I know why the caged mantis prays ...

Hello Yankee Doodles,

I'm well aware that I should be posting more, I just keep losing track of time and before I know it, I'm two weeks late, but low and behold I'm back with updates on Korea!

After the Jazz festival school remained the same aside from the fact students are dropping off like flies (with swine flu) and my classes continue to get smaller. I hear it's just as bad there so make sure you are all wearing your masks. People here wear masks to prevent themselves from getting the flu. I think gloves would be a little more practical because that darn virus is going to find a way into your body one way or another but who am I to judge. To each its own.

We ventured to Seoul two weekends ago with the intention of going to the Hilton's happy hour buffet. They had Cheese and good wine ... enough to make any Frenchman or deprived American happy. It was very good and a most excellent decision.

Since we were with our good buddy Will he introduced us to Homo Hill. Homo Hill is exactly what it sounds like ... it's where all the gay bars are in Seoul. It was funny and I couldn't believe a place existed in such a close minded society. Wine, Cheese, and Homosexuals ... I felt like I had taken a bus straight out of Korea for the weekend but come Sunday I was more than willing to head back to Wonju.

I introduced Halloween to my classes and I'm pretty sure the only message they took from it was Halloween = candy but then again they weren't that far from the truth. We made masks and watched "The Nightmare Before Christmas" for a good chunk of the week. I tried my best to explain the movie but they didn't understand that the "Pumpkin king with the skeleton grin could grow so tired of the same old thing" ... they didn't get the metaphor.

Once the Halloween festivities had finished at school I began an adventure of my own, trying my hardest to find a Halloween costume. I don't really like the analogy "finding a needle in a haystack" because needles aren't generally in haystacks to start with so why would you try to find one in there. I feel like shoelaces and bath robes are generally found in department stores, however, none were to be found and they seemed shocked that we even asked if they had them. It was like "finding a shoelace in a store that sold shoes with laces"... it should have been easy but was far from it. We ended up finding some sweet children's blankets with adorable little panda and pig hoods. These were easily manipulated into panda and pig costumes and I think we pulled them off pretty well. Though only 10 people dressed up for the Halloween party that one of our friends rented out the bar for, the 3 that did not dress as "nerds" (most popular costume) really looked like a million bucks. Especially Will in his "Absolut Devil" costume inspired by the vodka brand. We played the cards we were dealt and did a sweet job bringing Halloween to Korea, which I couldn't be happier about.

I end this post with devistating news. Since my last post there was in fact a new addition to my family who only spent a short time in my presence. A friend of mine had found me the praying mantis I had been "praying" for. She was beautiful and very kind. Her name was Pickle. Her favorite game was "got your nose" and as far as I know it was the only game she knew how to play but I tell you she played it well. I had spent every night gathering her bugs and watching her eat various things at it had become a very enjoyable pass time. As we all know, good things don't last forever and the cold air mixed with the end of praying mantis season soon proved to be too much for this graceful creature. She passed peacefully in the night and I like to think her last thoughts were of the fun times we shared but most likely they were about bugs she's eaten, sticks she's climbed, and mate's she has devoured after copulation. Her time in my life was short but her memory will live on forever as I too now know why the caged mantis prays ... Peace, love, and empathy to you all and live your lives to the fullest.