Interesting Article....

From the Korea Times:

Koreans Lack Confidence in English Communication.

Last Week...

With another week off before the new semester begins, I started looking for ways to fill up the time (that didn't involve watching TV). Having heard about a "Fire Festival" on Jeju Island, Stu and I rallied the troops and decided to head over for a weekend.

Since Ty had to work on Saturday morning (boooo!), I went over with Garrett and a girl, Victoria, who I'd met once over a year and a half ago, while I was living in Suncheon. She's back in Korea and I ended up discovering a new friend - sometimes, you just click, you know?

We arrived at the Gwangju airport with about 15 minutes to spare before our plane would leave.... only to discover that our tickets had been given to someone else. Frustrated (we'd ended up being led astray on the wrong bus, then taken a slow-ish taxi to the airport), we put our names on all the waiting lists for the next flights out. In an "Amazing Race"-type moment, we got on the next flight with, literally, 10 minutes to run through security and on to the plane. But, we made it:

Finally on the plane! Look how happy we are!

Stu and Ha-young were waiting for us at the Jeju airport with a rental car, and they brought us to our beach-side cottage. What a nice place to stay (okay, the three of us were sleeping on blankets on the floor, but still...), and a view of the ocean to greet us on Saturday morning.

View from the cottage...

Jeju is an island of fun fun fun.... so without much ado, we piled into the car and headed off to a big hedge maze. Hitting it at a run, we all scattered to get lost and found throughout, but eventually all made it to the end....

Garrett, Stu and Ha-young in the maze

and then we were off to the next event: ATV-ing!

Very high (and very chilly) winds made for an interesting wardrobe and a constant spray of dust and sand in our faces, but we still had a very good time. The ATVs were automatic, which made them so much easier to ride (no thinking of gears and such) and, unlike motorbikes, no balance required.

ATV-ing - lovely outfits, the whole gang parked on a hill, and my "after" pic, caked in dust.

We continued around the island to Seogwipo, and a brief walk on the rocks...

Stu in Seogwipo

...then a stand-up snack/lunch before going on to one of the most incredible places I've ever seen. The funny thing is that I'd been here last summer when I came with my motorbike, but had decided not to walk as far as we did this time. Had I stepped forward another few metres, I would have found these amazing sandstone cliffs....

In and on the cliffs...

It was absolutely magical - the cliffs have been carved out by wind and time, the water reaches right up to where you are walking, and every new turn reveals new formations and shapes to be wondered at. It was too cold to spent much time sitting around - but this is definitely a place I want to see again.

Stopping for coffee, we wondered if the fire festival would even happen. The winds were strong enough to knock us off our feet. We decided to go to the festival grounds to see if anything was happening, then decide from there. What is supposed to happen is this: A big huge hill is set on fire to prepare it for the new growing season - would it happen in strong winds?

We parked the car at the festival grounds and started walking - it was agonizingly cold and windy. Wrapped like mummies, we trucked down to the hill then, as our faces froze, decided that we were not going to wait around and headed back to Jeju City for supper (pizza - yay!) and a movie (Atonement - woooo). During supper, we found out that the burning had been canceled at the last minute, which made us feel a bit better for wimping out.

The next day, Stu, Ha-young and Victoria left to head back to the mainland, leaving me and Garrett with another (much less windy) day to kill until our ferry back to Mokpo. We'd decided to try to find the "Sex and Health Museum" -- as a popular Honeymoon destination, Jeju is full of rather sexy things, like erotic sculptures and the like. You know, there's nothing awkward at all about visiting a sex museum with a male friend... hahaha. I don't think that there are any pictures that I can actually show of my visit around the sex museum because, you know, my mom reads my blog.

Looking for the sex museum... Garrett poses with snow-capped Hallasan (Jeju's volcano) in the background.

