Yes, Mexican food DOES exist in Korea....

Taco joint I went to last night in Seoul.

Menu.




Burrito I had there. Ingredients: Beef, beans, rice, lettuce, onions, jalapenos, cilantro (yummy!!!!) and cheese. Price: 5,000 won (about $5.00 US).




Another place down the road I went to for breakfast/lunch today served a very nice horchata.







And here is the huevos con chorizo platter I had today.

Sign on the wall at the joint I went to last night.

IM ANGRY!!!!!!!!!

by Linda Strawberry

the problem is i dont know where to begin. all i know is im upset right now. not even so much at the state of things as the state of people. people saying things like "i dont follow politics..ignorance is bliss" "i dont like paying attention to what's going on because it fills me with negative thoughts" ignorance might be blissfull but its still ignorance!! what has happened to us that we are so afraid and complacent... that we are so broken down that we would rather keep quiet and not tip the balance. what about freedom of speech? what about freedom of information? freedom of the press? are all our freedoms gone?

it takes so much courage to look straight into the ugly face of things. to acknowlege whats actually going on instead of what we wish was going on. everything's fucked up right now and this is supposed to be a democracy. power of the people. so why is everyone so afraid of the government? is it because we have tracking chips in our passports now? is it because we say a couple of words into our phones and we appear on some security list? that the government can bug us and track us if they want to? that we can get thrown in jail without the right for an attorney if the government decided we are a possible 'terrorist'?
is our government the real terrorist?

i cried while watching 'sicko' micheal moore's new documentary. ive been really sick since the beginning of june. i am currently struggling as a DIY independent artist so i dont have health insurance and a strong bank accont. i fear going to the doctor or hospital. i finally just went because i was worried and i wanted to get checked out. now i have a 3 thousand dollar billfrom 2 hours of medical care!! the only alternative is a free clinic and they arent always reliable and its hard to get in. it is so demoralizing. it makes you feel like you dont matter. that no one cares if you get sicker and die. in this country they only care about money. they make more money for NOT taking care of you when you are sick. watching 'sicko' made me so mad. i want to move. i want to go somewhere where they care if my stomach hurts or if i need an x-ray. i want to go somewhere where i know my money is going to help other people who are sick too. an environment where people arent losing their homes and lives just to pay for their prescription drugs.

i feel so dubious about the upcoming elections. its not like we are going to have another abraham lincoln. or someone who isnt being bought by all the lobbyists and rich people. i dont even see the individual parties anymore. they are all equally corrupted. what has happened to america.. what has happened to americans. at least my idea or what i was raised and conditioned to think america was.... people here dont want to know things. overall here in america we are just getting fatter stupider and lazier. our fda is corrupt. they approve harmful things like splenda but wont approve stevia which is harmless. i heard something like.. gas is going to be FIVE dollars by the end of summer... oil companies are making more money than ever! we are slaves. especially here in los angeles where people dont walk anywhere.. and there's no real effective public transportation.... who can afford five dollars a gallon!! fuck us. and fuck the atmosphere i guess.. as long as the rich are getting richer!

we are an overworked overtired oversaturated overeating culture. but we cant be bothered to care about what's happening to us. we'd rather turn the tv on to watch the latest reality tv show or read a magazine about paris hilton. we are just marching ourselves straight into a nightmare..
how many people know about the document our president signed to eventually combine canada and mexico and the u.s. into one nation with the "amero" as currency... isnt that alarming? what about these new id's they are going to give us by 2008 that will have all our personal information scannable on the strip? what about when they start microchipping US?
its terrifying how many things are wrong with our country. i dont want to sound like a conspiracy theorist... but what if its true that it was a government scheme to further the agenda of the richest people in the world that REALLY run things and are moving us around like pieces on a chess board? obviously those buildings werent knocked down by planes.. it was a planned demolition..

people just dont want to open their eyes. they dont want to look around and see. its like the game that my cat plays.. he will hide his head under something and i swear he thinks we cant see him then. are we just osterich's sticking our heads in the sand? our media is totally corrupt too. they just say what they are told to say. i guess everyone can be bought in this country.
someone wrote me a message saying "welcome to the truth movement" is there really a truth movement? can i be a part of it? i am not going to be afraid to look at things under the harsh light of truth. i care. i care about myself and i care about my family and i care about you. i will say whatever i think and i will care about what's happening. im not scared of the old rich fucks that run the music business. im not scared of the old rich fucks that run our country either....
if i end up on a list somewhere then FINE!!! bring it on!!!!

