Seoul in a Nutshell. 여기는 서울입니다.

Since this blog is about my work around the world, I though I should at least take some time to mention some things about Seoul and Korea in general (since I've been living here for about 17 months now). I'm sure a lot of people wonder what it's like here and to be honest that question is really hard to answer. I could try telling a million stories, but to be honest, that will only give you a snapshot and the stories fit into a larger context which is not always obvious.

Recently, I came across some YouTube videos taken by foreigners of Korea (mostly Seoul, but I saw some Sokcho in there, and I'm guessing some other places as well) that showed a lot of what I see on a daily basis. Though the videos are stunning and very well put together, I should note, that it is one thing to see the mass of people and concrete in a picture or in a video, but it's a totally different thing to experience. Enjoy the show:







Not everything in the videos are things I have experienced or seen, but it gives a very good impression of my time in Korea.

African Dinner #3

Last weekend (July 18th), my mother hosted a third fundraising dinner on my behalf. The first two had been friends and family, but this one was slightly different. A family friend, Don Theroux, organized the guest list and invited 20 guests who contributed to my efforts. A big thank you goes out to Don who has helped in a great way. Also, as usual, I must thank my mother, Sharon Davidson, who has continued to work very hard to help send me to Africa (even though I know she doesn't really want me to go so far away).

My mom wrote a short report of the night:

We were very fortunate to be able to hold the dinner outside in our garden...there were 20 people in attendance...

We offered a dinner of African Food as well as African Music and Raffle Draws and everyone received a door prize...Everyone was asked to choose an African Name for the evening...we provided names on name tags for the guests...

People were very generous with their donations for Raffle prizes...
The following people participated in the dinner:

• Don Theroux
• Terry Collins
• Cody Collins
• Kelly Moir
• Gus Kantzareks
• Mary Dimitry
• Cyrus Ghamari
• Judy Mason
• Jorge Esqueca
• Larry McConnell
• Sister Regina Brunelle
• Henry Kaszuba
• Livia Kaszuba
• Vera Woronchanka
• Michael Woronchanka
• Vichy Hipson
• Norm Laitila
• Kathleen Bass
• Ann Theroux
• Orville Theroux

My mom also did not work alone and I would like to thank the many people who helped out with this dinner (once again):

• Judy Morley
• Caroline Bonner
• Heather Davidson
• John Davidson

I would also like to thank the people who donated prizes for the raffle:

• Aimee of Aimee's Esthetic Studio, L'Utima Moda
• Jorge and Maria Rodruques of Ercilia's Fine Foods in Hamilton Farmer's Market
• Everton of Blaire Elements in Hamilton Farmer's Market
• Josie Syers of Josie's Flowers in Hamilton Farmer's Market
• Paul Huffman
  
• Bev MacPherson
• Judy Morley
• Caroline Bonner
• Debbie Polkinghorne
• Lorri Eisenberger of Beanermunky in Hamilton Farmer's Market
• Burlington Eagle's Hockey Club
  

All in all we have fundraised almost $4000 towards paying for my program fee and my flight. A big thank you to everyone who has been helping for so far. The generosity of everyone has far exceeded what I thought was possible.

Here are a few pictures from the event:

The Flights are Booked. 비행기로 아프리카에 갈 거예요.

As my departure date approaches (September 27th at 5:45pm), I am getting busier and busier. Not only am I leaving for Africa, but I will also be leaving Korea soon. Last week, I spent a very stressful couple of days trying to figure out all of my travel arrangements. In the end, I finally booked all of my flights for the remainder of the year. It will be a lot of travelling, but I think I can handle it. So this is my itinerary as far as I know right now:

Monday August 31st
Depart Seoul for Tokyo (Asiana Airlines). Switch planes and depart for Toronto (Air Canada).

Sunday September 27th
Depart Toronto for Amsterdam. Switch planes and depart for Dar Es Salaam with a stopover at Kilimanjaro (KLM)

Tuesday November 23rd
Finish volunteering in Tanzania, depart Dar Es Salaam and travel throughout East Africa (Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya - exact itinerary to be determined later).

Saturday December 19th
Depart Nairobi for Paris (Kenya Airways).

Sunday December 20th
Arrive in Paris.

Wednesday December 23rd
Depart Paris for Toronto (Air France)

I have a busy few months ahead of me, but now that the flights are booked, it's starting to seem a bit more real - especially the part about paying for everything. As a side note, for my fundraising, I have used the cost of a flight to and from Dar Es Salaam without the Nairobi/Paris stopovers in calculating how much I need for the trip.

Anyway, now that I'm getting close to meeting all of my deadlines, the next big challenge is to learn to speak Swahili...

Garage Sale!

This past weekend, despite rain, my family held a garage sale to a) raise some money, and b) to get rid of some clutter in their house. Overall it was a great success and most of the major items listed were sold. All in all, the garage sale brought in $420, which will be going directly to YCI to pay for my project fee. To date, I have raised approximately $3270 which is approximately 59% of the current estimate of around $5500 (all amounts Canadian). The vast majority of this money has come from the efforts of my mother, Sharon Davidson. So my first thank you for the garage sale must go to her.

