Blogging with Fire

Here, a little sample of the show I was treated to a few nights ago by a couple of my South African and Canadian compadres. Pretty cool, eh? I love poi, and the thick darkness of the village made it look all the more impressive. This was the culmination of a night of more shabu shabu and rowdy fun. Sometimes being here feels a little like revisiting college, only there are people from all over the world, and now we all know what's actually funny.

Not too much to report this time. I had my second Korean lesson Monday and it went really well. I am definitely improving, though I still know very little. At any rate, Hee Young was happy with what I had retained. Monday evening and much of Tuesday were spent with a couple of coworkers (one of them the "new guy"), chatting, shopping, cooking and watching episodes of The Sopranos. Quite nice to relax in good company. Also, we made tacos, YUM!

They've decided to run the Fairy Show on weekends in April (as well as this weekend), so I'll be doing that, as well as continuing with the Genie Show and starting rehearsals for the May/June main stage show and Children's Day. Plenty to keep me busy.

On and On

Friday the cast list for the May/June season was posted, and it seems I'll be playing the protagonist in the show that I helped write. The role is "Jesse," a little girl (or boy) who is really stupid (well, not exactly, but she's the one who never knows the meanings of the words that we are teaching the audience, and always has to have them explained to her) and wants to sing in a talent show, but is too scared to do it alone. I think it's going to be fun and look forward to performing on the main stage.

Friday evening I taught English to soldiers in the Korean military. There's a program set up between the military and EV, wherein EV teachers go and teach two one-hour classes once a week and get free dinner and 50,000 won. I had expressed possible interest in the program earlier, and on Friday someone needed an emergency last-minute substitute. At 5:15, I hopped up into an army jeep with Gabrielle, my co-teacher (who is Korean), and we were driven to the base. The soldiers were pretty friendly, though a little shy, and it was simultaneously unsettling and an ego trip to have them commanding each other to do things like bring me water and clean my blackboard. This was my first time on a foreign military base, and thus quite the novel experience. If South Korea ever conquers another country using its soldiers' extensive command of the English language, you now know at whom to point the finger.

Friday night was the Edutainers' Artistic Director's Birthday Party. It was, in a word, ridiculous. The people here are wack, but in a good way.

Yesterday we opened the Fairy Show. I've been struggling with a bit of a cold, and I knew that a lot of administrators would be coming to see the show because they needed to decide whether or not we would run it (basically, they need to decide between having the show run or having more people available to work on material for our huge "Children's Day" extravaganza on May 5th). These factors, along with the fact that even though we worked really hard, one week of rehearsal is not very much, had me feeling rather nervous. The show was fine, though and it was really helpful to be able to perform it with actual audience participation. The other cast performed today, and admin. hasn't decided yet on the fate of the show, so we'll see...

All in all, the week has been pretty exhausting. Yesterday I skipped out on a show that a couple of guys from the Village were playing in Sinchon, in favor of getting things done and catching up on some sleep. The latter was really all I accomplished. Tomorrow is a day off, but I'll be going to Seoul to study with Hee Young. Alright, I'd better get back to my current project: rewriting the lyrics of "Love Shack" to make them about English Village. Oh yes, this is my JOB.

Busy, Busy

As you may have guessed from this post's title, I've been up to a lot in the last few days.

Work projects have been gathering steam and I now have quite a bit going on. I am still working on learning some aspects of the Fairy Show, which opens this weekend (only a few "preview-style" performances, but we will still have audiences and still need to be ready). Also, today we had auditions for all of the shows that will be performed in May and June (including the one I just helped write). The auditions were lots of fun and I feel good about the work I did. It was great seeing how talented all my fellow performers are. It's also nice to audition knowing that you will be getting a part (or parts) no matter what.

Yesterday I headed into Seoul and met my language exchange partner, Hee Young for the first time. She is a very kind, vivacious girl. She took me to a book store, where we picked out some books for me to work with (books for teaching Korean babies the alphabet and simple words and such) and then we went to lunch and to her apartment to study. It turns out she spent 6 months studying ESL at the University of Michigan (probably while I was there). She has a degree in Education, and is a very good, challenging teacher. Our levels couldn't be more different, though. I correct her pronunciation of words like "incandescent" and explain what it means to "pull the plug" on something, while she chastises me for mixing up the characters that represent the "g" and "n" sounds. Still, I am already better at reading Hangul (the Korean alphabet) and I am really excited to go to Seoul once a week to sharpen my skills. Hee Young's mother even made dinner for me (tasty Korean curry). Apparently I am the first foreigner to ever visit their apartment. Sadly, I had a transportation fiasco on the way home, but I guess it was about time I messed up something in that vein, as I had been doing quite well...