im not trying to be a greedy rich corrupt human. im not going to live my life just to stockpile money and things. im just trying to be a healthy happy productive human being. i want to make my art... i want to sing my songs... i want to do what i can for the people i love.. i want to be loud and obnoxious about the things i stand for.... THAT is what freedom means to me. and dont anyone dare call me unpatriotic.... im patriotic BECAUSE have the balls to care about whats ACTUALLY happening to my country. im not anti republican or anti democrat or anti anything. im for all of us as human beings. we all have to care about each other and stick together or we are doomed.

i want to live in an educated sentient fearless society. where people love themselves enough to take care of themselves and other people. where the rich and poor get the same health care. because no one is more valuable than anyone else. im asking you... what are you afraid of? are you afraid of the government? are you afraid of the truth because its hard to hear? are you afraid of terrorists? are you afraid to go to the hospital? fear is a corrosive disease. it gets inside your heart and starts to freeze you.

ive got to go now and get on the phone and try my hardest to fight for an appointment at a free clinic just so i can know if i need an antibiotic or not. since that's my only option in our fucked up health care system. i only wish i was in canada where my grandmother and aunt are so i could walk into a hospital and actually feel like someone cares about me getting better...
god bless..

Linda Strawberry is an independent songwriter and musician who lives in Los Angeles.

Korean Police Uncover ATM Scam

Suppose you use an ATM and the machine shows a message saying it is short of cash after you have entered your PIN number. A sensational case before the courts this week suggests you had better check that the machine is genuine, or else your money may be gone.

Busan Metropolitan Police said a man identified as Kim and seven accomplices who had known each other from jail, pooled W220 million (US$1=W938) to build two fake cash machines. They bought parts of an ATM, a card reader and a CCTV camera from China and installed the devices on second-hand ATMs that were used in Korea three to four years ago.

They made them look genuine by putting a sign saying “CASH-BANK” and a list of domestic financial institutions’ names on the machines. As soon as anyone inserted a credit card, the information was stored in the machine and the PIN number recorded by the CCTV camera installed right above the keypad. The fake machine then displayed a message saying it was out of cash.

Kim and accomplices withdrew about W70 million by illegally copying some 100 credit cards over the last four months. Busan police arrested Kim and one of the accomplices and is chasing the other six. Police are investigating whether there were further such crimes since a similar scam was reported in China.

(englishnews@chosun.com )

Guam International Airport

by Jeff Turbitt

Out in Micronesia , just a small radar blip in the Pacific, sits Guam International Airport. Like many airports, it is a vast, packaged, neon vestibule of unhealthy, overpriced fast food, the mind boggling curiosity of duty free shops, and a more common currency: aggravated Asian travelers. One notable difference is that Guam is an America much closer to Hong Kong and Tokyo than New York or Los Angeles .

Guam is a full blown U.S. territory like Puerto Rico and a common transfer hub for Asian travelers to Hawaii , other Micronesian islands, Australia and other locales. Guam has two well known monikers. Fiscal conservatives noting the federal dole that Guam , and other Pacific Islands survive on, say Guam stands for Give Us American Money, while retired military expats familiar with the more lascivious, neighboring locations of Thailand and the Philippines say Guam stands for Give Up And Masturbate.

A traveler doesn’t have to visit Guam , a popular beach vacation site for Japanese honeymooners, to feel the hysteria post 9/11. A mere transfer will suffice for this dog to bite, as America continues to expand global alienation on a more personal front: airport security. I speak from recent personal experience.

I get off the plane in Guam after getting a quite thorough screening at Palau International Airport . Palau is one of the most renowned scuba diving locations on the planet, its main tourist draw and the one that brought me there, and is in Free Compact of Association with the United States , which basically means Palauans can enter the United States without visa issue, and the U.S. provides them with economic aid. The U.S. in return gets a claim on a place that is famously part of the “Coalition of the Willing” from Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11.

