New Year's Evolution

Instead of writing some long, drawn out post about my New Year's Eve (AND because I was silly and forgot to take my camera), I'm going to let Mike Skinner a.k.a The Streets explain how my night went. Replace all the drug references with liquor and you've got an extremely accurate picture of my New Year's Eve.



Happy New Year Folks

End of an Era. . . Or I'm losing my Korean Mother

The semester is over here in Korea-land. Unlike in the states, the school year starts in the early part of the year (Mid-late February or Early March). This means the 3rd years have graduated and I get winter break (sort of).

This also means that I lose my main Co-teacher Mrs. Jeong.

Due to the rules here, teachers sign 4 year contacts with a school and they must transfer to a different school once their contract is up. Mrs. Jeong has been at the school for four years and that means it’s time for her to go. This means that the woman who has been responsible for me during my time in Daegu will no longer be around.

In the program I work in, every guest teacher is assigned a Korean co-teacher who helps them get situated when they arrive. Mrs. Jeong has helped me adjust to life here in Korea and was responsible for getting me situated. Every bit of paper work, all the little extra details were handled by her. She was the one who took to my apartment, she helped me get my Korean bank account set up and she even took me to get my first haircut here so I could explain to the hairdresser how I wanted it cut ( something she found quite amusing.).

Mrs. Jeong has been very patient and understanding. I try my hardest not to be a burdern because she works VERY hard (Korean teachers have insane workloads.). She has been like a mother to me, always worrying about my health and asking if I have found food that I liked. She’s taken me to the market so I can stock up on goods and the first weekend I was in town and I locked myself out of my house, she made sure there was a key waiting for me. Recently when I was sick with a stomach virus, she fussed over me and took me to the doctor. As per the doctor’s orders, she made sure I ate the right foods and made sure I took my medicine. She also sent a student over to my apartment with lunch while I stayed home for a day. Later that same evening, she called me to ask I needed anything from the store.

But THE best moment had to be when I caught a cold and she bought me a huge jug of orange juice and three boxes of hot chocolate!

She laughs sometimes because I call her my Korean mother but she’s done a more than adequate job in looking after me. While I am fine with the other teachers at my school, she is by far the one I talk to the most. For one thing, my desk is right next to hers AND she’s also the one who knows me the best. There aren’t many English speaking teachers at my school so the language barrier keeps me from interacting much with them. By far Mrs. Jeong knows me the best and understands how to work with me. I get the most help from her when my glasses and offered me the most advice about what to do better with teaching.

I suppose she’s had quite a bit of practice at this taking care of the foreigner thing. She’s had two other teachers before me; one left before the contract was up and the other had some medical issues. I’ve done little things to try to show her that I appreciate her help. She puts it off as just doing her job, but I will be very sad to see her go. She jokes with me that there is a good chance the school will hire a younger teacher who I can bond with but I told her they won’t be able to do the job she did. Which it made it all the more special when I surprised her with the children’s book she had been looking for to give her niece as a present for her newborn baby. She had wanted a some children’s books on CD in order to help the children learn English. . . . I hunted down a copy of “The Giving Tree” for her. I could tell by her reaction that she was surprised and touched. It was the least I could do for all the help she’s given me. I wish her the best of luck at her next school and I plan on staying on contact. (She get’s to go to Spain for vacation . . lucky!) Still, I can’t help but feel a little robbed that I don’t get her for a full year.

Put A Little Smile On Your Face

So it's Christmas Eve and I'm at school. Can't say it's got me in the most cheerful of moods, but what do you expecct with culture clash? But as I'm walking to the teacher's office, I get rushed by one of the students and I was given this:





Yeah, I know they aren't the best in terms of English (and the poor girl messed up my last name), but the effort more than makes up for it.
I got a few more from students, but this one is special. Made my day.


Merry Christmas, folks.

Reading is Fun! Even if it's in Korean. . .

Language barrier can be a pain in the ass. Want to know how?

Every time I go to the bookstore, I am tormented by what I can't have.





Manga.

For someone like me, entire sections of manga are like walls and walls of happy. Back home, I read this stuff like crack and would spend quite a bit of time going thru them in book stores. Here in Asia, Manga is pretty much standard reading. . people read them on the subway, kids read them, adults have grown up with them in some form or another. By far, the stores here in Korea have the biggest sections I've ever seen (I shudder to think what I will see when I finally wander the streets of Akiabara in Japan). Sadly, all this wonderful comic goodness is lost to me.

Why?






BECAUSE IT'S IN KOREAN!!!!! AAAAAGGGGGHHHH

This particular series is called "Bleach," a favorite of mine back home. I've read most of them, but here in Korea, they have volumes we don't have in the states. . . and I can't read them because I don't know Korean!!!

