The second day started out like the first. Try to get out of a busy busy city, and try to get the the end checkpoint before it got dark. The second day we finally got our rickshaw. It was Red #25. I requested an orange rickshaw but at least they spelled our team name right. Art and I took turns driving and divided it up by distance. Every day I started out driving he would end driving. We were a good team. We only broke down like 5 times. A couple of the times we were close enough to a town either to be, pushed back by another team, or to push it back manually to get a part. Sometimes you could pay someone to take their mo-ped into town and bring you back the part for the local mechanic to install. If you weren't close to a town you could call the dispatcher on the pre-paid phone they gave us to use and the mechanics that traveled with the ralley would come and fix us where ever we might be. If they touched it there was a 200 rupee service charge no matter what...we tried not to have them help us out. The stuff that broke for the most part wasn't anything major. The first time it was the clutch wire, then the accelerator wire. The next break was a little bigger...it was a piece of the cluth. At one point our crank shaft cover screws came out and the thing was open. It was a little costly. I have to say gas and maintainence was the biggest expense. But still wasn't that much. We carried with us spare bottles of oil and gas in the "trunk" in case we ran out. We never knew because there wasn't a gas guage...or a speedometer...or for that matter a front head light, horn, or turn signal etc. Our rickshaw was still the fastest out of all of them. We ended up being first a bunch of times and techincally should have won. They don't pick the winner on that basis though. It's really whoever is best for their publicity. But like I said before we left, I wasn't going to win.
Around the 4th day Art and I started to hang out with the documentary crew that was there to cover the whole race. The t.v channel was called SS Music which was the equivelent of MTV. The face for the documentary was named Gibran. A cool guy that was fluent in English. We started hanging out a lot and he eventually told us that 1)The article he was writing for this english magazine was going to be about us. And 2)The documentary he was filming was going to be focused on us. It was like over night a star was born. They would follow us in their mini-van and do interviews with us during the day and after we hit the end check point. It was fun. During one of the first days they were traveling with us they stopped us at the school we were suppose to visit. Everyday we visited a school and played with the kids, handed out supplies and stuff like that. So we were in first place so we weren't surprised when we stopped and no one was there. We saw the kids inside looking out there windows and smiling, obviously excited that there were white people and video cameras there. We did the opening of us walking into the school while being interviewed and once through the gates the producer (gopi) whispers to us, "Yoooo wrong school!!!" We immediatly waved to the kids and jumped in our auto and drove away. It was soooooo funny but I felt so bad for those kids.
After about the 5th day we got to the end checkpoint after another day of trying to survive the madness. After the arrival and taking pictures with the whole group of racers for the local paper we were requested by the radio station that interviewed us the first time. "HELLO 106.4" This was a different area but the same station. They brought us to the radio station and we went in. We had our second live broadcast. The whole show was for about an hour so we just chilled and took phone calls. Went out, had dinner, went back and passed out.
The second to last day I have to say was probably the coolest. One of the challenges was to go about 30km's off of the track and check out a waterfall. The road up to the waterfall was windy and steep and up a mountain. No guard rails and a steep drop awaited us if I fucked up. We got up the mountain in one piece and saw the waterfall. There were monkey's everrrrrryyyywhere. I had a stick with me already to beat monkey's off the rickshaw because they had a habit of jumping onto the rickshaw and stealing whatever they could even while we were moving. We took all our valuables and walked to the waterfall where we found a chain that led under the waterfall. We had to get under it. The t.v crew was with us so they watched our shit and we went under. It was soooo refreshing and cold and amazing and AWESOME! After a little bit we walked back to the rickshaw. From the radio station they gave us a HUGE bag full of business cards with sucking candies stapled to them. We left that in the rickshaw because it wasn't valuable. We got back from the waterfall and the cards were ALL over the place with not one sucking candy left in any of the wrappers. Damn monkey's.