The first thing I have to do in Guam right off the plane from Palau at 4 am : Welcome to the United States . “Take your shoes off sir, belt, all metals, and are your nuts still attached, if not, please place them in this basket for inspection.” I've only been married a few years, so they are still connected, sorry, use the wand, and tickle a little bit since it's 4am , I'm on the redeye from hell, I'm stuck in your shithole airport and I need a cheap thrill.I just got off an airplane, I didn't go anywhere near an unchecked civilian, so this begs the obvious question of why do I have to go through the shoe bullshit again, not to mention another x-ray, take off your belt, shave your pubes routine in case you're hiding some well placed plutonium in your sac region? Why again!!!! Is Guam security so much more thorough than the last airport? One idiot tried something with his shoes years ago and people the planet over have to go through these shoe theatrics without end in sight. Please. I've had times when there have been like three shoe checks for one trip. I saw this one Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) officer examine my flip flops with the wrapt attention of Howard Carter opening King Tut's tomb.

Leaving Palau , the existence of shaving cream in my checked, not carry on, luggage caused a literal ten minute investigation. I might be the only one with a toothbrush coming from Palau , but I can't be the only one who shaves. Throughout Micronesia locals suffer massive dental issues from their love of a tree fruit called betel nut, which is generally stuffed with cigarette pieces, mixed with powdered lime to break it down for easier chewing, and wrapped in a pepper leaf to provide a nice buzz. There are probably more cigarettes chewed than smoked in Micronesia . Betelnut is a common addiction in Micronesia and has similar health, dental and aesthetic issues as chewing tobacco.

The war on terror, I mean hygiene continues, though. I had deodorant in my carry on, which is legal, but that still entailed a Nuremberg type deliberation since somehow Old Spice equals Al Qaeda. At some point someone needs to snap and say, “Use some sense, you soulless automaton!” I’m convinced they must electroshock all vestiges of independent thought and common sense out of these people at TSA Academy .

After the foiled UK plot a few months back, the liquid and hygiene situation is the latest overreaction. The silliness over water continues unabated. If you can drink it, and demonstrate that it isn't some Mission Impossible liquid bomb, let it go. It's water, like 80 percent of the human body. Chill out Nurse Ratched. We don't examine most any cargo coming into the states, but three shoe checks and no water, so we’re supposed to think we're safe. What a bunch of babies we’ve become, not to mention that this American airport in Asia is as welcoming as a punch to the stomach.Then Guam security sets up this rope to subdivide the airport and actually block you from your gate. This is designed so they can give the new arrivals the stare to march them along like lambs to the slaughter for the pointless Guam immigration check in counter, and if you, the already harassed, step on the wrong side at the wrong time, they threaten you with a fresh round of shoe checks, X rays and quite possibly a trip to Guantanamo Bay. Even an American traveler like me feels cowed from asking the obvious question of why do I have to clear immigration in Guam when I am not staying there, or not be able to head to my gate yet because others need to go through this ridiculous routine? Doesn’t my name go down on the easily identifiable “previously manhandled” list?

With all this security you’d think Guam International Airport would be a hub for all travelers, but nope, they won't let Filipinos, and others from less prosperous countries, transfer through without a full blown U.S. Visa.

It is still the middle of the night, I've got a long layover in Hades, and there is hardly anyone in the place, so sleep seems in order. I'm not expecting the Ritz Carlton, just to sack out in peace on their mangy carpet. Naturally, sleep is hard to come by with a blaring announcement over the loudspeaker every fifteen minutes not to leave your bags unattended and to report any suspicious activity to the Guam Gestapo.

These security pros clearly find travelers annoying, so they briefly held me hostage on my initial layover. I couldn't exit without a Continental representative to walk me through immigration like it was my first day of kindergarten. I ate at the lousy food court, so I wasn’t exiting completely within the allotted time. Since this was inconvenient to security, I had this bozo airport cop on a power trip interrogating me on whether my green tea in a cup was beer. What am I twelve, what if it was? His invented regulation: “You can't take green tea out onto the streets of Guam sir.” I'm sure the teeming masses of Guam appreciate that kind of protection. I was going to mention that I saw one guy with an apple, and if he could stop him, he might get a Homeland Security appointment in the Bush administration, but I really wasn’t in any mood to undergo extraordinary rendition and be re-routed for less comfortable questioning in Syria, so I merely smiled and sheepishly surrendered my $3.00 beverage before heading out of the Taliban’s new headquarters.