Oh there are walls and walls of the stuff in the two main bookstores downtown. Stuff I've never seen in my life. . . never even heard of! Stuff my friends back home would sell their souls for. And I'm sadly stuck only looking at it.

Another strange thing: Getting a book in English over here can be a pain in the ass.

Case in point; Twilight.

Before I got a hold of a copy, I was trying to track down one so I could see what the fuss was about. I had noticed a lot of people had passed it around here to read so I was curious about it (more about my first impressions after I finish reading it). I went to a couple of different book stores and i could not find an english copy of it. I had not known about the movie coming out at the time and I didn't realize there would be a rush on it. Oh i can find the other books in the series, but not the first one. Had not been for some random luck that guy leaving the country was giving away all his books, I would still be waiting for a copy to pop up. However, now that the movie is out here in Korea (much to the delight of several of my female friends here), the hype srrounding it and it's pretty cast is not lost on the culture here.





I will say however, that the Korean version of the orginal cover looks way cooler than ours. As you can see the artwork is done in manga style . . . . I might have to snatch one just for collections sake. But based on what I've read so far, I dunno if i'm going to enjoy the book that much. . . .




On another note. It's Sarah Breton's (I must state which one because I know like five Sarah's over here.) birthday and she had a nice get together at Ice Bar. I want to wish her a happy birthday (even if it's technically over in Korea, it's still her birthday in the states. oh the fun of time zones!).

I know I missed my weekend report from last week, but I'll either do a make up or just show the pictures somewhere (they are already on facebook).

Two sides of the same Coin

It's getting closer to Winter Vacation which means camps. I still have no idea what these mean nor how to deal with them. I have heard they are a pain in the ass and I'm still not sure what to do about them. I got an email today from the teacher who's running the camp and I have no idea what this person is talking about. It's a response to the email I sent and I still have no clue as to what the hell it's talking about. This brings me to and odd rule about many Koreans when they speak or talk in Englih. I think it's because the translation between English and Korean is often so base, but I find many speak in the most rude way possible. I have found it's not that they are trying to be rude, it's just that the western ideas of polite and the Korean form are totally different. Koreans use honorfics and other little words to show respect. In english, it's choice of words.
Example:
We say: "May I have some candy?"
They say: "Give me Candy!"

Unless I'm talking to someone who's used to speaking with Westerners or studied English extensivly, I often find myself ready to get mad because of someone's blunt method of speaking. A lot of words are implied in Korean (or a few other Asian languages for that matter) so it is often the cause for someone one coming off as rude. In the case of this email, I think it's best I talk to my co-teacher before I respond because I think I might end up starting off on the wrong foot with someone before I actually meet them.

Seeing Thru The Haze

This cold is still beating me down. The good news is that I have no classes to teach. The bad news is that I will be sitting here with nothing to do for the rest of the day. It’s going to be more of the same next week due to finals for the first and second years. I’ve got my Korean language book and a novel to read, but my head is so stuffy that I have no desire to try to crack open a book. All I want to do is take my butt to sleep. I might ask my co-teacher can I take the sick day and sleep this off. At the very least I need to go to the Pharmacy and get some kind of over the counter stuff to take care of my sinuses. Curse this country for not selling over the counter drugs in corner stores.

For whatever reason, Holy Grill was packed. A group of us met there to draw for Secret Santa, but everyone left after that. Justin and I stuck around and around half an hour later the place was packed. I met some people who teach at this private school run by Canadians. Then Angie and Nina showed up and ended up sitting with them along with Wes, Christy and Sybil. Sadly, I wasn’t able to stay much longer because I wanted to catch the subway instead of paying a cab.

I hate that the subway closes when it does because everyone knows Korean nights are way later than American ones. Back home, most people go out for dinner around 7-ish. Here, that’s out the window. Because so many of the Westerners work in Hagwons, they usually don’t get off until at least 9 or 10. Combine that with the fact that Koreans don’t seem to sleep and it’s common for late dinners. Hell, Commune’s open mic night doesn’t start until around 11 on Weds. and never get to stick around for that. I just see no point in paying a cab 5-6,000 won just because I want to stay out an extra hour or two.

My Hood - Around The School & Neighborhood

I took some time and snapped a few pictures one day around the school and neighborhood. As always, click to see bigger images.




This first one is of a few of the random students. They are first years (7th grade) and from one of my nosier classes. Rather goofy group. They think I don't understand that I know when they are joking about me (at least the middle one doesn't). The one with the glasses is always acting goofy, yet she gets mad if someone calls her a comedian.










