we found one of these dudes in our house tonight.

( a couple more from takhli )

- went spelunking at some local caves nearby. came out smelling like bat shit. realized about 2 is my limit for cave-exploring interest.

- obtained an ever-growing collection of bruises from kickboxing. can now do a shitload of reclining situps. still can't properly knee someone in the face/groin more than 3 times in a row.

- have won the hearts of my students and co-teachers alike. got a handmade purse from one of my students today. also got extra after-school speech class, because i'm *such* a good teacher.

- family coming to visit in about a month. plans include taking advantage of the fact that we collectively look very thai by getting into every tourist attraction without paying foreigner admission.

- missing home still. mostly san diego, but sometimes (oddly) melbourne. mostly miss food, particularly hot pockets and mexican anything. wish i knew when i was coming back.

san diego street scene '09


as if i didn't miss my california summer enough already. between this, comic con, independence day, and my brother's graduation, it's as if san diego is taunting me with its awesomeness. "hope you're enjoying that overbearingly hot sticky rainy summer in the middle of nowhere, thailand, because over here we're just chillin, watching modest mouse and m.i.a. and girltalk and eating a fish taco and drinking a blue moon. maybe later we'll have a barbecue on the beach but of course after we get baked. whatever dude."

wah, wah, i miss home.

me: "class, can you tell me some of your favorite hobbies?"
nut: "smooooking!" (points at mix, another student across the room)

[class gasps, and laughs. as a matter of fact, i did see mix the other day outside of the market smoking a cigarette.]

me: "uh. ok. so nut, what is your favorite hobby?"
nut: "i like to-"
mix: "MASTURBATION!"

me: "j, what is your favorite hobby?"
j: "i like looking mens!" [he and another female student high five]
me: "looking at men, j. looking at men."

j is a boy in my class who wears powder on his face and a bright shade of red lip gloss. j would later on recount to me in broken english his fantasy of being a passenger of a handsome boy on a motorbike, wrapping his arms around him, leaning upon his muscular shoulder, and placing his life in his hands as he'd skillfully navigate his way through traffic, speeding down the highway as the sun set.

i love my thai students.

when i got to korea, i intended to start taking taekwondo classes. i figured i could immerse myself in a unique cultural experience, get fit, and perhaps collect a few good stories along the way. but i never did. every time i thought to sign up with one of the ubiquitous tkd schools around the neighborhood, an all-too-convenient excuse would get in the way, and thus i went through an entire year without it.

what finally deterred me from taking classes was a friend of mine who had been doing it for a while, and described the way her instructor would "train" them. basically, each step toward a belt was something like a dance routine she had to memorize, and there was little to no actual sparring to be done, at least in the levels i'd be in. so maybe that's not the proper way people learn it in schools back home, but it was a common thing i'd hear in korea. and the first degree black belt is apparently not even that advanced anyway. it was disappointing, so i didn't pursue it much further.

fast forward a year later, and i'm in thailand and high off my first muay thai lesson. this isn't what you'd call a "real" school, but a guy who trains fighters out of a makeshift shed in his backyard. so far he's sent 3 nationwide champions to bangkok. and he apparently also trains fighting roosters. he started us off jumping rope and immediately brought us into the ring for some kicks and punches. i'd attempt the one two punch, kick method, then a teenage girl would demonstrate the proper way to do it while i stood off to the side looking pitiful. old weathered men reliving their glory days in the ring sat around drinking beers and watching us as i practiced swift kicks to the kidneys and kneeing someone in the head. then i was given a ratty old pair of boxing shorts. and all on my first day.

why haven't i gotten into this earlier? no wonder guys like beating the crap out of each other when they're drunk- laying in some punches and kicks is some serious fun. though i wouldn't want to take on any of the kids at the school anytime soon.. they're fucking fierce!

whoa, looks like north korea has gotten into one of its little moods recently. is the rest of the world feeling the way i am, torn between exasperation, frustration, and fear? it's like the spoiled brat you've been babysitting who's suddenly gotten hold of a kitchen knife. or, you know, weapons of mass (worldwide) destruction.

well, at least i am far away from seoul now.