Guam Airport is the United States government in microcosm: reactionary, bullying, lacking common sense and self-important. The terrorists have already won since we are a bunch of drunk on fear ninnies, alienating both Americans and citizens of the world’s fastest growing economies with our bullshit.

American Fast Food

by Randy Stonehill

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

By Gil Scott-Heron

You will not be able to stay home, brother.
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag
and Skip out for beer during commercials,
Because the revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be brought to you by Xerox
In 4 parts without commercial interruptions.
The revolution will not show you pictures of Nixon
blowing a bugle and leading a charge by John
Mitchell, General Abrams and Spiro Agnew to eat
hog maws confiscated from a Harlem sanctuary.

The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be brought to you by the
Schaefer Award Theatre and will not star Natalie
Woods and Steve McQueen or Bullwinkle and Julia.
The revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal.
The revolution will not get rid of the nubs.
The revolution will not make you look five pounds
thinner, because the revolution will not be televised, Brother.

There will be no pictures of you and Willie May
pushing that shopping cart down the block on the dead run,
or trying to slide that color television into a stolen ambulance.
NBC will not be able predict the winner at 8:32
or report from 29 districts.
The revolution will not be televised.

There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of Whitney Young being
run out of Harlem on a rail with a brand new process.
There will be no slow motion or still life of Roy
Wilkens strolling through Watts in a Red, Black and
Green liberation jumpsuit that he had been saving
For just the proper occasion.

Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Hooterville
Junction will no longer be so damned relevant, and
women will not care if Dick finally gets down with
Jane on Search for Tomorrow because Black people
will be in the street looking for a brighter day.
The revolution will not be televised.

There will be no highlights on the eleven o'clock
news and no pictures of hairy armed women
liberationists and Jackie Onassis blowing her nose.
The theme song will not be written by Jim Webb,
Francis Scott Key, nor sung by Glen Campbell, Tom
Jones, Johnny Cash, Englebert Humperdink, or the Rare Earth.
The revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be right back
after a message about a white tornado, white lightning, or white people.
You will not have to worry about a dove in your
bedroom, the tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl.
The revolution will not go better with Coke.
The revolution will not fight the germs that may cause bad breath.
The revolution will put you in the driver's seat.

The revolution will not be televised, will not be televised,
will not be televised, will not be televised.
The revolution will be no re-run brothers;
The revolution will be live.

Even a U.S. Senator Can Botch a Recipe for Success

By Mike Royko
November 21, 1995

This simple little quiz is directed at those who love hot dogs. Not any hot dog, but the true, classic Chicago hot dog. The finest hot dog known to man.

Look at the following recipe and see if something is wrong. If so, what?

Chicago hot dog: Vienna beef hot dog, poppy seed bun, dill pickle, jalapeños, relish, mustard, ketchup. Place dog in bun. Cover with jalapeños, relish, mustard, and ketchup. Serve with dill pickle.

The flaws are so obvious that by now those with civilized, discriminating Chicago taste buds are snorting and sneering and flinging this shameful recipe to the floor and spitting on it.

It deserves nothing less.

But not merely because it includes ketchup and omits sliced tomatoes, chopped onions, and that miraculous dash of celery salt.

No, I won't condemn anyone for putting ketchup on a hot dog. This is the land of the free. And if someone wants to put ketchup on a hot dog and actually eat the awful thing, that is their right.
It is also their right to put mayo or chocolate syrup or toenail clippings or cat hair on a hot dog.
Sure, it would be disgusting and perverted, and they would be shaming themselves and their loved ones. But under our system of government, it is their right to be barbarians.

The crime is in referring to the above abomination as a "Chicago hot dog."

And who did it?

Brace yourselves for a real shocker.

Some time ago, a hot dog recipe book was put together by the American Meat Institute, the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, and other groups that promote the eating of dead animal flesh.

They got their recipes by calling the offices of United States senators. Being publicity freaks, most of the senators responded.