After all that we got to the end checkpoint and after the next day, which was thefinal day of the race, they threw a party for us in a really nice hotel (which was included with the entry fee so we got to stay in a place that actually had hot water!). It was all you can drink, all you can eat, all you can party. They gave out awards and announced the winners. I think we got something like 4th place out of 26 teams. Our award was the "wow I can't believe they are still alive" award. We had a reputation, know what i'm saying? After that ceremoney we continued drinking. Sometimes in the evening 9 people decided to grab me and try to throw me in the pool. I couldn't escape and started yelling that I had my passport and cell phone in my pocket. My teammate Art said "I'll help you!" Then proceeded to only take the stuff out of my pocket so I could be deposited into the pool. I stopped fighting because each appendage had a person or two on it, it was a losing battle. All at once they counted to three and realeased me into the air! Sadly they got a lot of upward motion but no foward motion. I landed smack on the concrete with only my face hitting the water. They fucked up! I stood up and grabbed the first person I could and launched us into the pool. My chest felt like I was dropped on it! What a night.
Monday, February 11, 2008
India and Thailand trip. First couple of days.
What's up Yall. Hope ur still checking this blog out, it's been a while since my last post. I came back from India and went straight into 2 weeks and 3 days of english camp. I haven't been that busy all year. After that I went into vacation and I was too busy relaxing so I had no desire what-so-ever to write. Today is my first day back at school and there are no classes so here goes nothing.
INDIA AND THAILAND:
The YouTube video below should say it all but just incase your left wondering about more i'll give you a quick run down of that adventure.
We flew into Bangkok, Thailand and Art was able to scar me for life. There is this famous district called Papong. It's where all the hookers gather and all the dirty old men go to get the hookers that have gathered. It's great cause you can see the ugliest fattest old man walking around with the smalled and cutest girl. Quite amazing. It is also the capital of the world for what they call a "Ping pong show." I kinda figured out what it was before Art told me he HAD TO take me to one but I played dumb since I was kinda curious. We got there at it was EXACTLY what I thought. These girls were doing things with certain parts of their bodies that I could never even imagine. They opened bottle caps, they blew out candles, they shot fruits (at me), they popped balloons with projected darts, they even did that clown trick where he pulls tied hankerchefs out of his mouth...except not with her mouth. I don't think I laughed that hard in a while. After that we sat down to a nice steak dinner...You might ask how could I be hungry after that...No idea. We were only in Bangkok for one night. The next morning we went to India.
We got there and took an autorickshaw, or auto/tuk tuk for short, straight to the training area. People were already there for a day or two and we arrived right as they started. It was basically a really big go cart course where they let us all go balls out and just learn the ropes. The gears, unlike a motercycle, and clutch are operated with your left hand. The throttle was the right hand, and the brake was with the foot. One person in the front and 2 could fit in the back. I did however see about 12 people packed into one auto in the streets of India, as well as about 5 people on a mo-ped. After our first experience of almost dying we got ready for the next morning.
The first day was a big event. Press all over the place and racers getting ready for the race. Our rickshaw was not there during the training day and actually broke down on the way to the venue area for the start. We were allowed to use the directors rickshaw which was pretty diesle. To start off with it was painted like a zebra. It was faster than the rest, and inside it had a sound system and a p.a system. They gave us all a sheet with the distances (which were wrong) and the town names that we should look for. Also on the sheet were challenges that were worth various points. Such as "give us the names of the god's that the malapuram temple was dedicated too." This was a really cool part of the race because it made everyone stop and see the attractions of that area. The flags went up and we were off. Once we started my teammate and I realized that we didn't know how to get out of the city. By luck we saw a sign and an arrow. We did it, out of the city. At our first check point we were approached by a guy from a radio station and he asked us to do a live broadcast. We said "HELL YEAH!" After our first celebrity appearence we left and wanted to stop for lunch so we pulled over in the middle of an open road at this little shack and ate the most delicious food ever and yes, I used my hands! I have to say that was my favorite part of India. Chowing down with your fingers in even the fanciest restaurants was a trip. WHO NEEDS A FORK! After a long day of rocking the roads of Tamil-Nadu we made it to the end-of-day check point. The checkpoint was always the hotel that most of the people were staying at. Weeks before the race even started they offered us a package for about 500 bucks and you get the nice hotels and good accomodations. 500 BUCKS!!!??? YEAH RIGHT! They also offered a budget package for 250. Still, hell no. Me and Art roughed it and found our own hotels...or should I say rooms. They were really never more than 3 or 4 dollars a night and worth every penny. It was a room with a bed. We didn't need nice places. The other days pretty much went the same way.
