JUNE

Sometimes I lose track of the days. I've lost track of the days.

My mind is going haywire - feeling a sometimes tumultuous push and shove as I consider where these last 11 months have gone, think of the next 3, and somehow force myself to stay ever present because that's all I can do to stay sane.

So, I'm here. Talking about time again, because that's what happens when you are living a life based on visa deadlines.

Then again, nothing is booked. Nothing is official. I got a few offers for the future that my intuition couldn't decline and I'm wondering how long I'll be able to unflappably float through the Universe like this. I'm so calm. Maybe I should be looking at immunizations and perhaps what kind of things one takes on a long trek through the woods.

This is vague, but the details will follow.

This last month, where has it gone? The truth might gag you, but the weekends are clearly mappable.

MUDFEST

Mudfest is a disaster, a complete and total disaster. In fact, it's the kind of event that should only be held once a year because it's just completely unruly, especially by Korean standards of modesty. The event is highly popular among the young foreign community. The city of Boryeong hosts this event, and during the two weeks it's open, something like two million people attend to get muddy and act like fools.

Korea is good at community and they are good at festivals.  The city accepts the madness and sets up booths filled with food, water and booze throughout the town. Cardboard is laid down in every 7/11 to accommodate and serve dirty humans.

We arrived at around 11 in the morning. We put on our swimsuits. We left everything of any value at the hotel (including shoes) and headed to find some mud. It's not hard to find. And thus began eight of hours the following: Get muddy. Frolic on the beach. Get in the ocean. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. I was in bed by eight. Getting muddy with thousands of people is exhausting.

JANGHEUNG AQUA FESTIVAL

The first thing I noticed when I got off the bus on Friday in Jangheung were stars, which I've only seen a couple of times in Korea. Therefore, my happiness was ridiculously solidified upon arrival. I like water and I like mountains. And there was also a makgeoli tasting area, so I was in heaven at this festival.  The air felt clean and the weather was hot but appropriate for the weekend's events. There was a lot of sweating coupled with a lot of swimming, but what else are you supposed to do at a water festival?

Somewhere in there I also shot a gun. It was at paintball, but the first thing I've ever shot in my life. It was definitely an event I attended because of friends, but guys, paintball is fun. Really fun. Give me all the bruises and all the mosquito bites and I'll crouch real low and act like I have any idea what I'm doing with a weapon in my hands.

SO BEGINS TWELVE WEEKS LEFT IN THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM.

YEOSU EXPO

The World's Far is in Korea this year, and despite all the hubbub I overheard about the long lines and mass amounts of people, I went with a group of friends to the east coast city of Yeosu to check it out.

After a downpour at our arrival, we purchased some dollar ponchos and made the best of it. Street performance was seen. German beer was drank. Spanish tapas was eaten. The International pavilion proved to be the highlight of the adventure as the lines for the talked about aquarium and robot exhibit exeeded three hours in wait time.

It was oh, so busy but definitely proved worthwhile. It was a day of adventure, much like many during my time here, that involved a quick bus ride out of my city into another that yielded a feeling of being transported lifetimes away. The architecture was unique compared to the usual rectangular, cookie-cutter buildings I stare at in the city. And hey, the World's Fair really isn't something to miss.