Most of the recipes are ridiculous, since most senators are ridiculous.

And this shameful recipe was contributed by Senator Carol Moseley-Braun.

Yes, Senator Moseley-Braun, who claims to be a Chicagoan, actually told them that a Chicago hot dog includes ketchup. And that it doesn't require chopped onion or sliced tomatoes or celery salt.

I don't know what could have possessed her to do such a thing. She is a liberal Democrat, so I can understand her deep yearning to seize our money and throw it hither and yon like so much political confetti. That's part of the natural order of Washington creatures.

But to publicly state that you put ketchup on a Chicago hot dog? And overlook celery salt? It is said that power corrupts. I didn't know that it brings on utter madness.

Apparently Senator Moseley-Braun pays little or no attention to my efforts to maintain standards in those things that are unique to Chicago.

If she did, she would have noted a column that appeared here in July of 1993. In it, various hot dog experts commented on ketchup.

Maurie Berman, who owns Superdawg on the Northwest Side, where I've been eating classic hot dogs for about 40 years: "I see more and more desecrations of the Chicago hot dog. Yes, we provide ketchup, but we have the customer defile it himself.

"We say, 'Sir, the ketchup bottle is on the side. We'll ask you to squirt that yourself.'"

John Miyares, who serves hot dogs at Irving's near the Loyola University campus, says: "No ketchup, no kraut. That's the law. But when you're younger and your mom lets you put ketchup on the hot dog, you get used to it, I guess. The people about 35 and over, they get upset if you mention ketchup, especially if they're born and raised here. And even more if they're South Siders.

"But we get a lot of students from out of town, and they all want ketchup. Except if they're from New York. They want steamed sauerkraut."

Pat Carso, manager of Demon Dogs on the Mid-North Side, said: "You have to ask for it. And more people are asking. I don't know why. Maybe parents think it is better for their kids. But we choose not to put it on. Even if they say 'everything.' In here, that does not include ketchup. We don't even keep ketchup up front. We have a little bottle in the back if people ask for it."

These men are keepers of the flame. They are cultural and culinary descendants of the short Greeks who used to take their pushcarts into every Chicago neighborhood and would have thumbed the eyeballs of anyone who dared ask for ketchup.

But here we have a United States senator, allegedly representing Chicago and the rest of Illinois—even the Downstate yokels—and she shames herself and the rest of us by displaying her ignorance of what makes a hot dog a true Chicago hot dog.

I'm sure Senator Moseley-Braun has the usual excuse: Someone on her staff did it.

Well, forget it. That only proves that senators hire boobs.

No, the buck and the hot dog stops here.

There is time for Senator Moseley-Braun to mend her ways. But if the election were held today, I'd have to vote for just about anyone running against Senator Moseley-Braun.

Korean drama, part 4

Korean drama part 3

MAD TV's Korean drama series pt. 1 & 2

Larry Norman in 2007

"The Rock That Doesn't Roll", Skudneshavn, Norway, June 2 2007.

"Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music?", Frauenfeld, Switzerland, May 2007.

More pics from my trip

Sign on the subway platform in Busan, Korea.

Very large dog in the KTX train station in Busan.

Dunkin' Donuts in Cheonan, Korea.

Japan & Korea

I just got back from Japan the night before last. Part way into my boat trip, my cell phone ran out of batteries so I was not able to take pictures of the trip. So, here's some pictures from other people's websites instead.

I stayed at the Reisenkaku Hotel in Hakata. The hotel room was small, but that's just the way I like 'em. Besides, it was clean, quiet and comfortable, so I was able to get plenty of sleep and to top it off I had some great Hakata ramen at a small shop nearby.

My hotel room:

The hotel coffee shop where I had breakfast:

and the noodles I had for dinner:

COEX Mall, Seoul Korea (June 3, 2007)

P070525001

P070525001
Originally uploaded by rixmail99

Obviously THIS warning sign didn't do it's job. Spotted on the way to work the other day....

More class photos

My students took a field trip to Pinnacle Land, here are some pics i took on my cell phone.

Group shot:

The students feed the goats:

My "assistant teacher", Judy:

---

I will leave for Japan on Tuesday....

