The Baekju Kingdom still lives within all of us. Even if we haven't heard of it yet.

I learned the Korean alphabet this evening. I spent some time at Vitamin's house. This isn't his Christian name, but his self-assigned English name. The etymology isn't particularly important. But that isn't the beginning to this story.

I have been beaten senseless by this cold virus. My head is groggy and my body weary. I've been on a steady diet of Simon and Garfunkel, kimchi, and Chuck Klosterman. Yeah, I've been reading that new Klosterman novel that Angela gave me. It's inspired. I enjoy it. This weekend I pretty much just stayed in, consumed copious amounts of vitamin C and Klosterman's inspired prose. This week is final exam week, which basically means I sit in my office and surf the internet from sun up to sun down and pretend like I'm doing something productive. All and all, I can't complain. On Monday, Sang Don (my co-teacher) and I made the 2-hour eastbound trek to Daejeon- the capital of our province. We visited the immigration office to get my Alien ID card. Complications followed. The clerk told us that my health check was incomplete and I needed to have another urine drug test. The word Sang Don kept using was "inconvenient." I agreed. So, we drove the two hours home. I would go to the clinic two days later to get the other test, which takes 4 days to process, all the while, Immigration still has my bloody passport. I'm not surprised, just a little disconcerted. Moving on.

On Tuesday, a group of teachers invited me on a field trip to Buyeo (pronounced Boo-yo) to visit the old capital of the Baekju kingdom. The Baekju kingdom ruled the southwestern part (where we are) for a good thousand years and was then overthrown by the Shilla kingdom of eastern Korea. I forgot most of the details, but there is a legend that sparked my interest. Okay, back up. Apparently the king of the Shilla kingdom conspired with the Chinese(?) to overthrow the king of the Baekju kingdom, but this is still widely disputed depending on which part of the country you're from. Maybe it was the Japanese. Okay, I officially can't remember. Anyway, when the invading country laid siege to Sabi (now Buyeo), the capital city, the king's concubines evaded infidelity to their king by jumping off of a highest rock in the kingdom. Considering Korea is mostly mountain ranges, this rock had a steep and long drop off. There were about 3,000 concubines that voluntarily plummeted to their death. Sad.

So we went on this never ending hike up this mountain, visited a few temples at the summit and few museums on the way home. It was a good trip. Really no anecdotes, but I had a good time and learned a lot (and apparently forgot most of it). We got back at about dinner time, which was convenient because I had an engagement with a teacher and her daughter. Now, this isn't what you're thinking. Although, what you're thinking is probably more similar to what Mrs. Kim initially thought than what actually panned out. Ever since I started working at my school, Ms. Kim has incessantly hinted that she wanted me to meet her daughter. I ambivalently decided to appease her and go through with it, playing the dumb card--the vacant foreigner that doesn't realize the implications of meeting one's daughter. Despite my fears, it actually turned out decently. Daughter had a boyfriend. I made it clear that I wasn't looking. And I just chatted with the mom the whole time. Meanwhile, I got a tour of a new part of town and a free meal. Everybody wins. Particularly me. She introduced me to a pretty cliche, yet reminiscent of home, coffee shop. I made the mistake of ordering a double and was up until 1am. Live and learn. Well, maybe not learn.

I walked the mile back home from downtown and realized why I hadn't seen anybody my age yet. I never go out past eight. On my walk home, I must have seen a hundred kids my age swarming to local bars and keeping warm in Korean style restaurants. And then it occurred to me: Maybe I'm not my age. At least not here. I prefer an early bedtime and quiet evenings with books, close friends and green tea. Then again, I think drinking whiskey in noisy bars has an irreplaceable allure too. Eh. Who knows.

So, today I went to Vitamin's house for dinner and an English/Korean exchange with he and his two daughters. They are seriously the two cutest specimens ever. One is 9. The other is 11. Both a little shy and the eleven-year-old knows far more English. We played English bingo and I asked them arduous questions about the weather and their favorite subjects in school. The younger one was showing defeat, so I relented. We had pizza (which oddly enough came with Denny's size fries as a topping) and it was delicious. I toiled over Korean consonant and vowel pronunciations. Ta and 'Ta. There is a difference; it just isn't discernible to me. Ick. I'll never learn Korean. And it will be from lack of trying, I fear. Anyway. I'm off. My internet is still fleeting, so I'll add pictures next time.