This is an entry that I wrote two weeks ago and I finally have the time to upload it.

The Injury

Today was a beautiful day because the sky was clear and it was warm. It was about 16 degrees in Busan at noon, which was better than the cold breeze that we had yesterday. As I’ve already mentioned, I like to play basketball every Saturday at Pusan National University (PNU) from 11:30am to 3:00pm, most of the time. My basketball game was okay. I was grabbing boards and putting back missed shots every now and then. However, my cardio was just terrible. Well, it depends how you look at it really. Was I tired because I was hustling to get every rebound or was I tired because my cardio sucks? (I would like to say that it’s the former, but it’s not.)

 I like to think that my game closely resembles Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Now, for those that have played with me back in Toronto I know it is hard to believe it. You’ll just have to wait until I come back. Continuing, today I was playing like I was a small forward or even a shooting guard. I was dribbling the ball on fast breaks and dishing it out to my teammates. I swear, playing in South Korea makes you feel like you’re playing on a higher level than you really are. You feel so good about your game because you’re every rebound and your shots are dropping. You feel like really good about your game until your ankle gives in and you’re on the ground holding your ankle and thinking, “Shit, Michael Jordan was right. It isn’t about the shoes”.

 Now, I didn’t freak out because I have sprained both of my ankles more than once in my lifetime. It isn’t bad because I can still walk. *knock on wood* Rolling your ankle is a rite of passage. Ask any ball players and they’ll tell you that they’ve sprained their one or both of their ankles. Usually when I sprain my ankle I would be able to walk it off, but this sprain was so bad that I hurting. Lucky for me I had bands, a cooling agent and Advil. Unfortunately, the medical supplies were at home, which was about 40-50 minutes away.

 If I had not sprained my ankle I would have gone to the Gangwali Eobang Festival (fish festival) today and documented it. If you want to read more about it then you should check out the official website. 

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_2_1.jsp?cid=697426

 The Blazing Korean Dish

 Since I didn’t go to the fish festival today I thought it would be a good idea to order a very delicious, very spicy and pricy meal called ah gu jjim or 아구찜. Lucky for me the restaurant that makes this dish is literally next to my apartment. 

Ah-Gu-Jjim is a very spicy Korean dish. For those that don’t know me, I love spicy food! I love to put hot sauce on almost all of my meals and I pour hot sauce to the  point where all you see is nothing but red on the dish! Practically drinking hot sauce all of my life wasn’t enough to prepare me for this dish. Ah-Gu-Jjim is so hot that I had to chug the soda that came with my meal and drink milk to get rid of the spiciness. Don’t get me wrong. This meal was absolutely delicious! I don’t know what’s in it exactly, but I know that there is plenty of bean sprouts and 4 decent-sized chunks of monkfish! Maybe that’s why it’s so expensive.

For W22,000 you will get your food in a nice brown paper bag. When you open it you will get the following: 1 soda, 3 side dishes, noodles, Ah-Gu-Jjim, a small compost bag, chopsticks and a restaurant magnet. The meal is good for two people. As for the side dishes, you’ll receive small portions of beans, anchovies, spinach, salad, and soup. I strongly recommend that you try this Korean dish at least once if or when you’re here in South Korea. 

I've made mention before of the single greatest downside of traveling and living abroad - and that's having to say goodbye to good people. Some of them, such as my good friend Byron, are the kind of people you know you'll stay in touch with well after they've left your immediate proximity. Others pass out of your life with a bunch of drunken fanfare, remain Facebook friends for a year or two, and then become just another participant in an anecdote you tell your shiny new friends.

 

This past week I've had two very different goodbye experiences. On Tuesday evening my girlfriend Kimberly and I parted ways. While it was a relatively new relationship (only a couple of months) it's never a fun or easy thing to split with somebody who you have had fun with and shared such feelings with. This past week has been the hardest I've had since returning to Korea.

 

I started chatting to Kimberly before she'd even come to Korea, and I think we both were a bit surprised how much we liked talking to one another before we'd even met. I know I'd come home from work looking forward to a Skype chat with her. There was just an instant chemistry. I first met Kimberly when she needed somebody to help her settle into the country and had fun playing knight in shining armor with spontaneous visits and sage (?) advice when Korea was wearing her down. In a very brief time we had a lot of fun. We explored my home town. We spent chilly days in her apartment watching Mad Men. I played nurse while she battled her first Korean cold and she counselled me through my resignation at work. She was the motivation behind my very fun trip to Jinhae for the Cherry Blossom Festival and the engineer of last week's Seoul shenanigans.