After some shopping in and around Jeju City, we headed back to the ferry terminal and were pretty much first in line for the FIVE HOURS OF BONECRUSHING BOREDOM that is the Jeju-Mokpo ferry. It's always such a let-down after a fun weekend on Jeju. All the Koreans on board drink enough soju to sink a ship, then sing until they are hoarse. There are literally people crashing into you in the hallway as they stagger about. Sleep is next to impossible. But, you eventually get home...

And I did get home, but only for a grand total of 12 hours before I was running out the door to go to Busan to fill out an extra form for my new passport. Monday was mostly spent on the bus from Mokpo to Busan (imagine crossing an entire country from west to east for about $25 - still love the ease of transportation here). I was quite happy to be staying with my friend Kristin (Steve's girlfriend) and was over the moon to discover that she had another visitor, Kirsten, one of my friends from Suncheon who I hadn't seen in ages. We drank wine, ate chocolate and cheese and girl-talked until after midnight - what an awesome evening.

Tuesday was one of those cold, miserable, rainy days... and I was stuck with the daunting task of locating the Canadian Consulate. First, I had to take the subway for over an hour to the ass-end of nowhere, then wander around a desolate industrial area until I found a certain chemical factory, where the Canadian Consulate in Busan has office space. I was a bit like "What the--? How can *this* be the location of the Canadian Consulate???" (actually, the Americans don't even have another Consulate or Embassy outside of Seoul so, um, yay for Canada for taking care of its expats) Everyone was super friendly and helpful and as I left, the rain stopped and the sun came out...

by the way, Meron, I'm getting a 45-page passport because I filled my 24-page passport in only 2 years!!

That evening, Kirsten and I met up with my friend Jack for Indian food (ohhh yum) and hilarious conversation before heading off to the Paradise Hotel Casino to meet Kristin and some of her friends.

Right... a bit of background: There are casinos in Korea, but they cater only to foreigners. Korean citizens are not allowed to play there. It is pretty unfair. I'd say that they are mostly set up for Japanese and Chinese gamblers, but end up attracting a fair number of ESL teachers too. We had free drinks all night, and even free food and cigarettes too!

It had been a long time since I'd been in a casino (probably the old one in Niagara Falls, probably with Al, and probably playing roulette), and I was psyched! I started my evening by playing the slots, where I lost miserably. What a disappointment! So, Kirsten and I headed over to the $5 blackjack table, where Kristin was and just started watching....

... and left 4 hours later, having won back all the money we played and then some.

It was a fun evening - I'd never played blackjack in a casino before (too intimidating, especially when you are like, "Oh, I'm showing 15... umm... hit... no...stay... nooo... hit. Um, what do *you* think I should do?" to the dealer. We were helped along by Kristin (until she headed out, having to work the next day) and her other friends who told us when to hit, stay, double etc.

As I've been writing this out, it's occurred to me that I just had a wickedly awesome week of grown-up play. ATV-ing and blackjack and good food and good friends. I've gone from one end of Korea to the other (literally), I've enjoyed magical natural beauty and crazy sexy exhibits, I've met up with old friends and made new ones, I've been lost in a maze of hedges and a maze of paperwork, I've been hit by wind, rain, snow and sun, I've traveled by bus, car, subway, plane and ferry...

Yup. Two years here and I still feel blessed.

No Rest for the Wicked...

After an absolutely glorious fun (but rather chilly) weekend on the island of Jeju, and a brief 12-hour stopover at home, I am off to Busan for the next three days.

Expect a long update and a ton of photos when I get back.

Graduation Day (and a ride in a police car)

Today was Graduation Day at Seosan Elementary. The Grade 6s are moving up to Middle School, while the kindy kids are moving up to... well, Grade 1, I guess.

It was a typical Korean ceremony - men in suits on stage, three different national anthems, endless speeches, bunches of flowers, but also a really different, and nice, graduation format.

