Sovereign State Of Mind

Weekend Crash Episode Six

2010-07-06T18:51:00.000-07:00

I should have been posting these every week we do them, but I it happens. If you watched the last one, we've gotten way better with . . . everything. Just watch it.

Weekend Crash Episode Six

The Weekend Crash Episode 2

2010-04-16T02:27:00.000-07:00

So my friend and I decided we were bored and decided to make a podcast internet show. It's commentary about life here in Korea but with a more light hearted twist to everything. It's more SNL than 60 minutes, but we think it's funny. We hope you do too.

Go Here For the Weekend Crash

"It's A Men's Carry-All!"

2010-04-14T22:12:00.000-07:00

You know, I make jokes about guys carrying purses in Korea, but I'm beginning to understand.

Years ago when I watched the old “Murse” episode of Sienfield I never thought the idea would catch on. Living in the southeastern part of the United States, certain ideas are slow to perpetrate, even in the cities like Atlanta. Several times I remember even my grandmother questioning why I still carried a backpack after I graduated from college. Her reasoning? “Men just don't do that.” The most advanced it got was a briefcase and I always associated those with cubicle worker drones and wall street brokers.

(It's a Carry All for the Last Time!)

Then Kanye West and his “Louis Vutton Don” backpack shook up everything; a year or so after his first album dropped and suddenly dudes are walking around with brown Louie V bags. Still, it was (and still is ) a “GQ” concept. Where I come from, if it doesn't have two straps and goes on your back then you don't wear it. So even thought I was warned ahead of time about the metro-sexual guys here in South Korea, the man-bags shocked me right along with Korean guys walking arm in arm and male celebs doing cosmetic ads.

(Coming soon: His and her compacts)

However, it all fits. Look up the term “pretty boy” and you'll probably see a picture of the F4 guys from “Boys Over Flowers.” Younger guys here put just as much time into their appearance as the ladies, so why shouldn't they make sure the bag and tie match?

(Put in them the sunlight and their skin sparkles with glitter!)

While we from the west find the idea a bit of a joke, we forget one thing; it's actually PRACTICAL to carry a bag. In fact, it may be MORE practical for us who are just visiting. Most expats here don't own cars and rely on public transportation. That means planning ahead is essential because often going back home isn't an option.

(Yep, That's an NFL QB. . . )

Also consider that in 2010 people just carry more stuff around. Many carry laptops or netbook, various gadgets, mp3 players, notebooks, books, clothing, cameras and the like. And because bathrooms in Korea don't always have toilet paper, men often carry packets of tissue around.

(Man-bag AND Skinny jeans. . . . yeeesh!)

Want another reason? Then just go shopping. Stores often don't give you a shopping bag unless you ask for them and Grocery stores here even charge you FOR the plastic bags when you request them. The idea that all you need is your wallet and cell phone seems a bit dated with you consider all of this.

So while I can completely see the rationale behind carrying around a bag; the part I can't get my head around is the fashion element. Do they have to look so. . . purse-like? The fact that many of the bags here DO look like purses can be off-putting for some. There are already those negative connotations of manhood and sexuality attached to so many things here and the murse is yet another one. Accuse any guy with a messenger bag of carrying a muse and watch him squirm in their seats. Much of it also just comes from comfort. Many guys have no issues with the idea itself, but they just aren't progressive enough to take a chance on a bag that MIGHT actually be meant for their mom or girlfriend.

(Even The guys at ROKetship.com understand this all too well.)

As for me, I'll keep my backpack. I think I would look silly with a “satchel” slung around my chest considering my size and height.

Weekend Warrior Report: Where Does The Time Go?

2010-02-23T19:53:00.000-08:00

One of the disadvantages I've run into is that most extra curricular activities are usually on Saturdays. Most hagwon teachers work evenings so activities geared towards ex-pats tend to favor their schedules. To me, this is one of the few disadvantages to working for public schools/EPIK.

Want to go up to Seoul and visit friends or take in the nightlife? Going to be on the weekend. Korean class at the YMCA? Most classes are either mid-day on select weekdays or Saturday morning. If you want to start an activity, club or organization, then you'll more than likely have to meet up on Saturdays because that's when people will have time for it. There are exceptions, but it can make for some tough scheduling choices.

My own Saturday schedule is this: Band Rehearsal at 2, Salsa at 8, then dinner with friends afterwards. Doesn't sound like much, but before the winter break I took Korean classes early in the morning on Saturdays and went to Fight Club at 1:30. When I joined my band, I had to give up Fight Club (an activity I've done for over a year) because those times overlapped. Then I recently took up an activity on Fridays that goes from 11pm to 3am.

So imagine this schedule once school starts:

Friday: 11-3AM - Get home about 4 AM
Saturday: 11-1 Korean class. 2-4 or 5 rehearsal, get home about 6. Leave house for Salsa lessons around 7 or 7:15 and get there just before 8. Salsa is from 8-10 with social dancing afterward. Dinner with friends around 11. THEN you get to go out for the rest of the evening. Add in travel times (train, walking, cab, etc) and you have a full day ahead of you.

I used to have Sundays to recover, but now there is another activity that started on Sundays that starts at 1pm. Yikes!

Doesn't leave much space for any unexpected events like birthday parties, going away parties and other activities (all common things here). This leaves me with a lot of free weekday evenings. I would much rather spread out some activities during the week and free up weekend time.

I am looking at options. There is a new hagwon that teaches Korean to foreigners here and they are open on weekdays. The downside is the prices are high for classes. The YMCA 12 week course is the about the same price as one month at this school. Granted, classes are several times a week and the YMCA classes are once a week, so it evens out a bit. So it's a dilemma I'm trying to settle here.

As for fight club, I plan on going back to Daegu MMA for weekday workouts. While I would love to have that extra day on Saturdays to work out with my friends, it's not required if I renew my membership. I will see my friends later on that evening on Saturdays.

I had planned on taking some vacation time and going up to Seoul to visit a friend who is leaving Korea soon. Due to obligations, I wasn't able to go. I also had to pass on participating in an event because of scheduling conflicts. Most of the participants were Hagwon teachers and rehearsal times would have been during the day.

I'm not so much complaining as I'm trying to look for a medium for all of this. It's getting a bit out of hand and stretching me thin. I felt it this past weekend when I found myself face down in my bed with little motivation to move on Sunday (and none of it was influenced by alcohol!). I have friends who are active in other things and they too have expressed their own frustrations with keeping such schedules. I honestly like having things to do. Just not on top of each other. Now if I could clone myself, then I wouldn't have this issue.

Weekend Warrior Report: Rainism Assassin

2009-12-01T18:06:00.000-08:00

I'll Preface this by saying that I talk a lot about the movie "Ninja Assassin." While I say there's no plot points to speak of in the movie, you have been warned.

So last week I had a day off and decided to check out the movie “Ninja Assassin.” I had heard about this movie for some time and remember it being delayed more than once. I had been skeptical about it when I saw the first trailer for it, but I was still curious. This was supposed to be the movie that showcases Korean star Rain (비) and introduces him to the western world. For those who don't know, Rain is Korea's entertainment God. He's been in movies, TV shows and is known in his home country for his flashy dance moves and songs about his “magic stick.” Before I came to Korea, all I knew Rain for was that dude that Steven Colbert had a feud with on his show. After coming to Korea I learned that Rain was trying to break into the American market and wondered how well he could do. Considering that he's more known for his music and his role in a Korean soap Opera, I doubted he could be taken seriously as an action star. (His previous role in a Western movie was in Speed Racer. Despite that steam pile's lack of awesome, he impressed the producers enough to give him a shot at his own movie.)

Turns out I was wrong. Rain does a pretty good job as a ninja. Critics didn't like the movie, but it worked well for me. The movie is gory as hell and the first 5 minutes set the tone for it. I wouldn't say it's a family film, but if you want action and fighting, it's the way to go. Just don't expect a plot. The story in this movie makes “The Transporter” look like high art. It pretty much goes like this: Kid is kidnapped and trained to be a Ninja. Ninja rebels against clan, ninja attacks clan and gets revenge.

I will admit I was expecting A LITTLE more form the plot, but wasn't upset by it. No, I was impressed by . . . . wait for it. . . THE NINJAS!!! Thankfully the director realized he shouldn't let a silly thing like plot get in the way of a good fight. However I would imagine it's tough to make ninjas look cool when they are supposed to be silent stealth killers. Somehow he manged to make things work. I watched this movie and thought “this is exactly how I would expect two ninjas to fight each other.” Sure, there some anime influence here (*cough cough NINJA SCROLL cough*) but it came out well. To barrow from my friend who I was watching the movie with, it has some great action sequences that you can't see well in the dark.

Now the one big thing I wanted to get back to the casting. Rain's co star in this is Naomie Harris (yeah, I don't know her either). She plays a Eruopol Agent who first learns about the strange ninja world Rain lives in. In action movies like this one with paper-thin plots, a girl like this is usually some sort of romantic interest for the lead. What I found odd about this is that she's a black woman. Why is this so odd? Well, besides the usual ethnic issues Hollywood has, I was thinking about the Korean angle. The whole time I was watching this movie, I kept thinking “There is no way in hell Rain kisses this woman.” The nationalist, conservative views of the country as a whole places a lot of value on pure blood. Koreans think very highly of their stars and watch their every move when they venture out into the world to gain fame beyond their boarders. So do I expect one of Korea's spokesmen to come out and kiss a black woman on screen? Hell no. At some point, Rain will want to come home to his native country. No way they accept him doing this, even for a movie. (Remember Romeo Must Die??? Come on!)

So this brings up an interesting point; could Rain kiss anyone else in Hollywood and Korea be OK with it? Yep. However, I think it would have to be a certain caliber actress. Even if his name isn't big in the west (despite me having to break my student's hearts when I tell them that Rain isn't well known in the USA), Korea holds him in a light equal to a Will Smith, Tom Cruise or Bruce Willis. He could go as low as Megan Fox and be alright, perhaps even a Kristen Steward of Twilight fame (I'm sure this would delight the females of my school who read Twilight and are waiting for New Moon to come out this week over here). But Hallie Berry? Nope. Jennifer Lopez? Sorry. Eva Mendez? Try again. Beyonce? Almost but not quite.

So with this in mind, I'm going to start a “Who Will Rain Kiss In his Next Hollywood Movie” betting pool. If you have any suggestions, please let me know so I can make a chart. This could get interesting. Place your bets! He is supposedly reading for parts now. America, it's about to Rain.

