Exploring Borneo: A week in Sarawak, Malaysia
In the weeks leading up to our visit to Malaysia in January, many people seemed puzzled by our plans to spend a week at Damai Beach Resort in Sarawak, 40 km north of the city [...]
Hindu Culture in Malaysia: Thaipusam at the Batu Caves
Malaysia is easily the most interesting country I have visited thus far in Asia. A melting pot of cultures and religions, it is home to Malay Muslims, Indian Hindus, Chinese Buddhists and folk practitioners, as [...]
Christmas in Korea: Spending the Holidays Abroad
There are many upsides to living in Korea and teaching in the public schools here. The pay and benefits are excellent, the culture is interesting, the standard of living is high and the social life [...]
Chuseok 2018: Korean Thanksgiving in Busan and Seoul
All things considered, Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday back in the States. Fall is my favorite season, and where I grew up in Pennsylvania, it is a special time of year. The brisk air, [...]
A Hanoi Holiday: 8 Days in Northern Vietnam
I recently returned to Korea from eight days visiting Hanoi, Vietnam with my friend Clayton. It was my third trip to Southeast Asia, having studied abroad in Taiwan in 2012 and visited Bali on vacation [...]
Things do to in Leiden, Netherlands: a travel guide
From June - August 2015, I was lucky enough to spend some time in the beautiful city of Leiden in the Netherlands. This was the first place that I spent an extended period of time [...]
An early summer weekend in Busan
When I originally applied to EPIK way back in January 2018, I listed Busan as my location preference. Not knowing anything about Jeollandamdo, where I currently happily live, I was intrigued by Busan's profile as [...]
Reflections on an unconventional “life on the road”
"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not." ― Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emerson's Essays I begin with these words from Emerson because they capture [...]
Early Days in Jeollanamdo: Gwangju and Mudeungsan
About three weeks ago, I began my EPIK placement in Jeollanamdo province at Nampyeong English Town. Since then, I've been fortunate to have Labor Day, a long weekend, and to have made some great new [...]
A Happy Accident: My EPIK placement with the Jeollanamdo Language Program (JLP)
My first three weeks in Korea have been a very busy and exciting time! Now that I have settled in, I'm planning to keep this blog up to date with stories of my experiences, travel [...]