Feelin' Hot Hot Hot

I regret to inform you that Ronnie's blog will be taking a temporary hiatus. You see, in a mere couple of days I will be jetting off to beautiful Thailand. That's right kids, I'm off to gorgeous Thailand!

I have one more day of work tomorrow and then my vacation starts. Friday night we are having poker/Christmas Song Karaoke. Saturday I am going to Seoul to hang out and maybe do a little shopping. And then Sunday morning at 10:30am I am taking a 6 hour flight to Bangkok. I am spending the 24th and Christmas day in Bangkok. On the 26th I am taking a flight to Phuket which is the most famous rsort town in Southeast Asia. My buddy Blair who lived in Thailand for four months, suggested that I go and check out Ko Phi Phi which is close to where they shot "The Beach". So, I figure Vanesa (my friend that I'm going with) and I will go hang out on the island for a couple days. We have a flight back to Bangkok from Phuket on New Year's Eve.

That's right kids, I'm gonna be partying it up in Bangkok this New Year's Eve. I am so damn excited about this trip that I have been counting down the sleeps for the last week. Part of me thinks that I am so excited about this trip because it takes my mind offf of the fact that I won't be celebrating Christmas properly this year for the first time in my life. Oh well... I think I'lkl get over it.

Anyways, my friend Erin is over and I have to help her set up the Christmas tree in my apartment for the Christmas Day party at my place that I won't be able to attend on account of I'll be bathing in the luxurious Thai sun. Have you ever heard anything sadder in your life? Feliz Navidad Amigos.

P.S. Look for the return of Ronnie's blog early January whereupon I will regail you with tales of craziness in Thailand.

Ronnie

Pray for John

I have been telling everybody back home that I have been sick for most of my time in Korea. At times I have a nagging cough, at other times I get really sick and I feel like garbage. This is not uncommon for foreign teachers to get chronically sick the first few months in Korea. Most of my friends here have had a nasty cough since arriving here.

We have a couple of pretty decent hypotheses as to why foreign teachers get so sick when they first arrive; new flu bugs and bacteria that we have not encountered before, mega pollution here in Korea, and less than sanitary conditions at certain eating establishments. Whatever the reason, many of us have been concurrently sick for most of our time here. I would not be too concerned if it were just myself. You see, I am have always been very sick growing up and even for the past few years, and I expected to be sick for most of my time in Korea.

Enter my roommate John who has never been a sick individual. We're talking about him having a well-oiled immune system. Until this week that is! John got really sick earlier this week, he even had to miss a day of work. So on Friday, he went to the clinic to get himself checked out. Turns out that not only is he not impervious to the Korean bugs, but that he somehow contracted pnumonia. Not only that, but you can't just get a prescription for antibiotics and go home and take them. In Korea, you have to stay at the hospital to be given the antibiotics.

So that's where John is right now, at a University hospital in Cheonan. He is sharing a room with 3 other Korean men who are also very sick. Not only that but he doesn't have health insurance so he is going to get slapped with a huge bill on Monday when he gets home. I am worried for my friend who is very sick and who is all alone in a bit of a sketchy room in a foreign land. I was at the hospital all day today to keep him company but it seems like a very lonely place. I hope he gets well soon and comes back home safe and sound. As for me, I am actually starting to feel healthy for the first time since being here. Go figure!

Ronnie out

Reunion #2

Erin and Matt came for a visit to Cheonan this weeked in the spirit of our promised monthly reunions. Last month, we turned Daegu upside down for a weekend, and this month it was Cheonan's turn to feel our wrath.

Erin dialed me up at about 12 o'clock on Friday night and informed me that they were about an hour and a half away from arriving on the scene and, oh yeah... Matt had just happened to puke on some random Korean. It turned out later to be false, but it put me in a good mood and set the tone for what was to be a fairly messy couple of days.

They both strolled into my neck of the woods at about 1:30am ready to terrorize my neighborhood. We slipped back to my place to drop off some stuff and for me to lose all of my chips at poker and we were out the door. First stop; Luxury bar to meet my roommate John and some other friends. Seeing as though Erin and Matt wanted to shake their money makers, we did not stay long. It also happened to be my friend Jaime's b-day, so we slipped over to Mbar ( a foreigner bar mostly) with hopes of breaking some hearts on the dance floor. Well, the problem was that the DJ was into his own thing and would't play any good dance music. So we did what any good foreigner would in Korea: we went to the NoreyBang (Karaoke). It turned out to be a great move as we met up with about 10 of my friends and smoothly belted out wicked lyrics until 7am. We then went back to my place and passed out along with my buddy Kyle from Ansong and my Korean buddy Nam. It was like a huge slumber party (we might have had a pillow fight in our underwear).