Who Was That Masked Child??

2009-11-25T16:42:00.000-08:00

Korea is pretty cold during the winter and people here worry quite a bit about being sick. The first cold day of the year brings in legions of people wearing medical face masks wherever they go. 2/3 of a class might have on face masks when I come to work, and for some reason I decided to snap as many pictures of students as I can. Sometimes I have to sneak, other times I they are more than willing to appear in a picture.

Sports Day Is An Excuse To Wear A Costume During P.E. Class

2009-11-17T00:29:00.000-08:00

Students flutter around in colorful T-shirts and pants. The usual blue and while uniforms are exchanged for green and blue P.E. Sweat suits. Out come freshly made signs written in Korean. The teachers are dressed down. It's my favorite school day of the year: Sports Day.

Of all the school days in the year, Sports day is the one I find most fascinating. It's the one day were the students are allowed to kick back and be a little wild. They get to paint their faces, wear costumes and funny clothing, along with oddball accessories. I have nothing to do but watch and observe this day, so I get to really enjoy watching the students.

Sports day is like Field Day for some schools in the states or summer camps. In this case it's class vs. class. There are various events, most of them kind of silly; but it's meant to be fun.

The students usually wear some kind of uniform clothing to match with their classmates. 2-4 might wear blue t-shirts while 1-3 might wear funny hats. This year one of the second year classes decided to wear headbands with Giant flowers on them. Boys as well as girls. Another class decided to wear animal ears. Another got Giant Bows.

They all make signs, most of which are in support of each other. Most are Korean so I can't understand what the hell I'm reading. However, many of them are in English. What's even funnier are the ones that are written in Korean to phonetically spell out an English word or phrase. Clever kids.

My role in this is very limited. I walk around all day and do squat. No classes, no tutoring. Just wandering around and talking to students and/or teachers. I usually take a lot of pictures because it's one of the few times I can get pictures unexpectedly. It also might be one of the few times students might willingly pose for a shot. So I get to pose in pictures with them and they act a little silly.

I spent most of my time around the 3rd year section. This is odd considering that I tend to favor the second year students. But many of them were talkative.

I won't go into a lot of detail, but will say I was a bit disappointed with this year. Last year seemed to have more events and the students wore more interesting clothes. This year they mostly wore their P.E. Uniforms with an added assessory or two. Also, the students seemed to have more fun last year. I recall several students doing commentary during events over the PA system. I also remember them having a Talent Show after the regular events. No Talent show this time, so no students showing out. I have no idea why, but I wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with the more conservative principal we have this year.

Regardless, pictures are here for your enjoyment.

Recap: Part One - Salsa Dancing?

2009-11-15T18:38:00.000-08:00

I've been REALLY Late recently with posting. I've had a lot of to do, but at the same time things I've wanted to post about.
So what have I been so busy with? Well, here's one of them:

If you want, you can go to the 2:55 mark to get a surprise. I'll get better in time for when I come back home in August.

There's more to come. I have back logs about sports day, doing a dog & pony show known here as an Open Class, and a number of crazy things. I promise the wait won't be as long.

2009-10-16T04:21:00.000-07:00

Wasn't too thrilled when I saw this article about EXPAT teachers and crime. I've learned that reading the Korean Times can make you upset. I haven't met too many people here who's been in real trouble over here. Honestly sounds like a someone who's trying to find a cause to get behind for election purposes. I am sick of political scare tatics, that goes for here and back in the U.S.

Swine Flu: Picture of the Week

2009-10-15T09:51:00.001-07:00

Korea tends to take sickness seriously. In fact, the whole Asian world seems to be a bit paranoid when it comes to sickness. Images of Asians walking around with masks is normal. Here in Korea, it's pretty much a way of life. My students my wear cute masks on their face when it get's cold and people get sick here.

Now with the Swine Flu scare, Korea has gone over the top. Everyday, students at school go thru this line up and have to be checked by teachers. They check the temperatures and eyes. This has gone on everyday for the last few months. Schools have closed down here over this. And last semester a wave of public school teachers here in Daegu were put on quarintine for a week due to a scare. I wanted to share some of the images I see.

Also, I should have some videos comming up. One of the main reasons I've been so late with posts is because I'm backed up with pictures. Now that I have a new computer (!) it's a lot easier to post vids and pictures.

Baseball In Korean!! (Samsung Lions vs. The KIA Tigers) Oh My!

2009-09-17T23:03:00.000-07:00

When I think of pro baseball, I think of greedy, over-bloated steroid users. I also think of the sleepy Braves games at Turner field were there is more entertainment off the field than on it. Sure, the mega stadium experience that is MLB baseball has it’s drawing points, but the main factor, the game, has been lost to me. I haven't seriously followed baseball in years, which is a shame because baseball is the sport that I first paid attention to as a child. Where I was a big fan and followed my favorites, that was lost over the years as the sport seemed to lose it's way in my eyes.

So you can imagine how odd it was to see a Korean Pro baseball game for the first time. I had was not sure what to expect but I decided to keep an open mind. This isn't the U.S., it's another place and they hold baseball in a different reguard than Americans do. In fact, the Korean National Team was runner up in the World Baseball Classic last year. I was very curious about how Pro baseball here in Korea measured up.

I was invited by the P.E. teacher at my school (one on the right in the picture below) to watch the local team play. The Samsung Lions, from what I’ve read about, are a traditional powerhouse in the K-League (KBO). However, it seems as if things have shifted a bit and they are on a slight slump. Still competitive, but not as dominat as before. Still, I jumped at the chance to do something different. So after school one day, we headed to the stadium.

The very first thing I noticed was that we parked almost right next to the stadium. Back home you would be hard pressed to find a parking spot close to a High School football field let alone a Pro baseball stadium. We walked over and bought tickets (which were dirt cheap) and my friend went to buy food.

Now here’s the kicker. He went across the street to the convince store. He actually bought outside food to the game. This would be blasphemy at any professional sport. You could sneak a rocket launcher into a purse faster than you could sneak in a pack of M&M’s to a Braves game. Yet I noticed people bringing bags of food and even picnic baskets into the stadium. I also noticed a large cluster of ajumas (old women) selling fried chicken outside. They were yelling at anyone walking past and would go so far as to run up and try to pull a person over to their stand. It was hilarious seeing about 7 old ladies run up to random people yelling at one time trying to get them to buy something.

To make things more interesting; I noticed that the choices for food inside and outside the park are NOTHING LIKE THE STATES. Back home, it’s all about “Peanuts and cracker jacks”, Hot Dogs, cokes, chips and everything in between. Here in Korea - Not a hot dog in site. Most people were chowing down on fried chicken or woofing down cups of ramen. The P.E. teacher and I ended up eating dried squid. It's like a really chewy, rubbery dried chicken meat. Not a favorite, but not bad either. The one thing that doesn’t change is that people drink beer during the game. It seems that alcohol is the universal substance of consumption at sporting events.

When we went inside, my friend the P.E. teacher asked me where I wanted to sit. Yep, that’s right. You can pick your seats. We walked around and found a spot between the upper level and the lower one, just to the left of home plate and right on top of the dugout. As the stadium filled up, I noticed people would sit almost anywhere. The spots on behind the last row were wide concrete isles, so people got cardboard and sat on the grown behind the seats and formed another row.

I thought it was great. Very odd to me, but I liked the idea. You get to the park early, you get a good seat. I found this very strange considering that movie theatres here assign seats. I wonder if it’s just for Daegu or is that universal.

The stadium is noticeably smaller than a MLP park. From what I've read, it only seats about 12,000. It is also an older stadium. But it also means there really isn’t a bad seat in the house. You can clearly see the field and I was glad to be able to do that.

Now as the game started, I noticed one glaring thing. This guy in a uniform started stretching on top of the dugout and these girls dressed similar to the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders showed up. Confusing? Yep. It turns out that the guy in the uniform is a designated cheerleader in the most literal sense of the word. This guy actually leads the crowd in cheers. He’s got a microphone piped into the sound system and he gets the crowd to root on the players. And this goes on the entire game. Between at bats, there are special cheers and chants much like soccer chants that go on. The girls accompanying him even hold up place cards with the words to the chants. This made things really easy to get into.

As for the girls, well, they are actual cheerleaders. They do dances and cheers to music, they help get the crowd into the game. . . and they are there to look pretty. They remind me of the dancers at an NBA game who do routines during time outs. They even do costume changes.

Overall, I liked this idea. Because the crowd is literally chanting every players name at each at-bat, they are always into the game. The focus is on the players and the game. However, this was done without the belligerent drunkenness that one might see at a college football game back home or other sporting events. There’s no way I would want to take a kid to many pro sports games (especially football) but I would have no issues with one going to a Korean baseball game.

I also liked the feel of being into the game for once. I’m sure it helps the crowd feel like they are more apart of what is going on. I know I felt more into the game than I ever did at a sporting event back home (save for HBCU football games. . . . nothing beats a black college homecoming). I got into the chants and tried my hardest to sing along (they are all in Korean so I tried to read the cards as best I could). I was walking up and down the isle chanting and waving a team towel. I even wound up on the jumbo-tron a few times. (Note to self: Large black man chanting in Korean is easily as entertaining to Koreans as it sounds. )

The only thing I didn’t like about the chants was that they were more about Samsung than the city. Unlike in the states, the pro teams aren’t known by the cities they are based in. They are known by the sponsors. So you wouldn’t say the Daegu Lions. . . you would saythe Samsung Lions because Samsung owns them. It’s on the jerseys and it’s in the chants. I find it so odd considering that in America, the teams are usually big parts of the cities they are in. So much so that teams take on the personalities of their cities (The Pittsburgh Steelers are a great example. You have a blue collar town with a workmen, middle class, rough around the edges mentality identity that the team emulated in their style of play. The Steelers are a tough Defensive with a hard hat style offense.). It just felt odd to say that I was watching a game between the Samsung Lions and the KIA Tigers. Still, it wasn't like they cross-marketed things to death. The stadium isn't named Samsun Stadium and the company logo isn't quite plastered all over the place. Just the team name.

