Naming students...

Neal, one of the funnier teachers here at ECC, has told me that the greatest joy I will get from teaching here will be from naming the new students who come here each month. I've only had one so far, and I pussied out and named her Holly, but I'd imagine as my level of comfort grows I'll be a little more saucy with the monikers I dish out.

One of my favorite students--and definitely my favorite name-- is a 10 year-old boy named Merpit. When I first got the roll sheet, I had to ask several people why there was a student named Merpit in my class. It turns out that two teachers made a bet two years ago over who would be the first to name a student "Merpit", and ever since then, the kid stuck with the name has embraced its absurdity. The first day of class I asked him whether or not he'd like me to give him a more regular name, but he genuinely feels like a Merpit at this point, I guess. Smart kid, too.

Batman comes in a close second, but he doesn't have the charm of Merpit. I've been making a rough list of names that I'd like to see used by the end of my tenure here, and I'm writing this post primarily to ask for your suggestions, since I'm sure you have many of them. "Duder" and "Broseph", of course, are high on my list, but I probably don't need to tell you that.

The view from the rooftop of ECC...

More pictures pertaining to previous post...

This is my postcard shot from Taejongdae. Feel my tranquility.

I was told that this is the harbor where you catch a boat to Japan, but I might be mistaken.

These fish don't have much time to live...

Nampo-dong houses the Pusan International Film Festival, not to mention these street vendors who dance to techno music and sometimes yell at foreigners walking by (at least in my case). So far, this is the craziest street I've walked down in Korea.

Like I was saying, to be a fish in Jagalchi is to understand the brevity of life... and yes, I'm going to need to work up the courage to eat here, but it'll happen eventually

Pictures are up...

Large statues of Starcraft characters pose outside of a children's arcade

A famous statue of Admiral Yi overlooks the city of Pusan (and my tour bus)

Admiral Yi again, along with Busan Tower

If you need an artificial limb, this is totally the best deal in town

Busan Station and an anonymous vendor

I've been very busy over the past couple of days, making it hard to write a legit update for everyone. I can tell you that last night I went to the most spectacular Korean franchise bar/restaurant last night with some other teachers; you might ask, "What makes this Korean franchise bar/restaurant spectacular?" I would then tell you that each night, seemingly at a random time, the lights will go out and a loud techno version of "Happy Birthday" will play over the loudspeakers. Then strobe lights positioned at the corners of the room will start flashing, and out of the corner of your eye you will see two grown men--one in a dog costume and the other dressed as a chef with a giant head--running around to each table to dance in front of those seated. Periodically an MC will come over the loudspeakers and shout something entirely incomprehensible, but then again, I don't speak Korean. There's no rhyme or reason, but apparently whichever table screams the loudest for the costumed dancers gets a free round of soju. When I eventually become wealthy beyond all belief, I plan on opening a place exactly like this in the St. Louis area.

Back to my main point, I posted a bunch of pictures related to my past posts, and on this post, you can see some lovely shots documenting my Sunday excursion through Jagalchi, Mt. Yongdu Park, and Taejongdae. I promise to give you a thorough description of goings-on when things settle down here in SoKo.

(P.S. Leave some comments. I sometimes feel like I'm writing to air.)

I should add that this was on the TV when I woke up this morning...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118645/

When I look back on why I had such a good day today, I can only assume it was because of this.

Prepare yourselves...

Tonight's my last night in the love motel, so you will all be served a dish of fine photography courtesy my laptop sometime in the next 48 hours. Included will be newly-taken pictures of the Jagalchi Fish Market, where I tried to get a close-up of the single grossest carcass available (and there were many). Ever see someone take a knife to a live octopus? I have!

You'll also be thrilled by action shots of me cooking bulgolgi and duck at a buffet, also in Jagalchi; at said restaurant, there's an entire assortment of fresh meat that you cook yourself on a heated plate at your table. Like any buffet, they also had an assortment of food that didn't require you braving the hot plate, and to my delight, some nice and plump tater-tots were one of the available dishes. Amazing, and only 8000 won for the experience.

I also hit up the area of Pusan where they hold the International Film Festival in October... probably the most insanely-busy street that I've ever walked down. I'll describe things in much more detail tomorrow when I'm not in the environs of Oops! PC, but tonight I have to get to sleep a little earlier so I can move in before school.