Rocking into August

For the past several months, I've been doing my best to save money and find things to do that are productive and don't cost me anything. However, for the last two weekends in July I decided to splurge in exchange for a couple of fun, worthwhile experiences.

The first, was a trip to Pusan, the second-largest city in the ROK which is on Korea's south coast. I had been given an extra day off on the weekend of July 18th, because I'd been required to work back in May on Children's Day which would have been a day off. So, the plan was to head south for some sun and hiking and exploring. I headed out Friday night right after work and finally checked into a hotel around midnight. I then spent some time wandering around before hitting the sack.


Here's the view from my hotel window Saturday morning. I wanted to treat myself to a nice ocean view and darned if I didn't get just that.

Since the weather was looking pretty nice, and since I was planning to meet up with some friends the next day and wasn't sure what their plans were, I decided to visit Beomeosa temple and then hike Geumjeongsan Fortress with a little side hike to Seokbulsa temple which was meant to be a sight especially worth seeing. I thus headed to the subway.



Here are some very young monks that I encountered on my walk down the beach.

The trip to Beomeosa took a while but was straight-forward and painless. Having seen many a temple in South Korea, I have come to the conclusion that when you've seen one, you've pretty much seen them all. Most of them are painted very similarly and the architecture is almost all identical.


Beomeosa temple, while beautiful, left my opinion unswayed.

One thing that was neat about it was that not all of the buildings were fully restored, so I had the chance to see some of the designs with a more weathered look.


And of course there were the obligatory prayer lanterns.

After exploring the temple to my satisfaction, I set off to find the trail to Geumjeongsan. This was no easy task and so I sought the help of two very helpful men at the Beomeosa information tent, who gave me a map and pointed me in the right direction.

The first section of the hike was pretty steep, but also quick...


And I soon arrived at the North gate. My hike would take me from the North gate to the East Gate and then finally to the South gate where I would pick up the trail to Beokbulsa. I had been warned that Geumjeongsan really isn't a fortress, and that is true, it's more like a low stone wall connecting the gates, but luckily the hike is scenic and comfortable.

The sky was overcast, which helped me to stay cool despite the humidity, and between the North and East gates, it began to rain fairly intensely with a strong wind. I couldn't believe that I was out on a hike with an umbrella, but there I was and this being Korea, I was not the only one. The rain let up and slowly, but surely the sun began to shine. When I reached the East gate I saw a group of foreigners, one with a Detroit Tigers hat. I was feeling motivated and slightly concerned about the time it would take to get to Beokbulsa so I didn't bother saying hello.

The hike from the East to the South gate was quick and easy and pleasant. I passed through a flat, wooded area with picnic tables for hikers and heard a bird calling "oh-wah." Which reminded me alternately of the German word for "ouch" and the Korean word for "come."

When I reached the South gate I sat down and had some of the fruits and veggies I had packed. As I got up to look for the sign that would lead me to Beokbulsa, I overheard a Korean guy telling the group of foreigners from the North Gate about the temple and I quickly asked him which direction I should go in to get here. He told me that he was going there and that I should join him and his friend. I learned that he was leaving in a couple of weeks to study English in London for a year or two. He was jolly and fun and his friend who didn't speak much English welcomed me along with the gift of a sweet, juicy clementine.

The trek was a little arduous, and I was glad to have my happenstance guides showing me the way as I would most likely have gotten lost.

It was completely worth it, though. The temple was small, but...


Wow! It was carved right into the rock of the mountain and the carvings were large and very impressive. Most South Korean temples may be created equal, but this one certainly is not.


This photo was just a little too spiritual looking not to include. To me, in my currently rather pragmatic mindset, it looks almost as if the frieze is flinching. He's like "whoa, god, tone down those heavenly rays a bit, would ya?"

I spent time admiring the carvings and snapping many a photo before heading back down (and up) the trail to the South gate. Once there I followed the trail to the nearby cable cars and took them down back into North-Eastern Pusan.


I enjoyed the view on the ride down and my feet and quadriceps enjoyed the rest.

