Merry Christmas from a Snowy Vancouver

Hello friends! Merry Christmas to all of you and I hope you have a wonderful day!

I made it home to Vancouver two days ago only to be welcomed by an unusual winter sight - snow. The west doesn't usually get more than a few days of the white stuff a year, so this winter storm is shocking and causing chaos across the city!

Strangely, I feel I brought the snow with me. My final moments in Korea had me in the airport, saying goodbye to friends and to a wonderful country, and as I made my way onto the plane, snow began to fall hard. The flight had already been delayed for two hours, and now we had to wait again as the planes wings were de-iced.

Once away, the flight was very smooth. Even the landing in a sun-drenched Vancouver was smooth. It wasn't until we taxied to the gate that we were delayed again due to the gangway (thing that connects the plane to the gate) was frozen. After an hour and a bit of waiting, we were finally let off the plane.

For me, the delays were no problem, but for passengers connecting to other flights, this turned into a nightmare as flights were missed, delayed or canceled. I hear thousands had to sleep in the airport - I just hope the Torontonian I was sitting beside got home.

And now, I am sitting at Starbucks (no internet at home), staring at the snow seriously coming down. This will mean a smaller Christmas dinner tonight (cousins/aunts/uncles can't make it through the snow) - which is the first time ever I believe. But I am thankful to be home with my family for Christmas, and not stuck in snowed-in travel hell.

Anyway, here I am rambling, when what I really wanted to do in this post was to wish everyone online a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON!

Be safe in your travels and lets enjoy this rare snow while we have it! Snowman time!

Leaving the Philippines, Leaving Korea

There are PC cafes everywhere in Asia. Korea lives in them, and the Philippines has taken to them with the intensity of an anomalocaris on a trilobite. (For those unsure of the reference, click here.)

So here I am, in a PC room in Cebu, two hours from my flight to Korea and 26 hours from my flight to Canada. Can't write much; it's cheap but there's not enough time - gotta check out of Pacific Pension (great place!) in 10 minutes!

So goodbye Philippines, you were an unexpected child but turned out to be an amazingly surprising and beautiful place. I will come back - for the scuba, to see more whale sharks, for the kindness and happiness of the people, and for the shear tropical island beauty.

And if I don't have time in Seoul while I am there, goodbye Korea - You have been a wonderful companion for the past year. I learned so much from you and had so much fun. I will forever be tied to Asia through you. And I look forward to seeing your influence in Vancouver.

Vancouver...

...I'm going home.

Merry Chuseok Everyone!

This weekend is the traditional thanksgiving Korean holiday of Chuseok!

It is a time where traditionally everyone returns to their hometown (an important concept - where you were born affects your status and creates instant friends) in a mass exodus turning Korea into a giant traffic jam.

It is a time to show respect to grandparent and elders, to visit family graves, and to enjoy a meal of traditional Korean food with one's family.

Sounds wonderful, but in reality (as my students have complained to me) it is the women of the family who spend the holiday buying, preparing, cooking, and serving the meal while the men relax and play cards. And watch TV.

While this is changing with the younger generation, this is the traditional division of labour. It makes sense that many Korean women hate Chuseok.

Time to play some cards! Happy, er... Merry Chuseok!!!

Oh, we were fortunate enough to be invited to Chuseok dinner by our good friend Hong! So expect a post confirming/disputing what my students said!

Also expect a post soon on my adventure into North Korea!

All this and a bag of cats coming soon!

Bugs of Korea!

A freekin BIG Korean bug flew into our TV room and had to be captured and released out the window! It is about 10cm long, head to wing tip.

And it makes the loudest noise - shi-shi-shi-shi-sheeeeeer...

The locals here call it a Meme. Any idea what kind of insect it is?

Either way, it was so cool!

Big Trouble in Little China

Man, am I frustrated with China.

Long story short, I have been planning to visit Beijing for Chusook (Korean Thanksgiving - Sept. 12 - 15th). I booked the flight form Seoul to Beijing with Southern China Airlines for a great price - about $400. A few weeks later, the airline emailed with a change to the return ticket, to return a day later when I was supposed to be working. This was quickly solved with a short phone call and things were perfect and I was excited.