Updates

I'll be moving to my new apartment tomorrow, then I'm going to Japan on Tuesday on a "visa run". A full pictorial account of the trip will be forthcoming, as well as pics of my new place. For now, here are some of my students:

Doulos coming to Korea!

Pohang, South Korea

From: Thursday 21 June 2007
To: Wednesday 4 July 2007

Pusan, South Korea
From: Thursday 5 July 2007
To: Tuesday 24 July 2007

Mokpo, South Korea
From: Wednesday 25 July 2007
To: Wednesday 8 August 2007

Inchon, South Korea
From: Thursday 9 August 2007
To: Wednesday 29 August 2007

photo: me on board Doulos;
Nagasaki, Japan, September 1992 (top) and
Cebu, Philippines, January 2007 (bottom)

Quote of the day

A centaur has a man-stomach and a horse-stomach. And of course both want breakfast. So first of all he has porridge and pavenders and kidneys and bacon and omelette and cold ham and toast and marmalade and coffee and beer. And after that he tends to the horse part of himself by grazing for an hour or so and finishing up with a hot mash, some oats, and a bag of sugar. That's why it's such a serious thing to ask a Centaur to stay for the weekend.

-from "The Silver Chair", by C.S. Lewis

Celebrations

above: My birthday party, February 17 2007 - Moalboal, Philippines
below: my birthay party, February 17 1997 - Chicago, U.S.A.

Places I've been, places i'm going.....

Here is a link I posted to the Google Earth community (272 downloads so far!) listing some places I've visited, a partial list anyways:

view in Google Earth or Google Maps.

More to come.....

Sonny goes home (video)

Goodbye Sonny (photo)

Teachers at Friends School say goodbye to Sonny.

Sonny gives flowers and a present to MaryNhovy.

One last pose before Sonny flies back to Korea.

School pictures (photo)

Fireworks (video)

A fireworks display at a party last night for the owner of HR Hotel in Lapu-Lapu.

same spot, 15 years later

Rick on board M/V Doulos;

• top - Kagoshima, Japan, September 1992
• bottom - Cebu, Philippines, January 2007.

Fave restaurants in Cebu

1. Gerry's Grill, Ayala Center (Filipino)
2. Yellow Cab, Banilad Town Center (pizza)
3. Shanghai Bay, SM Mall(Chinese)
4. Lemon Grass, Ayala Center (Thai/Vietnamese)
5. Flame It! Grill, Ayala Center (American-style hamburgers)
   
6. Rasa Marina, Marina Mall (Singaporean)
7. Cafe de France, Marina Mall (French/ bakery)
8. Magellan's Landing, Marina Mall (pub/ seafood)
   
9. Korean BBQ, Gaisano Country Mall (Korean)
10. Majestic Restaurant, Marina Mall (Chinese/ seafood)

more listings and reviews to come soon....

New CD available

I have a new CD available, it's available as a free download. You can get it by clicking on the picture below or by going to http://www.aaughrecords.net.



...by the way, I'm not sure if that technically makes it a CD, since there's no hard copy involved, especially if you just download it and import it into your iTunes or other media library. Oh well, whatever...

new places

I've moved to Manila, and now that I have internet access & a wireless card I will try to update this thing more often than I was doing in Seoul, Chicago or Shenyang.

One of my new projects here will be to try and record dreams I have when I remember them. Hope I'll remember to actually do this....

Later,
Rick

Life, the universe, and nothing....

Had a new job offer in Ansan, one hour outside Seoul on the Blue Line subway (line #4). So that's where I am, living in a studio apartment (in Chicago, it'd be called an "efficiency") just a few blocks from work and a short walk from the subway station, my bank, and my phone company. I have cable & internet in my apt., and a fridge & stove & washing machine. Pretty nice setup. On the first floor of the building I work in is a bakery, a small restaurant, and a 7-11. And there's another bakery right across the street! Also across the street is a bar (known as a "hof" in Korea) where I had some pretty excellent BBQ ribs after work tonight. I also just found out a really good friend of mine from Singapore is living in Ansan, so she and I will meet up on Thursday.