Tuesday Alex and I had our second German lesson. But first, under strictest promise that I not divulge it's location to a soul, she took me to her favorite pizza place for dinner. The pizza was delicious. I expected it to be weird in some way (especially since Korea still seems to be figuring out what exactly to do with most dairy products), but it was covered in fresh tomato, onion, green pepper and broccoli and tasted truly amazing. We went to her apartment (also outside of the village, oh la la!) where we talked and then did the German thing and then talked some more. Alex is one of those people I just click with. They are rare, but everyone knows when they've found one. We already feel like we've known each other for ages and talk about EVERYTHING. We understand one another in weird, almost intuitive ways. Also, being Serbian, she naturally lends a very interesting perspective to a lot of things. It's great having a close friend so soon.

Today, I went to a two-hour jazz dance class. I did fine for most of the class, but when it came time to learn the fun, latin-style combination it was all sucksville for me. Friends, oddly enough it seems that I am better at ultimate frisbee than jazz dance. However, I did have a great time, and I think the weekly class will be a great opportunity for me to try and improve my ability to pick up steps and learn combinations. It's pretty wild that people here are so willing to share their time and skills with others. This class happened to be held by one of the Head Edutainers, who is a professional dancer. There is also a yoga class (bikram) on Wednesdays, and there's going to be a tap class soon as well and it's all free! I cannot express how cool it is to get to perform during a normal eight-hour workday, and then have the time and opportunity to work on so many other things. ROCK.

A Little Documentation

It's been an eventful couple of days. This time I figured I'd use some pictures to help illustrate my story.

Here I am at the village pub, enjoying a nice green St. Patrick's Day beer. Someone snagged some green food coloring from the science classroom so that we could enjoy this time-honored tradition.


This is the AMAZING shabu shabu that I ate with a bunch of fellow edutainers before heading to the pub. There is tomatoey broth in the pot that has green herbs and mushrooms and potatoes and such in it. First, people dunk in pieces of pork (I clearly sat that part out), which cook instantly and can be dipped in soy sauce with wasabi. Next, the server brings noodles and puts them into the broth to cook. This results in delicious noodle soup. Finally, they bring a mixture of rice and finely-diced vegetables and egg and scorch it in the pot. A very tasty Japanese tradition, and the restaurant near the village is GREAT. The owner's son (who was also our server) even drove us home in shifts after our dinner!


Here I am singing some norebang (karaoke) with a co-worker. The place we went to in Ilsan was really cool...


It featured a great view of the street and buildings all lit up for the night, AND we got free ice cream afterwards!


These are the remnants of the MOUNTAINS of yummy vegetarian food that we ate before norebang. Bi bim bap and about a zillion side dishes for about $5.oo!


This is Ilsan at night. Lovely, no?


Here's a shot of the view from our norebang room.



This is Nam Dae Mun Market in Seoul. Bustle, bustle.



This is the Korean Mexican food that I ate. Oh, burrito!



Here is Nam Dae Mun, the oldest city gate in Korea, right smack in the middle of Seoul.



These appear to be some sleeves for sale. Right.



This is the lovely view from my apartment window. The large domed building is the Concert Hall, where our main stage shows are performed. The show that I am writing (not the one about the scientist that I was originally assigned, but one about a talent show instead) is almost finished, and it will open there in May. We had a read-through of it this morning, which was lots of fun. It's great hearing one's work come to life.

This morning one of my fellow Edutainers, who is a very talented dancer from Canada, had a pancake breakfast for everyone in our department. He's a very gracious host and a very good cook. It was really early (between 7:00 am and 8:30 am, since we all start work at 9:00 am), but such a nice way to start a day, and truly delicious. These are my kind of people.

This week I start rehearsals for another street show, in which I play the Fairy Queen, Lucinda, and get to sing some really cute songs. Also, another new Edutainer will be arriving tonight, so I'll no longer be the newest kid in town.

Many thanks to the people who've been posting comments. I'm glad you're enjoying this, and I hope you're all well.