Sadly, the team lost the game. I found out that the KIA Tigers are the league leaders and it was obvious why. Their team must have hit four homeruns before the game was done. Also, the Lions loaded the bases three times and hardly capitalized on it. There were a lot of runners left on base during the game. Still, I had a great time. I even caught one of the little prize bags the cheerleaders shot into the crowd. I ended up with gift certificates to Lotteria (Aka Fake MacDonald’s). I could see myself going to a lot of games especially if I decide to do a third and final year here. It was a fun experience and it made me like baseball again.

One thing I have to say I'm a little on the fence about. . . .

No "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" or Seventh Inning Stretch. I was hoping to hear a Korean version of that song so I was a little dissapointed.

A Quick Update

2009-08-30T19:35:00.000-07:00

I'm not gone from the world, I'm just back logged. I returned to the U.S. for a few weeks of R&R and only recently returned to Korea. More to come tommrow, the posts have been written already.

And it goes a little something like this:

2009-07-27T08:45:00.000-07:00

Thre is no way to preface this. I'll let the story tell itself.:

So last week was a week long camp where I had to teach. I had taken the cab to the school for the first four days because it was pretty close to where I live. Well, on the fourth day, I decided to take the bus home. I had to walk down from one bus stop to another in order to transfer to the bus that took me home. This was purely guesswork on my part as that :

A) Never. EVER ride the bus here
B) All the bus routes on the signs at the bus stops are in Korean with no English. My Korean isn't good enough to read EVERY sign yet.

Can we see where this is going yet?

So the next day, I decide to use my newfound knowledge of the bus routes to take the bus to school the following morning. A rain-filled morning of evil. I hopped the bus going near my house thinking it would take me down the street and around the corner towards the school.

Oh how wrong I was!!!!

So where did I end up? Somewhere in another part of town with no clue as to where I was going!!! YAY!!!

At some point, I realized I’m was near a subway station. I hopped on the train and figured I could catch a bus near the station closest to the school.
I arrived at the station and walked towards the exit. As I walked around, an old man (let's call him Mr. Korean Old Man) stopped me and shook my hand. I've been here a year so I'm kind of used to it by now. I shake his hand, say hello and walk away.

But Mr. Korean old man didn't let go.

For some reason, Korean Old Man decided then and there that he must prove his manhood with a feat of strength. In order to impress hid old man buddies, he tried to pick me up.

Yes, you read that right. BENT DOWN AND TRIED TO PICK ME UP OVER HIS SHOULDER!!!!

I just pulled away from him and continued on my way. . . once again shocked at Sparkling Korea and it’s randomness.

Yep. This is my life.

Just so you know. I did get to school. . . . an hour later. Wet and sweaty from running in the monsoon rain. I missed a whole class period. However, no one cared as it was the last day of camp and the kids were just practicing for their shows. My co-teacher just told me to take a rest in the breakroom until it was for the closing show for all the students. I should have just went home and back to sleep.I'll post pictures from Camps later. . . .

The First Rule Of Fight Club Is. . .

2009-07-18T15:30:00.001-07:00

The gym is small, cramped and wouldn't pass for much in some high schools in the U.S. Yet me and several friends gather there each week to get in a good work out, spar with each other, and share knowledge about different disciplines of martial arts.

It was started by my friend's Nick and Matt. Both are fitness freaks with interesting back stories. They share a love for martial arts, particularly Brazilian Jujitsu. Both are currently learning at least two forms of martial arts a week. As a means to share and gather with others, they worked out a deal with the owner of the BBJ gym the train out of. A year before I came to Korea, fight club was born. Together they run mini-classes mainly for foreigners on the weekends as a means to give people a taste of martial arts and a place to spar and trade ideas about fighting. Nick's girlfriend Susy is also there, usually working with the girls who come in each week (and does a good job of it).

This is how i spend my Saturdays. After meeting with Nick, he used his fanatical sales pitch (a jack-legged Baptist preacher would be proud) to get me to check out fight club. I was impressed and I started coming. At some point, it became a need for me each week. Sure, one of the best parts about Fight Club is that we all gather and get to meet up with people we consider friends, but the majority of us have a desire to learn more about the sport of Mixed Martial Arts and all the elements that can be added to me. I myself have only my wrestling background to fall back on. I turns out that it's really helpful when things go to the ground. I've also found that it helps with my standing game.

Each week I go home sore, bruised and/or tired from the beatings I've given or received from the rest of group. We have a lot of fun, but we also work hard. More than few of us at least want to be in fighting shape. Not so much that anyone wants to fight; we just want to be able to say we COULD train to fight if we wanted to. I have no illusions of becoming the next UFC star. I only want to drop weight. Some of the girls who come in only want to learn basic self defense, kick boxing or Taekwando. Sometimes the girls will even go off on their own and do Yoga. There are a few girls who don't mind mixing it up and learning how to fight, but no one is pushed. One of the rules is you put the work you want, no one is going to make you do something.

One of the fun things about this gym is that the Koreans who are members will come in and sometimes spar with us. There are a few who are training to become professional fighters and they are REALLY GOOD. I've seen guys smaller than my brother take down someone who's almost as big as me. I've learned a few little tricks from a few of the Koreans there. One of them I like to mess with because he's funny. He goes by John and he's a high school kid with a lot of talent. He gets a little cocky, but he's a nice kid. I sometimes treat him like a little brother because he gets a little high on himself. I think if he sticks with it he might be able to go pro one day.

The highlight of each Fight Club session is "The Brick". One man gets in the ring for five minutes and each minute the sparing partner changes. Basically it's 1 vs. 5 one at a time. It's tiring, but it's become a gold standard. Now because of Brendan, there is a new teir for the brick; the "Ten Stack." 1 vs. 10!

Recently, I've gotten very serious about Fight Club. I've seen that I've lost weight and the slow improvement in my technique. I also bought to pairs of gloves to spar in (I used to use the ones the gym provided - very stinky) and I've noticed an improvement in my stamina. I want to see more results and I want my skill set to improve faster. I can't do it just going one day a week, so I plan on joining the gym full time in August. I will be able to join in on any of the weekday sessions and I'll work with the hardcore teachers and students. I will more than likely have to rolled out of the gym the first 30 days because I will be tired. I've seen the workout these guys do and it's ROUGH. I know what must be done, but I really want to build myself up into a more healthy individual. Also, it would be nice to know I have the ablity to fight if needed.

Seonam Middle School: Year One Done

2009-07-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

Korea Year One at Seonam Middle School is officially over. It is summer vacation and my contract obligations will be finished once my camp is finished next week. It’s been a crazy experience and I really don’t feel like it’s been as long as it has. I got here last August when it was hot hell and I had no clue what the hell people were staying around me. Korea was a strange new place and I didn’t have a clue how to take it. My school has had it’s ups and downs, but I’ve enjoyed my time and I admit I want to see how well I can handle Year Two.

Today was the last day of regular school, so I walked around and took pictures while the kids all cleaned their classrooms and said their goodbyes to each other. One particular touching moment was when a 1st year (7th grade) girl was saying goodbye to all her friends for the last time. She was transferring and one of her friends was taking it rather hard. I got a picture of them all together (despite them all hiding their faces) and I watched them as they all walked the halls together. The girl’s mother was there with her and she seemed to understand and let her have a little time with her friends.

When I left the school, some of the boys were standing outside the gate and I talked to them for a minute. They took a few pictures and I said my goodbyes. Before heading home, I stopped into the usual corner store. The owner stopped me and had his son translate something for me. He apparently wants to give me a gift for my family before I go home. I was very humbled by the act of kindness. The family that runs that store have been so nice to me I’ve always feel real welcome there.

Needless to say, I’m not the same person I was when I came here. I hope thing will only get better from here on out.

Now that the reflection is out the way. . . time to have some fun. IT’S SUMMER BABY!!

More last Day Pictures are HERE.

Weekend Warrior Report: Great American (Korean) 4th of July Bash!!!!

2009-07-08T07:38:00.000-07:00

It was the 4th of July last week. A big deal in the states. . . nothing here in SoKo. Needless to say, I was missing the BBQ and the fireworks back home. However, it doesn’t take much for the local foreign community to celebrate important holidays. Once again, I was out with my camera taking pictures of my friends. A few of the foreign friendly bars downtown had special events and fun was had by all. Sadly, the monsoon season has hit here and it’s made things tougher if you want to be out and about.

A few friends hanging around the deck @ Club That.

Club That had a live concert going on. Local favorite Sensational Gonzalez was there to perform.

I allow people to take my camera and these kind of pictures are taken. . . believe it or not, i'm not smiling. I can't smile in pictures unless it looks goofy.

It will be a quiet weekend this time around. The vast majority of foreginers are heading out of town to Mudfest. From what I can, people go to some place in the middle of no where, jump in mud pits, hose down, then do random crazy stuff. Strangely not my style so I will be here at home this go round.

Less than a week of school left, then it's off to camps! Whoo hoo!

Entertainment Tonight. . . Er. . Sorta?

2009-07-03T03:11:00.000-07:00

Let me pain a picture for you: You are used to being able to get a hold of just about any book you want, watch anything on TV or choose any other form of entertianment you please. Now take that easy access away. Well friends, this is where I live. Yes, Korea has English TV shows and Movies. Hell, super action is full of em. However, unless you like watching CSI, CSI and CSI then you might have a problem. The main issue is that many shows either don't come over here or they are seasons behind. Heroes comes on here, but it only comes on during certain parts of the year. A lot of reruns also come on here. The Simpsons and Sex in The City are big ones here so I see them on all the time. . . not so good. I watched The Boondocks, Cowboy Bebop and a lot of very random shows. Shows like "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" don't make the grade here. Ironic humor doesn't go over well with Koreans and I'm not sure why. Movies are the same, only major block busters come here or movies with major Korean actors. So you're choice of movies at the theratre of limited (Thanks for the few choices we have!). So unless I want to watch the Starcraft Channel, I have to download shows. . . and to make that difficult, most American websites (NBC, ABC, etc) that stream shows are blocked in this region. That means' no Aqua Teen Hunger Force for this guy here. But I have found ways around it, and these are a few of those recent selections.

I recently watched the first season of True Blood and I have to say I was impressed with it. I had no idea what to expect of the show because I wasn’t home for all the hype around it. I watched it with no expectations or pre-conceived notions. I was rather surprised with the storyline and the characters. I’m enjoying it quite a bit as the writers are keeping everything tight and interesting. So now that the second season has recently started up, I have something to look forward to each week from home.

