Today was a strange day. I woke up early and went to my friend's house for a couple of hours. My friend is nine and very cute. She's a mini Korean version of me at that age and she amazes me every day. She's smart, creative and funny. I love her so much and I never leave her house feeling sad...until today.

I've been in a slump the past couple of days...hormones I figure. I decided to walk home from my friend's house and listen to Brian's iPod. It was a long walk home but I loved every minute of it. I started off listening to really mellow music which didn't help me feel much better but did give me the opportunity to wallow. Wallowing is good...but only for so long. About 45 minutes into my walk I switched over to my music from the 60's...the Doors, the Four Tops, the Beach Boys. Before you know it I was singing my way through downtown Daegu. I loved being outside and took the time to smell the roses...literally. This actually turned out to be a big mistake since the roses in Daegu are all growing along side the stinky, garbage-filled river. The smell of rose only lasts a few milliseconds before it's overcome by the smell of stench. That'll teach me.

In the evening we went to a DVD bang (bang is Korean for "room") which I think might be one of the coolest things I've ever seen. You go in and pick your video, much like a videostore at home. You hand it to the guy at the counter and leads you through a maze of dark hallways and into your own little mini-theatre. In each room there is a huge movie screen (about 7 feet by 5 feet), a big comfy-couch and a table for drinks and food. You can bring in anything you want - a pizza, beer, popcorn...you name it. It's great. It's private, cheap and comfortable. Like going to the movies only better. They're technically illegal here (can't imagine that the movie theatres like the competition) but they are on every corner.

We watched Motorcycle Diaries and loved it. It's based on the journals of Ernesto Guevara, before he was "Che Guevara". It was filmed in Argentina, Chile and Peru and the scenery was unbelievable. It was really interesting to see how many of Guevara's revolutionary ideas first developed. It's amazing to me how chance encounters and discussions with strangers can affect a life as profoundly as it did Guevara's. Before his travels across South America he was an Argentinean medical student. After his travels his destiny was much greater and he eventually became a pop culture icon. In hindsight, maybe he should have stayed home.