Before heading down, I had hatched the greatest plan ever. The park at the base of the mountains where the cable car lets off it's passengers is only a 15-minutes walk from what is reputed to be one of the largest spas in all of Asia, a traditional Korean Jimjilbang called Hulshimchung spa. I still cannot believe that it never previously occurred to me that the best thing to do after hiking all day would be to soak in a series of hot and cold tubs, rest in a wide variety of saunas and exfoliate my skin. This is just what I did for a couple of hours and it was heavenly.

I then headed back to my hotel to get ready for what I hoped would be an exciting night on the town. Unfortunately, a few obstacles stood in the way of said exciting night. First off, I was in Korea and no one does anything alone in Korea. Even on various hikes I've taken (including Geumjeongsan) I've been approached by kind, well-meaning Koreans who can't understand why someone would enjoy the solitude of being alone in nature. The tendency of Koreans to travel in groups means that it's not only hard to find a bar that has an actual bar where one can sit, but also that one is far more conspicuous if one is alone, and being a foreigner on your own is about as conspicuous as you can get.

For this reason, I wanted to find an area that was frequented by foreigners where I could feel less out of place. Haeundae beach, where I was staying, didn't seem to offer this so I decided to head to Namcheon which I had heard was near a lot of foreigner hang-outs. Unfortunately I missed the last subway, so I hopped in a cab and asked him to take me to the Namcheon subway station. The thing was, when I got there, there was nothing. A few convenience stores, some very Korean restaurants, and a local bar where I would have been the most conspicuous lonely foreigner imaginable (the kind of place where the men there have been glued to their seats for years). I walked around, looking for anything remotely promising, grabbed an unhealthy snack from a nearby 7-11 and found the nearest taxi stand.

The night was seeming like a total bust. I was spending more than $10 in cab fare to end up where I'd started with nothing to show for it, and due to the vigorous nature of my day, I wasn't in the mood to wander enough to find a good place for a drink. When I arrived back at Haeundae I decided to give it one last try. I started down a main road and stopped at a coffee shop. While waiting there for my order, the local girl at the next table whose companion had headed presumable to the restroom, struck up a conversation with me by complementing my necklace. She was kind and bubbly and her English was really good. She asked about where I lived and then about how I liked Pusan. I asked how she liked living there and we talked about New York City. We said goodbye after bemoaning the fact that we lived too far apart to become language exchange partners. This felt like some kind of good omen. Well, perhaps that's hindsight talking. At the very least, it renewed my faith in Korea and put a little more pep into my tired feet. I left and had been wandering for only a short while, when I decided to try a more out-of-the-way side street and lo and behold, I found a bar where foreigners were dancing.

I sat myself at the bar and ordered a gin and tonic. I felt relieved to have found a good spot and slightly smug as I watched the group of foreigners, who looked pretty silly dancing about. If nothing else, the people-watching was first-rate. I was on my second drink when one of the foreigners asked me if I had been hiking at Geumjeongsan that day. I was surprised to find out that these folks were the group of foreigners I had noticed on the hike, who had indirectly been the reason that I found my Korean "guide."

Stranger still, they were all MBA students from Michigan State University and were on a school-sponsored trip. They were quite possibly the first tourists I had ever met in Korea. The obligatory Spartans vs. Wolverines jokes and minor insults were addressed and suddenly I was surrounded by a bunch of new friends.


Here I am with Paula, the girl who first recognized me and then introduced me to her crew. I really hit it off with a few of the people and ended up staying up until Sunrise at 5am, talking about my life in Korea and their trip and whatnot. Talk about an unexpected turn of events.

The following day my hope was to catch some sun. So I headed out...


Past the oddly anachronistic bumper car-esque vehicles in a lot on my way to the beach. I spent a little while reading and relaxing, but when it became clear that the sun was gone and not coming back, I headed to Gukje market to check out the wares offered there. It was a pretty typical Korean market, though I did see a woman outside at a very old-school sewing machine doing I-don't-know-what (maybe you could take off your pants and she would hem them then and there?). I bought a dress with elephants on it (I will forever call it my Morgan dress) and some other cool stuff and then headed back to the hotel to relax and try and track down my friends.


As it turns out, I found them, and we also found beer, which made for a fun night, in spite of some pretty serious downpours. The sea roared when it rained, which was intense.


The following morning I got up early and went for a walk down the beach to a lighthouse, a walk that had been recommended by one of my new found Michigander friends. Here I am with Haeundae beach as a backdrop.