This sale would not have been possible without a lot of help from others. A number of big thank yous go out to the following people/businesses:

• Sharon Davidson (my mother)
• Heather Davidson (my sister)
• John Davidson (my father)
  
• Florence DeMacio (my grandmother)
• Judy Morely
• Caroline Bonner
• Olynyk, King and Duda advertising (for providing the tents that kept things dry)

I continue to be impressed with the response of everyone who hears about what I'm doing. I must send a thank you to everyone who bought items and donated money at the sale. Though the gesture may seem small, collectively it is very large.

Here are some pictures from the event:

Come to My Garage Sale! 가라즈 새일 오세요!

The next event in the process of fundraising for my volunteer trip will be a garage sale. My family has collected many things to sell, including: a tablesaw, a sausage maker, a ceiling fan, men’s skates, an electric guitar with amplifier, men's and women's clothes, household items, as well as books for children and adults. I'm told there will be something for everyone!

So if you're in the Hamilton area this coming weekend and you want to come to the sale, the address is:

Location: 121 Simcoe St E, Hamilton (Click here if the map below doesn't work)
Date: Saturday, June 20th, 2009
Time: 10am until 2pm


View 121 Simcoe St E, Hamilton in a larger map

If you have any questions or if you have anything you would like to donate to be sold, please email michaelwithoutborders@gmail.com as soon as possible.

Here is another advertisement for the sale.

Though I will not be there (I'm living and working in Korea), I hope that you get a chance to check the sale out. Perhaps you will find something there that you are looking for.

Yellow Fever Vaccination. 황열

You may remember that I had to get a medical checkup and some vaccinations for my trip. You may also remember that I didn't get everything I needed. I had been told that getting my Yellow Fever vaccine in Seoul would be pretty easy and cheap (around 15 000won which is approximately $13 or $14 in Canadian funds). The catch was that I needed some help getting an appointment (since it needed to be made in Korean) and getting some time off of work (because the hospital's hours were similar to my school's hours). Days turned into weeks and weeks into months and I had yet to get all the necessary work done to get my appointment (the Korean teachers who can do a lot of this are very busy and I don't always have the time to ask them for favours).

Fast forward to late April, when sad events made me decide (well, someone else had to decide for me because I was unable at the time, but that's another story) to return home to Canada for a few days. I decided it would be easier to get the vaccine done in Canada where I don't have to know a foreign language. Unfortunately, after booking an appointment, I was informed that the cost of the appointment plus shot would be $175. Frustrated, I decided not to get it in Canada and within a few days of my return to Korea got my appointment to have it done there.

A few weeks ago I had that appointment. Overall it was an easy experience. I found my way to the National Medical Centre in Seoul on my own and with my combination of broken Korean and their combination of broken English got to where I needed to be in the hospital. The doctor's English was alright and he informed me of a small chance that I could have very bad side effects (a brain disease). The shot was probably the quickest shot I've had in a while (and I've had a lot of needles in me lately) and mostly painless. I had to wait around for about half an hour to make sure I wasn't getting any serious side effects (which I didn't - though I've been a little sick since then).

The good news was that this whole thing only cost me 21 000won (about $17-18) and I didn't really miss any classes at school. I'm told that after 10 days I am now 90% immune and that after a whole month I will be almost 100% immune for the next 10 years.

There are no more required vaccinations, though I may spring for the other one (multi-strain meningococcal) that I couldn't get in Korea.

Now it's on to finishing raising money, buying supplies and booking flights (not to mention figuring out post-project travel, and packing everything up from Korea and moving back to Canada).

Until next time!

Ladies Night in Africa #2

A week after the first dinner and a few days after Nanny's funeral (done the way we all hope she would have wanted) my mom hosted a second dinner. I had already left to return to Korea so my mom wrote a short synopsis of the evening:

The May 8th dinner had 18 guests attend with same type of entertainment and food and prizes as on May 1st...judging by the laughter and positive comments everyone had a great time. again some came in African dress....a prize was given both nights for the most authentic dress...as well as a prize for the runner up...the guests voted on this.....the 1st prize was a "I support michaelwithoutborders" tote bag ordered from cafe press....

Again, this dinner was a great success and the following people participated and/or donated money:

• Peter Demacio
• Eva Lengyel
• Caroline Bonner
• Ewa Siudowski
• Cathy Huffman
• Cathy Vitucci
• Beth Stewart
• Debbie Mudie
• Carol Wylie
• Debbie Bulir
• Lori Rees
• Lorri Poutney
• Cindy Olynyk
• Sherryl O'Neil
• Jackie Steele
• Judy Morely
• Judy Graham
• Donna Snider
• Carrie McCrum
• Mary Ditta
• Diane Campbell
• Sarah Chisholm
• Emily Knox

Though I did thank all of the people who volunteered their time to help with the dinners and those who donated door prizes in my post about the first dinner, I would like to once again thank my mother (Sharon Davidson) who spent untold hours organizing everything and hosting the dinner (and who is still working on ways to raise the remaining funds).

As of now, I have raised $2856.35 of approximately $5350 (depending on the cost of my flight which is as of yet unbooked). Thank you everyone who has helped me get this far.

I will close with a few pictures from the evening.