Schools over here don't have janitors, so the students are responsible for cleaning the school. Everyday after school they clean their classrooms. I don't know why, but the brooms here are so short. They have regular sized mops, but super short brooms here. Confuses me to no end.













I sometimes bring my football to work and throw it around during lunch with the students. They still call it a "rugby ball" and have no clue how to throw it or catch it. Still, they find it interesting that i like it so much.















Anyone who's spent time over here will tell you about the street food. You can't get away from it and you will eat it. This one happens to be the snack stand next to the school. The kids raid this place after school. They also sneak over and buy food during school hours and lunch when they aren't supposed to. I often stop and grab something here either during lunch or after school. Not the best food in terms of health, but it's good and cheap.








The owner of the corner mart next to my apartment. He and his wife are so cool to me and have even started carrying items just because I asked about it. A pretty remarkable accomplishment considering they hardly speak any English and I barely can greet them in Korean. Still, they always speak even when I don't come in to buy something. I can only imagine what they think of my random buying habits.

I Wanna Be Sedated

Perhaps I caught it from a student or perhaps it was yesterday’s lack of socks, but I now have a cold. It hit me like a brick wall this morning and it hasn’t let up. I went down to the nurse and she gave me some meds. They have helped, but it’s still pretty bad. I stuck thru my one main class today because it was my favorite class. When they were asked if they wanted free study time or my regular class time they choose class time with me. Strangely, the acted up for the class period and I told them I was rather disappointed in them. I’m NEVER disappointed in 101!

After class I my co-teacher told me to get a rest and come back for one more class. On the way, a couple of the other teachers stopped by the food vendor next to the school and asked me to join them. They don’t speak a whole lot of English but they were nice to me and they even paid for my meal (despite me telling them not to a few times!). Still, I thought it was nice of them considering how little I get to communicate with most of the teachers at my school. Got to love that language barrier, right?

After my unexpected lunch, I went home and took a nap. I ended up oversleeping because my alarm on my cell phone didn’t go off (dang it). She wasn’t upset with me because she knew I was still feeling crappy.

I plan on going to Holy Grill despite how crappy I’m feeling. I have a free meal and I plan on using that up today. Besides, I’m kind of up for some Guitar Hero afterwards.

On a completely different note, my family needs to send me my damn PS3. They don’t understand my lack of entertainment around here! I only have some random books and a few oddball Korean TV shows I find myself watching despite not having a clue as to what the actors are saying. I am not If it weren’t for the laptop and internet I would have gone insane by now. By the time I get my system sent to me, it will be August and time for me to go back to the states!

Random side note: I found out that the 3rd year boys have a running bet to see who can hug me. I had figured this out some time ago, but I just bothered to ask one of the students about it today. This proves my theory that Korean boys are evil.

Weekend Report: Dinner & Dancing at Arianna's

The weekend was rather fun despite all the cold weather. Grabbed dinner at Italy Italy (yes, that’s the actual name) and met up with Wes and Mo at Billibowl. For some reason I recorded the bartender’s show where they juggle bottles and throw around the burning bottles. I’ve seen it several times but I still find it entertaining. Somehow we ended up at MK (Monkey). Overall, cool, but had the most fun on Saturday.

Justin organized a dinner at Arianna’s. More people showed up for it than there was space at the table but it worked. Personally, I’m always up for a night at Arianna’s because the food is decent and the band is fun to watch. It’s hard not to have a good time especially if you go with a good group. At some point, a bunch of us got up and started dancing around in front of the stage.

After Arianna’s we headed back downtown and met up with some other’s up at Club That. Pretty much everyone just mingled and had fun.

Somehow, some of us ended up at MK and danced around again. The DJ was better on Saturday so it was more fun to make a fool of myself on the dance floor. It’s not secret I’m not dance pro, but I like to have fun regardless. As usual, I’ve uploaded pictures because that’s just what I do; facebook if you got it or picasaweb.

The band at Arianna's

Matt (aka - Double "0"Ninja) struts his stuff in front of the stage

Kelly flashing that smile as Brent shows his happiness to be in a picture.

By far the coolest person in Arianna's that night. This little guy was running around the stage the whole time.

Just Like Music. . .

Unlike most people around here, I didn't do the iPod thing and become apart of the cult of Mac. . . . I got a Zune and I say I can't complain. However, their answer to iTunes ain't bad. It doesn't quite the same amount of contient to buy from Apple's online store (who does???) but it does have a good share. Best of all I"M NOT LOCKED INTO iTUNES MUSIC FILE FORMAT!!!!