So now that I have a little more time than normal and I don’t have any books to read, I developed a K-drama habit. I can thank a few friends from home (and one here) for this, as it caused me to watch a few random shows back in during the winter months.
I have watched a few shows recently or scanned a few episodes of things looking for something interesting. The show that’s become my current crack is Strike Love. It’s based off a Korean comic about a baseball team made up of misfits who beat the odds to become pro ball players. Beneath this underdog tale is a love triangle between four main charcaters. Now after the evil that is Boys Over Flowers I had to detox from K and J Drama watching. I didn’t know if I could handle another crazed show. Turns out it’s pretty damn good. The acting on the show is surprising. I’ve watched my share of foreign dramas and I often find that while some of them have endearing moments or interesting ideas, the acting often makes things tough for my western thought process to swallow. But Strike Love has been the exception to the rule. Heck, even the kids in the first episodes are good! It doesn’t hurt that the backdrop for this show is baseball. I’m a sports fan at heart and the idea of the underdog fighting to become more than what the world tells him that he’s capable of tugs at love for all things sport.

So, on to my more. . . sensitive side. In my search for K-drama entertainment, I found another show that seems to work despite my brain telling me I'm insane for watching it. Shining Inheritance (or Great Inheritance as I’ve seen it called) has wiggled it’s way into my viewing rotation. The main character is a sweet but spunky girl who (surprise!) grew up privileged but lost everything after her father’s death. It’s literally a Cinderella story. The alarms were signaling my gag reflex to go off, but I gave it a chance. The first two episodes threw me for a loop and I was kind of impressed. I was thinking “Oh look, someone’s figured out how to write!” Turns out there’s enough character development and story to keep me interested for some reason or another. The heroine Go Eun Sung is who Jan Di (Boys Over Evil) should have been; cute without being annoying. But to me, the most fun characters are the evil step mother Baek Sung Hee, the spoiled silly housewife Oh Young Ran and the best friend Lee Hye Ri. Supporting characters are usually the most interesting. Afterall, the main characters are usually there to just stand around and look either pretty or sad.

So this brings me finally to the big question: "Why the hell do you watch this?" Well, i suppose that's a loaded question. I'm not the typical audience for such stuff and I don't honestly know why some of it appeals to me. I understand why i watch Strike Love. Being an old school anime fan, I'm already used to watching shows with substitles and cultrual differences don't shock me. Strike Love is essentially a Live Action Sports Anime/Manga (it IS based off a manga afterall). Unlike most shows of this nature, the production values are high, the dramatic tension is well done and despite the over-the-top nature of the charcaters (it is a soap opera), it's entertaining.
Shining Inheritence is a tough one. I'm not adverse to qirky romances. However, I usually DON'T like the fans of such shows. They bother me. Fan girl squealing over the hot asian boys is a huge turn off to such things. And let's face it, the formula for such shows is more predictable than a dumb action movie. Yet, I can at least see the appeal as trashy TV. It's the same reason i watch the new 90210; it's funny to watch people behaving badly, even if they are cardboard cut out archetypes. I end up enjoying them for what they are in my own way. Sometimes things are popular for a damn reason I guess?

Blame Canada. .. they made me stay up late (Wednesday Night)

2009-07-03T02:36:00.000-07:00

Pardon my American ignorance, but there is this celebration called Canada Day. It’s like the 4th of July only less bloody and more beer. There’s a large population of Canadians here in Daegu so I went out Wednesday night to chill and see what was going on. I used to hit up every Wednesday night dinner, but I’ve been M.I.A of late. It was good to see so many familiar faces out as well as get to know a few new ones. I also had to say goodbye to a few people who were leaving for good. Never fun, but this is South Korea. It’s pretty much the norm around here.

While I was out and about, I snapped some pictures of people as they celebrated downtown.

Early at the Holy Grill. This was my first stop for the evening.

I have to admire the creativity by Kristin here. She pinned the Canadian Flag as a top. Very much about shoing spirit and love of one's country.

Sadly, I had to say goodbye to Tammy. It was her last night in South Korea. She's been a nice girl and I wish her well. Hope to see you again one day. . .

Yeah, this place. . . serves alcohol in bags. . . BAGS. ON THE STREET. Some of us call them "Adult Caprisuns" . . . .

. . . Which everyone seemed to be enjoying quite a bit. But that's a normal night out around here. . . .

The lovely Jasmin shows off the bag drinks. I think these things would cause mass riots in the states.

At this point in the evening, everyone was hovering around the patio of Club That. It was a party in the streets and Koreans were confused as to why the forgieners were randomly packed outside on a Wednesday.

I peresonally think my commentary on my facebook album was halarious, but I'm bias. For the rest of the pictures, click here. Anyways, I'm off to do some weekend warrior work. Peace and chicken grease!

Weekend Warrior Report: Beach Blanket Busan Blow-Up!!!!! (June 26-19th)

2009-06-29T21:35:00.000-07:00

Going to Busan has convinced me that somewhere on Cyworld (the Korean version of facebook) there is a fan site of me. You see, EVERYONE has a cyworld homepage in Korea. They post a lot pictures there (mainly from crappy cell phones) and I was stopped several times by various people to be in pictures with them. As I have stated before, I’m a physical freak in this country. I’m black, I’m big and I’m tall. It’s like some triple crown of oddness for Koreans and there is no place that I feel that freak show mentality more than Busan.

I went down to Busan with friends to spend the day at Haeundae Beach. I rarely leave Daegu, so I was looking forward to being out of the city. It’s only an hour train ride so it’s perfect for a day trip. We took cabs to the beach and grabbed lunch at a bar called Fuzzy Navel that serves Mexican food(!). Finally God has decided to bless me with a decent burrito here in S.K.

God – “I know you've been craving food from Atlanta, so I’m going to give you a preview of home. . . . starting. . . NOW!” (Cue choir singing the hallelujah chorus while lights shine on the burrito as a cute waitress brings me what will be a glorious meal.)

Ok, I’m finished drooling over the burrito. Where was I? Oh yeah, the beach.
First of all, I’m a southern boy. Second, I’m a city boy. I’ve only been to the beach a couple of times in life. I get excited about the idea of the beach because the ocean is a foreign thing in my eyes. What really stuck out to me is how different Koreans are at the beach vs. other groups of people there. The majority of the Koreans were on one side of the beach, mostly clustered together under umbrellas. Most of the women were covered up as much as possible and many shirts over their swimsuits. In fact, I didn’t see a single bikini on a Korean girl. It’s fairly well known that Koreans view white skin as a sign of beauty, so they protect themselves fiercely from getting tans. I’m honestly surprised that they would go to the beach much. It was so odd from what you might see in Florida or California. Just another difference in culture I suppose.

Foreigners were on the more open side of the beach and you would see a random mix of people out there. Russians, Tai, Philippine, Vietnamese. . . and each group seemed to be in a spot. I think the funniest thing we saw was the group of guys in man-kinis. The glorious neon colored evil thongs were on display and you could not get away from them. It was just awkward and glorious all at the same time.

Now as much as we people watched, people watched us. . . especially me. At one point, there was this group of about ten guys who just stood by and watched me. I believe they were Vietnamese, but they kept pointing and whispering from about six feet away.
Some group of Russians asked to take a picture with me which I thought was insane. Some random Korean people did and I caught a few kids trying to sneak pictures with camera phones. Then there was this group of people on the street who stopped me. Just before we left the beach, some kids walked up to me asking for pictures. At that point, I just shook my head and played it up. Apparently some of them thought I was a rapper (seriously).

I after leaving the beach, we were all sore. The guys (minus me – I didn’t want to spend the money) went to get massages and the girls wanted to shop. I tired some Vietnamese food and was pleasantly surprised. I usually have problems with new food, but I’m glad I tried it.

Every time I go to Busan I’m impressed by it. I really am tempted to look for a job down there if I stay a third year here. I’ve never lived on a coast and I think I could get used to spending time on the beach.

Weekend Warrior Report: Dance the Night Away???

2009-06-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

I didn’t do anything on Friday. I’ve cut back to one night out during the weekend unless specific plans are made. Wandering the streets of Daegu with no true destination isn’t worth it on a Friday night. You think it would be, but no.

Saturday consisted of the usual fight club session. I’m finally getting better at some of the little things and I feel a little healthier. Because I had to be home for my washer to get delivered, I had to leave early. I went downtown and stopped in to Justin’s birthday dinner thing. I got to meet a few new people there, most notably a few of his co-teachers. I already knew one of them because she is friends with Korean Mom. After talking with them for a bit, I realized again how I WISH there were Korean teachers I could relate to at my school. As much as I would like to, there is no way I would feel comfortable inviting my co-workers to my birthday party. I wouldn’t think they would enjoy it nor would I feel comfortable.

I eventually made my way over to the Salsa party Susy and Melinda put together (pictures later). I didn’t know what to expect, but I was a lot of fun. It was also something different than the usual around here. Nick, Suzy and company did a little dance number which was pretty damn good. I think between that at the dance clinic they ran that they might get some new students. I was also happy that when the music started I didn’t like a total tool on the floor. I at least know basic steps and once my brain stopped frying I remembered how to do my basic turns. All it shows me is that I REALLY want to stay with lessons.

Korea: Year Two is shaping up to be pretty damn good:

-Fight Club & Gym
-Salsa lessons and etc.
-Korean lessons.

I always figured that year two would be more of me focusing on getting some things done. The adjustment is over. Time to get to work!

Splish Splash

2009-06-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

I didn’t come to Korea with a lot of clothes due to a freak accident at the airport. I also can’t buy clothing here because Koreans don’t come in my size. Being the case, it’s important for me to take care of the clothing I did bring with me. Sadly, this also means I wash my clothes a lot. I don’t have a laundry day like most people. I wash something almost every day just so I don’t get caught without clothes.

So when Monday came and my washer broke, I wasn’t a happy man.

Luckily, I had recently cleaned some clothing, but this didn’t help me much the week went by. I was digging thru the drawers for something to wear to work each day. Fortunately my school was pretty quick to get a repair man to look at it. The repairman told them that the washer was dead, so they bought me a new one. I was so thankful that I finally had a washer. . . best of all, the new one is bigger than the old one so I can wash more stuff in it.

Ok, enough domestic stuff, let’s get on to the weekend.

Destiny is pre-ordained. . . Just like grades

2009-06-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

Sparkling Korea hasn’t done this in a while to me, so I guess I was overdue for another headache moment.