Once the kids had all received their diplomas and awards and various gifts, they each, in turn, addressed a family member who was sitting behind them - or their homeroom teacher if, sadly, no family member was present - and said something along the lines of: Thank you, Mom/Dad/Grandma, for supporting me in my studies, I love you. Then, the parent would take the microphone and address the child... It was really really sweet. One of my students, Lee Sang-su, was addressed by his grandmother, and she seemed to be talking about Sang-su's mother - and he was crying, and she was crying, and it was just an interesting experience to have in a country where showing naked emotion is not always a part of the culture.

Song-min rocks his traditional man's hanbok

Little ladies: Kitten and the girl who always asks for a hug show off their very ornate hanbok

In a cute overload moment, the kindy kids, who were all in traditional dress, also addressed their parents. Kitten, who is only 4 years old, was way too shy to speak in the microphone (this is after she bounced up to the dias for her diploma), so her father picked her up and hugged her and she whispered in his ear... I mean, how cute is this?

The audience was made up of the Satan spawn Grade 5 class, and I kept them busy by taking their photos...

Oh suuuure... they look cute, but they are evil...

... and they can smell fear.

... Once the ceremony was over, I was free to go. The new school year starts on March 3, and I've got the next week and a half off. I've decided to use this "free time" to get my passport renewed. First step, was getting my photo taken....something which should have taken all of 15 minutes....

I got the pictures taken, and waited for them to be processed. They gave them to me (with a keychain with the same picture in it for free - how cool!), but I noticed that they'd been retouched - my skin was much lighter than natural, nice even tone... hey! That's not me! I told them that they would have to do it again, and showed them (again) the half-page of regulations that Canada asks for with passport photos, including very specific demands for size of photo, size of face, etc.... They brought me unretouched versions of the pictures, but the size was still wrong - Instead of head and shoulders, it was a full torso, with smaller head/shoulder shots where my head was too small (for regulations) and where it would have been impossible to stamp and sign the back.

Attempting to explain this proved nearly impossible - they didn't want to do the pictures again, and kept insisting that they were okay.... then again, they had photoshopped the first version! I mean, who changes a passport picture? It isn't even legal!

I decided to just ask for my money back (W25,000), which they refused. One of the ajosshis behind the counter just started ranting at me, and said that he would only listen if I spoke to him in Korean. Oooookay. I started again, "Munjae issoyo" (there is a problem) and he flipped out and shouted, "Munjae opsoyo!" (there is no problem), then walked away. Well, so much for Korean....

I walked out of the store and... the police station on the corner caught my eye.... Two minutes later, I was telling what happened to a dozen (I am not kidding... they must have been super-bored because everyone in the cop shop was listening with rapt attention) Korean police officers. One of them came back to the photo place with me and helped me get the pictures that I needed... but not before Mr Ihateforeigners ranted at me a few more times. Fingers crossed that the photos are acceptable to the Canadian Consulate.

Anyway, as we left the photo place, Police Officer Yu asked me where I was going now. And I was like, "Home". A minute later, I was in the front seat of a police car, getting a lift home.

My friend Helen in Suncheon used to call Korea "Uppy-Downy World", and she's 100% right. One second, you're enjoying a completely new experience... the next, you're baffled... the next, you're an 'ugly foreigner'... the next, you're treated to extreme kindness. I can't think of another place where stuff like this happens every day.

Haha - I re-read my bitter post from yesterday and had to laugh. Yes, it's frustrating to know that I have to do all this paperwork and running around, but I've got time on my side, and no choice in the matter, so complaining won't solve anything.

Yes, they are wearing their winter coats in class... it's *that* cold in my language lab.

First off, a quick pic of my Grade 3 students in the chaotic Valentine's cards creation and exchange. Believe it or not, it took three class periods to colour, write names on, cut out and give 8 cards each! The board shows their names written in English, not Korean... because they had to address each card in English.

Me and Mrs Myeong - my lifesaver on most days. The soju bottle in the corner is in my principal's hand as she tries to pour me another drink....

