Back in Korea!

Hey everybody,
I’m back in South Korea in Jochiwon teaching the Korean youth of tomorrow once again. It is cold here, like really cold here right now. It’s 33 degrees today, a bit warmer, and there is snow on the ground. South Korea is actually the same latitude as Ohio, so the weather is pretty much the same.
In my class this time I have 6-8 year olds and I have the lowest level English speakers, so there is a lot more energy being expunged on my behalf this go around. The kids are ridiculously cute kids at least, my student Stella is the most adorable. She basically doesn’t understand most things I say, she simply smiles with her big chubby cheeks and nods. I could probably tell her she was on fire and this would be her exact response. It is fun to be back in Korea, I did miss it a little and I missed the food. No live octopus yet though, saving that one for a rainy day here.
I had my first Christmas away from home in Macua, a small republic of China much like Hong Kong and very near it to. Though it is considered China they have their own system of government, their own currency, and even have Portuguese as their second language which is pretty interesting. I met up with two of my friends from Cincinnati here that live and work in Macua. Macau is the Las Vegas of Asia, almost exactly, big casinos, all the lights, the whole works. My friend Shannon is the head of the hair, wig, and make up department for Cirque De Soleil and my other friend Veronica is an executive chef for the Hard Rock in the one casino. So I ate well and hung out with circus people for most of my stay, pretty fun Christmas. I spent New Years with a fairly new group of people/teachers, with the exception of my counterpart Steve, in Daejeon, South Korea. We had a good time to say the least and now I have officially begun my 2012 in Asia.
2012 is looking good, I have many friends coming to visit and many journeys that lay ahead. February is looking like Vietnam, March looks like Russia, May-June is looking like Southeast Asia, and that is just the first part. I’m getting excited for one of my best buds Mark meeting next month and one of my other best friends Dave meeting me in May. You can’t ask for better traveling compadres than these guys. I hope everyone is having a great new year and is staying warm. Until the next time…

Long Overdue Pics of Epic Nepal

Monkey Temple

Kathmandu

Trekking the Langtang trail through the Himalayas

Getting higher and higher up..

My first glacier!

Safari time. Rhino prints, Tiger prints