...in fact, i am far away from most things now. the town where i live is called takhli, in what is considered the north of thailand. there are no major retail chains here, though there is one KFC and a 7-11. it's a place you may drive by without much of a thought. like most places in irvine if it was really poor instead. or oxnard.

last i heard, there are about 6 foreigners here, though apparently i don't really count because everyone thinks that i am thai anyway. it's nice in that i'm never hassled (until they see rich, that is) and i can fake it enough to pay local prices sometimes. but it confuses everybody and complicates simple situations. and rich easily loses me in crowds too.

so it's four months here, and i guess it looks like i'll be doing a lot of reading. hopefully writing too, finally.

the beginning of may saw us endure a grueling 4 day training and orientation for our new jobs in bangkok. the teaching gigs in thailand seem to be a lot more slack than back in korea, though i worry about how i'm going to handle a classroom of 40 17 year-olds.

but anyway, while we were in bangkok i was able to see my two buddies from china/laos/thailand adventures back in '07, tommi and kazu for a couple of nights. seems like bangkok is where people always end up eventually. randomly, we also ran into a czech guy who was in our same dorm on our ski trip back in february, and last night at a hostel back in bangkok i saw an old face from korea. small world.

anyway, after training rich and i headed south for ko samui. apparently it's supposed to be the touristy honeymooner package that backpackers tend to avoid, but who's complaining? we also avoided the full moon party at the last minute, opting instead for a quiet night in with a few bottles of beer. maybe we're just getting old.

the morning after the full moon party, we boarded a boat heading back to the mainland to catch a bus up to bangkok. the boat, upon reaching the pier, was full of bleary eyed, crusty toed, crappily tattooed, stinky, sunburnt backpackers returning from the beach rave the night before. many of them were missing shoes, shirts, and looked a bit worse for the wear. but i'm sure we didn't look much better after our 3 hour ferry, 8 hour bus ride to bangkok (arriving at the convenient hour of 3 am), subsequent 9 hour bus ride to the thai/lao border, and the inevitable dealing with touts on either end.

long story short, we are now in laos. the beer is cheap and probably the best you can hope to find in southeast asia, and a steak dinner is available for a mere $5. we're here for a visa run for our new jobs, but will stay for a couple of days to wallow in inexpensive hedonism. the last time i was in laos back in 2007, i remember staying in a dingy old room for $2 and not being able to afford a $4 pizza. now we've decided to splash out on a room in one of the nicest hotels in the city. oh what a year in korea can do. somehow i've shed my old cheap backpacker ways and turned bourgoise. just as i've always feared.

sigh. vientiane calls.

i saw this:



for free.




( story )

thailand was crazy- not because of the protests and riots, but because of the songkran festival. more on that later. maybe.

the philippines is just as hot, chaotic, dirty, and lovely as i remember it. we're in palawan now on what's supposed to be a relaxing getaway, but of course it wouldn't be the philippines without tropical storms and constant power shortages ("brown outs") that can last for hours on a part of the island that only has electricity at certain times of the day anyway. that, and our bus nearly got caught in the mud during our ride back to puerto princesa. the driver kept revving the engine, seemingly making the situation worse, but fortunately we didn't have to get out and push, unlike another unlucky party we passed on the road.

some things i love about the philippines:

-a disturbing adoration for cheesy 80s ballads. every place has videoke, with your resident drunk wailing out his very own rendition of air supply's "even the nights are better" and sting's "englishman in new york." on our 8 hour bus ride yesterday the driver insisted on blaring contemporary pop ballads the entire way, and while the westerners in the van groaned, the filipinos happily hummed along with celine dion.

-eating five times a day. i usually snack throughout the day, so being in new zealand and being limited to square balanced meals kind of got to me. poor rich has been stuffed from the moment he got off the plane. and the filipinos are unapologetic in their love for all things sweet, spicy, and garlicky. the more sarap, the better. who could argue with that?

