kimchi chine

Found this little gem on Yonsei campus in Seoul. NO MUSIC. NO LAUGHTER. NO FUN! Though an argument could be made for no car horns, but it's way more fun to be irrational.

And so do I.  At the end of the year, Anmyeondo holds a shrimp festival.  Basically you mill around a ton of shrimp stands and pick out what you want.  Some of the sellers have little restaurants in the back so they can cook your delicious shrimp for you while you get wasted on beer and soju in the middle of the day (no seriously, it was like 12 o'clock). Of course I had to take Clarence on this little adventure.  He's hardly forgiven me for not taking him to Mudfest, but I think the copious amounts of shrimp he consumed made up for it. More pics here .

A couple months back Daejeon hosted its first ever rock festival (details here if you're really interested).  Though the concert itself was prematurely shut down by police due to various noise complaints (apparently we expats know how to throw down), I was able to get a few pics and video in before that. My pictures mostly capture the off-site activities happening close to Expo Park, but I managed to get video of some band being awesome. Vlog 11: 1st Daejeon Rock Festival from Chine Anikwe on Vimeo .

At least we were until the World Cup started.  Now we're all reds, but the point is we're all SOMETHING! Anyway, this is old (I only just now pulled it from my old memory card), but it's still good.  We went to the first Daejeon Citizen's soccer game back in March, and here are some pics. As you can see, Clarence Patricia Stevenson was really getting into the game. There are some more pictures of the arena, mascot, and general funness after the jump!

So watching South Korea play against Argentina in the World Cup Stadium was pretty spectacular.  As I expected, there was far more chanting than game watching, but it certainly added to the atmosphere (who wants to watch a game in silence anyway?). The game was made slightly more awkward for me, as I was silently rooting for Argentina so Nigeria could have a shot at the next round.  Anyway, even though it was an exciting game all around, Argentina kind of destroyed South Korea in the end.  Luckily I took most of my pictures and video when there was still hope. Enjoy the Shouting Reds! Vlog 9: Shouting Reds in Live Action from Chine Anikwe on Vimeo . More pictures after the jump!

I went to see the ringing of the bell in City Hall for NYE. There were traditional performances, lights, and dangerous fireworks... what more could you need? Again, very old, but so what? Everyone likes lights. Vlog 7: New Years Eve shenanigans from Chine Anikwe on Vimeo . Vlog 7.2: NYE shenanigans from Chine Anikwe on Vimeo .

Went down to Busan for Buddha's Birthday weekend (May 21-23).  There were lanterns all over the city (same as in Daejeon).  Here I'm at a Buddhist temple with a friend.  Full album to be posted on FB.  I'm just trying to get my computer situation figured out first!

So South Korea ripped Greece a new one last night. Frankly, Greece was embarassing to watch, but it definitely added to the already hyped up atmosphere in the area. These are pictures during the game and after in a westerner bar in Eunengdong (Old Downtown). The guy on the left was rooting for Greece.. whooomp!  Can you see the cluster of red in the back? Yeah, they clapped for everything!  It was kind of cute. I'm still supporting Nigeria. Though we didn't win against Argentina, at least there's a chance against Greece?

O-World was adorable!  It's this mini amusement park with cute rides and a great atmosphere.  It's not somewhere to go if you want the thrilling rides found at Kings Dominion or Six Flags, but I'm fine with that.  The best part about going the Friday before Chuseok?  No one was there! Zero lines=lots of fun.  I hate waiting.  We started the day with some high-quality O-World entertainment at the main stage (check out Vlog #4 for the video).  Then we moved onto the rides.  We then went in for the highlight--> African Safari, wooot!  The animals were so close you could practically hear them saying " help me welcome to Daejeon Zoo!" We then saw even more animals in the actual zoo part of the amusement park.  Very cool.  We ended the day in Flower World... yes, Flower World.  It's actually exactly what it sounds like.  Anyway, that's not before I heard a little voice call out "Chine Teacher!" (shit, I knew I could...

Korea Vlog 2.1: Paragliding in Pyeongchang from Chine Anikwe on Vimeo . Korea Vlog 2.2: Paragliding in Pyeongchang from Chine Anikwe on Vimeo .

So I actually did it! I voluntarily ran off a cliff! Paragliding was tons of fun. I went with Annie and a group of about 20 of her friends. One of her friends set it up long before I was even in Daejeon, but since someone dropped out, she offered my name so that I wouldn't be sad and alone on my birthday, sweet! Let's start with the beginning of the weekend, or as I like to call it, "that thing that makes Monday-Thursday at all bearable." Turning 22 in a foreign country turned out not to suck as much as I thought... in fact, people are way nice when they are alone in a foreign country! Friday night, which was not my actual birthday, but might as well have been, I went to a party in honor of myself? I think. Apparently I met the host the week before and told her that the coming week was my birthday, but silly me, I was too drunk to remember. So when my new acquaintance reminded me of the birthday party in my honor, I was more than excited/shocked! There wa...