Revelation

We've been bouldering.  Darren found a new secret spot.

Coffee and Guitar

Since I've been back in Jeju this year, the coffee and guitar mornings has been back in full force.  Scott and I try to get together once or twice a week for a cup of coffee and some country music.  He's got the perfect south facing, second floor Korean home with a flat-top concrete porch.  It's tough to describe, but I'll try to get a good picture in one of these days.  The porch is the perfect sun-deck, it is free from virtually all of Jeju's notorious wind and gets some strong sun all morning long which provides for shorts-weather as early as February.  Scott first picked up the guitar on Jeju and is soon becoming a master.  It's really fun to jam together, because there's absolutely no worries about how good or bad it sounds, it's just pure fun.  Our current favorites tend to usually be some Townes Van Zandt or Old Crow Medicine Show. One day we'll convince someone to pick up the fiddle and join us in the mornings...

New Apartment

5th year in Korea, 5th apartment.

I can't believe that I'm starting my fifth year in Korea.  It's really amazing how fast time flies, but I suppose it means that I'm having fun.  So this is my new place in the Faculty Apartments at Jeju National University.  It's quite small, not much bigger than my first apartment...well, maybe a little bigger....I miss that dryer though.  You see, there's two amazingly useful appliances that are missing in most Korean houses: a clothes dryer and an oven.  I've been thinking about getting an oven, but I just wonder how much I'll actually use it.  Maybe I'll finally get out of my tightwad mode and at least splurge on a microwave this year!

Oh and here's a picture for my parents...for the last 2 years they've been asking for a picture of my car...  Hopefully I'll sell it soon, but unfortunately it's too cold and convenient right now to get rid of!

Back to School

I've been back in Jeju almost a month, but I haven't posted a thing yet!  Things have really been quite hectic and busy since I've been back and it seems like I've hardly had any time to relax by myself.  Since I've been back, I've moved to a new place, had my motorcycle breakdown (fixed now), hung out with friends, and finally, preparing for the new semester.

School has been going great!  This week is the start of the second week of classes and I've already given the first round of tests. Hmm...maybe that's a little excessive?  Anyways, the Korean school year is opposite of the American school year.  High school ends in the winter and university starts in the spring.  The first of March is the beginning of the school year for everyone. This is my third year teaching at Jeju National University and every year, the new freshmen seem more and more eager to learn.  I really enjoy feeding off of their energy and am excited for this school year.