-eating with a spoon and fork. i was raised this way, and taught to shovel rice onto a spoon using the backside of a fork. it makes perfect and complete sense, and it wasn't until i started going to visit boyfriends' families that i realized that most people don't eat that way. a fork and a knife, what the fuck? what kind of surface area can you get with the backside of a fork? it just looks so prissy to me, but i had to play along so as not to look like some dirty brown savage. it's great being able to shovel food again, but western tourists here still insist on eating rice with a fork. seriously, rice with a fork?

-being lazy. it's perfectly acceptable to plan your entire day around lying on your ass fanning yourself (and eating, of course). i can support that.

-filipino time. you'll show up when you show up, and no one will argue with you. i've made high-stake bets with rich over bus schedules and plane arrivals knowing i'd absolutely win, because nothing is ever on time. which is fine, because instead of rushing about, that's more time to sit on your ass, fanning yourself. or eating.

it's back to cebu tomorrow, and hopefully bohol afterward. it's been a lifelong (7 year) desire of mine to see tarsiers, and i'm determined to cup one of these creatures in the palm of my hand and grin like an idiot for a photo.


this is a tarsier.

jobs are hard to come by these days. even fruit picking just ain't as lucrative as it once was. I was able to find a job (dun dun dun...) waitressing at a fancy asian restaurant/bar, but I feel only lukewarm about the job. tasty menu though..

something about new zealand just doesn't seem to click though.. it's fun so far (we completed the abel tasman coastal trek the other day, kayaking half of it) but it's a bit more expensive than we planned, and stressing about money and where we're gonna get it all the time is a pain. so rich and I decided, after much debate, that perhaps our interests would best be served abroad, preferably somewhere more affordable.

looks like we are headed to southeast asia once more. maybe we will teach english again, but all I really want right now are cheap spicy noodles and my grandma's good old home cookin.

location: nelson, nz mood: excited music: modest mouse

so i've completed my second tramp through new zealand, this time much longer but also much more enjoyable. we did the queen charlotte walkway, which takes you through the most scenic areas of the marlborough sounds, located at the top of the north island. it was a relatively good walk, though strenuous at times, and now my feet are feeling every last meter of that 71k.

(USA i'm sorry, but i've gone all metric)

now i am in nelson, which is a chilled out town situated near abel tasman national park. next on the agenda is a rock climbing excursion on the cliffs of golden bay, and yet another tramp/kayak through the abel tasman coastal route, this time only 51k.

unfortunately, NZ is weighing heavier on my pockets than anticipated especially since i'm not on the USD anymore. so it's time to get down to some serious job hunting. i'd like to stay in nelson if possible, but otherwise the plan is to head down to blenheim, aka wine country. time for some grape pickin'!

so i now know what 19km over mountains and volcanos feels like.

we did the tongariro alpine crossing yesterday, which is touted as "NZ's best one-day walk." unfortunately, the weather decided to be a dick, and so it rained on us pretty much the whole time. my boots, my clothes, and more importantly, the journal i've been keeping for the past 3 years now are all soaked.

on a good day, however, we would have been able to see mt. ngaurahoe, also known as this:



anyway, i'm still a bit sore, and am now in wellington.

i am still in tauranga, which, while lovely, has begun to wear on me. it's a really beautiful small town not unlike santa barbara (though not as bourgey) in parts, but still a bit small town for a city girl like me. melbourne was definitely more my speed.

anyway, since my last update, i have:
.. gone boating on the volcano lake of tarawera, exploring hot springs
.. spent a day in rotorua at a maori village
.. lazed around the spa bath a lot
.. met a lot more of rich's family, ate a lot of farm dinners at home (lots of venison and kiwis)
.. explored more of the farm (while wearing gumboots, of course)- there are a lot more sheep on the property than i thought. while walking back from a nearby waterfall, we encountered one of the palomino horses, a bit jittery at our presence. we quickly climbed over a fence, only to see a big group of deer headed by a huge scary stag with whom we had the misfortune of finding ourselves in the same paddock.
.. bought a car! it's an older nissan station wagon, and a hardy little vehicle that'll suit us well as we drive along the countryside.