My VP, pouring a drink for the Grade 6 teacher while Ms Go, the Grade 5 teacher waits for hers. The poster in the background cracks me up - it's advertising a "male stamina" drink and shows a row of urinals, and one has a hole blasted through it. Umm, yeah. By the way, that's the drink that my VP is pouring...

As there are teachers changing schools for the new school year, we went out for supper last night. I asked before accepting the invitation "Gogi? Yachae?" ("Meat? Vegetables") and was reassured that there would be lots of yachae for me to eat and that it would be very mashisoyo (delicious).

WRONG!

Side dishes, including grated raw radish, cold egg souffle, a dismembered crab, raw cabbage, slimey seaweed (actually not that bad), marinated garlic, random raw "I don't know, lives in sea", octopus tentacles...

The food on the table was mostly raw seafood, eaten with sauces and wrapped in raw cabbage (okay, okay, cabbage is a vegetable). No problem, I thought, they'll surely have that staple of every Korean meal, rice. Nope. No rice. No rice? What? I was able to eat a bit of the side dishes, including some marinated maeshil, Korean plums in hot sauce - which tastes better than it sounds, and raw, boiled, and marinated cabbage.

Me and Mr Shin

I was really sad to learn that Mr Shin, my head teacher and my "problem solver" at school is leaving. He's the one who takes me to the doctor when I am sick (after I've taught all my classes for the day, naturally), who asks me about Ty, then blushes, who deals with me when I'm acting like a petulant 4-year old, who sends me home early (on days that I haven't already left early on my own...). He's very calm, always smiling... and I'm really going to miss him!

The Week Thus Far....

Welcome to "Graduation Week": A week of classes that comes sandwiched between 6 weeks of winter vacation and 2 weeks of spring vacation, just before the new school year starts on March 3. Does it make any sense to be here? In a word: NO. The students have already done their exams (like, back in December) and have, in all essence, completed their school year.

The kids hate to be back (except for the wee ones, since school is still "fun" for them), the teachers hate to be back, and - hell yeah - I'm really hating the fact that I'm sitting in an un-heated classroom (and it's cold!), waiting for students who may or may not arrive, when I could have been in Cambodia for another week. Some schools have given their foreign English teachers the week off, some have given a half week, some expect the person to come in and not teach, basically sitting in the office from 9 to 5.

Knowing, from the Canadian side, what the start of a new school year is like, I can just imagine how busy my Korean colleagues are right now. In Canada, most teachers find themselves at school about two weeks (for preparation, meetings etc) before the students start - I feel bad for the Korean teachers who are, essentially, juggling classes full of very unmotivated students and meetings full of administrative stuff.

Fortunately for me, Valentine's Day falls in this week, so I've been doing a lot of fun Valentine's things with my kids - making fish out of hearts, colouring cards, vocabulary games - and while it is fun (especially when I taught my Grade 3s the Sharon, Lois and Bram "Skinnamarink" song and had them sing it to their ajosshi (older male) teacher, who smiled and danced with glee as they sang), it certainly isn't necessary for me to be here. But I digress...

I'm going to be signing my third contract soon. It's amazing how quickly the time is flying: Sometimes, I am still surprised to be here, in Korea.

This next contract, however, is causing me some stress. Criminal behaviour by Canadian ESL teachers in Korea (a suspected pedophile, people caught with drugs) means that I'm going to have to get even more paperwork done to renew my contract. It frustrates me to know that, for example, because people came here with fake or incomplete degrees, I have had to prove four times, not including a spot-check a few months ago, that my diplomas were real (means multiple notarized copies of my degrees, and multiple copies of my university transcripts - which necessitated numerous e-mails, phone calls and faxes to get.... each step is always a tangle of red tape and the whole process is an expensive one). It frustrates me that, after 2 years in Korea, I will need to get a new RCMP criminal check done (even though I had one done in January 2006 and haven't lived in Canada since). It frustrates me that, because I am a foreigner, I will be tested for THC (active ingredient in cannabis). It frustrates me that, over the next three months, my life will be all about getting paperwork done, documents stamped, going back and forth to the Canadian Embassy in Seoul.... with a fee to pay every time I need something else, so that the Korean government can look like they are "doing something" about the "problems with English teachers"... (If I were them, I'd give spelling tests instead of drug tests...half the "teachers" here can't differentiate "you're" and "your".)

