Jon Wick

joncasssouthkorea

Jon Wick

"Leave. Roll the word around on your tongue for a bit. It is a beautiful word, isn’t it? So strong and forceful, the way you have always wanted to be. And you will not be alone. You have never been alone. Don’t worry. Everything will still be here when you get back. It is you who will have changed."

-Donald Miller

*Please feel free to subscribe to this blog- super easy, just click the blue button below and fill in your email- and you will recieve email updates everytime a new entry gets added, perhaps more convienient for everyone!

My Olympic Writing Links...

School blog- www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Wick2010Olympics
The Expeditioner blog- www.theexpeditioner.com
NBC Montana articles- www.nbcolympics.com
Olympic Event Pictures=here
Whistler/Vancouver Pictures= here

Some other websites for a rainy day...

For more pictures of our trips through Asia and beyond (that I couldn fit in here), check out my picture page at flickr .
Ive started as a Managing Editor of the travel website TheExpeditioner . Check it out for interesting travel tidbits and information.
The organization that helped us along the process of getting to Korea, Reach to Teach ESL teacher recruiting
Our friends, Shawna and Jonny G.s, amusing blog, the Waygookinway
Random thoughts by our friend Lance, click here for his blog
Also, join Jon on Twitter now! For random thoughts, reactions, and shenanigans we find ourselves in!

Besides this blog, Ive been lucky enough to have a few published articles out there in cyberspace. Here are the current ones, feel free to check them out, Ill be updating this with new links as soon as they get published! Thanks for the support and interest in my writing!!

***NEW*** ~~ A Tale of Two Exchange Students: An Interview
www.matadornights.com ~~Big Sky Sports & Party: Our Favorite Winter Festivals in Montana
www.matadortrips.com ~~Montana Resorts: Treating Yourself Right in Big Sky Country
www.bootsnall.com ~~ How Canned Peas Changed The Way I Think About Travel: An Essay On Returning Home
www.bootsnall.com ~~ 7 Truths You Won't Hear About Teaching ESL Abroad
WOMT Radio Interview ~~ An interview regarding observed tensions between North and South Korea.
www.thetravelrag.com ~~ Budae Jjigae, Memories of War
www.theexpeditioner.com ~~ The DMZ: Travel To The Most Dangerous Place on Earth
www.matadortrips.com ~~ South Korea Exploration: Roadtripping the Peninsula
www.bootsnall.com ~~ Eating in Korea: A Laymans Guide To Dishes You Must Try
www.glimpse.org ~~ Shots and Snails... An article about my first teacher dinner in Korea

2010 Olympic Games Part 1: Emails, the Torch, and Opening Ceremonies

North America » Canada » British Columbia » Vancouver April 8th 2010

P2162480

joncasssouthkorea

On the prodding of my Uncle Jim, and the fact that I’ve finally got some free time in the car of yet another cross country drive (I’ll get into that another time), I’ve finally now able to catch up on these entries. 2010 has already been a rollercoaster of epic proportions, with working, self publishing and selling a book (I’ll get to that, too), looking for long term jobs, planning the July wedding, projects around the house, and keeping up with my responsibilities over at theexpeditioner.com—you could say things have been busy. Excuses aside, here is my official, ‘I’m dang sorry falling behind with the blog entries’ apology. I’d say I’ll never do it again, but, honestly, it’s likely to. These next few posts are going to all be from my unbelieveable trip to the Olympics. ... read more

Project: 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games

North America » Canada » British Columbia » Whistler January 31st 2010

Vancouver... Here I come!

joncasssouthkorea

In T-minus ten days, I will be packing up my skis, clothes, sleeping bag, gas tank, cameras, video cameras, Olympic tickets and heading… wait, did I say that right? Yes, Olympic tickets! Even for me, I double take to realize it’s actually happening. I will say this again, as it’s become a bit of my mantra, “I’m going to the Olympics… I’m going to the Olympics.” After a bunch of research, double checking things, attempts at preparations, it’s official, “I’m going to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.” Let me fill you all in on how this awesome opportunity came to be an what my plans are for the next, roughly, 3 weeks. Rewind: Yeoju, South Korea. In my time teaching in South Korea, Cass and I met some amazing people we shared a lot in common ... read more

'88 summer olympic flame still burning bright (Seoul)

Heaven 1, Amtrak 0

North America » United States » Wisconsin » Milwaukee January 16th 2010

The Amtrak Empire Builder Train

joncasssouthkorea

Heaven 1, Amtrak 0, but is it a competition, really? I’m writing this blog awaiting my complementary Sprite on a North West Airlines flight from Milwaukee to Minneapolis, and then my brother and I are going to continue on to Helena, Montana. Where we will… I’ll get to that part. That’s not the story, though. The story is everything that led up to this point. Wednesday, January 6, 2010 The morning after the Iowa Hawkeyes won their bowl game, I got an email to give dad a call (I don’t have my phone, but that’s another story- hm… maybe a new years resolution is in the works). I phoned my dad and, fighting his emotions, said, “grandma didn’t make the night. We all gathered in her room to watch the game, she was asleep most of ... read more