For the next three weeks, I’ll be giving individual reading tests to students. I sit in a room and they come in one at a time. Each student will pick from a series of pre-prepared cards and read them to me. I will record and grade each student based on their ability. Simple, right?

Well, here’s the wrinkle in the system. When my co-teacher’s handed me the grading scale to use, they also gave me a set number of grades I could give out per grade. Which means if I have a class of 34 students, then only 5 can be A’s, 6 can be B’s and so on.

Excuse me????

So you mean to tell me that I have a set number of each grade to give out? This means I have worry about the fact that one student might just work their ass of and really do a good job, but because I gave all my “A’s” I have to give them a B? Are we serious?

Somehow they have pre-determined the grades for the students even before they start. How the hell?

I asked about this and while I didn’t get an exact reason, they just explained that I have to use each set of numbers. So I’m forced to be really conservative with my grades. Yesterday I found myself dinging them for every little thing. Plus, I’ve been here a year so I have a fairly good idea of who will do a good job and who won’t. But that doesn’t mean someone won’t harder.

This makes me wonder how many other grades come out like this????

Now it’s been brought to my attention that this isn’t that unusual a practice, even back in the US. To me, the idea of such a practice is insane. What happened to getting the grade you earned?

Don't Speak While You Kick Push

2009-04-23T18:56:00.000-07:00

This week has been very laid back at least in terms of teaching. Because the students will have mid-terms soon, the second year students have to play catch up. This means that my classes for them have been canceled this week. That effectively cuts 1/3 of my classes for the week, so I haven’t tried to actually use the books to teach from.

For the first year students, I’m doing a light review. I have a tough time explaining it to some of them, but the idea is that they have to make a 4-panel comic strip using the lessons we have already gone over. I give them the book pages to use as references; but basically they have to make a comic showing an introduction between people, two friends greeting each other, one person inviting another to do an activity. I wish I had gotten to use it on class 105 (my angel class) but I had to play catch up with them. The test class was 102; a class where I don’t have English co-teacher. It wasn’t too hard to get them to understand the concepts, but I know it would have gone smoother if I had a co-teacher who could help with questions.

The third year students have a lesson that involves music. I selected two songs; one song because it is slow, the other because it’s tougher and I had a feeling they might like it. The songs are “Don’t Speak” by No Doubt and “Kick, Push” by Lupe Fiasco. I first made a lyric sheet for them for each song then I made a worksheet with words missing in the lyrics. It’s to test their listening skills. The first class didn’t go as well as I would have liked because I wasn’t able to set things up like I should have. The next class went much smoother because I found a copy of the video for “Don’t Speak” on youtube that had the lyrics. It’s gone over fairly in well in the classes. . . but it’s third years so you never know. The girls seemed to like “Don’t Speak” and the boys “Kick Push”. . . overall, “Kick, Push” is the favorite.

As I expected, the students keep up with “Don’t Speak”. In fact, I’ve caught some of the girls mouthing the words to it. They all seem to find “Kick Push” hard to keep up with. Still, some of them were able to catch on to it after listening. I eventually want to do a lesson where classes pick a song to learn and I give them the lyric sheets. I will try hard to find song with easy lyrics to learn. I have talked about it with my co-teacher and the big issue is songs that are overly sexual. Considering that many students requested “Sexyback” by Justin Timberlake, I can see this will be an uphill battle.

Pictures of the Week (April 22)

2009-04-19T22:16:00.000-07:00

This week's pictures from the wonderful world of Korean weirdness come from my random walking around the city of Daegu. I think it's time for something a little different, so I might want to travel around to get pictures from different places.

First up on the list is this wonderful little shirt I found with a friend when we wandered into a cell phone assessory shop. The girl wearing the shirt seemed to be uneasy about me taking the picture, so I asked her friend to take it for me. We also explained why it was so funny to us silly Americans. I think it was more than fair considering that she was squeezing the chicken and making nosies with it.

There are a lot of keychains and cell phone charms here. This one caught my eye due to the fact that not only is it Spider-Man, but it's Spider-Man holding a bottle of Soju. For those of you who don't know, Soju is the local liquor of choice for many Koreans. The drink is synonoious with the country despite a movement to distance itself from the drink. But how could such a trinket exist? Well, the copyright laws are very fuzzy here. Many things aren't "offical" here so it's not usual to see such things.

Weekend Warrior Report: Racing The Sun

2009-04-19T19:19:00.000-07:00

My Friday was boarder line pointless. I didn’t do too much and I only ended up meeting with friends and bar hopping to Commune and That. The night started out with a little bit of promise. That promise eventually fizzled out and gave way to mundane blah-dom.

Saturday I allowed Nick’s girlfriend Susy to talk me into coming to Salsa lessons and observe . I might actually sign up because I like dancing and want to learn how to do it right. Truth be told, I’m a little self-conscious about it. Dancing is one of the few kinks left in my armor. I plan on making Susy teach me some basics before I walk into class (Yes, a pre lesson before an actual lesson! Makes sense. . .) due to my own silly issues about it.

After getting galbi with the usual suspects, I headed off with a few friends to find something to do. Intially there wasn’t much success. That was blah, Old Skool has officially been taken over by the U.S. military, but, it was in Frog where I ended up having the most fun.

Now I hate Club Frog because It’s overcrowded and I always feel like I should have an STD test after going there. Yet it’s my boy’s favorite spot to hit up in town and I ended up hanging with him for a bit. Surprisingly it wasn’t bad; the music was decent and a few people I know were there.

Towards the later end of the night, Jeff the DJ showed up and bought me and some of the guys a few rounds. Me and him kicked it a bit on the balcony and he gave me some intersting info and prespective. At some point during out converstation, he tells me of a random spot to check out and on the spot he decides to take me there. He introduces me to the staff and then talks me up to some people hanging in there. I found this funny, but I took the que and enjoyed myself.

We stayed at the bar until they closed. By this point the sun was beaming down but I somehow ended up at another galbi joint with a few random Koreans while they drank Soju and talked. To wrap up this little adventure, I walked into the house around 8:30-9ish in the morning. After a little net surfing and skype called back home, I hit the sack. Definitely a unique night for me. . . but fun all the same.

Pictures of the Week (April 15)

2009-04-14T17:09:00.000-07:00

I know, the Pictures of the Week segment is a little sporadic, but I try to make up for it with more than one picture. So for this week, a few random pictures from school and around town.

This first picture is another one from the morning line-up at my school. The difference here is that these kids were all caught smoking. Their punishment: make signs and stand in front of the school all morning with them. So far, the count is three days stright. These boys have to stand up every morning while all the other studends walk past them.

This is an example I decided to use in a lesson. Korea's national baseball team made the finals of the World Baseball Classic and it was a huge deal over here. They lose to their rival Japan near the end, so I decided to use this as a part of an example. The students got a giggle out of it, however, I'm sure I misspelled Ichiro's name.

The next picture is a very random and odd picture from the subway. Me and a friend were walking around and randomly spotted this rather confusing can inside. Does this mean that ANYTHING can come out if you slect the random can? Or perhaps it's just whatever they decide to load in it's slot? Perhaps something even more insane like some random thing will happen if you pick this can. I didn't spend the 500 won to find out.

Freak Out the Students

2009-04-07T19:15:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, one of the kids in class said something to me and for some reason it caused me to respond in Korean. It was simple No (An-Ne-Yo) but a few kids were suprised I even could say that much. I heard a few of them say, "You can speak Korean."

My response?

"Han Guk mal jal moat hey yo." (I can't speak Korean well.)

The whole class went "WWWWOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAHHHH!" Took them a moment to clam down.

It's a small. . . VERY small step. Hell, three months ago I couldn't even say that! Who knows; maybe ONE day I'll be able to speak in full sentences.

To Be (In Korea) or Not to Be (In Korea)

2009-04-07T18:55:00.000-07:00

And so the time has come; the question of contract renewals has come up. Signing back on means another year in Korea. Another year away from friends, family and the comfort of Atlanta. No Game nights with the crew, no AWA, no UFC nights with the guys and no football. Also, no time with someone special back home I miss, no goofing with my brother, no trips to find a corner in Boarders and read and no random runs to Café Intermezzo or Real Chow Baby.

It also means, more learning Korean, more Korean children, more being stared at, and more random nights out with the expats here. It means a possible trip to Japan and who knows where else, more learning about another culture, more not knowing what people are saying around me, and more Norebang nights.

I can honestly say I’m not ready to head home yet. I feel that my time here isn’t done. Yeah, I want to see my people, but I will see them. I will get a chance to hang with them again when I go home for the summer, but I think another year is needed. Then I’ll be ready.

I just hope everything with evaluations go ok. I enjoy my school, but there are times would enjoy another school. I would like to teacher more motivated and advanced kids, but that would require moving to another part of the city more than likely. I’ve grown very attached to the kids here at Seonam Middle School. Even some of the bad ones.

But, when it comes to the teachers here, I feel lost as hell. They are nice to me at least. I like the well enough. Basically, most of them are women and it’s tough to get past that barrier here. The cultural divide is too tough. I don’t relate to them very well, nor they to me. I barely know the other English teachers here and there are days were I barely say a word at work other than my English class work. And that bothers me. A lot. Particularly when I hear of some friends who have regular contact with their teachers outside of work. Hell, I even know they were hoping for a girl and got me instead. It’s just the truth of the matter.

So the big question is will I ask to change schools or will they ask to have me changed?

Crash and Burn with Pre-teen Drama 101

2009-04-07T16:39:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I learned that I would have afternoon classes this semester. The difference between the afternoon classes and my normal classes is that I’m in the classroom with students by myself and I’m teaching whatever I want. This can be good and bad. I like the idea of the freedom to be in class with no one around, but it also presents the problem of what to do with that freedom.

By chance, a friend of mine who teaches at another school told me that she was using a TV show to teach kids English. Because she wanted to use a safe show, she used the Nickelodeon show Zoey 101.
Initially the idea of such a show did not seem interesting to me. A Pre-teen show about a girl . . complete with light romance themes and bubble gum plotlines. I at least wanted to use something with some more teeth. I toyed with the idea of using a show like the new 90210 or One Three Hill, but the content, plotlines and language would have been a bit questionable. I also thought of using Saved By The Bell but I thought it might be too dated. . . plus I didn't think the DVD set would get here on such short notice (international shipping is pricy!). However, I knew that the audience would be younger middle school age kids and mostly girls (boys usually don’t study languages over here so I didn’t expect many boys in the class). I also knew the show’s content would be (relatively) safe. So I ran the idea by one of my co-teachers and she loved the idea.