I'm a Sports Superstar

Er... not... but I sure had a great time playing ultimate tonight. I have not run like that in ages, and it felt great. I was definitely a little rusty and certainly made some mistakes, but I also managed to catch and throw several passes and play some decent defense. The game is just so exciting and fast-paced and some of these people, in my humble opinion, have wicked skills. I certainly plan to make this a weekly thing, if for no other reason than the exercise, and I hope I will improve. I am pretty sure that I flare my nostrils when concentrating on catching the frisbee. I am also pretty sure that this is quite charming.

I had a lovely time in Seoul today. It does take quite a while to get there, but it's manageable. I went armed with nothing but a metro map and my phrase book, and I did okay. I found my way to Seoul Station (which seemed like a logically central place from which to start) and just walked around. I found the ancient southern gate of the city, which is actually the oldest city gate in Korea (built originally in the 1300's, I believe).

I also found Nam Dae Mun Market, which is huge and crazy and full of enough faux designer bags to satisfy an army of sorostitutes. I bought some nail polish (after this post I will be painting my nails bright white. Look out, world!) and practiced my haggling while purchasing the very cutest umbrella. Sadly, my haggling inexperience showed itself all too quickly, as the man asked for 10,000 won, and I said 8,000. This clearly left us only with one place to go when he refused and I started to walk away. Next time I will say 5,000 so that we can really get our haggle on, and so that I can get a better price. This sort of thing really isn't in my nature but I will work on it.

Next, I went to Itaewon, the part of Seoul known for its many expatriates. I walked around, and for pretty much the first time since leaving the village, noticed other non-Korean faces. I was walking about, deciding where to have lunch, when I saw "Taco Amigo." Their sign promised "authentic Mexican food," and they had many a vegetarian option. Now, feeling a bit tired of Korean food (though it totally rules) and very, very curious, I decided to give it a shot. It was weird, but actually not terrible. In some ways, it seemed a lot more like real Mexican or Latin American food than what you find in most "Mexican" restaurants in the states. There were definitely a few strange flavors involved, but definitely not the disaster that I admit I was expecting. I took pictures of everything, including my burrito, but sadly i will have to wait to upload them until I find some sort of external storage solution for my poor little (yet rock solid) computer, who seems to be a bit full of music and other goodies at the current time.

Mmmm Hmmmm

So, no drunken post-party posts, sadly, but I did have a rollicking good time. There were all sorts of people at the party, most of them from EV, but a good handful were just other people who knew the folks throwing the party and teach English elsewhere. I met a Radiohead fan from Orange County and a Canadian from New Brunswick who parties with the Trailer Park Boys. I also got to talk to some of my Korean coworkers, and a New Zealander had me in stitches telling me the tale of his bungee jumping exploits - he went three times and hated each one. All sorts of fun shenanigans were had.

I awoke Monday with the hangover of doom. Mark my words, friends, soju hurts. Must remember this fact in the future... I still managed to get up eventually and get some things done. I went for a walk down the hill to explore and buy some water, and did some good, old fashioned cooking (AND EATING) and cleaning. I am really liking having my own place. There are plenty of people to hang out with (though I also look forward to the arrival of other new people, as a lot of the folks here, while very friendly and welcoming, sort of have their social networks in place), but it is really great having a space with everything I need in it all to myself.

Today I've been hit with an unexpected day off (I thought it would be Wednesday), so I am going to grab some breakfast and head for Seoul. This evening I am giving Aleks a German lesson, and then I'm going to play some ultimate Frisbee. I'm sure I'll have lots to report on Seoul, which I will, of course impart later.

Until then, keep it real, my homies.

All in a Day's Work.

I finally did my first show today. Well, my first six shows to be exact. The kids are great. They all really seemed to enjoy the show. It's also nice by the end to be able to see that we've taught them some new words and phrases. The show is pretty much a breeze and does get repetitive (already), but luckily there is a lot of room for improv, so changing things up a bit not only can be done, but is encouraged. My voice was actually a little tired from all of the singing (two songs and a duet per show), but I know it will adjust. There were LOTS of kids, and I'm sure there will be lots tomorrow.

Also, I've started working on my first script here. So far we(the three person task-force I'm on)'ve got the major plot elements nailed down and need to figure out a few more details before we can start writing scenes. As most of you know, I like to say "no" to group writing, but this seems to work okay, since we all meet and talk about our work and then do things individually or divvy them up.