And here is the lighthouse. It was cute.

After lunch I caught up with my friends again for some sunbathing...


And I dared Mary to straddle this Korean man who had been buried in the sand up to his face by his friends. Good old Mary. The man and his friends were highly amused.

That afternoon I headed home, very tan and tired and happy to have seen another interesting part of Korea.

The next weekend, I headed to Korea's Pentaport Rock Festival, an annual event where people can camp, or at the very least hang out and listen to some great music. The festival takes place in Inchon which is in the same province as Paju and is also the Seoul suburb where the airport is located. It took much longer to get there than I had hoped, but I made it in time to see Travis, from Scotland, whom I'd seen twice before. As an added bonus, I found my friends right away without even having to call or text them. Score! Travis put on a good show and afterwards, I headed...


To this tent to dance to some electronic music. One of the best things about this festival was that, unlike many others, it didn't end at midnight. I danced until 5am...


Getting to observe things like this ridiculous raver-conga line. Who does that?

I spent the night (er... morning) at a cheap and comfy jimjilbang before heading back to the festival to catch some of the Korean bands I'd heard were worth seeing.


Here are three of my rock and roll EV friends with whom I spent the rest of the time. We caught lots of good music while drinking long island ice teas from bags (another awesome thing that Korea has--cocktails to go in a container that doesn't spill easily and doesn't injure anyone if it's dropped).


Here I am licking an obligatory, random costumed Korean individual who was promoting who-knows-what.


The highlight of the festival for me was Tricky. He played an incredibly creepy and energetic set with an awesome female vocalist, which can really only be described as pure awesome.


After Tricky one of my friends and I hurried to rejoin our other compadre at the main stage for Kasabian, a truly awesome Britsh band who were great fun to watch/hear. The energy could not have been more different from that of Tricky's set, but it was really dynamic and great fun.


The last act on the main stage was underworld. I was really excited to see them as a.) They were some of the first electronic music that I ever heard and got into and b.) I had seen them once before, but it was 10 years previous in a tiny venue. Their set was awesome and nostalgic for me, and I left the festival feeling happy and refreshed. It was really one of the best times I've had in months. The journey home was also epic, but my friends and I were able to keep our spirits up, even when our lost cab driver drove us through a tunnel that could only be inhabited by zombies. Good times for sure.

Flying Through July

And here it is, July 10th already. I know I must sound like a broken record, but it's incredible the way time flies. My fourth of July celebration was, in a word, subdued. I think I wore a sticker all day with some kind of Uncle Sam reference and that was about it. I went to the gym and then went home and read. No fireworks or anything. I guess it's a little sad, but not when you consider the rollicking Canada Day Celebration I had three days before. Besides it's what I felt like doing.

This is a big month full of activities. There have been several Birthday parties already, with more on the way. This coming weekend is the annual Boryeong Mud Festival which I may or may not attend for the second time. The following weekend I'm planning a trip to Busan (Korea's second biggest city, on the southern coast) because I have a three-day weekend. The weekend after that is the Pentaport Rock Festival, a huge outdoor concert held in Inchon (the city outside of Seoul in which the airport is located). I didn't get to go last year because I didn't have any time off on the weekends, but this time around I have my ticket and will be attending Saturday Night and Sunday. I am stoked. I haven't been to a music fest like this since Germany in 2003!

Also it seems that love is in the air all over the place, as I think there have been more weddings, engagements and baby announcements in the past couple of months than I can remember at any other point in my life. And English Village is no exception. Last Sunday my friend and coworker, Candy, married a man whom she met and fell in love with a year ago at EV. In preparation for the big day we, her lovely girl friends in the Edutainment department, threw a bachelorette party for her. We kidnapped Candy and took her to a nearby hotel.

Here I am with the victim in the back of a cab. We were so stealthy and she was so shocked, that her hand got tied into her blindfold.


Here's the lovely, blushing bride complete with silly bride outfit made for her by our costume captain.


All of the ladies were busy breaking it down and enjoying some wine...


When the police (in the form of a couple of well-disguised coworkers) showed up to put us in our places. It was HILARIOUS. The night's revels included delicious pizza and a jacuzzi, as well as a banana-shaping competition (I decided to spare you those photos, but know that I was the winner). It was a great surprise for Candy and a great night for all.