Day 1 sum up: Ran over a coconut, almost died. Almost hit a truck. I hit a bus. 1 radio broadcast. came in first place. Couldn't wait for day 2.
LUNCH TIME. WILL WRITE MORE AFTER I'M DONE.
INDIA AND THAILAND:
The YouTube video below should say it all but just incase your left wondering about more i'll give you a quick run down of that adventure.
We flew into Bangkok, Thailand and Art was able to scar me for life. There is this famous district called Papong. It's where all the hookers gather and all the dirty old men go to get the hookers that have gathered. It's great cause you can see the ugliest fattest old man walking around with the smalled and cutest girl. Quite amazing. It is also the capital of the world for what they call a "Ping pong show." I kinda figured out what it was before Art told me he HAD TO take me to one but I played dumb since I was kinda curious. We got there at it was EXACTLY what I thought. These girls were doing things with certain parts of their bodies that I could never even imagine. They opened bottle caps, they blew out candles, they shot fruits (at me), they popped balloons with projected darts, they even did that clown trick where he pulls tied hankerchefs out of his mouth...except not with her mouth. I don't think I laughed that hard in a while. After that we sat down to a nice steak dinner...You might ask how could I be hungry after that...No idea. We were only in Bangkok for one night. The next morning we went to India.
We got there and took an autorickshaw, or auto/tuk tuk for short, straight to the training area. People were already there for a day or two and we arrived right as they started. It was basically a really big go cart course where they let us all go balls out and just learn the ropes. The gears, unlike a motercycle, and clutch are operated with your left hand. The throttle was the right hand, and the brake was with the foot. One person in the front and 2 could fit in the back. I did however see about 12 people packed into one auto in the streets of India, as well as about 5 people on a mo-ped. After our first experience of almost dying we got ready for the next morning.
The first day was a big event. Press all over the place and racers getting ready for the race. Our rickshaw was not there during the training day and actually broke down on the way to the venue area for the start. We were allowed to use the directors rickshaw which was pretty diesle. To start off with it was painted like a zebra. It was faster than the rest, and inside it had a sound system and a p.a system. They gave us all a sheet with the distances (which were wrong) and the town names that we should look for. Also on the sheet were challenges that were worth various points. Such as "give us the names of the god's that the malapuram temple was dedicated too." This was a really cool part of the race because it made everyone stop and see the attractions of that area. The flags went up and we were off. Once we started my teammate and I realized that we didn't know how to get out of the city. By luck we saw a sign and an arrow. We did it, out of the city. At our first check point we were approached by a guy from a radio station and he asked us to do a live broadcast. We said "HELL YEAH!" After our first celebrity appearence we left and wanted to stop for lunch so we pulled over in the middle of an open road at this little shack and ate the most delicious food ever and yes, I used my hands! I have to say that was my favorite part of India. Chowing down with your fingers in even the fanciest restaurants was a trip. WHO NEEDS A FORK! After a long day of rocking the roads of Tamil-Nadu we made it to the end-of-day check point. The checkpoint was always the hotel that most of the people were staying at. Weeks before the race even started they offered us a package for about 500 bucks and you get the nice hotels and good accomodations. 500 BUCKS!!!??? YEAH RIGHT! They also offered a budget package for 250. Still, hell no. Me and Art roughed it and found our own hotels...or should I say rooms. They were really never more than 3 or 4 dollars a night and worth every penny. It was a room with a bed. We didn't need nice places. The other days pretty much went the same way.
Day 1 sum up: Ran over a coconut, almost died. Almost hit a truck. I hit a bus. 1 radio broadcast. came in first place. Couldn't wait for day 2.