I got the scripts my friend used, the videos of the show and I made a study guide with vocabulary words and questions. I figured that the kids who would sign up for the class would be more advanced than most in the school, but I still tried to make
things easy for them. I figured the idea of watching a TV show in English with no Korean subtitles would be a bit much for them. As I went thru and watched the first thru episodes so I would know what the hell I was teaching, I got excited about the idea of doing this lesson instead of the typical book work I usually teach in class.

So this past Monday was the first day to teach this class. I came into class with my packets, my TV episodes and more information about Zoey 101 than a man of 30 should know. As I expected, the class is made up of almost all girls and mostly first years (seventh grade). So, I started class with a very light explanation of the show.

And they barely understand a word I said.

Turns out the students in the class were not as advanced as I thought. They had a very basic understanding of the language, so a lot of instructions were hard for them. It took a few tries, but they got a few of my instructions. As I plotted thru the packet with them, I feared that I would have to scrap everything I worked on.

Instead of simply showing them the show and going over the information in the packet as I had planned, I read over the script of the show with them slowly and had them highlight any words they don’t know. Then I gave them explanations of words and we watched only a scene of the show. I was relieved when I noticed that they understood some of what was going on. It gave me some hope to keep trying for the next class.

I ended up going home and revising the lesson. The next day, I read thru the script in class and gave the students English to Korean dictionaries to look up the words they didn’t know. I even went down a basic explanation of the characters and I noticed that they were finally catching on. I played the scene twice for them; once to let them hear the language, then again after reading slowly thru the lines. During the second run thru, a few students were mouthing the words and mimicking the actors’ lines. After class, two of the older girls told me the class was hard but interesting. The class also kept watching the show even after the bell rang.

My goal is to get the students used to the speed of the show and broaden their English vocabulary. If I can get them thru one episode a week, I’ll be fine as long as they are really learning. However, I’m very happy I didn’t have to junk my who lesson.

Lost Entry: Visit to Korean Mom

2009-04-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

(Originally written 4/06/08, this entry was saved and upadated later)

This past weekend I skipped my usual trip to the gym with the rest of fight club group and met my old co-teacher Mrs. Jeong (aka Korean Mom). She has a weekly meeting with a group of her friends and they practice English and she invited me to come along. I figured I would be around a group of older women teachers for the day, but I would deal with it.

I was surprised that the group was very mixed across the board. True, most of them were teachers, but it was made up of both men and women and the ages varied. They all come from different walks of life and from different jobs.The group meets to read over and discuss different new artiles written in English. The articles range from current events to And Landers. I got to join in and they had questions for me on a few things. It was a good peek into the mind set of Koreans, at least a few opinions. There were a few things discussed that kind of made me wiggle a bit, but nothing I couldn’t handle.

I was really interested in seeing them interact because in the whole time I’ve been here, I’ve rarely had a chance to interact with Koreans in a non school setting. Unlike some of my friends, the teachers at my school rarely interact with me outside of school. My social experience with Koreans in general is very limited so I feel like that's part of the cultural experience I miss out on. The biggest problem is of course the language barrier; I don't speak enough Korean and most Koreans don't have a strong enough handle of over the English language. However, this was not the case for the English Disscussion group. The majority of them speak very good English and can express themsleves very clearly. I can only hope to get a 10th of that in Korean one day.

I think what I enjoyed most about the situation is that everyone was comfortable with each other. Everyone was joking, even making fun of each other. It was a lot of laughs, both for them and me. . One of the most interesting conversations was the one about multi-tasking that led to a men vs. women debate. They also talked about dealing with cultural idea of chivalry. While it’s a deteriorating idea in the west, it still does exist. Here in Korea, it’s a new idea. There is still an idea of “women’s” work and men don’t do things like hold doors for women. I could tell the women like the idea, but they were very unused to it.

I tired not to say too much (however, I’m sure I failed once or twice, particularly about the chivalry disscussion). Still, I got to pick their brains a bit and see what types of lives they lived. In the end, I was invited to come back and I’m considering making it a once a month thing to join them. Mrs. Jeong thought it would be fine.

After everything was over and everyone went home, Mrs. Jeong took me to get dinner. Did I mention the she rocks? Then we went shopping – she needed to buy things for home and I needed food for the next two weeks. I was more than thankful for this because I don’t have a car here and because she drove it meant I could buy a bit more than normal. Trust me; lugging boxes of crap on the subway is not fun.

We got to catch up and she told me about her new school and I told her about my time at Seonam. I can see that being at a high school is changing up her life. I could see that she had lost weight (the woman is tiny as it is!) and she told me that she works longer hours and has to do more preparation. However she seems to like her new homeroom. I told her that she was missed at the school and that a few students had asked me if I liked her or her replacement better. I can also tell she missed her son (who is recently started his required military service). She told me a few times how her home life has changed between her son leaving and her new job. She says that she gets up at 3 or 4 in the morning to do house chores before going to work!!! I even got a little insight from her about the personalities of the other English teachers at my school. Most of it I guessed, but it was interesting to see her perspective on it.

One thing that was not lost on me was seeing her home for the first time. This is the first time I’ve been in someone’s house other than another westerner. By American standards, she has a small apartment good for one or maybe two people. Personally, I thought it was beautiful. She said it was plain, but I thought it was very nice. A nice view of the city and the mountains, good space, and even a nice kitchen. I could tell that she worked hard to keep it clean because when all her guests left when the group meeting was over, she immediately started to clean (She would not let me help despite me trying three times.).

Despite it being a rather low-key day, it’s still one of the more memorable. I'm glad I got to see it because I don't know when I will get such an opportunity again.

Picture Of The Week: 3/31/2009

2009-03-31T05:11:00.000-07:00

The picture this time comes from a few weeks ago. Every morning when i get to school, there is a line up of kids who are usually in trouble. It's usually uniform infractions or dress code issues, but there are also kids who are late for class as well. I've seen the line strech down about 30 kids deep. Well, one day, I got a picture of the start of the line.

Funny thing, these are two of the better students.

Uniform Code

2009-03-31T04:28:00.000-07:00

So I figured out the oddball issue with uniforms here.

It's not secert that Korea (and many Asian countries) have uniforms for schools. It's just one of those trademark things here.

Well, when I got here, I found out that many of the uniform companies use pop idols to advertize the uniforms. I find this odd because many of the uniforms used in the adds are always over the top compared to the uniforms the school use.

Now you see the uniforms in the ad here. Now take a look at the uniforms my students have:

Nothing quite so colorful. I'll go out on a limb and say that this is more of the normal look of the typical uniform here in Korea. I've seen a few oddball ones here and there, but most of them look pretty standard. So to me, it seemed like a waste of advertising. Especially when I saw the uniform shops near my friend's house.

I can only imagine telling an American student they had to wear something like that everyday. The riots would be intense. Honestly, we already have issues in America with the very idea of wearing a uniform, much less one that looks like it something out of an anime. But still, the whole thing still confused me until recently. Pointless to have pop stars selling your product when it's an pretty much something you HAVE to have. I mean, the school makes you wear them, right?

Well, sort of.

I asked one of my co-teachers about this the other day when the issue of school dress code came up (more on that another time). When I told her that I figured the school picked out the uniforms, she told me I was mistaken. Apperently, the students vote on the uniforms before the school year starts. In fact, she informed that that this year the uniform changed. . . at least the brand did. The same style uniform was used, but the students decided to change the brand they bought from.

NOW the advertizing makes sense.

Which makes things even more interesting that the government recently banned the practice of using idols to sell uniforms. The reason: rising cost of uniforms. Unifroms can run you between 150,000 - 300,000 won per set (That's anywhere from $100-250 bucks USD). Now consider that kids wear these things every day from 5-6 days a week from Late Feb. to The end of the year. That's a LOT of wear and tear.

However, I feel sorry for the school that has to wear the wild hot pink unifroms. . . ugh.

Take Notes In Class

2009-03-24T17:21:00.000-07:00

This is how I know I'm taking the idea of teaching more seriously.

I have a few kids who regularly visit my desk in the teacher's office. At some point during the day, a group of several girls will come hover around and start asking random questions. A few of them speak limited english, the rest either try or relay questions and comments thru their friends.

So one day, two of the girls that happen to be best friends start to explain their nicknames to me. One goes by Mouse and the other by the name Spongebob(When I see them together, I call them MouseBob). So after their giggle-filled explantion, they go off to class. Later in the day, I get a pair of notes from them:

Now of course, this is a cute gesture because I know both girls have limited english skills. I happy if any child shows any level of desire to try to use the language. It's technically what I'm here for afterall.

Now, being the teacher, what did I do?

I copied the notes on paper, corrected them, then gave the corrected versions back to the girls. They were actually happy once I gave them back.

However, what bothered me most is that despite the fact that there is a big name tag on my desk, they still got my name wrong.

It doesn't matter, I keep both notes stuck on my desk. Something I have noticed that the kids take pride in.

. . Try, Try, Again. . . if if that doesn't work; Cut & Paste

2009-03-10T00:03:00.000-07:00

I feel sorriest for my Monday students. All last semester I would walk in on Monday with a set of lesson plans and at least one of them would fail miserably. The epic looks of confusion on student's faces would be all the evidence I need that whatever I was teacher or working on would need some serious revision. I each time this happened I would go back to the office (or back home if I didn’t have time) and revised the whole lesson. Sometimes I would trash it and start from scratch.

It looks like this time around I’m going to have the same issues.

Yesterday I had two lessons blow up in my face in a colossal pile of crap. I felt bad because I worked hard on them. I’ve been doing a lot better with my planning (at least I thought I was) and I really wanted to do well. I asked my co-teacher about both of them and the second year teacher, Mrs. Kim, gave me some good ideas to go with. The overall issue it seemed was that I was giving too much information but not explaining it correctly. For me, this is a tough situation because I sometimes feel like my co-teachers don’t always explain what they ask for. I can’t put the blame on them however; I don’t always ask questions. I pledged that this wouldn’t be the case in this semester because I felt I really mailed it in a few times last winter. This time, I asked both my co-teachers for suggestions and I went home and went to work. I even showed them the revisions this morning. Ms. Jeoung (unmarried) explained that I had a lot of good information, but it was too much.

