Dog House W/ Patio

Remember the British?

Me either.

I've just been to Gimhae to see Dave for his birthday, celebrate Canada Day, and of course the Fourth of July. It was a crazy time to say the least. But to say the most….

So I started off the weekend by being a little under the weather. My sinuses have been slowly degrading since my arrival and this week was the last straw, apparently. But I purchased some sinus medication at the local pharmacy (an experience to do with no English, I will tell you that) and went about my merry way half-drugged through the streets of Korea. It really wasn't that bad, but there were definitely times where I felt that basic sounds operated on a different frequency than normal (which makes navigating traffic amusing to say the least). You really don't realize how much you use your sense of sound to associate places until you can't differentiate a scooter engine and a mosquito in your ear. 'Why did a sinus med effect your sense of hearing, Ryan?' I don't know, but it worked, so be quiet mosquito.

After another bus ride to Gimhae I found my way to Dave's where I learned that the so called 'martial art' of Tae Kwon Do (I'm sure I didn't translate that right, so forgive me) is, much like all other forms of Korean education, all about rote memorization and regurgitation. So, unless some one comes at you from position 47a of a Tae Kwon Do textbook you will not be able to do anything. Of course this is a generalization, but when you see someone who's about to get their black belt not able to spar with someone, who hasn't even taken a single class, it is a little eyebrow-raising. That said, I now call it Tae Kwon Don't.

After being thoroughly let down by what I'm sure is an exception to the rule we proceeded to have my first haircut in Korea. If you're reading this, you probably know that I'm not the type of guy who pays more than $12 for a haircut. The idea is absurd to me. So imagine my surprise when Dave took me to a place right around the corner from his apartment and I received the best haircut in my life for 7000 won (about 7 bucks). The man (I never caught his name, so I'll call him Raul) spent an hour and a half on my head, and my hair's not long. I got a 'cold shampoo,' which translates to a strange tingly serum that is massaged into your hair and then (I kid you not) beaten into your scalp with a stiff-bristled brush. In a strange sadomasochistic way it was awesome. It's something that you have to experience. But wait, there's more? Oh yes. Then the female helper washed my hair, massaged my scalp even more and I was returned to the chair where Raul continued with what is the most impressive technique I've ever seen of hair trimming. He went around my head with a pair of scissors clipping away at 100 kilometers per hour. It was scary, but cool. The whole time Raul had a look of absolute concentration plastered across his face. I don't think I've ever had someone care so much about my hair before.

Never thought you'd hear me say so much about a haircut, huh? It was that good.

So after that we went to the Canada/ Independence Day Party at Roger's house. I saw my recruiters for the first time since they dropped me off and I once again thanked them profusely for putting me in a good school with a good director (I've now realized that I'm a lucky man for my job placement after hearing some horror stories from other Wayguks). All in all a great time despite not blowing anything up.

I made my way back to Ulsan (after having a strange but great conversation with a Pakastani in broken English- where we discovered we shared the same political sentiments- on the bus ride back) and purchased a fan, some anti-mosquito incense, a real towel, a much-needed Swiffer, and a bath mat. Although they're small creature-comforts they make my place feel that much closer to a temporary home and not just a place to sleep.

News from the scooter front: I drove my first scooter this weekend as well. They're easy and surprisingly fun to drive. The pursuit has now been pushed to code orange.

And now some pictures:

Captain Canada. This best describes the mood of the party. But don't worry, he'll cower if you actually try to get him to do anything worthwhile.

Raul in action. Note the peace sign (you'll see it more, I promise)

Yes, that's him smacking my head with a brush. I could try to explain again, but I don't think I'll save any face doing it.

This has to be one of the few times I've ever had any 'product' (as they call it in the industry) in my hair. It was amusing, but after a haircut like that, you have to let the man finish his vision.

Happy Fourth folks. I miss you all and hope that everyone had a good, safe weekend full of debauchery.

Posted by Schaffer at July 4, 2005 04:32 AM