Later,
Rick

currently on my iPod: Modern Times, by Bob Dylan

Updates from Seoul

A month in Korea

Wow, time flies... seems like just the other day I was getting dropped off at O'Hare. I remember being really nervous about my flight for no reason, like was my ticket actually there at the Korean Air counter? etc. Stupid stuff like that. Some guy sat next to me on the plane because there was a seat open, no other reason, even though he had his own assigned seat and I kept wishing he would go back to his seat. Never happened. At least some of the food was OK - they served bibimbap, kind of a Korean vegetable salad (cucumbers, radish, cabbage, carrots, and sometimes wild mountain greens) mixed with rice and a spicy sauce. Very delicious and authentic, especially for an airplane meal. The dinner was horrible, frozen ravioli drowned in tomato paste and topped with an American frozen mixed veggie assortment, made in Chicago and completely inedible. But served with an amazing tiramisu, I still don't know how they pulled that off.

I did get to watch a lot of movies on the seat-back movie screen in front of me - Weatherman, Fun With Dick & Jane, Narnia, etc. I also watched a really good Korean movie called "Typhoon" -the first half concerned this guy who sees his family die during the Korean war and he grows up to hate South Korea and the US. In the second half it degenerates into a Bond-style action film where he escapes from North Korea and threatens to unleash a million ballons filled with some pretty dangerous stuff over Seoul during a major storm. It's up to, like, one guy, to stop him, a recently graduated lieutenant in the South's army.

When I got to Seoul I had to go through immigration, customs, etc. and then change dollars to won and find my bus, since there was no-one from the school there to meet me. Then it was an hour and a half by bus to where the school was, through terrible traffic backed up along the Han River. Tons of extremely modern apartments, cars, houses, shopping complexes, government buildings - Seoul is the world's 5th largest city and the sheer size of it just boggles the mind. There are over 10 million people in the city, where as Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea only has 2 million. Everyone here is pretty well dressed and they all have really fancy cell phones. Keep in mind that 2 of the world's largest cell phone manufacturers, Samsung and LG, are based here. There are tons of small restaurants, stores, street vendors, open-air markets, and the largest number of bars, nightclubs and internet cafes I've ever seen. The subway is really clean, fast and efficient and so are the taxis and buses. Seoul is also really safe - women walk down dark alleys here at 3 in the morning with no problem at all.

My school is all right, I'm just learning all the ropes. There really is a lot to take in at first, but I'm getting the hang of it all. I know as soon as I have the whole system memorized, it'll all change! So I shouldn't get too comfortable. I teach all age levels, from my first class at 3 p.m. of Kindergarten age children to my last one at 9 pm of high school age. I have some great coworkers: Kim (from Toronto), Lyle (North Dakota), Scott (UK), Les (Seattle), Mike, Charlie, Will (still not sure where they're from), plus my Korean coworkers Marty, Rose, Sienna, Sally, Lucy, Esther, Michelle, Anna, Monica, and a few more.

On the weekends I like to check out some areas of the city I haven't seen yet - like Apgujeong, kind of Seoul's answer to Rodeo Drive or Michigan Avenue, with posh boutiques (Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton) and some totally bizarre pet stores, where your dog can get a manicure/pedicure, shop for designer doggie clothes and get specially baked doggie treats for the discerning pooch. This weekend I'm going to an arts festival near Hongik Univerity, with some modern and traditional art and music presented entirely from the perspective of women. Should be interesting.

I really enjoy Seoul, today I spent about 4 hours in this really cool coffee shop talking with a friend and drinking jasmine tea. Afterwards we went and had some really good Vietnamese noodles. Both the coffee shop and the Vietnamese place I discovered completely by accident, and that's a cool thing about Seoul - little surprises around every corner. There are also some cool record cafes, where you can sit and have a drink and request music off the owner's large collection of vinyl records.

When I first got here, everything seemed so modern and bleak and sterile, but today it was raining and the air and light of the city had a different feel - dark, mysterious, romantic. Today on the subway going home, I was riding in the front car when suddenly there was a commotion and lots of people started running and screaming away from someone or something. I heard some guy yelling and realized this guy was crazy and was just being loud but he certainly scared everyone. He had kind of a disheveled appearance, was really thin and had long hair and was wearing black clothes. When the train pulled into the station, he jumped up and kicked the door really hard. Then an older Korean man yelled at him, something like, "Hey, what are you? Crazy? Look at how you've scared all these people! You should be ashamed of yourself!" or some words to that effect. He got off at that station and no one else wanted to get off, they were pretty shaken. I'm just glad he didn't have a weapon and that no one was hurt.