LUNCH TIME. WILL WRITE MORE AFTER I'M DONE.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
To my loyal readers (and non loyal ones too)
It has been a while since my last entry. I just got back to Korea last sunday (the 13th) and the next morning I dove right into my 2 week winter English camp. It's my first time making real lesson plans all by myself and teaching 4 hours worth of class a day without a co-teacher. It was a little overwhelming at first but I'm taking control it. It's running smoother now, still a little frustrating because the kids are my lowest level students and I'm teaching 3rd and 4th graders, whom i've never met before. In my free time I have been adjusting lesson plans for the lower level students and EDITING MY INDIA TRIP DVD! It was an amazing race. You can see our tuk tuk above. I am proud to say I'm finished with it and damn proud. It is late and I'm too tired to write about it tonight, but you can expect me to write about it soon. For those of you who know my poppa dukes or momma dukes i'll be sending them a DVD so if you are that interested contact them about it. For right now here are some pictures to hold you over until my next blog. I'll be done with my school's english camp this friday and then I have one more 3 day one at another school...oy. Possibly before that, but maybe after that i'll get my shit together and sit my A.D.D ass down and write something. Until then, e ta boo aye yo (see you later).
Monday, December 24, 2007
Oh Korea
"The South Korean government now supports more than 40 treatment programs to deal with video game and Internet addiction."
"A South Korean man has died after reportedly playing an online computer game for 50 hours with few breaks."
"Every second household in South Korea has a broadband connection to the internet."
I think you guessed that children here play on their computer way to much. They even have professional video game players that are actually nationally famous. This post isn't about this but it might help you understand why I thought this next story was really funny.
Our text book follows the seasons. Right around christmas the video's on the cd started having snow and christmas songs in them. In one of the video's there are three kids talking about making a snowman after a heavy snow storm. While talking one of the boys (Bill) gets hit in the face by a snow ball by another kid (Joon). Joon starts laughing as anyone would and then you see his face turn to a fearful look. The other three are now chasing him with the base of the previous mentioned snow man over their heads. The children laughed and I did too. After the video I asked them, "What happened to Bill in this video?" Most of the kis in the other classes were able to say at least part of the right answer which was, "Joon hit bill in the face with a snowball." In one of my classes, a lower level one at that, everyone is silent for about 20 seconds. Right after that there were some words being thrown out such as "throw" and "snow ball." One kid even shouted out "Jay-kuh I love you." Although it's a good answer it isn't the right one. Out of no where, this kid who never speaks, or even looks up jumps up as excited as I have ever seen him and shouts out, "SNOW BALL HEAD SHOT!" Immediately I had a flash back to my teenage days of playing counter strike online with friends. When you shoot someone in the face the computer games spits out the phrase "HEAD SHOT." I couldn't help but start laughing, the rest of the class (even the kid) joined in too. Who said video games never taught anyone anything?
Video games for the most part are def. unhealthy for children in America. Lets talk about something a little better for good living. This past Sunday I went hiking with some friends. We climbed Apsan. Ap=Forward, San=Mountain. So combine the two and you get Forward Mountain...I hope. It is a mountain on the South rim of Daegu. We met downtown and made our way over. A buddy of mine brought his dog, a 3 year old bull terrier. Very cute animal, but a funny looking face. We got to the mountain and hiked up. It was a little more than a mile, but parts of it were very steep. All in all not too hard. The puppy was having a blast. He let her off the leash and she ran up the mountain and waiting until we got closer then jetted away again. It was really warm and was a great day to hike. We made it to the top after about 1 1/2. I realized then why it was a famous mountain. There were a number of different viewing places you could hike around to, but from every one of them you got an amazing panoramic view of the entire city of Daegu. You could see everything. At the top we met this Korean kid who's english was pretty kick ass. He started talking to us and introduced his twin brothers. Nice kids, and obviously he was excited to speak English. We were being nice of course since we are all teachers, then he went away and came back with some home made Gim Bop that his mother and father brought along on the hike. Gim bop is Korean sushi. It was really good, and we ate a lot. I gave him one of my nutri-grain bars but by his face I knew he didn't like it. They tagged along with us till the end of the hike and then left after getting someone's e-mail address. After the hike it was only appropriate to go to a Jim Jill Bong with the crew so we did. Mad relaxing. If you guys don't know what a Jim Jill Bong is read my past post about it. Pretty close to the beginning of when I got here. After that, went to downtown and got some good food, took a bus back watched a movie and passed out. GREAT day.