 

As I grow up and gain more experience in relationships, I'm learning that having fun together isn't always enough. While Kimberly and I had a great deal of fun and clicked on some levels - the distance of the two hour commute and a few things we didn't see eye to eye on meant that it made sense to go our separate ways. In the 'real world', where we didn't have to worry about where each of us would be in a year's time - it might have been worth pursuing longer. But when you've got differences and there's every chance you won't be able to be together long term without somebody making huge sacrifices, it's hard to gamble.

 

It's been hard to adjust once again to life alone, and I'll miss her a while yet, but it's for the best. If we're meant to cross paths again we will, and if we aren't - well, we'll be good friends somewhere down the line. I wish her well in her own journeys and recommend you follow them on her blog.

 

In a lot of ways, Kimberly reminded me of two very important things that I might have allowed myself to forget in the wake of Fallon and I going our separate ways.

 

- That no matter how gloomy you might feel after somebody significant leaves your life, you are always in a position to be swept up in a new romance and fall head over heels for somebody new. I didn't think I would meet someone I cared about so soon after Fallon, but Kimberly showed me that it was not only possible - but fun as well. It's a pity we didn't get to spend more time together, but I am a firm believer that everything in life happens for a reason - and I'm sure we'll both figure out what that reason is on our own time.

 

- That romances abroad can be both exciting and frustrating. There was something star-crossed about being introduced by a mutual friend because she thought we'd hit it off, and about taking a 7am train up to her sleepy little town after she had a bad first day. It's those kind of adventures that are worth any heart-ache or teary eyes, and I wouldn't give the thrill of new adventures, first kisses, and butterflies up just to feel better on nights such as tonight.

 

I'll write a longer entry about relationships in Korea at a later date, but I'll sum it up now - there's so much more pressure on a new relationship when you're from different countries, have different contract ending dates, and a finite amount of time to figure out where you're headed. It's a case of stay at arm's length or go head over heels - and there's no guarantee either approach is going to work.

 

But enough of that somberness and onto other farewells. Let me regale you with the tale of Byron.

 

I first encountered Byron during my nerdier days. I was an unemployed Newcastle resident with entirely too much time on my hands and I was addicted to a freeware game by the name of Extreme Warfare Revenge - a game that let you control various pro wrestling federations. I stumbled across a website where those addicts with too much time on their hands could post reports on the shows they booked. I started doing one and I read Byron's while there.

 

None of the details are really relevant (or particularly interesting), but suffice to say we got to chatting and he was one of the many people who first encouraged me to come to Korea. When his own life needed a change, I returned the favor by nudging him in the direction of Korea. He arrived just as I was leaving after my first year, but we made sure to meet up just as soon as I got back. He and I (and the three amigos I mentioned in my post about Seoul) had a fun, drunken night in Gwangju and we've been fast friends since.

 

Our paths have only crossed a handful of times since. He came down to see me off when I left Korea in 2009 and we had some memorable good times when we explored Texas Street together earlier this year.

 

With his second contract coming to an end and no offers here really grabbing him, Byron opted to go in search of new adventures to add to his already enviable collection. Wednesday night saw him and his parents visiting Busan and I joined them for a rather delicious meal of galbi and bulgogi in Seomyeon before they left town. A gift of Canadian maple syrup and a bizarre 'Korean Zombie' t-shirt only sweetened the deal, and we finished our farewells with Baskin Robbins in true Korean style.

 

I'm not sure where Byron is off to next, although his blog will doubtless remain an entertaining journey around the world. I'm not sure when our adventures will coincide again but I've come to know one thing for certain - it's never dull when Beeker and CWB join forces. Another week and another two people leave my life for a time. Now to continue the job hunt, knuckle down for my last three weeks at JC School, and see what new adventures the world has in store for me.

Since I sprained my ankle I’ve been watching a couple of Korean films with my girlfriend. I am terrible at describing and explaining things so I’m going to insert a review from IMDd. 

The first film that I watched is called “Bedevilled” or 김복남 살인사건의 전말. This film is a slasher/thriller and is a good watch if you’re craving some suspense. I’m giving this film a 7/10. 

Hae-won is a beautiful single woman in her thirties who works at a bank in the Seoul city. She leads a busy life until she becomes a witness to an attempted murder case, and at the same time, things get complicated at work. When things get out of hand she is forced to take a vacation so she heads for ‘Moodo’, a small undeveloped island, where she had once visited to see her grandparents. And where she had befriended a girl named Bok-nam who stills writes to Hae-won asking her to visit despite the fact that Hae-won never bothered to reply. Upon arriving at the island, Hae-won is shocked to see everyone treating Bok-nam like a slave. As practically the only young woman on the island, she is a plaything for all the men and a free laborer for the women. Sick of all the inhumane treatment, Bok-nam had tried to escape the island several times in the past but had failed each time. She begs Hae-won to help her escape the place… Written by Fine Cut  

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1646959/