One tiny detail was missing though - the visa. Little did I know that China needed Canadians to have a valid visa to enter the country. No problem, I though upon learning of this twist. But after searching the web and calling the embassy, there is a problem.

Turns out that people wanting to enter China must have at least 6 months left on their Korean Alien Registration Visa...

... I arrived in December, and my Registration card expires in December - only 4 months left. Shoot, I thought. So today, I made my way to the largest travel agency in Seoul, Hana Tours, and begged them to help me. The lovely girl spent 30 minutes trying. We talked with the Korean visa people because we thought that if I extend my Registration here another 2 months, then China would grant me their visa! We were stunned to hear that you cannot extend your Korean registration until there is 2 months or less left on it.

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! Fuck! (Sorry for the expletive, but I am genuinely angry!!!) So basically, I can't go to China because I have 4 months left and I can't extend my Korean visa because I have 4 months left. (sound of brain exploding over newly-purchaced Lonley Planet Beijing book.)

Ah, burocracy.

So tomorrow, I'll make the call to Southern China Airlines to try to get my flight either (1) changed or (2) refunded. I'll keep you posted...

Way to go China, on the making a good Olympics impression on the World! Uhhh.

The State of the Nation at 30

(Better late than never! I blame the birthday festivities and liquids for the lateness of this post!)

As I have just turned 30, I feel it is time to sit down and take stock of my life and where I am. A sort of "state of the nation" to consolidate where I've been and where I am going. The State of the Peter, if you will...

What better place to host such an indulgence is there than on this blog. Read it if you want, or skim through all the pictures. It allows me to put it all 'on paper' before jumping into my third decade. So, without further ado, let's begin...

Where I've been.

Vancouver:

I have had a privileged life growing up in Vancouver with loving parents and sister. I am what they, and my extended family, have made me. I am also shaped by my friends - from school, university, work - here and abroad. I owe these people everything!

After becoming obsessed with dinosaurs at the age of five, I pursued a career in palaeontology by taking classes in geology and biology at the University of British Columbia. Before graduating with a Geology degree, I realized that a life in science - researching and publishing - was not for me. So with the completion of my science degree and much soul (and career) searching, I decided to become a teacher - elementary and high school.

One year later, I was a qualified teacher and began teaching as a substitute teacher in North Van....

. . .

Hmm..... This is beginning to sound like a job interview. Boo!
Ok, so let's change this up a bit:


In the past 10 years, I have become:

• a teacher, primary and high school teacher in North Vancouver. Taught all grades, but spent 3 months as a High School Geology teacher.
  


• a geologist, qualified but never really practiced. Worked at several museums, including the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
  


• a world traveler, been to over 20 countries. Climbed an active volcano (Mt. Etna, Italy), got dirty at La Tomatina and the Mud Festival (Spain and Korea, respectively), been drunk with people from 50 nationalities, hiked through old-growth forest (the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island, among others), camped under the stars (many times, but in teepees in the Alberta Badlands), swam in 6 oceans/seas (Pacific, Atlantic, Mediterranean, Gulf of Mexico, Yellow Sea, East China Sea), found a mummified cat in Greece (gross!), drove around a country (France), didn't run with the bulls (that's only for crazy people! In Pamplona, Spain), experienced Oktoberfest (Munich, Germany), flew a lot (sorry Earth), ate some crazy food (live octopus in Korea, among others!), walked inside a meteor crater (Arizona), and crept through skull-filled catacombs (Paris).
  


• a film maker, Besides shorter travel videos, I wrote and directed two films - Bluebell Woods and its prequel, Tony's Empire. I also co-created a few other projects under the production company Prehistoric Insanity Productions - The Hardcore Apocalypse after Next Tuesday, Action Figure High, and the upcoming Delta Patrol!
  


• a tour guide, worked at the Vancouver Lookout and the Royal Tyrrell Museum doing my best to showcase their wonders...
  