Now back to those aforementioned Birthday parties. Last Monday, my friends/coworkers Rachel and Tonya decided to have a joint celebration, so after some tasty Korean lunch, we headed down the street to drive some Go-Karts!


Here I am with Rachel, all suited up for our epic race.


And here are our friends all ready and rearing to go. I pretty much came in dead last, but it was fun anyhow.

And now, for what is perhaps the biggest news in my world: I've decided to stay in Korea for another 3 months. Now, I know you all must be thinking that I am totally addicted to life here and that I am never coming back. Let me assure you that that is not the case. It just so happens that staying a little longer will give me the time to work on some important personal projects while still enjoying a pretty easy, fun life. I have negotiated some things that were important to my happiness for the additional three months into my new contract. I will have more money saved and more money for travel, and I will arrive back in Michigan in time to spend two or three weeks around Christmastime with family and friends. Then in January, I'll be back in NYC for the beginning of the big audition season, so timing should be pretty stellar. I'm not completely thrilled with this decision, but I do think it is the wisest and best one for now. When I hear about how hard it can be to find work in the States these days, it seems to make sense for me to take advantage of this opportunity and its many sub-opportunities for as long as I can stand it. I look forward to more fun and adventures and creative endeavors in the coming months.

Three Minutes of Hell and Other Sordid Tales

Most Esteemed Dudes (let's be honest, it feels good to be called a dude, does it not?),
I have quite the story for you. It is a true tale of woe. It will shake your sinews and infuse your very blood with fear.

Actually, it's not that bad, but it IS the worst thing that has ever happened to me on stage. In my show, there is a scene that very heavily involves a video. Basically, I talk to the video and then I dance while the guy in the video sings (he is the emperor of Storyland and is basically a the floating head of my coworker Jason, which appears to be on fire and there's a green background). Now, there have been times when, for whatever reason, the video has not come up when it's supposed to, so I've had to improvise for a few seconds until it starts. I don't mind this at all. One thing that's always drawn me to live theatre is the fact that you have to deal with any problems or mistakes right in the moment. It's incredibly invigorating and creative.

The morning of the dreaded incident, after a rehearsal, my understudy had voiced her concern over video, as she'd seen the show once or twice when it didn't start right away. "Don't worry," I had told her, "The video always comes up eventually, you just have to think of a few things to do or say in case it doesn't start right away." Little did I know that in making this statement, I was cursing myself.

Later that day, during the first of two performances, the video did not come on. I did what I usually do, I looked around, wondering aloud where I was and marveling at how much my surroundings looked like the pictures in my story book. The thing was, the video did not come up after a few seconds. Oh no, friends, we're talking minutes now. So there I was, on stage with only a broken castle wall and two trees to work with. I called out asking if anyone was there. I looked into what hopefully appeared to be the heavens but was actually the tech booth and pleaded for someone, anyone to help me. I did and said any number of things that I don't clearly remember at this point.

Finally, I said that I was going to go and try to find someone to help me and ran off stage, thinking that the tech folks could bring down the lights and we could communicate over walky-talky to decide what to do. When I got off stage, they did not bring down the lights. Instead a stagehand came up to me and very apologetically said, "Uh... Oh-lay-na? Computer... no. Computer no. One more minute?" I gave him the ultimate "you've got to be kidding me" look and headed back out on stage with a large stick (the only thing I could find on my way back out) and continued to improvise.

I could see my fellow cast-member who plays my father sitting in the stage-right wing laughing his face off at me. He couldn't have come out on stage to help me because that would have completely ruined the plot. I suggested at one point during the harrowing episode, that "maybe a dragon could come help me," but my friend who plays the dragon apparently didn't get the memo.

In the end, after what felt like about two and a half-lifetimes (which is why I estimate it to have been approximately 3 minutes), the video came on. At that point, I was almost angry with the video for prolonging my time on stage. I felt incredibly shaken for the rest of the show and of course at the points when I wasn't on stage, all I could think of were better things I could have done during the three minutes of hell.

I cannot tell you how terrifying this experience was for me. But hey, I survived and it's another notch on my belt of crazy theatrical experiences. Also, it's a good lesson that if I ever have to work with a video again, I had better think up a battle plan for this kind of incident in advance.