I ended up cutting things down and revising my power points. It cost me some sleep, but I was much happier with the results. The students seemed to pay attention and at least understand the basics of what I said. I realize many of them don’t really care either way, but if I get the majority of their attention then I can’t complain.

I have to admit, I feel that sometimes my lesson plans are the result of my ambition combined with frustration. I sometimes assume the level for my students is way higher than it actually is. Ms. Jeoung tends to tell me to keep in mind that the students don’t know as much as I think they do. SOME do, but I often take for ranted the things a lot of things implied that someone who is native would understand. The frustration is a combination of my impatience along with laziness. If I get caught under the gun, I don’t out as much effort into the work. It results in some rather poor lesson work. As I said before, I’m working on it all this time. I’m still learning a lot about what to do and how to do it.

Adventures In Korean Food!! ( and other random goodness)

2009-03-04T22:36:00.000-08:00

Last Night me and Andrew met up with Mike K, Michelle and Kathy to grab Korean food. For me to get Korean food is rare, but I have to make that concession when I have guests in the city. It's just something you got to do here. Besides, the place I picked has food I actually like. It's spicy as hell and I usually end up drinking a ton of water, but I still love eating it. Oddly, Andrew was the only person NOT complaining about the spicy food. However, he's also from New Orleans so there's a good chance he's used to spicy stuff. If not for the abudance of pork, he's fit right in with Koreans and their love for hot food.

Me and Drew also got a chance to hit up a few game stores while we were downtown. He was amazed at the stuff the stores here carry (much like I was. . . I shudder to think what will happen when I visit Japan.) and we both ended up getting stuff here. I found a Hori arcade style fighting stick for the PS2/PSone. Because it was used and an older item, it was cheap (about $9.75 American). I got a converter for it and it now works on my PS3. Drew grabbed a PSP game for himself and then he got a few items for the crew back home.

I got to say it's nice to have part of the crew here. I have made some good friends here, but I can't replace the crew back home.

I'm supposed to go see "Watchmen" tonight. I have been looking forward to it. Despite the mixed reviews, I am curious as to how well the movie will translate the dense source material. I might post a mini-review about it, especially considering that I'm watching it over here instead back home. In the states, I would be watching it with a group of comic book heads who more than likely know it front to back. Here, I'm just curious.

Communication Is Important. . Even If You Have No Clue As To What's Being Said

2009-03-04T19:05:00.000-08:00

I'm taking this as a good sign: I seem to be commuicating with my co-teacher better. I actually sat down and had a conversation with her today. In fact, I think I've talked to her more in the last two days than I in a whole month of last semster. She gave my info about classes. I think it's the fact that I'm coming to her about my lesson plans. I learned from last year to communicate more with her and it seems to help. Things can get lost in translation I think and I got to make sure to stay up to date or I will end up missing something.

Let me say that it pays massively to communicate with the teachers here. If you don't, you miss out on a lot. Like the fact that all the teachers are having a dinner tommrow. Which makes things kind of tough for me because I'm supposed to go to a dinner at Epic tommrow at Ariannas. On one hand, I'm all for bonding opportunities at work, but it's Ariannas. Even my co-teacher said it's a better resturant than the one the school teachers are going to!

I also learned that I will have to teach two first year classes with a Korean teacher in the classroom instead of an English one. THAT is going to be difficult. This means I have to take into account that the kids in the class wont' have anyone to translate if things get difficult. Which means I have make very simple lesson plans. LOTS of visual aids, video clips and simple work for the first year students. It's already going to be tough with them because the first year students tend to be the most scared. The current group already doesn't know me, so it's going be a bit of a challenge. I think it won't be too bad because the one thing about first years is that they tend to be easier to keep under control. Nothing I can't handle. Besides, the teacher might end up being good.

Brand New (School) Day: Remember To Set Your Alarm!!!

2009-03-03T22:32:00.000-08:00

I had a lot going on recently: Brian’s in-and-out visit, Andrew coming into town, heading up to Seoul with Kathy, trying to go to Busan at some point.

But the biggest thing is that school started this week.

I tried to mentally prepare myself for going back to school. After two months of little (English camps) to no (sitting in my apartment) work, I had to face up to going in and starting up with attempting to get Korean kids to pay attention in class. No easy task when it has no true standing on their grades. I’ll admit I missed working and having something to do, but I’ve thought about a few things I wanted to do in order to make things easier on me.

However, being nearly two hours late is not the way to start things for the new semester.

That’s right, folks. Yours truly had the most epic of screw ups the first day of school. After thinking that I set the alarm the previous evening, I forgot to actually CLICK the switch on the clock to activate alarm. The ending result: me running into school around 9:45 instead of 8:10 like I had planned.

Thankfully, I had taken a shower the night before so I didn’t have to do that. But I skipped breakfast and rush over to the school. I figured that I would have to deal with odd ass stares when I walk in the office, the regular teachers knowing I was late. While I’ve been here I’ve NEVER been late for school. I didn’t count on that this particular morning the school would have Opening Ceremonies for the new school year. As I walked into the school gates, I could see over 500 students along with all the teachers and staff standing outside the school. EVERYONE could see I was late and I could hear the kids saying my name as I walked by.

At that point, I couldn’t say anything. I just took my bag up to the office, came back down and got in line. Stood there as the principal gave a speech. . . I’m assuming it was aimed mostly at the new students. I have to guess or assume because I had no idea what was said. That’s how these functions and meetings go. I sit there and have no clue as to what’s being said. So I often entertain myself by looking around and observing things. The main thing I noticed this time around is that the opening of the school reminded me of Hogwarts only no cool robes, magic or sorting hat. All the kids were lined up in neat rows and sectioned off by their grade level. The watched as all the old first years and second years became the upperclassmen to a group of scared looking kids in street clothes. All the kids in the middle section were former 6th graders from elementary schools. They didn’t have to wear uniforms at their old schools and now they had to be in an extremely rigid world. This is where they had to get serious about school if they wanted to have a fighting chance in life in this country. Middle school makes or breaks you almost for life here, and the new kids looked appropriately scared. There was a point during the ceremony where the younger kids have to bow to both sets of upperclassmen and in return the upperclassmen nod to them in acceptance. I found the ritual of the whole thing so unique than what’s done back home in the states.

When it was all over, I went to the office. I had to end up hunting down information about my schedule and I finally found out what I needed to start doing for the new school year. Once I met the new English teacher, it really sunk in the Mrs. Jeoung, my old co-teacher, was gone. I had known all along that she wouldn’t be here this semester, but she was such a HUGE part of my life here at my school. I never connected with my other co-teachers like I did her and it’s going to be so evident this time. I have to be way more independent now, and that’s not the biggest thing. I’m going to miss her presence around here. Flat out the woman is a good teacher and students did like her a lot. I don’t need to know Korean to see that. She kept my classes in order and things ran smoothly. I rarely had classes that got bad when she was in them. On a personal note, she was the one person I could talk to on a regular basis and she by far knew the most about me. It may not seem like much, but when you sit in a room full of people everyday and you honestly can’t talk to them because of language issues, you notice when things change. That will be the toughest change to deal with.

Still, I’m looking forward to this. I think the classes will not be as tough to deal with because I have a better idea what to do and how to plan things out. Oh there will be problems. . . . no question. The first thing with the students is that 1/3 of the school population doesn’t know anything about me. The older kids have seen me, they are used to me and at least know who I am. Even if they don’t speak to me that much, they at least aren’t freaked out by my presence. But yesterday when I walked down the 1st year’s hall, the kids all started freaking out as if I had grown horns and started breathing fire. That part will go away, but it’s going to get on my nerves a bit.

But one thing is for sure. I'm going to remember to set my alarm!!!

The Incredible Adventure in Seoul + Andrew in Korean

2009-03-03T20:59:00.000-08:00

My friend Brian visited me two weeks ago and I somehow I accidently erased all the pictures. His visit was too short; only four days and he was back on the plane. I was happy to see him and hang out, but it was a long way to go for such a short trip. Still, I'm greatful to have friends willing to come visit me.

Speaking of which, this week my friend Andrew came in from the states to visit me as well. There is a little more excitement because he’s staying about 10 days so we will have time to do more stuff. Drew is also a gamer (like me) and pretty much has a very similar sense of humor.

Because he came in Saturday, I went up to Seoul to meet up with him. Kathy ended up coming up with me and the whole trip morphed into a visit to Seoul Grand Park. Now let me say that Kathy is always informed and prepared when it comes to travel. She manages to come up with details that I never even considered. However, I was grateful to have her around. Because the trip to the Park/Museum/Zoo was her idea, I was just along for the ride. I hadn’t left Daegu sense the second month I was here so I was a bit stir crazy and ready to see Seoul again.

First thing about Seoul I love; there is considerably much less staring. People in Seoul are more accustomed to seeing foreigners. Also, this is the country’s New York City. People don’t have time to gawk because they usually have something to do and somewhere to go. So the ride on the subway line isn’t quite as bad as Daegu. The trip to Seoul Grand Park wasn’t too long. However, it’s longer than most trips in Daegu. You quickly see the difference in the two cities by just riding the subway alone.

We got there and headed to the National Museum of Contemporary Art. To get there, we had to take a transport up the hill. What’s funny about this is how we knew that once we picked a section to sit in, we would clear it of any Koreans. This is just fact; Koreans will go out of their way NOT to sit near foreigners. I have to wonder if it’s so bad back home but I can’t see how it’s much worse than all the black kids sitting at one table in the lunch room during high school and all the white kids at the other. Still, it’s kind of humorous to me. . . . sometimes.

We ended up seeing quite a few interesting pieces. I loved the stuff made during the Korean War and some of the Modern pieces and photography. I’m not as deep into it as Kathy, whose knowledge of art and art history far exceed mine. Still, I like what I like and some of the pieces were amazing to me. I’m sad I couldn’t take pictures of some of them, but I might have to ask Kathy about her list of artist she pulled while we where there.