• an artist, I love painting and drawing, and I'm slowly delving into digital manipulation of images. Created posters and other artwork for local theater productions and a mural for local museums. I also love making music and doing photography.
  

I love how self-indulgent this post has become. I feel great! Happy Birthday, Pete!

I have also pretended to be a:

• a palaeontologist, studying and creating art about the subject in my spare time, working at various museums, digging in Alberta!
  


• a film actor, worked as an extra in movies and TV - X-Men 3, I.Robot, Catwoman, 88 Minutes, Butterfly on a Wheel, Smallville, Tru Calling, Dead Zone, Killer Instinct...

• a talent agent, this is the role I play in the fictional blog Traumador: The Tyrannosaur Chronicles.
  

• travel writer, this blog!
  

Where I am now.

• I am currently teaching English to adults in Seoul, Korea. I am very happy here, but I also miss Vancouver and teaching children.
  

Where I am going.

• My contract with my Korean company (YBM) ends at the end of November, and I don't plan to re-sign. This is not because I don't like Korea or I hate the job - no! - In fact, I am having a ball, I just miss Vancouver and look forward to living there again.


• So after November, I'll be off to Thailand for almost three weeks with Steve and then I'll head home, arriving just before Christmas.


• My job with the North Vancouver School System is still waiting for me, so once I get back, I'll start subbing again with them. (You have to LOVE the NVSD for keeping my job - What other job lets you come back after two years traveling?)


• Finding a place to live will be more difficult. I am thinking about lower Lonsdale, but the prices down there are crazy! This will require a thorough search. Living alone or with roommates? Alone is preferred, but I may not be able to afford it - especially in North Van.

• The only other major set plan I have for the future is visiting England next summer. Another cousin is getting married and I will actually be able to go to this one (No Korean Contract! Teacher summers off! Yeah!) I also have many friends in the UK I need to catch up with...

• In the next 10 years, I want to:
• write, illustrate and publish kids books
• make another movie.
• get married and have children
• go shark cage diving (must be a Great White Shark)

Ahhh. Aren't lists great?!! They save the hassle of prose!

The future of this blog is secure - it is a great way to throw my thoughts and photos out there! I am sometimes tempted (by surfing though all the linked blogs I read!) to alter Bond's Blog into something it isn't. It could become a specifically Palaeo-Blog or a Travel-Blog or an Art-Blog or a Teaching-Blog or a Film-making-Blog. But that's not the point of this blog. It is a way of sharing what I think is cool. And, at 30, I still think these things - palaeo/travel/art/teaching/films - are cool!

It is a blog about me, Bond. Bond's Blog.

The State of the blog is good...
And the State of Peter is good too.

Thank you for listening to this completely indulgent rant. Have a piece of cake and a goody bag!

4 Days before 30

As the title of this post implies, I am turning 30 in four days. August 7th...

Four days until I begin the third decade of my life, but where am I? At twenty, did I expect to be where I am today? What have I done? What have I accomplished?

Time for a self-reflective post at answers these questions - But not yet!

We'll have to wait a few more days... and while we wait, a short video!



(I also have tickets to Wednesday night's opening of The Dark Knight on August 6th. Can't wait!)

What about Bob?

BOB

Some of you may not know this, but I have another roommate besides Steve here in Korea.

Meet Bob.

Bob is our friend who, amazingly, only visits when the lamp is on. He only lives on our living room ceiling, but pays a third of the rent (a good deal for us, not for him!) He's a bit fat and has very unique hair...

Go on, say "hi" to our roommate - Bob!

Gettin' Dirty at the Boryeong Mud Festival

Welcome to the 11th annual Boryeong Mud Festival here in Korea!

Yup, mud.

Continuing my "Dirty Festivals" travel experiences, I spent last Saturday covered in mud and loving it. This mud festival follows on the heals of last summer's La Tomatina Festival, where I partook in the world's largest tomato fight! Tomatoes, mud .... what's next?


Steve and I arrived in sunny Boryeong after a smooth 3 hour bus ride from rainy Seoul. The nearby beach (Daecheong) was where the fun was. This beautiful beach and the three or four streets inland become packed with both foreigners and Koreans every year for one week in July.

