Repatriate Me!

Back in May I posted pictures of my trip to Andong. I’ve finally got the video edited. There are some shots of my family but for the most part you will be able to see the Culture and Tradition center of Korea. Hope you enjoy the video, even with my really off key singing at the beginning.

Vacation video of Andong

One of the things I am not going to miss when I leave Korea is the driving. When I bought my HD camcorder last year I made a plan to make a video of the psycho nut cases behind the wheel here. However a little search on YouTube found several results including a series of seven videos by one guy that really showcase how bloody stupid drivers are in this country. Every single thing you see in these videos happens regularly. I swear that i cannot drive more than 5 minutes without seeing serious traffic violations of safety problems. For example when I drive my kids to school, a 5 minute drive, I can pretty much guarantee to see 2-3 people run a red light and 1-2 people driving in the oncoming lane so they get get around the line up at the red light and turn right.

I get so angry driving in this country and end up swearing too much when driving. My wife is always getting angry at me for swearing at drivers. I’ve now managed to keep the swearing to a minimum, but my 4 year old starts yelling out “Loser” whenever he hears a horn honking. He also makes an “L” with his thumb and index finger over his forehead (welcome to the 80s courtesy of Dad).

Enjoy.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

In just over one week I’ll be getting on a plane and flying to Ottawa. I’ve still got a couple of emails to send off – been procrastinating on a few things. In any case I think I really only need about two to two and a half days to get everything done when I’m there which is nice as I can go at a relaxed pace.

I’ve started trying to switch my sleeping schedule over to Canada time – about 11 hours different from Korea. Starting yesterday I’m now drinking coffee in the evening and moving my bed time about an hour a head each night until I leave. Not sure how well that’s going to work. I have a natural inclination to wake up between 5:30 and 6:30 in the morning no matter what time I go to bed.

The other day, I picked up a new suitcase for the trip and have pretty much everything I need prepared: Plane tickets, hotel in Toronto, dorm room at the University of Ottawa, car rental. I’ve also found where to buy a Drobo I still have to exchange money into Canadian funds, fortunately the exchange rate moved in my direction the last couple of days – will change on either Monday or Tuesday.

Things to do in Ottawa

• cruise neighborhoods and talk to real estate agents
• look at schools
• learn about registering my business
• talk to a bank about mortgages and more
• visit the chamber of commerce
• Meet Jonathon Snook (lunch planned)
• Meet The Ex Urban Pedestrian – author of the most interesting Ottawa based blog (a blogging gathering on Wednesday night)
• Was hoping to meet one of my brother’s friends but he’s going to be out of town for 6 weeks on business

In other unrelated news my wife and I took our kids to Everland a local theme park yesterday which was a blast. Here’s a short video of our ride on the the worlds steepest (77 degrees) wooden roller coaster. Edited 240 pictures earlier today and started work on all the video we took – I might post some here later.

currently watching the pre game event here for the Korea vs Uraguay soccer match and the rain just started a major downpoor. All those fans out in the streets are getting drenched. – talk about a somewhat random and disconnected blog post.

World's Steepest Wooden Roller Coaster

The T-coaster at Everland in Korea is billed as the worlds steepest wooden roller coaster with the initial drop being 77 degrees. The entire structure is wooden and even the tracks are made of word with thin metal plate.

Yesterday evening I went for a two hour walk with my wife along the river. The river is only about an eight minute walk from our house and has a nice walking path as well as a cycling path along the entire length of it on both sides. We walked about two subway stops along and then exited into the Hapjong/Hongdae area where we stopped at a nice dessert shop for some crepes and lemon ice.

Along the way I shot a couple of short clips of the river at night. I’m quite happy with how they turned out considering the camera was handheld at night.

Han River June 2010

10 Magazine had a video contest to submit a video promoting Korea. I didn’t get my video finished on time and couldn’t submit it. Here is the video as it stands, I wanted to do a little more with it, but am too busy at the moment.

Contest details are here and I believe there links to entries that people submitted there as well. Really wish I had had enough time to complete the video before the deadline

Great Tradition and Great Food