I don't have a picture of the incident...


So instead I bring you a picture of my bathtub exploding with bubbles. Things got a little out of hand while drawing this particular bath, but let me tell you it was truly the bubble bath to end all bubble baths.

So you know that part in the title about other sordid tales? That's pretty much a lie. I don't have much else to report and it's all good stuff. Work continues to be fun. Apart from the fateful 3 minutes described above, I am having a total ball doing the show. I just love it and have a great time every time I do it (we've done it 31 times so far!).

The other night I made Mexican food for about ten of my friends.


Here are a few of the lovely ladies who came over to partake. The meal was well-received and I had fun cooking and chatting.

After the food, a few ladies hung around to drink wine and watch The Other Boleyn Girl. We enjoyed the movie and were so inspired by the crazy house-like hats warn by the women in it that...


we made our own! In this picture we are trying to look fraught and scandalized. Well, some of us are.


A few nights ago the Edutainer ladies had a fun night of games and dancing. Here are a few of us breaking it down. I do love a good dance party. In fact, last night I stayed out dancing in Seoul until dawn. I hadn't had a full night of dancing and dancing and dancing some more in a long, long time, so it was refreshing and fun.

And that, righteous Dudes, is all she wrote.

Things Are as Real as You Want Them to Be

Time flies when you're super busy both in and outside of work. Since my last update, I spent a whole second week doing the show School Days, because the actress for whom I was understudying went on vacation again. I then had a very hectic week of final rehearsals for my show, George In Storyland, which opened today. I've also done a slew of other noteworthy things between then and now.


I went to see Evil Dead the Musical in Seoul. This is what my feet looked like after the show. The show was in Korean and I wasn't familiar with the music (though I know all of the movies in the Evil Dead trilogy quite well). Aside from having some serious fun, I really felt like I learned from seeing the show. It was probably similar to the experiences of students who know hardly any English and come to English Village and see our shows. I of course understood the physical comedy and enjoyed the funny voices. I loved the musical numbers, but sometimes got bored during scenes with lots of dialog. How neat to be able to put myself in my audiences' shoes and then get them splattered with fake blood.


I also taught line dancing A LOT during the past few weeks. Here are a couple of the cute kids I got to dance with. It was definitely fun, but tiring. Seriously, there is only so much of the Hand Jive and the Bunny Hop that a person can be expected to bare, and I am happy that I won't have to do this activity so often now that I'll be primarily performing for the next three months.


Last Friday the South Africans among us hosted a Braai, or barbecue in celebration of their national day. Above are some folks enjoying the tasty food and lively talk.


Here I am enjoying some yummy South African Shiraz with one of my bosses.


The EV Boyz, the makers of the video I posted a few entries back also performed. I enjoyed their antics as always, and it was cool that they got to perform for their home crowd, because the next night they had two huge shows in Seoul where they sang their crazy songs to benefit a charity that does AIDS relief work in Africa.

Here I am all gussied up for the event with my friend Andrea. For the record, I am wearing the coolest hat in the world. On the side it says "this charming man" in silver lettering and has these neat little button thingies. Only Korea could make a hat like this. The shows were packed and the night was what one might venture to call a blasty blast.


The following day I met up with a random Israeli dude who was in Seoul on business and wanted to do some sight-seeing.


We headed to Changgyeonggung Palace pictured above and checked out its elaborate buildings and its nifty garden. We talked about cool stuff in Israel and our respective travel experiences. It was pretty fun hanging out with a random total stranger who I'm sure I'll never see again. Good times, good adventures.


After that I met up with some friends to grab some tasty Mexican food (a rare treat in these parts). I invite you to click on the picture above and take a closer look at the handsome waiter's name. That's right folks, his name is definitely Bong. Sometimes I just want to hug Korea for its abundance of awesome things that make me laugh.

And, on an entirely different note, here are some pictures from today's triumphant show-opening.

This is Derek. He's all dressed up and ready to play my dad, George.

This is me in my costume for the role of Chelsea, a 12-year-old girl. My smile is not usually this fear-inducing.

Here I am dressed as Allegra, the grumpy Unicorn who becomes cheerful.

And here I am with my friend Brian who plays a cowardly dragon named Milo who becomes brave.