Then when I was walking from the subway station I saw three young guys tumble don the stairs of a second floor bar, where they had obviously had waaaay too much to drink, and they immediately started fighting in the street - kicking, punching, etc. A crowd of spectators gathered at a safe distance, oddly enough the police never showed up. Weird....

I'm now officially a Seoul resident, as I recieved my resident alien card the other day. Whoop-dee-doo, this calls for a party. No, really I am excited, just that it's been a long week and I came down with a cold over the last few days. I hope to get a little rest over the weekend and I've found some really good orange juice (not conventrated, with the pulp still in it - yum!) and am trying to get back to my regular health. I had a massive sinus headache the other day at work - ugh. But my back problems have cleared up......

More later,
Rick

mailing address: Rick Vaughn c/o YBM-ECC Language Institute Mia 3-dong 202-2 Joong-Ang Bldg. 2/F Kangbuk-gu, Seoul Republic Of Korea cell phone: (82)10-3980-1559 home phone: (82)10-983-6693

My life story

Here's a project I've been thinking of for about 10 years, the film version of my life experiences, and it will feature well known actors in very short cameos. Some of them won't even know they're in the movie, like Steve Martin did to Eddie Murphy in Bowfinger. Anyways, here are the latest casting additions:

Lucy Liu as Rainbow

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Fred Armisen as Hector

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Mike Myers as Joyce

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Christina Ricci as Rossanne

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...and of course, I'll be played by:

Anthony Edwards as Rick

stay tuned...... :-)

Eric Idle at Borders

I was in line at 7:55, at Borders on State, even though the signing started at 12:30. There were a couple people ahead of me, including one Creepy Lady who was standing in front of the door, waiting to get in. As soon as the doors opened we made a beeline for the top floor, where the line started. Creepy Lady only kind of stood in line for like 2 seconds then went downstairs and sat in the cafe for a couple of hours. I guess she expected the rest of us to keep her place, because when she came back up demanded to take her rightful place at the front of the line. We pretty much managed to ignore her demands, and block her from cutting in front! Creepy Lady wanted her book personalized the following way: "Dear ____________ (i forget her name), I'm sorry that Robin Williams had to spoil your Buddy Hackett moment. Sincerely, Eric Idle." Whatever that meant. Lori, the event manager, told her there was not much chance of that happening at all.

Oddly enough, the Borders staff insisted on playing Madonna ("Cherish" sticks in my head, even as I write this) but switched it to the Spamalot cast recording seconds before Eric Idle and John Du Prez made their entrance. Eric came in wearing a white suit with no tie, a light blue shirt, and sunglasses - very Hollywood, and quite appropriate for the nice sunny warm weather Chicago is suddenly having. He said one or two words, posed for a couple of photos ("Look, you're on the web!" he said to John, pointing to the number of cell phone cameras snapping shots from the audience) then proceeded to launch into a rousing version of "Sit On My Face", leading the audience in the final chorus. Funny, I had just commented a few minutes earlier on how they probably were't playing "Eric Idle Sings Monty Python" or even "Spamalot" because this was a "family" bookstore... and now this!

Just when I got to the signing table, and was placing in front of Eric the items mentioned in my last post, someone from either Borders or the publicity people announced they were only signing the "Spamalot" CD and the book, "The Greedy Bastard Diary : A Comic Tour of America" so I was left holding a pile of stuff. Guess what? Eric took one look at it, gave me a kind of "give it here, lad" look, and signed all the swag anyways. I've always said he was all right! I got a free pair of coconuts too, imported by real African swallows (but I always thought those were non-migratory....)

A side note: what's up with the armed police escorts at Borders events? Are Borders management that suspicious and distrustful of their customers? I recall this at the Margaret Cho event on Michigan Avenue, and found it a little inappropriate. But then again, there were people like Creepy Lady, who made me and my friend Jamie a little more pleased to have them around (just in case).