And on that note.... Happy Valentine's Day!

Where is Namdaemun?

Last night, one of Korea's most symbolic structures was burned down. Namdaemun, the 600-year-old historic South Gate of the city of Seoul was completely destroyed (except for the granite base) in 5 hours.

Asking my Korean friends and colleagues about this... well, they are very sad to say the least. All items of cultural or historical significance are numbered (you might pass something in a museum or temple with a label like "Cultural Property #412" on it) - and Namdaemun was #1. Also, given that so many of Korea's structures, palaces and temples had to be rebuilt following occupation and destruction by the Japanese, it must hurt doubly to know that this fire was deliberately set. Word on the street is that it was done by an older Korean man.... but who knows for sure? I just hope that it wasn't set by a foreigner, since the last thing we need is any more bad press.

I think this image, from a Korean website, best shows the size and scope of the destruction. Yes, those are city buses driving past. By the way, the title of this blog refers to a chapter in my Grade 5 textbook.

Ummm... SURPRISE!

Something about being a blonde in a world of dark-haired ladies (especially when blonde dye has to be imported from Canada) makes you want to just blend in....

Before

The dual process of red, then (light?) brown - instructions are all in Korean, of course

I'm a little bit orange here...

The final product - darker than I wanted, but fully expect it to fade eventually.

The Cambodia Experience

I've just now returned from Cambodia - Ty is there for another 9 days - and what an amazing country!!! I so wish that I'd had more time there, but I have to work on Monday. Here's the run-down of everything we did and saw while we were there:

Saturday, February 2: We drop Jakob off in Ty's (empty) apartment to facilitate cat-sitters, then grab the train to Seoul. We arrive early enough at the airport to be among the first to check in - which we believe allowed us to be upgraded to Business Class!

Business Class seats are *this* big!

We partake of the free beer and wine... and are pleasantly surprised (and a bit giggly) when the plane waitresses ask us to fill in an evaluation of the service!
We arrive in Siem Reap and get our moto-remorque (picture a scooter pulling a cart with seats in it) to our guest-house. We sit on the balcony, listening to the constant bustle of the street below....

Sunday, February 3: Instead of heading straight to Angkor Wat, we explore the town of Siem Reap, finding ourselves on a dusty (and a bit dodgy) street which happily leads us to a gorgeous luxury hotel (that we decide to stay in for one night later in the week) and the Butterfly Cafe, where we devour some delicious food, sitting in the garden and delighting in the atmosphere.

At the Butterfly Cafe - no butterflies in these pics, unfortunately

We head to Angkor Wat for the sunset, which also allows us to get our passes for the next three days.
Having only seen it in pictures, I find myself unprepared for the sheer enormity of the place, which we barely see a fraction of over the next 3 days. It's absolutely indescribable - crumbling or re-built temples, crowds of tourists (or sometimes nobody at all), kids trying to sell you everything, moto-remorque traffic jams. I try to imagine what it must have been like when it was first re-discovered by the French... the Cambodians knew it was there all along.

Inside Angkor Wat

We walk through a few of the main areas of Angkor Wat - but as it "closes" at 5:30, we have to leave before seeing too much. It's a first taste of what we both came to see.

Monday, February 4: We awake at the ungodly hour of 4:30 am for our sun rise balloon ride over Angkor Wat.

In the balloon over Angkor Wat.