I had fun performing the show. As always, there were plenty of technical glitches, which can get rather discouraging and annoying, but we did the best we could and we had fun. The show is technically very difficult because it involves a veritable plethora of videos. There are times when we talk to videos, sing to videos, and sing with people in videos (I even get to sing with videos of myself as another character!). Thus, I definitely look forward to having the kinks all ironed out. The music in the show is really good and fun to sing.

And that's about it for now, most bodacious readers. Life continues to be full, amusing and productive.

Oy Veh, Children's Day

Do I get groan points for my title? One week ago today was my second big Children's Day celebration at English Village, yet another event which had me wondering how on earth it had been a whole year since the last one. It was a day full of line-dancing (at least for me) performing, and smiling kids.


Here are a couple of my edutainer buddies hanging out before the big show that we did.


And here's a nice photo (most of these are courtesy of my friend Emma) from our performance of Love Shack (with the lyrics rewritten to be about English Village). The show was essentially the same as last year but with a few small changes (and of course many of the performers were different).


This is me singing our Children's Day version of Mama Mia with Eva and Rachel. Do you like my pink wig?


And this is the whole group doing Shout, with Eva and me (did you see that people? Me, not I. That, my friends, is correct grammar.) on backup vocals.


And here's a lovely post-show pic of Rachel and me.


Children's Day happened to fall on my friend and co-worker Robyn's birthday, so afterwards we all went out to celebrate with her. As you can see, I gave the festivities the thumbs-up.

Because this year Children's Day fell on a Monday, a day when the park is usually closed, I had to work a six-day week, with only one day off. I will get an extra day off in July to make up for it, which will give me a three-day weekend and be awesome. However, I felt as though I needed to make the most of my one day off,


So I went with Robyn and another lovely edutainer, Kelly, to the beach. It was not the nicest beach ever but we had a good time. Unfortunately, it was too windy for us to be able to lie out on the sand comfortably for very long. We had a nice meal and then decided to explore a cement walkway that went out among the rocks.


Part of the walkway was broken and we had to walk over this instead. It was scary.


Here is Kelly, who conquered a rock,


And here I am among the rocks, wearing the ugliest sunglasses EVER (I love them in all their ridiculous glory).

We had a lot nice beach hiking and then gorged ourselves on delicious ice cream before heading home.

This week was also pretty crazy. On top of my usual schedule of game shows and line dancing, I had rehearsals for George Saves Storyland. In addition to that, our whole department had to learn a song and dance number for the show and film it, all in about two days! It was a good exercise in learning choreography quickly and really being on the ball. It was also fun, but tiring. As if I weren't busy enough, I had to go in as an understudy in School Days for the first time yesterday. Things went well, considering that I had had three rehearsals total for the role. I did three shows and was finally able to start feeling comfortable during the last show. I will be back at it on Wednesday and Thursday of this week and I'm sure it will be fun. It's definitely a nice break from the game shows and activities.

And that, folks, is all for now.

Back and on the Attack

As predicted, it's been a busy couple of weeks since returning to dynamic Korea. I've learned my new understudy role and I'll be going in next Sunday. I've also started rehearsals for next season's show, George Saves Storyland, (which will be my last) as well as learning the music and choreography for our Children's Day song and dance extravaganza, which we'll be performing tomorrow. I can't believe it's already that time again! I'm now preparing for a pretty quiet evening, since tomorrow is bound to be exhausting. When we're not doing the show, I'll be teaching dances to energetic kids pretty much all day long. Wish me luck (or rather, leg-breakage). In the meantime, below are a few highlights from the last couple of weeks.

Last week was Military Week again. This time around we weren't allowed to drink with the soldiers, but luckily there were no rules against us breaking it down with them. Dance, navy boys, dance.


Dear Mom, just thought you'd be glad to see that I made good use of those wax lips you gave me. -Alena. This was taken at my friend Nic's going away party which doubled as a birthday party for my friends Mary and Brian.


In case you were wondering whether Korea was still totally weird, it is.


Here I am with Drina, aka Babykins, who seems to double in size and personality every time I see her. We're in the living room at her Mom and Dad's new pad in Seoul.


Here's one of the views from the top observation deck at N Seoul Tower. I had the opportunity to go there and meet up with my friend Rachel and her friend Rachel (yes, really) before second Rachel headed back to the U.S. of A. from her visit here.