This will be my last post for at least until January 13th because I will be on vacation. I'll be in India and Thailand until the 13th. I can't wait, I leave Friday. For now I must leave you! I have to go dress up as Santa Claus for my Hapkido peoples. I'm the only white person they know so it's only appropriate. After that it's downtown for an ugly sweater x-mas party. Trust me, I bought an ugly fucking sweater. Got it for 2 bucks that is how ugly it is. Take care ladies and gentlemen, i'll have A LOT to write about when I get back.
p.s- GOT MY VIDEO CAMERA TODAY, SOME OF YOU SHOULD EXPECT DVD'S.
"A South Korean man has died after reportedly playing an online computer game for 50 hours with few breaks."
"Every second household in South Korea has a broadband connection to the internet."
I think you guessed that children here play on their computer way to much. They even have professional video game players that are actually nationally famous. This post isn't about this but it might help you understand why I thought this next story was really funny.
Our text book follows the seasons. Right around christmas the video's on the cd started having snow and christmas songs in them. In one of the video's there are three kids talking about making a snowman after a heavy snow storm. While talking one of the boys (Bill) gets hit in the face by a snow ball by another kid (Joon). Joon starts laughing as anyone would and then you see his face turn to a fearful look. The other three are now chasing him with the base of the previous mentioned snow man over their heads. The children laughed and I did too. After the video I asked them, "What happened to Bill in this video?" Most of the kis in the other classes were able to say at least part of the right answer which was, "Joon hit bill in the face with a snowball." In one of my classes, a lower level one at that, everyone is silent for about 20 seconds. Right after that there were some words being thrown out such as "throw" and "snow ball." One kid even shouted out "Jay-kuh I love you." Although it's a good answer it isn't the right one. Out of no where, this kid who never speaks, or even looks up jumps up as excited as I have ever seen him and shouts out, "SNOW BALL HEAD SHOT!" Immediately I had a flash back to my teenage days of playing counter strike online with friends. When you shoot someone in the face the computer games spits out the phrase "HEAD SHOT." I couldn't help but start laughing, the rest of the class (even the kid) joined in too. Who said video games never taught anyone anything?
Video games for the most part are def. unhealthy for children in America. Lets talk about something a little better for good living. This past Sunday I went hiking with some friends. We climbed Apsan. Ap=Forward, San=Mountain. So combine the two and you get Forward Mountain...I hope. It is a mountain on the South rim of Daegu. We met downtown and made our way over. A buddy of mine brought his dog, a 3 year old bull terrier. Very cute animal, but a funny looking face. We got to the mountain and hiked up. It was a little more than a mile, but parts of it were very steep. All in all not too hard. The puppy was having a blast. He let her off the leash and she ran up the mountain and waiting until we got closer then jetted away again. It was really warm and was a great day to hike. We made it to the top after about 1 1/2. I realized then why it was a famous mountain. There were a number of different viewing places you could hike around to, but from every one of them you got an amazing panoramic view of the entire city of Daegu. You could see everything. At the top we met this Korean kid who's english was pretty kick ass. He started talking to us and introduced his twin brothers. Nice kids, and obviously he was excited to speak English. We were being nice of course since we are all teachers, then he went away and came back with some home made Gim Bop that his mother and father brought along on the hike. Gim bop is Korean sushi. It was really good, and we ate a lot. I gave him one of my nutri-grain bars but by his face I knew he didn't like it. They tagged along with us till the end of the hike and then left after getting someone's e-mail address. After the hike it was only appropriate to go to a Jim Jill Bong with the crew so we did. Mad relaxing. If you guys don't know what a Jim Jill Bong is read my past post about it. Pretty close to the beginning of when I got here. After that, went to downtown and got some good food, took a bus back watched a movie and passed out. GREAT day.
