안녕 (Good bye) Korea

[Tobo-Potato]

Good luck Micheal! I can picture myself doing some of the same things you are when I get older. I totally support your travelling philosophy! Just out of curiosity, what kind of history is it you're studying?

[mjh]

I intend to focus my studies on Public History. That is, how historical stories and such are created and consumed in public life: museums, historical sites, movies etc. I won't so much be studying a particular time or place but rather studying historiography, the history of the study of history, if that makes sense. I see myself as a history professor and/or museum curator.

On an unrelated note, last night I dined on Trứng vịt lộn, or fetal duck egg. An egg with a 15 day old duck fetus inside, with little feathers and bones, beak, feet and everything, but sort of half-formed and jumbled up. Terrible to look at, but quite tasty.



Any ideas about how much protein is in one of these?

[KIB]

Okay, Mike. You win.
Since starting to eat meat again I've decided not to turn down any local delicacies, and I've been lucky enough to sample some weird shit. I had snakes in cane alcohol in Peru, and I ate half a sheep's face (tongue, cheek, eyeball and brains) in Tunisia. I don't know if I could do the 15 day duck fetus (evidently served on-the-half-shell) though. Even the sheep's teeth clacking against my own seem easier to take the little duck beak and toes... Good on you, man. That's hard core.

Tell me that dark brown thing sticking out is a noodle. Please.

[mjh]

sorry mate, it's all baby duck in that shell. As far as which part the brown bit is, your guess is as good as mine.

[bigwhat62]

dang, wish i can say i am brave enough to eat that but honestly i would runaway from it.

[KIB]

Dang! What the hell IS that brown thing?

[mjh]

Next Leg, Big Changes

so I've been quiet recently, but I still check the site regularly. Don't often post, however, I've been busy with travelling and life in general. Also, I'm not really inclined to weigh in on many subjects until I'm practising what I'm preaching. Soon that will be the case, I hope. Afew guys have asked where I am, what I'm up to, so here's an update.

Right now I'm in San Francisco. I got here yesterday after a hellish journey from Ha Noi by way of Taipei. I was almost able to catch up with forum member Tresbien in Ha Noi, but the timing was off.

I had a wonderful time in Da Nang. The teaching was great, and I made a host of great friends. As I've described before, it's not heavily touristed, so it was that much easier to get to know the locals and how they live. I was welcomed into people's homes, and lives. So much so that I was reluctant to leave. Initially I planned to have 10 days in Ha Noi but revised that down to just 4 so I could spend more time with friends in Da Nang.

The major change in my life during this time came with the realisation that my fiancee and I are moving in different directions. We've ended our relationship amicably and happily. We agreed that if, after 4 years long distance, we still didn't have a firm vision of our future together, that maybe we weren't as committed as we tried to pretend. I realised that I was content, without her company. She realised the same, and so it's over. I'm still headed to Florida for Thanskgiving, to get some closure (all this happened over the phone and by email).

Sure, it's sad, but I feel good. Free, happy, positive. Searching and trying to shape the future, as I have been with Jen, is exhausting, and now I'm free to worry only about today and tomorrow.

In December I'll be at home in NZ, living off the profits that will come when I sell the 1000s of books I accumulated, through my teens and early 20s, but now have little real affection for and view as a millstone as much as anything else. There may be a job offer coming from Da Nang, and if it does materialise, I'll take it and be back in Vietnam early next year. If not, I'll do a CELTA qualification (English teaching) and try again.

I'll be back into training when I hit NZ. I've lost a lot of the gains I made in Korea, but I don't care too much. I'll get them back. Look for a new training log soon.

Take it easy guys and gals,
-Michael

[Scottymouth]

Sorry to hear about your relationship, but I am glad to hear that it was not a painful event. Have a great time in Florida for Thanksgiving, my folks are coming here to NY from down there - enjoy the warmth.

I look forward to you getting back into things, your posts always helped me out. I have main great gains in the last few months, mostly with fat loss. Pop over to my Gyminee page if you get a chance.

Cheers Mike - safe travels.

On another note, my wife gets eeked by what I eat, I should show her your menu!

[KIB]

Yo, Mike. Thanks for the update. Good to hear from you, even if the news is a bit sad.
Congratulations on you two figuring it out together. Long distance stuff is a nightmare.
Hope you have a great time in FL and we look forward to hearing about your return to NZ

[rigglet]

Mike,

I love reading your adventures. I have to admit I am jealous of your ability to travel the world and enjoy all the different cultures. Unfortunately for me that will have to wait as I had children at an early age. So for now, I will live vicariously through you.

But the most important thing I picked up from this post was your attitude towards training. I have been feeling guilty lately as I haven't been to the gym in over two months. My schedule just got hectic and I just couldn't get back to it. My guilt is what drove me back to the site because I knew I needed to get back to it. But part of me didn't want to get back into it because I always took it so seriously. It was as if I was failing because I missed a day, or I wasn't keeping up with so-and-so. Reading your post and seeing how you have prioritized training is encouraging to me. Sure, training is important...but its not everything. Thanks for taking the time to write down your thoughts. And thanks for taking all of us around the world with you.

Oh...and if you're ever find yourself around the Indianapolis area you always have a place to stay.

[JohnWayneParr]

Any needs for French teachers in Korea? Or just English...

[mjh]

Any needs for French teachers in Korea? Or just English...

It's all English as far as I can tell. The kids I taught also learned Chinese and/or Japanese, but I never heard of anyone learning a European language other than English.