Coming from Vancouver, I've been missing the Ocean. Upon seeing the sea, we dove in and went for a swim. This was my first time in the Yellow Sea (Korea's West Sea)! One more sea to add to the list...


After cleaning off in the ocean, it was time to get dirty. Up the beach, hundreds of half-naked people stand around tables applying the warm, smooth grey mud to their bodies using their hands and paintbrushes. It was time to become "one of them..."








After experiencing the mud activities (mud slide, mud wrestling, mud pit, mud foot massage, mud jail, mud concerts, mud excetera... all too muddy to take photos, as you can imagine!), we spent the rest of the evening eating, drinking, and letting off fireworks on the beach. The night culminated in an amazing display of fireworks.

All in all, an amazing and messy experience! I highly recommend you check out the Boryeong Mud Festival and get dirty!

How to Stay Cool in the Seoul Heat

(My house in Seoul, Korea)

HOT.

1 pm. I finish teaching my level 1 English class here in my air-conditioned institute. I take the elevator down to the first floor, walk through the lobby to the glass doors and open them. The torrent of heat hits me instantly, riping off my flesh and searing my clothes to my burning body.

It's July in Seoul. 29 degrees Celsius with intense humidity. It feels almost as hot as last summer in Seville, Spain, where it was 40 C and Greg and I had to walk 20 mins to our hostel with full heavy backpacks on. I almost died then, and according to most of my Korean friends, I might also die this summer.

Not wanting to die, I have compiled a list of Things Koreans Do To Stay Cool in the Seoul Summer:

1. Buy an air-conditioner. Yeah, Steve and I were thinking of buying one, but not only are they not good for the environment, they are expensive. The used shop sells a small air-conditioner for 300,000 won - er... $300. Not quite worth it for one air-conditioner for only two months of HEAT. We'd also fight over who's room gets the cold air!
2. Buy a fan. Aha! That we did! Yesterday, we each bought an electric oscillating stand-up fan (mine was $35). I cannot convey the bliss I am experiencing siting in front of the fan and feeling the blown air cool the sweat of my face...
3. Buy a hand fan. I could and I might, but I haven't yet. I used to have a small battery fan I used while traveling Europe many years ago... hmmm, I miss that fan.
4. Eat ice cream. On almost every corner here in my area of Seoul - Sinchon, there are corner stores (7-11, By The Way, Mini-Mart, and countless other family-run ones). Each one sells a wide variety of delicious ice cream, which I have been gluttonously indulging in.
   
5. Go to the beach. The nearest beach in one hour away on the outskirts of Seoul near the airport - Inchon. I have yet to go there. My favorite beach is 4 hours away in Busan, on the south coast of Korea. Beautiful. I'll probably go back there in August.
   
6. Go to a mud festival. Specifically, the Boryeong Mud Festival happening this weekend! I am planing on checking it out this weekend, so I'll let you know how it goes. The cooling high-quality mud with refresh this cooked human....
   
7. Live at work. YBM, my school, is completely air-conditioned and cold. If I brought in blankets, I could theoretically live there indefinitely! Think about it - no commuting to work!
   

So there we go. How I am going to stay cool in the hot summer Seoul heat.

Oh, one more point I forgot: Live at the movie theater - and watch The Dark Knight, opening next week! Definitely my most anticipated movie this summer. Make sure you catch it! "I am Batman."

Korea's US Beef Protest - Part 3 of 3

VIDEO FROM THE PROTEST
The Peter Bond Travels - Seoul: Episode 3: The Protest



And if you are bored, check out other videos in the Peter Bond Travels series:

• The Peter Bond Travels - Seoul: Episode 1: The Walk to Work
• The Peter Bond Travels - Seoul: Episode 2: Food Attack
• The Peter Bond Travels - Munich Adventure
• The Peter Bond Travels - New Year's in Munich
  
• The Peter Bond Travels - Oktoberfest
• The Peter Bond Travels - The Flight to England
  

Korea's US Beef Protest - Part 2 of 3

IMAGES FROM THE PROTEST
by Peter Bond