I'm just home from having a couple post-work pints with some folks. Good times. Yeah. I got to know Alex (Stu's girlfriend, from Serbia) a bit better. I am going to help her work on her German starting next week. Also, I'm invited to a party tomorrow night being thrown by some of the lovely Eastern European ladies who work here, which will take place at their residences OUTSIDE of the Village (oh, lala!). If you're lucky, you will get a drunken post after that event. Girl, you know it's true.

A Good Day

Today was nice. I didn't have the debut that I had hoped for, because there were no audiences, so we didn't perform any shows. I am looking forward to the weekend, because I pretty much feel like I have done everything I can to prepare, but since I don't get more rehearsal with other people, and since the show involves lots of improvisation, I will feel more comfortable and less antsy once I get to actually perform the show a few times.

I spent the time when we would have been doing shows talking to Stu the Aussie about all sorts of things. He's a really interesting guy who's done really cool things with his life and has much travelling experience. Good company, good conversation.

After work I came back home, finished unpacking my suitcases, and had some fun using skype, which, by the way, earns today's special prize for kicking arse. Talking is so easy, and the headset totally makes me feel like I am doing something quite official and important for NASA. Bonus!

After a quick pint at the village pub, where I met up with Stu and met his Girlfriend Alex (who is from Serbia), and chatted with the awesome bartender (from Romania), I was off for vegetarian love at the local tofu restaurant with the Edutainer girls. Due to illnesses and various obligations, only 3 of us ended up going, but the food was awesome, and it was nice to get to know a couple of the ladies I hadn't really met. We sat on the floor, old-school Korean style. We were stared at a lot. Andrea, who lives across the stairwell from me, and Cheryl, who is going to be the new Head Edutainer, were both really fun and friendly. The food was fantastic (I am totally impressed with my ability to handle the spice thus far, and I truly heart kimchee), and I learned from Cheryl all of the key phrases for making sure that there is no meat of any kind in my food. The literal translation of the word for "vegetarian" is "vegetable person."

After dinner, I decided to rain check poker night with Andrea and others (due to my present lack of skill; though I will learn, oh yes I will.) and accompanied Cheryl to visit her friends Jessica and Adam, who also live in EV (Jessica is a group leader in the teaching program). We stopped by Cheryl's apartment, where she dropped off some stuff and called Jessica to let her know that we were on our way. We also picked up Cheryl's cat, Elvira. Elvira is wearing a cone because she is getting over a case of ringworm on her face. Elvira is a lot like a dog. She sits by the door when it is time to go. She walked with us across the Village to Jessica's house willingly, without a leash. She follows people and comes when she is called by name. She has a tail that looks like it was injured at some point because it is short. Elvira is the coolest.

Jessica and Adam were completely gracious, fun and helpful. They served us wine and popcorn, and we talked about all sorts of things (a theme emerges), especially life in Korea and at EV. They gave me all kinds of advice and sent me away with a book about Korean culture and some American DVDs. I certainly hope to see more of those good folks.

Tomorrow I have morning shows (11:00 am -1:00 pm), we'll see if anyone shows up for those. After lunch, I start work on a script. It's for an outdoor show about a scientist and a robot who use the audience's help to reassemble a star that fell to earth and broke. Wouldn't it be nice if life were that easy? Then, more freedom. I am liking this.

On We Go

Finally, a toothpaste that understands the way I feel.


Today definitely saw it's share of difficulties. I awoke nice and early, and found out that, "surprise," I am back to playing the Kid on Thursday. This is because someone is really sick and needs me to cover. It's fine, since I knew both parts and actually like the Kid part better, but a bit crazy, yes. I then got ready so that I'd be able to catch the free shuttle bus to Ilsan (the nearest real cityish place) so that I could get adapter plugs. No one was really able to give me any info on how or where to get these, since they all bought there from a guy known as "Tech- Jeff," who is no longer at EV. It was unclear as to whether the bus left at 11:00 am, or 11:30, so I got ready for the earliest departure. When I got to the main entrance of the Village, a security guard informed me that the bus would leave at 11:30, so I left to take care of some things. When I came back at 11:25, the bus was gone. This prompted my to burst into tears inexplicably. Well, maybe not so inexplicably, since the jet-lag has been rough, and no bus = frustrating wrench in plans. Still, I don't usually think of myself as someone who's likely to cry because I missed the bus.

