So, its been close to a month since I last updated. True to form, I don't feel the slightest guilty - so if you were expecting an apology, you came to the wrong place. However, since then, I've been quite busy. I've been to Tokyo on a whirlwind weekend trip that saw me leave Seoul at 3am on a Saturday morning, and arrive back in Seoul on the following Monday at 4am, to start teaching at 8am that same day (more on this later). I've also been busy with a bit of a predicament that's come up that will possibly involve another trip to the hospital (not anymore on this later). I've also been working on preparing myself for taking an online University course so that I can be certified to teach High School English, along with a host of other things I've been working on clearing up at home -that, and trying to live a normal life while playing squash twice a week, not melting in the 30 plus Celsius temperatures.
There, that's my rant.
So, today's the start of the rainy season, or, as some people describe it; normal life. It's somewhat comical that they've "pinpointed" the exact date that this "season" starts - mainly because today it starts raining, and we're expecting rain on the weekend as well..we could have bright sunshine starting Monday, but "TODAY" is the official kickoff to the rainy season. 'Bout time...I was getting anxious waiting for it to finally start. Here's to hoping we don't have the same flash-flooding that some of the lower lying regions were afflicted with last year.

So, side topic here...for anyone looking for new music, if you haven't heard of a band called "Mumm-Ra" then check them out. Their album is entitled "These Things Move in Three's", and its really quite good. You've probably heard of their song called "She's Got You High" - if you've heard of them, get the rest of the album; definitely worth the ten dollars online with Itunes.


So two weekends ago, I went on a trip to Tokyo with five good friends of mine, all Korean. It was really interesting to spend a short time in a city that's bigger than Seoul population wise, and to realize some of the good aspects of Tokyo over Seoul, and vice versa. For one, Tokyo is not the neon-wasteland that is Seoul- go anywhere in Seoul, any street corner, and you'll see every square centimeter covered in neon signage and letters; quite ugly if you ask me. Tokyo's much cleaner, and the lack of signage makes for a much more beautiful scenery, especially at night.
The other beautiful factor where Tokyo wins hands down over Seoul is in skyline...Seoul has just over 13 million people - however, you think they've got more, because everywhere you look, all you see are ugly-looking identical apartments littering the city-scape. Tokyo's got apartments located all over the place, and nearly none of them look the same. Sure, I've seen much more of Seoul than Tokyo, however, we rode the subway a lot, and I don't think I'm far off.
The one area where Seoul wins hand over fist in the city battle is in public transportation - for us travellers, I've never seen something more complicated than the Tokyo subway network. I'm sure if I'd spent more time figuring it out, then I'd be okay. However, because separate companies each own different subway lines in Tokyo, transferring lines is a capital "B" with an itch...a BIG itch (if you get my drift). For those living, its a piece of cake; for tourists, a different story. It was funny though, because its only in Japanese or English...for once, I was helpful in travelling, because my English was substantially better than my friends, and for once, their Korean couldn't help them travelling.
Last thing in this far-too-long update is that I'll be taking an online University course during the following six weeks. It's somewhat nostalgic to be "going back to school" even though I'll be planted to my apartments at night trying to complete a regular semester course in only six weeks....."cool".... Not my perfect idea of a summer break for when I'm doing summer "English Camp" at school, but I guess somewhat fitting. It should be interesting to see if I can keep up with both teaching and coursework at the same time. Nows the time when I'm grateful for teaching only conversation English, where I don't have marking or testing, say for the occasional extra hassle that comes with being the only foreigner in a public school. It's all good though.
Well, there. If you're happy, do a jumping jack. I've updated. Have a great rest of your week, and don't work too hard
God bless,
me