It's a massive balloon, tethered to a 200m cord. We arrive at 5:45 but don't end up taking off until 6:40! Angkor Wat is amazing to see from the air... just huge.
We get back to our guesthouse and meet our guide for the day (definitely a good idea to hire a guide for your first day there - we learned so much about everything, from the architecture and design to the history of Cambodia), before going through Angkor Thom (including the Bayon temple, known for the faces that decorate its towers, Baphuor - built in the year 1060 - and the Royal Complex, including the Elephant Terrace and the mis-named Terrace of the Leper King) in the morning, stopping for lunch (curries eaten from coconuts), then an afternoon visit to see the main carved murals of Angkor Wat, learning all the legends and stories behind them (Which are sometimes a bit confusing (and giggle-inducing).

The faces in the towers at Bayon

A demon woman at the Elephant Terrace

Climbing up the ruins in flip-flops!

It's a long, hot day.... filled with clamouring up and down ruins, dodging other tourists, and a near-overload of information from our forever smiling and laughing guide.
We sample some palm-juice from a vendor supporting a yoke on her shoulders, then sample some really amazing (and bizarre) Cambodian fruit. It seems like every turn presents us with another new experience - we're certainly never bored.
But the day is not over yet: We have an amazing supper at a French restaurant, lamenting the fact that France didn't colonize more countries (if only for the quality of food and ready availability of good wine), before returning to loll about in hammocks on the balcony of our guesthouse, counting the geckos on the walls and reliving our spectacular 20-hour day.

Tuesday, February 5: We get a bit of a later start to the day, and head straight to Ta Prohm, probably the most famous bit of the whole complex. This is the ruin that has been overgrown by immense trees and that was made famous in the Tomb Raider movie.

The Tomb Raider Tree at Ta Prohm

Awed by the trees creeping over the ruins....

... and kissing in front of eleventy-million Asian tourists

An Apsara in one of the smaller, very well-preserved/rebuilt temples on the way home

It's definitely a feast for the eyes - amazingly awe-inspiring and gorgeous - but (not surprisingly) completely overrun with tour groups. We wander in and around it for almost 4 hours, only allowing us a few quick visits to some smaller, lesser-known temples on our way back.

We grab our stuff from the guesthouse and head on to the Angkor Village Hotel, which is our "treat" for the trip. We stake our claim next to the pool and are probably the sketchiest people at the "Welcome Cocktail". There's something fun about rubbing elbows with the super-rich who find us to be adventurous because we're smelly backpackers.
That evening, we go to the theatre across from the hotel for a traditional supper and dance show. At first, it's amazing -- like all the carving dancing women that decorate every square inch of the temples has come to life, accompanied by strange and haunting percussion instruments.... and then.... the screeching oboe and wailing singing starts (Mom - do you remember that Korean shaman ceremony that we left after 3 minutes???), which I can barely stand (but which Ty finds amazing - so, yeah, a bit of a difference of opinion there).

Wednesday, February 6: We take full advantage of our luxurious digs and order an immense breakfast to the room, sitting in our complimentary plush robes on our balcony overlooking the lotus pond before returning to dusty backpacker mode and heading back to the temples for our final day of exploration.

On the elephant. When tourists first started coming to Angkor Wat a hundred years ago, this was the only way to see it all.

We start with an elephant ride around the Bayon temple - which is cheesy and wonderful and fun! - before continuing to Preah Khan, which is by far my favourite of all the places that we saw.

Almost as soon as the forest is cleared away, it starts to grow back....

Imagine cataloguing and numbering each of these blocks, then trying to put them all back exactly where they originally belonged - a seemingly impossible puzzle!

There are fewer people, and more explanations of the on-going re-building and preservation of these amazing structures. It *is* easy to get "templed-out" when visiting Angkor Wat, but (for me) Preah Khan was the cure.
From there, we quickly visit the holy pool of Neak Pean before embarking on a rather surprising trip to the Floating Village of Tonle Sap lake.
We had originally hoped to spend the night at a less-visited area, as we'd seen things online saying that we could. A bit disappointed, we opted for a boat tour instead -- which proved to be amazing beyond our expectations! The ride there, in the moto-remorque, was hardly a comfortable one: a mud road winding between shacks on stilts (it's the dry season), fields filled with tethered water buffaloes, and some of the worst poverty imaginable (and yet, incredibly, the Cambodian people are still amazingly quick to smile some of the warmest smiles I've ever seen).