I figured it was time for plan B (which was, as yet undetermined), but first I stopped by "City Hall" where my show runs to introduce myself to the actress who I would be working with the next morn. She was pretty friendly. I headed for home, where I was able to finish off my crying spell and figure out what to do. I found out that luckily there are normal-people buses that leave EV fairly regularly for Ilsan. I went on my way, but stopped by Daphne's first to see if she cold tell me which side of the street on which I should wait for the bus (these things become tricky when one is illiterate). She told me, and wished me luck, as neither she nor Nathan knew where I might be able to find an adapter.

I made my way to the bus stop, and once I got there was joined by one Mr. Lee (whose first name I forget). Mr. Lee, it seems, is a self-taught photographer, who has been to San Francisco, San Diego, Salt Lake City, Sacramento and Portland. He is 60 years old. He was incredibly nice to me. He helped to confirm where I was going, and even paid my bus fare! His English wasn't super, but it basically ripped out the spine of my Korean and beat it with it (I'll just let you determine those pronouns). Mr. Lee showed me some index cards he had with short conversations on them in English and he said, "self-education!" He then read the cards to me. One of the conversations went as follows:

"I've got the runs."

"Where did you eat last night?"

"Last night we went to a Chinese restaurant."

"Do you think it was the food?"

A little odd, no? But who am I to judge the usefulness of what a person wants to learn.

Mr. Lee and I got off at the same stop in Ilsan and said goodbye. Now it was time for my plug adapter adventure to begin in earnest. I bought a roll from a Bakery near the bus stop, and set off for a building that appeared to house an electronics store. When I entered the store, I was pleased to find that my intuition had not failed. However, upon showing the converter I had brought with me and tilting my head in an inquisitive manner (the only real strategy my limited vocabulary could muster), I was brutally rebuffed and given to understand that such things were not to be had in this store.

Lucky for me, there was another electronics store across the street. When I showed him my adapter, the salesmen there directed me to the back of the store and said something that sounded like "elevator" to me. I went in search of an elevator (why, false cognates, why?) and found instead another salesman, who sold me 4 adapters for 2000 Won (which is roughly two bucks, dude). Victory!

I went to the bus stop, and waited, feeling pleased with myself and marveling at the presence of Papa John's, 7-Eleven, and Dunkin' Doughnuts all in the same block. The bus came and took me home (the ride, by the way, takes about an hour). When I got back to EV, I ran a few errands and then headed up to my apartment to put my new loot to its proper use. I was way excited to have a working phone. I plugged everything in and immediately blew up a transformer. That's right, kiddies, the voltage here is different from what i had originally determined, and having no knowledge of most things that are actually useful, I didn't realize this before setting everything up. This misfortune, all of the effort that had gone into my previous adventure, prompted more crying. Luckily, I was comforted and reassured by our dear Mr. Sneak thanks to the beauty of Gmail messenger. With his amazing help, I will have my phone working probably at some point next week.

In the interim, I have set up a skype account. If you want the skinny on that, drop me an email. The rest of my evening was spent setting up said account, practicing material for tomorrow's show, and ubercleaning my apartment (it was cleaned by the facilities folks here yesterday, but... um... yeah...) I now feel much more settled, but I am going to put most of my stuff away in the closets and cupboards tomorrow, because I am dead tired now.

I am excited for my debut tomorrow, though! I may not do many shows, because the park has been pretty empty these days (cold, cold weather, and most of the kids have just gone back to school after vacation), but hopefully I'll get to do at least 1 or 2. I feel pretty ready, and just happy to be really starting things. Also, tomorrow all the Edutainer ladies are going to vegetarian dinner with me. Yeehaw. I promise I will post pictures as soon as I can.

Here I Am

So, I am now nearing the end of my second full day in Korea. I just finished meeting the President (an interesting experience, and very much in line with what the book I read said such things would be like.) Before that, I had rehearsal with Mike, the friendly director of The Genie Show, and Nathan, the actor who plays the child in said show, in which I'll be making my English Village Debut. I messed up a little but made my way through and know that I will be ready to start on Thursday (not Wednesday as originally planned - things change constantly here). Before rehearsing I got to see the one show that Nathan and Stu (the Australian gent for whom I'm taking over) performed today (usually there are 8 shows, but today was VERY slow at the village because of the cold). The Genie costume is way too big for me, and I look funny, which I think the kids will like.