Plus, zune.net has a social networking element that I enjoy messing with. So I figured I would post my profile card. . . . . I've been listening quite a bit sense coming to Korea (my home entertainment sources are limited). Plus I love how i can put a picture of my students in the background of my profile card :)

Personal faves of late: Kanye West's new album "808 & Heartbeak", T.I.'s "Swagga Like Us", Rhianna's "Distrubia", Silverchair (just about anything by them of late), and Common's "Finding Forever". I also recently downloaded Ludacris's "Threatre of the Mind". Muse (both "Absolution" and "Blackholes and Revolations").

Recently downloaded three Fatboy Slim albums and Cornershop's "When I was born for the 7th Time" (Remember "Brimful of Ashe?") Wicked songs on the Cornershop. . .it's growning on me.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow. . . .

I Woke up this morning and opened my window. . . . only to be greeted by snow flurries. .

SNOW!!! WHOO HOO!!

Forgive my oddball southern ways. If you are familiar with Atlanta (or just about any part of the south below the Carolinas), then you know that it rarely snows in the Southeast. For me, snow is a rarity, something to be amazed at. I quickly revert to a six year old kid ready to toss snowballs. While I knew that snow wasn’t uncommon in Korea, I’m still not used to seeing it. I walked to school in the snow and it picked up as the morning went out. The staff and students were a bit surprised at how much I enjoyed watching the snow fall from the window. I explained that it rarely happened where I’m from so it’s a bit exciting to me. I decided to snap a few pictures while I could. I had no idea how long it would last.

From My Hood - Area I live and Around School

From My Hood - Area I live and Around School

From My Hood - Area I live and Around School

Random Pictures of the Week: Dec. 4th

Seeing how I've had two great weekends in a row, I decided that I shouldn't push my luck this time and stay indoors. Besides, there is an OUTSIDE chance it will snow. However, I did manage to dig up a couple pictures from the past few weekends.

The first one is from the Daegu Threatre 24 hour challenge. Our group got Best Overall. This particular shot was from some point in the "Play" when I was raging out. I had a lot of fun doing it and I thought it my group did a pretty good job. Not the best picture, but I wanted something to remember this night.

This one came from Trivia Night last Friday. I never got anyone to take a picture of me in front of the crowd, but luckily, Paige snapped this one. I haven't had a chance to lighten it up, but I'll take it as is.

Closer to the Break

It’s getting close to Winter Break so that means Christmas and vacation time. It also means Christmas. Over here, Christmas doesn’t hold quite the same meaning. (One day out of school and Koreans usually spend Christmas with friends) For me, it’s going to be very different. I’ve NEVER been away from home during Christmas. Right now, it hasn’t hit me, but I know it’s going to be rough when the 24th comes around. Right now the plan is to spend time with some friends. Some of us are planning to do a dinner at one of the local joints. I know I will be alright, but there’s a nice part of my heart that’s going to be in Atlanta, GA on Christmas.

Holy Grill for Wednesday night, but I stopped at Hami’s for Korean lessons. Unfortunately, none of the tutors were around. I ended up talking to Kelly and Kyung Hee for a bit before going to get food. It was a normal night out. I ended up talking to Alex most of the night.

Friends; How Many Of Us Have Them?

I'm very fortunate to have good friends in my life. Some are there thru thick and thin, others are there for a season. Reguardless, I've been blessed to know some excellent people. If not for some of them, I wouldn't be able to go on this trip. Some of them have supported me in the worst of times and others have been there when I've been at my happiest. It's those people who I will miss the most when I leave.

I've got one more night before I leave out and tonight my friends are throwing my a going away party. I'm glad I'll get to see them one more time because many of them have been amazing.

Tommrow morning I get on a plane and fly 15 hours to a whole other world. I'm a bit nervous, but still very happy. It's finally starting to sink in because I've got two big bags of luggage sitting in front of me. It's all quite shocking to me in a lot of ways. I won't be seeing my house for a LONG time. My city - gone. Only way I can annoy my brother is via phone and email. To top it all off, my grandmother isn't doing as well, so I'll be worried about her. I'll be keeping a positive outlook on things because I think it's the only way I'll make it. I WANT this experience, but it's going to be mind-blowing.

Well, I've got things to do. . . wish me luck.

Media Blitz

The recruiters sent out a list of things they suggest we bring with us for use in the classroom. Movies, Music, Pictures, Books, etc. So I have come up with a list of movies I plan on taking. I’ve already bought “Akeelah And The Bee” but I want some more stuff that’s in the G-PG range. Here is the list I’ve made so far.