Day 2: We peeled ourselves out of bed and went for some brunch. I walked around with Matt and Erin for about an hour before we decided on a place right about where we started out. I won't lie to you; it was awesome! We were so full from our brunch that we decided to go back to my place for a little siesta. We returned to my villa at around 2:30pm and napped until about 5pm. We then spent the next 2 hours "getting ready" ie. trying to drum up enough energy to get from my couch 2 feet to my bathroom for a shower. Right before we went out I had a brilliant idea; some Pump-Up music before we left.

We started off the night with some bulgogi and some traditional Korean Rice Wine. It was succulent to say the least. Then we went back downtown for some Makkali (like Rice Wine and Yogurt together, delicious and 3 bucks for a kettle). Then the penultimate; Bubbi Bubbi (pronounced Booby Booby) a nightclub right down the street from my place. All I have to say is that they have a swing on the dance floor. We ripped it up with some girls and some Korean B-Boys until about 4am. Of course we had the munchies by then and decided to go for brisket soup at 5 in the morning. We ate, we slurred, we crashed!

On Sunday we woke up at around noon and did the same song and dance trying to get everyone showered. I think it was around 2am before we got the day started. We decided to go for a nice sit down meal just the four of us; Matt, Erin, Erin, and I. That's right, we had back-to-back Erins. We decided to dine at T.G.I.F. because well... it's always Friady around there. We figured we'd splurge because it was like our Christmas dinner. 2 bottles of wine, an appetizer, the most expensive meals on the menu, deserts and coffee and I spent more on that 1 meal than I do in a whole week of life in Cheonan. Well worth it though, I laughed my ass off at some of the stuff that came out of our once hungover twice drunk mouths.

We finished off the meal, paid our tab, and made the lonely walk back to my place knowing that we would soon part ways. I said goodbye to Matt and Erin and we made plans to kick it house party style in Busan next month. I can't wait!

Ronnie

Where in the World is Ronald Atcheson?

I have never been big on Christmas. Sales in November, busy streets, and incessant commercials about giving your loved one the perfect gift. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying "Bah Humbug" to the whole season. I actually really like Chrsitmas day, especially the part about being around your family and friends. I have always just been less than ecstatic with the over-hyped lead up to Christmas Day.

The reason that I am telling you this is because there is hardly any hint of Christmas in the air here in Cheonan. No Christmas blowouts, no decorations being thrown in my face, and no repetitive Canadian Tire commercials on the TV. You'd think that I would be happy with this turn of events.

Sadly, the other day I was in a store in the mall across the street and "the Little Drummer Boy" was playing in the background. Up until then I had not thought once about the fact that I will not be home for Christmas this year. I had to escape the store, and it's possible I had a single tear rolling down my cheek.

I didn't know what the hell was going on. Did I actually miss all of the hype that surrounds everyone's favorite holiday. I don't kniow for sure, but I would give anything for a Canadian Tire commercial right now.

The Boys in Blue

You would think that because I am in Korea, ie. half way around the world, that I wouldn't really be too concerned with professional sports going on back home right now. I mean, if I can't watch 99% of the games or go to any of them, why should I have any vested inerest in them? The answer is that life in Korea is not always as jam-packed full of excitement as my blog would lead you to believe. I have always been a stats guy, and checking out scores online gives me ample enough distraction to get through my days here.

My favorite distraction are obviously my boys, the Edmonton Oilers. I have been fortunate enough to watch a few games on the internet here and one in Seoul in a Canadian bar. But watching them this year I feel that they are a Dr. Jekkyl and Mr. Hyde team. I mean they went on a 5 or 6 game winning streak and then lost to the Ducks with 17 seconds left to go in the game with the lead. Then they get totally annihilated at home against a crappy Avalanche team.

Now I will always have faith in my boys. I have been lucky enough to see some of the best players ever to play the game when I was growing up. I stayed with them when they didn't make the playoffs for about 6 years. I was with them for the epic first round triumphs over The Stars and the Avalanche. I stuck it out when we missed the playoffs for 4 more years. I wasn't a band-wagon jumper like sooooo many people last year. I even grew a sick playoff beard for my boys last year (let's be honest, it was the single reason they made it to game 7 of the finals).

My inquiry to my friends back home is: what is the overall sentiment in Edmnonton right now? Do we have a lot of believers, or do a lot of people still have a hangover from last year's playoff run? Are there still a lot of bandwagon jumpers still holding on? I hear that the games are still as loud as the playoffs were. How is the media reacting to this year's start?

Please answer my questions for me, so that I may have ample distraction to get me through another work week here in Cheonan. Rollie, Rollie, Rollie!!!!

Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie!!!!