Any given Sunday

Location: Seoul, South Korea

A delightful experience I like to partake in is a Sunday watching hockey at a pub in Itaewon. Itaewon is a neighbourhood in Seoul where the American military base is set up. The foundation of the base has created the Itaewon area into a "Foreigner Town" - think China Town in Toronto or the like. Signs are in English, food served is western, the vendors speak English and you find treasures in small hidden away shops. The second you come off the subway all you can smell is an odour of unfamiliarity and late night party goers. As you ascend the stairs and escalators you rise into the sunlight of English and misplaced normalcy.

The first time you enter this parallel universe it hits you in the weirdest way. Well at least it did for me and continues to do so when I arrive.

If you're here long enough, or even for a little bit, a sense of normalcy can lift you up and drop you down. Itaewon has the ability to refresh your look on life in Korea, Canada, and around the world. Your perception is gauged by your encounters which vary depending on which locale you seem to find yourself. You can grab some sun next to American Army brats on the rooftop of Nashville Pub, you can fall down hooker hill into the endless pit of Polly's Kettle, or you can shed a tear standing in the middle of the Rocky Mountain Tavern as the Canadian National Anthem is playing and the sound of skate on ice fills the room. Scrooges is always fun for a rugby fused conversation, and Geckos probably does have some of the best chicken fingers ever. If you're lucky, and you're with the right person you might find the red door. The overpriced nook in the wall where the red door is now clear will tempt you beyond your Korean dreams. Mystical things like Chef Boyardee for $5 and Stove Top for $7 or even Pam Spray for $11 loom in your gaze. There's even talk of a black door but I've never found it.

Where you find yourself will tell you who you are around and the rowdiness that will ensue.

My favorite day in Itaewon is buying a delicious A&W rootbeer, watching a hockey game at the RMT and finding egg sandwich guy in that back alley.

On a side note, egg sandwich guy makes the meanest egg sandwich ever. He grabs a pound of butter and greases up the griddle pan. He cracks and scrambles an egg into a square molding while he butters up and toasts two pieces of white bread. The salt shaker comes out in a snowfall of yumminess and the masterpiece goes altogether in scrumptious bites into your mouth. Also, word to the wise, do not exceed the one egg sandwich limit. A dear friend over consumed and it was not a fairy tale ending.

To leave Itaewon and return to your place of dwelling usually brings new friends, new pet peeves, and a sense of understanding about the world around you.

And for a moment sometimes you feel like you could just walk out of the pub or shop and walk home.

The First Installment

As a first installment I would like to warmly welcome you to what I hope will be a fraction of a window into my life and all of my adventures. I will do my best to explain what my five senses take in as I journey around the globe. What will my next adventure bring?