards Kita Kyushu/Shinomoseki Port. It would have taken about 6 hours or so, but there was some snow and the Japanese don't know how to drive in the snow so it took like 7 hours. It was quite beautiful however and the drive was fun overall, it has been a long time since I took a road trip. Everything in Japan is all trains, so it was nice being in a car for once. We hopped on the ferry at about 7 pm and started the drinking.....too much for my liking. We sat at a bar and there was literally no one there...a little disappointing, but we entertained ourselves. We went to sleep and when we woke up we were in Busan, S. Korea. I didn't sleep well, I guess it was all that rocking on the ocean. It was overall a good experience, but I will stick to airplanes from now on.
Once in Pusan or Busan or whatever the spelling is, we headed to our hostel on the other side of town. We hopped the subway and had our first experience of being totally unable to speak any Korean. It was a weird, helpless, and shocking feeling. We became so accustomed to being able to order and ask for directions and now all that was out the window, and once again, we were the stupid foreigners.. Once out of the hostel we went to PIZZA HUT and had some real pizza, pizza that isn't paper thing like the Japanese style. I know it sounds stupid, but I don't really like Asian food all that much, so why only eat that nasty stuff. I like to enjoy good ol American Food! We then headed to Igidae park on the coast. We went hiking around the coast and it offered an amazing view of Busan. Check it out
The next day we went to this sweet gun range. Again, I know, why do all this American stuff?? Well they don't have guns in Japan and we were with this Brit named David who had never fired a gun of any kind in his life. So we jumped on the opportunity, we headed to Huandae Beach, which would be awesome in the summer and went to the gun range. When we arrived, they said sorry we don't speak English, but Eric and I looked at each other, smiled and said to them, we can speak Japanese, to which they responded oh good ok let me explain. It was an interesting experience being in another country and using a language other than English to communicate. The reason they could speak Japanese is that most of the people that go there are Japanese because they don't have any guns in Japan. So we went in and my guide was speaking to me in Japanese, saying breath in and out, Sutte, Aite. I took up the Glock and fired away to the tune of 99% accuracy. The next gun was the Luger, aka cowboy gun. I asked him to put it back to 15 m and started shooting away. I got 7 out of 10 terrorist head shots!! haha, so much fun.
I wasn't lying about the 99%
After that we went to Beomusa temple or something like that. It was nothing special, I did get one really cool pic though (below). I have decided that I am done going to temples. I have seen the best ones in Japan and now nothing can compare to them. Most temples look the exact same, so I think this was my last temple visit. Unless I go to Hiroshima, in that case I will go to the Water Temple, but other than that they are getting boring, kinda like churches in America. Once you've seen one, you've seen them all.
We partied it up on New Years at this Foreigner bar, but it seemed like they all knew each other, so it was hard having any good conversations. It was fun though, a different experience ringing in the New Year in a different country while everyone I know is back in 2010....
The next day we headed to Seoul on a bus going on no sleep and still intoxicated. It was a nice nap, the countryside in S. Korea is definitely not as breathtaking as the Japanese countryside, but it was still fun to see more of the country. We arrived in Seoul, ate some Subway, Taco Bell and then checked in to our hostel. It was a fun little place and we met some cool foreigners. I was at one point having a conversation with a guy from France, a girl from China, a guy from Japan, and a girl from Cambodia. Everyone could speak English. I love our language, haha.
The next day we went to this Japanese Prison that they used during the occupation. The history between Japan and Korea is very bitter because the Japanese violated all sorts of human rights from 1910 to 1945. For example they would take young girls and use them as sex slaves for the soldiers. Japan has yet to admit it did any wrongdoing, so the grudge continues to this day, much like some Japanese hate Americans because of the Bomb. This prison was very interesting because it showed the oppression suffered and the unusual torture techniques of that time. There was a box lined with nails on the inside, they used to put Koreans in this box and kick it around stabbing the prisoners with nails. They also used a form of water boarding back then too. The prisoners were forced to work 12-14 hours a day making clothes and other things to fuel the Japanese war machine. After that they would return to their cells which are located outside with no heat.. I can't imagine the cold they had to deal with, many died from hypothermia. There was also a execution building, it was very eerie there, basically it is just a noose and a hole that the body goes into after to be disposed of. It was a very sad place, but it was eye opening and it was nice to learn more about the conflict between the two countries.
After that we went to the War Memorial museum. It was so much fun to see all the big planes and tanks with American stars and stripes on them. The U.S. was basically fighting and funding a lot of the Korean War for the south. I like being an American in S. Korea because you can tell that Koreans appreciate Americans for helping them fight the North. We took some fun pics in front of all the tanks and planes. Inside we wandered around for about 3 hours. There was so much history to read that we were there for longer than expected. It was good because now I can understand the conflict between north and south more clearly.
AMMMMMMERRRRIICAA!!
We went out and did the Seoul nightlife, which is crowded just like Tokyo and Osaka nightlife. It was fun, but not really my style. I don't like dancing shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of dudes. We also went to the Seoul Tower, not great, but it did offer a great view of the city at night.
So that is the trip in a nut shell, fun, interesting and educational. I have some more stories, but you will have to ask me when we talk next! Miss everyone and wish you all a Happy New Year.
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