On the boat

This family, that smiled and waved as we passed, lives in a decrepit shack with 2 walls on a pile of mud surrounded by water that is completely polluted. The surface area of the floor is roughly the size of the average North American bathroom.

Our boat, questionably sea-worthy and piloted by a (smiling) teenager, takes us along a brown river, past tiny shacks on stilts where entire families live, past floating schools (and even a floating basketball court!) built by charities from other countries, and onto the lake, where hundreds of houseboats (mostly inhabited by Vietnamese) have created a sort of "city" - complete with shops, restaurants and even livestock - of over 4000 people. It's awe-inspiring and heartbreaking to see poverty made so picturesque.

Thursday, February 7: My last day - and reserved for shopping! We hit the Old Market, and pick up t-shirts, carvings, silk and other souvenirs (yes, yes, you probably have a gift from Cambodia coming soon).... and even manage to befriend a few of the vendors.
Exhausted, we find a place offering traditional Khmer massage (legs and arms, while seated in a very nice cushy chair) for $6 each. An hour later, feeling rather kneaded and wobbly, we eat (yet another) amazingly delicious meal.

Moto-remorques outside the Old Market

The Old Market at night

My flight doesn't leave until (arrrgh) 11:50pm, giving us a final chilled out evening together, overlooking the constant activity around the Old Market... until I have to grab a moto-remorque to the airport, and leave Ty behind to enjoy the rest of Cambodia on his own.

Miscellaneous Tidbits of Information:

• Cambodians smile all the time. And it's 100% genuine. Given their country's history of violence, genocide, war etc, it's really surprising.

A group of musicians outside Ta Prohm, all of them victims of landmines

• There are victims of landmines just about everywhere. It seems that you can't walk 100m without seeing another person with burns on their face, or missing limbs.... and it's everyone - older people, young children... and it's one of the most horrifying things to see.
• The food is absolutely incredible - I don't think I ate the same thing twice.
• When Cambodians see a couple, they instantly assume that you are married. Ty and I had all sorts of fun questions like, "How long have you been married?", or "Where did your husband go?" from everyone from hotel staff to our boat pilot to moto-remorque drivers. We definitely had a good laugh at that and learned to just play along.
  

Self-camming in front of Angkor Wat (reflected in the water behind us)

So, yeah, I definitely loved Cambodia - with only 5 days to visit one place, and even with the busyness of our days, it was still only scratching the surface. I know that I will certainly have to go back there at some point....

Good News!

Last night, I realized that I hadn't checked my mailbox in a while (like, since I'd been back, really). Imagine my surprise when I discovered two copies of the March 2008 edition of Cat Fancy magazine, with a headline above the title that said, "South Korea's Cats: Plight and Progress".

Yes! With this article on cats in Korea, I am officially an internationally published freelance writer! It's pretty much a dream come true, and so amazing to see my name in print like that. I'm really hoping that this won't be the last time that I have something published.... you know, elsewhere than the blog.

Tomorrow, Ty and I leave for Cambodia. I will be back on Friday, but he will stay there until the 17th. The only place I'll really see while I'm there is Angkor Wat, and I am really psyched. Ty has already arranged for us to take a hot-air balloon ride over Angkor to watch the sunrise on our second day there - it was supposed to be a surprise, but he couldn't wait to tell me.


It's also quite fun to be preparing for a trip with someone else (although the apartment looks a bit like a crazy bomb just went off, since we're both trying to pack our bags at - what else - the last possible minute), getting ready to share what will surely be an unforgettable experience.

p.s. pink camera is packed and ready to take loads of shots of the temples of Angkor.