James loitering outside the Montana Club- good work

Calgary: The New West

North America » Canada » Alberta » Calgary December 15th 2009

Canadian Rockies

joncasssouthkorea

While Cass and I were away, my brother moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his wife. I’m psyched about this move for him for several reasons 1- it’s loads closer to Montana (a 6 hour drive) 2- maybe now he’ll understand why I love the mountains 3- I have a great chance to hang out in the Canadian Rockies. With the extra free time that we’ve got now that we’re back here in between jobs, I headed up here with Denali, my video camera, and my skis for a long weekend. Yes, video camera. Filling up this free time has given me a chance to unleash my creative juices, and more importantly, actually complete some of the projects that have been floating around my head for some time. That being said, I grabbed my flip video ... read more

Blog-abration #8: The Conclusion- Coming Home Again

North America » United States » Montana » Butte November 23rd 2009

Going Home

joncasssouthkorea

We’ve been back for over a month now, and this will most likely be the fitting final episode of Blog-abration. I’m sure you’ve all seen this one coming, we’re back- our trip finished. I also saved this topic for a few other reasons. First, home is something we’ve carried around with us while we were away, comparing and contrasting the different societies we’ve experienced with our own. We have thought daily of home, yet were glad in the opportunity to not be there. And second, I recently have just published an article on BootsnAll (click url=http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/09-11/how-canned-peas-changed-the-way-i-think-about-travel-an-essay-on-returning-home.html here to read it) about some of the sentiments that returning home creates. You learn so much, but having that come to an end is a bit difficult at times, it is how you take the lessons of traveling ... read more

Blog-abration #7: Sweet Cassie

North America » United States » Montana » Butte November 3rd 2009

DSC02319

joncasssouthkorea

The first 24 hours in Korea, no, the first week in Korea, were some of the most difficult in my life. You are exhausted and jet lagged; you are expected to work the very next school day, whether that is after a weekend or within hours (as we were so lucky), you haven’t eaten anything in roughly a week because either you can’t find anything tolerable, or you can’t stomach any of the available eats. Besides not sleeping well, unpacking what life you’ve managed to stuff into your luggage, and trying to figure out a new job that comes with little to no direction or people that can help, and you can see the slight challenge here. However, throughout everything, the one rock that was always there was Cassie, and I hope she feels the inverse. ... read more

Blog-abration #5- Our Friends

Asia » South Korea » Gyeonggi-do October 26th 2009

Our farewell dinner crew! Good times

joncasssouthkorea

Welcome back to the Blog-abration Celebration (you didn’t forget about this did you?) of our year in Korea and of everything Korean. Cass and I returned to Montana, safe and sound, an are getting some semblance of normalcy back to our lives- more on that will come. I have a plan for two more final Blog-abration posts after this, and I’m sure the anticipation is killing you all (yeah, right). You probably already figured this theme was on its way. We’ve been fortunate to have met some amazing people in Yeoju (and the greater Korea) that we are sure will be lifelong friends. It’s a funny phenomenon, this ESL teaching thing, and if you read my article 7 Truths You Won't Hear About Teaching ESL Abroad , you’ll understand what I mean. This experience really helps ... read more

Cass and a few of her teacher/friends at dinner

Tokyo: The Official Conclusion of our Time in Asia

Asia » Japan » Tokyo October 14th 2009

Tokyo Eye Pollution

joncasssouthkorea

We had to delay our plans a bit getting to Tokyo because of the aftereffects of the typhoon that ripped through Japan the night before. Nagoya, a city we would pass through on the way back to Tokyo, saw the brunt of the storm; major flooding in the area eventually killing two people. As Kyoto settled down and the rains stopped, there were still delays in the train travel due to high wind. We bummed around the city, visiting the shops and picking up some stuff before we jumped a train around 3 p.m. which got us into Tokyo around dinnertime. We were checked into our hostel and recommended a conveyor belt sushi place in the neighborhood called Akihabara. Japan has two (among others) reputations out there; 1) it is super expensive, and 2) it is ... read more

Discount electronics... come get your discount electronics!

Kyoto: Typhoons and Temples

Asia » Japan » Kyoto » Kyoto October 11th 2009

Welcome to Ancient Japan

joncasssouthkorea

The minute we touched down in Tokyo, we heard rumors of an impending typhoon headed this direction. I’m not going to lie, as expensive as Japan is, the best 1,000 Yen we possibly spent was on umbrellas at the first train station. You can’t rain on this parade. Or as we soon found out, you can’t rain on this parade of temples. Kyoto was the ancient capitol of Japan and still the center of the ancient Japanese traditional culture. The city, a bigger city of one and a half million people, contains seventeen UNESCO World Heritage sites. If you are unfamiliar with this distinction, just imagine the coolest thing that an area could have and that is it (here it’s temples. Remember Vietnam, the post ? That UNESCO was Halong Bay. Does that help?) So, seventeen ... read more

Anyeong Hi Kaseyo!! Korea Sarangeyo!

Asia » South Korea » Gyeonggi-do October 8th 2009

Taegukki- The 'Old Glory' of Korea

joncasssouthkorea

"Good bye!! We love you, Korea!" I’m going to interrupt just before the last of the Blog-abrations to let you know what we’ve been up to lately. Lots have been going on, plus a week in Japan, so for the last installments of Blog-abration, I know you’re all on the edge of your seats, please stay tuned… One last going away party, if you can call it that, was two days spent in Suwon, with a couple of our favorite ‘peeps’ (as Reagan would say) Reagan and Leandra. With the hanus traffic during the Korean Chusok (Korean Thanksgiving) holiday, it works out that Suwon is much closer to the airport, with a direct bus close by. Really though, we thought we’d spend some awesome time with awesome friends doing awesome things. It was just that. So ... read more

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