at the farm, there's only dial up, hence the sporadic entries. anyway, hopefully we're taking off tomorrow morning, making our way down to wellington. woo.

a quick update- i am now in the land of sheep. we're currently staying at rich's mum's place in tauranga, which is located on the bay of plenty. she lives on a beautiful farm on a big hill overlooking the city, lush green hills, and the pacific ocean. there are horses and sheep in the front yard, deer in the back, fresh laid eggs for breakfast every morning and farm-picked fruits and vegetables readily available. i don't think i've ever been anywhere so serene and picturesque.

last night for dinner we had green mussels, which in new zealand cost $2 a kilo. dudes, that's like $3USD for a pound. add on to that some fine sauv blanc (from marlborough, nonetheless) at $7 a bottle (keeping in mind that it's almost $2NZD to $1USD), and you've got quite a satisfying holiday.

this weekend, rich's mum is taking us to the lake on their boat. we may even be able to go for a horse ride through the hills. what the hell? the travel brochures we've picked up advertise trips and farmstays exactly like this, and we get it all for free. i don't know how things have ended up working out so well, but i'm a lucky bastard indeed.

we also test drove a car (here they let you take vehicles home over night!) - even though it's an automatic, it's a decent ride i guess.

so far so good, new zealand eh?

sometimes looking at old classmates' profiles on facebook really makes me wish i had a cool job.

but i guess working hard at a stupid job and then being unemployed for a long period of time has its benefits too.

oh yeah, today i saw kangaroos.



( more from the land down under )

the girl in the next apartment is apparently engaged in a telephone argument. if you've ever heard a hysterical, whiny korean chick flip out at someone, you'd know how grating it can be on the ears. i wish i could upload a sound byte of what i'm being subjected to (and i'm not even the one being yelled at!). at best i might describe it as a cat fight blended with sobs, hella screaming, and the petulant moans of a child who's been denied candy. guess *someone* had a crappy valentine's day!

in other news, i leave korea tomorrow. tomorrow. i have been living here for over a year, and suddenly it's all coming to an end. it's another chapter ending, another one beginning, i suppose.

in less than 48 hours, i will be in melbourne. the temperature there is a sunny 26C (78F), whereas seoul is blanketed in a frosty -5C (23F). not a bad tradeoff- with the exception of the fires, of course.

well. here's to another start.

so... they ripped out part of my gums, i've got another appointment on monday (my 6th or 7th, by now i've lost count), and my root canal saga continues.
plus, my boyfriend had two wisdom teeth pulled out... korean style. meaning they drilled into his teeth, hammered them until they broke into pieces, and yanked them out. he was in a lot of pain yesterday, his face is half swollen, and worse yet, he can't drink for another week.

oh yeah, next friday he has to go in for yet another wisdom tooth adventure. so make that two weeks.

i fear for my own budding wisdom tooth, and apparently so does my mother. when i spoke (whimpered) about the possibility of getting rid of it here (where removal is like, $100 a tooth) my mom screamed at me over the phone, "DON'T DO IT THERE! GET IT DONE HERE!"

so anyway, that kills two of our last three weekends in seoul. though we've been doing well with the no-drinking policy by admiring traditional korean folk culture, exploring the city on foot, and ...watching disney movies at night while our friends are out at bars having fun.

in other news, i got my new zealand work visa! the countdown to the southern hemisphere continues.

my tooth still hurts, a lot. it's been a week and a half, and the root canal isn't even over yet. this is insane.
in addition, i may need to get that irksome wisdom tooth pulled, as i can ignore it no longer.
speaking of wisdom teeth, rich has to get 3 pulled out on friday. looks like we'll be living off soups and smoothies until we leave the country.

and while we're on the topic of utter discomfort, i downloaded twilight yesterday to see what all the fuss was about.

mood: aggravated