And here's a fetching photo of all but one of the Edutainer ladies after we had a delicious meal at one of the restaurants in Heyri Art Valley.

The times, they are pretty good. 10-4

Hello, hello again, shaboom, shaboom.

I've been back in Korea for six lovely spring days now. Seriously, the weather here is currently blowing the weather I experienced in the States clear out of the water.

I returned to a crazy, yet awesome onslaught of work. We are preparing for our big Children's Day show and we just had auditions for the summer season (I got the part I wanted, yay!) and on top of that, since one of my coworkers recently left the Village, I am now the understudy for the role of Peggy in the show I directed. I've been spending my days doing the hand jive, the bunny hop and the stroll with lots of cute kids outside in the sun and learning lots of choreography, as well as music and lines. I'm tired, especially physically, but in a very accomplished way.

Going home was fun, action-packed and refreshing.

After a grueling series of three flights, I arrived at DTW and headed home for some tasty food and catching up with mom and dad. After sleeping my face off, I headed to Ann Arbor the next evening to visit...



Maggie! Here she is wearing the most ridiculous hat Korea had to offer (as well as a moo-moo--we won't get into that).



We went to the Blind Pig to see VHS or Beta, which was a lot of fun.

The next evening, which was a Wednesday, my parents threw a party at 1st UU church for me to see all sorts of friends of the family and eat more tasty food.



Here I am with a group of people who have known me since I drooled, wore diapers, and did other similarly attractive things.

The party was lots of fun. I ended up doing a little impromptu slide show with commentary about some of my travels and it was pretty well received. I also have to give a shout out to mom for making sure I got a piece of the tiramisu.



The rest of my stay in Detroit involved visiting with my lovely Aunt Jill (who was kind enough to drive in from Chicago to visit), a trip to the Detroit Institute of the arts,



some catching up with my Godparents, Dave and Linda Smith (pictured above with me and mom and dad), much tasty food,



A visit to Belle Isle, some serious partying, and even...



A bit of urban exploration.

I was also able to make it back out to Ann Arbor to see a German play directed by a professor whom I'd had at U of M. I selected wigs for the show and shipped them from Korea, so it was fun to get to see them on stage. After a visit with some good friends from good old Performance Network Theatre, it was back to Detroit for a hot minute before hopping on a plane to New York.

In New York I continued to eat delicious food and also saw two plays: Harold Pinter's The Homecoming and Gypsy with Patti Lupone (both very good). I stayed with various friends and had some long-overdue quality time with people I'd been missing.


Also, I met the literal Hercules of beer and explored the comprehensive selection in his shop,



Witnessed a performance by mini-Michael Jackson,



And went to a really neat bar called Please Don't Tell (so that's all I can say about it).

I went to see The Dirtbombs (a Detroit band!) with a slew of friends and we proceeded to get our party on at a weekly event that I used to attend fairly regularly when I lived in the city. Great times, indeed.

I then headed back to Detroit to say goodbye to mom and dad and get everything in order before embarking on my series of grueling flights back to Korea.

And here I am.

It was odd being home. In some ways, it really felt like going back in time. For the first time I had the feeling of having two very distinct and separate lives. I'd never really felt that way while living in Korea, but it was odd how easy it seemed to just slip back into my life back home, even for just a short time. In a lot of ways, everything back in the States felt way more normal than I had expected. Still the tendency to compare everything about both countries was as strong as one would expect.

There was a part of me that wanted to just stay in New York for good. At one point, I was enjoying a greasy New York Slice at a counter that faced the street and I just couldn't get over the diversity of all of the people walking by on their way to who-knows-where. They were old and young, of various ethnicities and persuasions, dressed in sweats, designer suits, entirely in leather... I'd really missed that about New York, as well as missing my friends and the city's general energy and fast pace. Everyone there just seems to be working their butt off to be awesome at what they do and I love that energy.

When I got back, I really felt like I was coming home, though. I love it here, and I really look forward to the next 4.5 months or so. I am sure that they will fly by, seeing as they'll be packed with activity. I am so pleased with the experiences I've had and continue to have on this adventure, but if anything, being home served to remind me that there is so much more to see and more to do.