I was actually originally told that I was going to play the other character in the show, a kid who is no good at sports but wishes he/she could play basketball. This meant that I spent a good chunk of yesterday learning a part that I won't actually be playing, but this kind of thing happens in the theatre all the time. I may end up playing the kid at some point anyway, so it's good to know both parts. I feel pretty comfortable with the Genie stuff now, and am glad to have an extra day to prepare.

The beginning of my day consisted of a quick blocking rehearsal, and a viewing of the current main stage show (for which I was the only audience member). I also had coffee with Daphne, who stars in the main stage show and is half Greek. She was really kind and we ended up talking about all sorts of things - travels, languages, Korean culture etc. Tomorrow will be a day off. I plan to work on my material for the show and take care of some administrative stuff AND call people at home since my phone will be here soon.

Yesterday was rather nice. I slept for about 9 hours after arriving and after some email checking and IMing with my Mom, I went out in search of breakfast. I was waylaid by the Head Edutainer (these job titles are tres chic, non?), Aaron, who explained to me that everything was closed, but offered me a clementine and promised to take me to E-Mart for food and other stuffs later. He gave me a tour of the awesome facilities and a very honest account of the way things tend to work here. He then dropped me off at my building with the promise of an IM telling me when we'd leave on our shopping adventure.

We headed to E-Mart (think Meijer, or Target with groceries) a couple of hours later with Aaron's girlfriend Erin (rich, yes?) via taxi. Both them were very helpful in explaining what certain food items were, and helping me to tell apart different cleaning products which were in similarly shaped bottles. The most interesting part about shopping was when salespeople tried to help me and I had no clue whatsoever what they were saying to me. They could have been cursing my family and telling me how ugly my shoes were for all I know, but all I could do was nod. It's an interesting feeling, being so helpless and useless. I don't think I've ever been anywhere where I knew so little of the language. It doesn't feel bad, just very odd, and it's good motivation to study and learn as much as possible. Also, there was a very zealous saleswoman who helped me to find salt (I couldn't tell what was salt and what was MSG). Once she figured out what I needed she pointed to everything that was salt and said, "salto, salto, salto salto," and then pointed to everything that was not salt and said, "no, no, no, no." She then gave me a sample of a tasty, sweet, green Korean pancake thingy. I was thankful for her help and her gift of yummy mystery food.

After our sojourn, Aaron helped get my stuff to my apartment. As I was unpacking my groceries, there came a knock on my door and I opened it to find Mike, who I would later learn was the aforementioned director of my show (and sort of the artistic director of Edutainers), with a dinner invitation. I accepted straight away.

Dinner at Mike's was nice. Aaron and Erin were there, as was Mike's girlfriend Chloe. I talked to them about Korea and their experiences in here at EV, as well as their recent trip to the Philippines. The fried rice that Mike made was delish and the conversation was interesting (everything from the state of Detroit and New Orleans, to crazy part Edutainer parties was discussed). I went home tipsy on wine, worked a little on my music, met a couple of my neighbors, and hit the hay.

This post would, of course, be incomplete without mention of my arrival. I got into Seoul Incheon airport pretty late (I'd had several delays, one of which allowed me more time to spend with Chris and Jill during my lay-over in Seattle, wahoo!) and sadly, my bags did not arrive with me. Luckily I will finally be getting them in about 30 minutes. As I was promised, there was a dude waiting for me at the airport with a sign with my name on it. He spoke some English, and laughed with pity when he determined that I was suitcaseless. He put me into a van with a driver and said goodbye. The driver seemed to speak a bit of English ( he said, "hello" and "bye bye" at any rate). He drove me to Paju, where he took me to what appeared to be a security office (full of surveillance screens). The guards there took me to another office where a woman said hello and told me that another man there would escort me to my apartment. This fellow, who later told me that he was an electrical engineer and that his English was little, drove me to my building, but not before getting lost once or twice. He was very helpful and brought me some sheets and showed me how to work the heating system. My apartment was disappointingly dirty, but they are going to clean it today.

After I arrived, a nice fellow knocked on my door. I found out that his name was Dave, and that he was from Pittsburgh. He welcomed me and gave me some extra soap and shampoo that he had, which helped me out tremendously. I showered and promptly went to bed for 9 hours.

So that's the story thus far. I'm hoping to update as regularly as I have time and things to report. Also, this blog will be moving to alenaacker.com in the next week or so.