This will be my last post for at least until January 13th because I will be on vacation. I'll be in India and Thailand until the 13th. I can't wait, I leave Friday. For now I must leave you! I have to go dress up as Santa Claus for my Hapkido peoples. I'm the only white person they know so it's only appropriate. After that it's downtown for an ugly sweater x-mas party. Trust me, I bought an ugly fucking sweater. Got it for 2 bucks that is how ugly it is. Take care ladies and gentlemen, i'll have A LOT to write about when I get back.
p.s- GOT MY VIDEO CAMERA TODAY, SOME OF YOU SHOULD EXPECT DVD'S.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
India Auto Rickshaw Spectacular
Some of you have been informed already about my upcoming adventure. Dec. 29th I will be leaving for India to participate in the 2007 CEAT Autorickshaw charity race. My friend from orientation, Art, and myself are leaving from Seoul (the capital of Korea) on the 29th at 1050 in the morning. We land in Thailand at 4:45 pm and have a one night lay over there. It will be nice cause i'll get to see a little of Bangkok. We leave the next morning at 1055am and land in Chennai India 1245pm. We are getting picked up from the airport by transportation provided by the event. When we get there the fun begins. This race is a team event. Each team recieves a Tuk Tuk, or Autorickshaw, that they will use for the duration of the event. The Auto rickshaw is basically a motorcycle taxi. One wheel in the front, two in the back and bench seat behind the drivers seat all enclosed with a roof. Forget the doors here. They vary in size but basically on the smaller side. It's gonna be funny Art is about 6' 2". I'll take plenty of pictures of him squeezing in. Some are in better shape than others but they are all basically guaranteed to break at least once in the event. But hey, getting them fixed is all part of the fun. Since they are really popular in India there is no shortage of repair men. Even the smallest town has at least one specialist. THE RACE: It is a 10 day, 600+ mile race down the South East coast of India. It starts in Chennai and we work our way down the coast. We race in every type of terrain India has to offer. From deserted roads to thick jungles, from busy paved city streets to dirt roads in a monsoon. The race is tour de France style so we start at a checkpoint and end at another one for the day. That night we all get dinner and hang out until the next morning. The people with the best time at the end of the race win. Let me say right away I don't give 5 shits about winning, the experience in itself is rewarding enough for me. We will be seeing places that many tourists have never been. I plan on stopping many times when ever we want to get out and look around. My team name is The Hanuman-iacs. It was Art's idea and a very good one at that. Hanuman is a monkey god in India. He went around India in his time and caused all sorts of trouble, he is very popular among the Indian people. It should help us out especially in the smaller towns. Adding iacs to the end to make maniacs was just as necessary as taking showers. It made it THAT much better. When we get there first thing is to go through the check in process. Right after that we learn how to actually drive the thing. Since I drive a bike I think it will be easier for me than others but all in all it shouldn't be too hard. Basic gears and clutch so we should be good to go. Next we get to paint our rickshaw. It should be obvious that we are going to paint a big picture of a monkey on the thing. I requested orange base paint so we can be seen better but I don't know if that will work out. Either way, there will be painting. After the first day of learning how to drive we all hang out together, the next morning the race starts. I can't explain how excited I am about this whole thing so I won't even try. I bought a video camera specifically to film the event so i'll make some DVD's and put stuff on my facebook. I'll have this footage when I get home so if ya'll wanna see what's good it'll be there. After we finish the race it will be January 9th...yes new years will be celebrated in India...IN A COCONUT GROVE! Off the hoooook. We fly out of India on the 10th (hopefully with tailor made suits and jewlery cause it's maaad cheap) and land in Bangkok later that night. We are going to an Island right off the coast. Art lived there for 6 months while teaching so he knows the area. We got a little cabin literally on the beach and i'm gonna chill there until the 13th when I fly out. I can't wait. Jealous?
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Sorry
Sorry i've been slowing down with the posts. Just getting busy again...and what i'm not busy i'm lazy. But I should be writing more tomorrow. Some things to look forward to. My India Autorickshaw race is coming up, my co-workers birthday was wed night, and I had my first hapkido sparing match at practice. Tonight is a friends birthday party...yeah happy birthday amelia and peter...so maybe there will be something to write about there. Keep reading, probably write tomorrow.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
I've been watching this video
I've been watching this video non-stop. I think it's the sickest thing ever. This is a group called Naturally 7. they are an ocapella (sp?) group. This is out of control. They are rocking a Paris subway. I've been memorizing peoples!
Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I also got some more funny shit, so enjoy this too...It gets me through my work day when my classes are over.
Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I also got some more funny shit, so enjoy this too...It gets me through my work day when my classes are over.
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