-Rudy
-Night At The Museum
-College Road Trip
-Remember The Titans
-National Treasure
-National Treasure 2
-Enchanted
-Eragon
-Glory Road
-The Greatest Game Ever Played
-High School Musical


I tried to keep the movies fairly current. I didn’t want to go into PG-13 (So no teen movies). . . I didn’t know if I’m teaching really young children or middle school age. Also, by large their culture is considered to be more conservative than ours. I need to narrow this list down a bit because I'm only going to buy two or three of them and I'm already taking "Transformers" and also "The Incredibles" I’m happy to take suggestions. I REALLY need some ideas for books.

Passport Please. . .

It has arrived! My passport just got back from the Korean Consulate. It was a day early! So I opened it up and right on the inside was a big stamp with the work visa attached!

That's it. It's all offical. I'm GOING go South Korea.

Wow. . . .

Second Star To The Right, And Straight On Till Morning

On August 23, I will leave my family, friends and city I love for at least one year. I will exchange the comforting familiarity of the Atlanta skyline for the unknown world of Daegu, South Korea. Instead of the cultural melting pot that is Atlanta, I’m going to a place where I will more than likely be stared for sticking out because I’m perhaps a good 8-10 inches taller than most people.

I am I out of my mind?

I’ve asked myself that question a few times now. I could tell you my answer, but it wouldn’t matter as it’s different for each person. Still, it’s fun to think about as I sit here and contemplate how I got here.

The road to Korea starts with the loss of my job back in June. For about 8 months I was the assistant manager for a label brand store in downtown Atlanta. I can’t say I loved the job, but it got the bills paid and it wasn’t hard. Still, I wasn’t happy with the job in the first place and had I listened to my heart I could have avoided the messy situation of me getting called into an office and being released.

Frustrated with a bad situation and upset with the direction things were going, I looked for a change. I took stock of my life and realized I didn’t want to work retail again. I looked into trying to get certified for a teaching position but that would be at least a year away. So what’s a guy to do while he waits on life to hit him? Well, I started to finally put in some time getting healthier and exercising. But I also started looking for life. I had recently turned 29 and knew I wasn’t living up to my potential. Hell, I wasn’t even trying.

So it was during my job search that I noticed a few recruitment sites were actively looking for ESL teachers. I had a friend who was currently working in Seoul doing the very same job and truth be told, I was envious of her experience. I had gotten a taste of living abroad back in college when I worked in England for 6 months and I never got it out of my system. I always wanted another chance to leave. For whatever reason, I applied to see to one of the recruiting companies, Aclipse . All they required was that applicants have at least a BA degree and preferred English ones. That fit me perfectly, but I didn’t honestly believe I would here back.

Imagine my surprise when I got a questionnaire back. I filled it out and I was sent an info packet via email. I went over the info and it seemed on the up and up so I continued down the road. Things snowballed after that; I did a phone screening with the recruiting company then they recommended me to a school district in South Korea. I send in the paperwork and application (many adventures with that I might add) and before I knew it, I was having a phone interview at 8 p.m. with a women speaking solid but broken English.

It was around this point that I realized this whole “Korea thing” might happen.

After the phone interview, I awaited word if they wanted me. Low and behold, I received official word that I was hired providing I finished the final set of paperwork. I was shocked, elated, scared and amazed all at the same time.

I worked on the last paperwork packet and started doing research on the country I might end up in. I started telling my family where I was going to end up.

And so it’s now Aug. 14 and I am no waiting for my work visa. If it arrives, then there is nothing stopping me. Nothing will be left for me to do but to pack my bags and prepare to go. I will be on a plane for roughly 15 hours heading to a new place to work as a teacher; something I have NEVER done.

Am I nervous? Hell yes

Scared? Eh, sort of.

Happy? Without a doubt.

This is my turning point, at least that’s how I see it. This is literally my last dance before everything completely changes. When my contract is over, I’ll be 30 years old. I’ll be looking to start actually looking for an opportunity to have a career and start a family. Settling down will seem to be a possibility. It’s time to better myself and become good person. I believe this journey is my bridge to the next phase of my life. I don’t know what waits for me on the other side of this year, but I hope it’s a good thing.

My goal here is to record my thoughts, feelings and other musings as I take myself out of my comfort zone and enter a new place. For me, this is totally new. I don’t Know Korean, I have very little knowledge of life in this country. I have very little in the way of preconceived notions of what to expect. So instead of being shying way, I’m going to embrace it and learn as much as I can. I’m sure there is a lot I will like, but also a like I will not like. I can only see things through my eyes.

I realize others will read this, but in the end, it’s just my thoughts and my feelings on the world around me. I invite you to see things through my eyes and take this journey with me.

Reguardless, Keep your fingers crossed. Things are not completely done yet!