Desi met up with us after Kathy took some pictures of the area with the sculptures and the three of us headed to the Zoo. I hadn’t visited a Zoo in a while and I forgot that they are usually inhabited by children. Seeing as how Desi is the only one of us not camera shy, she ended up being the subject of more than a few pictures. I took a few pictures of animals, but my point and click isn’t equipped to get good shots of stuff. I left it to Kathy’s mega camera.
We rode the air lift back down to the entrance to the park and the whole time Desi and Kathy made fun of the fact that I was a bit nervous about being up in the air on a cable. I admit, I’m not great with heights but it’s not like I’m hysterical about it. Kind of takes me a second to get my nerves settled. It was about the time we got back on the Subway that I got a call from Andrew saying he arrived at the airport. We got some food while we waited for him to call when he got to the train station. Drew got in and we hoped the train to get back to Daegu. Andrew and I caught up about what was going on back home and his first impressions of Korea (he was surprised at the way the bus drivers narrowly miss hitting damn near everything) and the fact that Korea doesn’t have the same level of politeness (as least by western standards) when it comes to things like standing in line and bumping into people.

We got back to Daegu and it was getting slightly late. Still, we dropped Andrew’s luggage back at my place and we all went off in search for something to eat. I got a call from a friend saying he was downtown with some other people and me, Desi and Andrew met up with them. After grabbing some food, I showed Andrew a few places most of the foreigners hang downtown and introduced him to various people. He slid right into the situation and had a lot of fun. I was happy to finally be out the house after my self-imposed three week exile. For once, I was happy to get a few drinks and it was a good time by all. At some point, we all made it to a Norebang and the epically bad singing began.

Now understand that Norebang for me and Drew is greatness. We typically throw parties back home the enviably involve playing Singstar, Guitar Hero, and Rock Band. Bad singing for entertainment is the normal thing for us because it combines our wiliness to be silly with the love for gaming. In the end, we went wandering until it was time to go home. . . . but not before Andrew pulled down a heater off the wall in a club and sat on it. A HEATER. As if it were a chair. It was at that point that I realized both of us might have more than our share of drinks. However, mission accomplished: I showed my friend a good first night in Korea and I also got to spend a fun day in Seoul. I also got to hang with friends and that’s usually a good thing.

(All The pictures here were taken by my friend Kathy. Wonderful photographer and good person too.)

Take A Picture, It Will Last Longer

2009-02-03T05:07:00.001-08:00

It’s official, I have a visitor in a few days. My friend Brian is coming in from GA to visit for a few days. This shall be epic. I might also have another friend coming at the end of the month, but it’s not set in stone yet. I shall say it’s about 70% sure for the second visit.

I’m happy for getting any kind of visits. I do miss my people from back home. I love it here and I’ve met some great people, but all my friends are important to me. I don’t forget those who have been around and I try my hardest to keep up with people. I admit it’s tough because you run into a lot of people in life. I’m grateful for those who have made it this far with me. You don’t know where life will take you and those who are around you. I’m sure this is why I take so many pictures whenever I go somewhere.

I’ve never been one to believe in living in the past but perhaps the picture taking is my way of creating a record. I can’t remember everything and memories fade. I think that carrying a camera around is about as important as carrying around a cell phone, a pen or my wallet. Plus it appeals to my observant nature. I like to watch, I like to see things unfold. Perhaps I missed my calling as a photojournalist.

Picture Of The Week (Jan. 28)

2009-01-31T03:51:00.000-08:00

While on a random night for dinner, A couple of my friends decided to perform a segment of their favorite kung-fu movie. . . This is the end result. . .

Random Conversation: American Students vs. Korean Students

2009-01-19T08:53:00.000-08:00

Part of a conversation I had with a Korean teacher about differences in middle school students and elementary school students today:

Me – “When the students at my school go to sleep, I yell by their ear and wake them up.”

Korean Teacher – “You should be careful, there has been an issue with students hitting teachers here.”

Me – “That doesn’t worry me.”

Korean Teacher – “Why?”

Me – “In America, students have been known to pull guns and shoot up schools. Hitting is the least of my worries.”

Not to say Korean kids cant' be annoying. . . . . Trust me; kids will always be kids. But at least this country has very strict gun laws. (It also doesn't hurt that I'm bigger than they are but quite a bit.). One of my friends used to be a teacher in one of the rougher districts in Atlanta and she saw more things with younger kids than I would want to admit to. I can only wonder what will happen when the day comes that I go back home and become a certified teacher back home.

Walking Around In Circles

2009-01-19T02:17:00.000-08:00

I started my last English camp for the winter break today, and it was pretty straightforward. I didn’t realize how much my last camp spoiled me. The kids at my last camp were much more responsive than this group, but then still aren’t bad. The younger kids are still the more fun ones because they don’t have inhibitions. The older ones are apathetic and humorous even when I want to ring their necks.

Still, the start of this camp did not go well for me. For starters, I was about 15 minutes late due to odd directions I received. Instead of being able to map quest a place and drive there ( Map Quest I miss you!!!!), I had to get directions from the Teachers at the school. So I was giving a tiny map to the school. . . . . . In KOREAN. Now, consider the fact that during the school year, my trip from my school to my apartment is 5 minutes. This English camp’s location is remotely close to the next to the last stop on the Eastern subway line. . . . . roughly 10-12 stops from me. . who lives on the West line. Now the kicker of this whole debacle is that when I got off the train, I suddenly realized two things

A) I didn’t have a copy of the map and had to go by memory.
B) I also forgot the paper with the name of the school written in Korean: no taking a cab for me.

I took what I assumed would be the right path; going the opposite way of the train because that’s what it looked like on the map when I got it. This guess turned out to be totally wrong. As I realized I was going the wrong way (roughly 10 blocks later), I mentally turned the shoddy map around in my head and went. . . “Oh.”

So I trudged back in the opposite direction knowing that if I ran into another train station that I totally went too far. I trotted along, looking up for some sort of landmark. . that was when I realized something. .

The map only had three: the train stations, the mart where the corner was and the school itself.

Let me also give you a little in-site on Korean directions. No one actually uses street names here. Streets are marked with names or some sort of system, I’ve seen the signs. But No one uses them. I haven’t figured out if this is the norm or not; I have this strange feeling that we westerners are considered too dumb to read Korean street signs and thus never given the street directions. Regardless, I ended up going down another wrong street before being called by the teachers at the school.

Did I mention that said forgotten slip of paper with the school name also had the school phone number? FUN!!!

I finally found the right street with the right mart on the corner, but I was dog tired by then. No matter the fact that I have been in this country for about five months now; you can’t match Koreans and walking because they have done it their whole lives. Me and my fat, lazy American self was more than a little tired by the time the one of the teachers found me on the street. I’m sure it was a humorous site to see me walking in the door softly trying to catch my breath.

Korean walking 1, Me 0. . . . curse you, walking around as transportation!!!!

I taught my first lesson shortly after, which wasn’t bad, but wasn’t terribly interesting. . . even to me. I tried with my power points and pictures but it only work so much. I was talking about hobbies: how much can you talk about hobbies when you have a limited understanding of language. It’s fine, doing the Time lesson is always better and more fun for me. . last time the kids like it as well. I’ll have to take some pictures and post them.

Music Overview: Jan. 5, 2009

2009-01-05T10:35:00.000-08:00

Just finished picking apart Common's "Universal Mind Control." I'm not as impressed as I would like to be. It's not a bad album. . . I just think it could be better.

Best part of my hip hop listening habits have been my rediscovery of Little Brother. If you are a Hip-Hop fan, PLEASE listen to these guys. They are throw backs, but they are so much fun to listen to.

I also went thru a few days of listening to a lot of Japanese Rock. Mostly it's stuff from Anime but I got to say I love Sambomaster. Talk about a band that's not pretty. The lead singer can belt it out, but he's SO NOT the typical front man for a Rock band. Watching the video for one of my fave songs looks like he's singing and stumbling drunk. God Bless the Japanese.

This sadly made me think about how the lack of unique music here in good ole Korea. Here, everyone listens to the same music, the same songs and it's mostly pre-packaged Pop that imatates mainstream Pop, R&B and Rap back home. Which means almost NO groups write their own music. Doesn't mean there aren't a few. Only ones I seem to find that have some merit is Epik High. For some reason, these guys impress me and from my understanding they have a lot of creative control over their stuff. But it doesn't hurt that they manage to make videos that get banned from TV:

Either way, that's all when it comes to music for now. If you got any reccomendations, please feel free to speak up.

2009-01-05T09:14:00.000-08:00

Today was the start of my week long English camp. It was odd being in a room of kids younger than 6th grade. They were a little different. Unlike normal school, I'm in the room by myself. That freaked me out a bit because I'm not used to that. It wasn't horrid and in some ways it's kind of fun. The kids were mostly good, but I don't know if that's because it's that it was new to them.

I kind of like the energy of the younger kids. Generally they were better behaved than my usual middle school kids. What was odd was that I could give instructions in English and they mostly got it. That NEVER happens with the older kids. But from my understanding, the kids in the camp were picked because they are BETTER at English than usual.

Either way, 4 days to go.

Because it was such a short day, I was downtown around 1pm and I was shocked at the number of elderly folk. They are EVERYWHERE!! I was in the mall above Banwoldang Station and they were just sitting on every bench. I have seen random old people just sitting in this country but it's odd to see the massive numbers of them out and about. They generally do nothing. . . just sit in groups or on benches and talk to each other. That is odd compared to back home.

Because I'm so used to being at school during the day, It's a little odd to suddenly have time on my hands. I'm trying to figure out what to do with myself because I think it's a waste to go home and sit in my apartment. I pretty much just came home after doing some light exploring and went to sleep. . . . untlil 11 at night! THAT'S JUST SICK!

Loc Box

2009-01-03T09:04:00.000-08:00

Unlike most weekends, I've locked myself away in my apartment and I've slowly been trying to rid myself of this damned cold that won't seem to go away. After several bottles of orange juice, sitting on laying on the heated floor for two days and a box of Korean Meds (including some bags of stuff the pharmacy gave me that tastes like pure nasty), I'm finally starting to feel better.

It seems several of my friends treked off to Seoul for the weekend. I opted to skip flight club Sat. because I wanted to stay out of the cold air as much as possible.

I haven't had much entertainment other than some random TV and anime I've downloaded to the computer, so it's been pretty boring.

I honestly think I'm going to be very lowkey the rest of this month. I want to see how much money i can keep from spending and possibly hold on to. My goal is to hold onto 75,000-100,000 won (you can go do the exchange rate to see how much it is. . . www.xe.com) before my next check. If i can do that for the next few months, I hope to have some to blow on myself for my birthday.

I hate that I have to send so much damned money home each month. It wouldn't be so bad with exchange rate. . . BUT i can at least look on the bright side and say that it has started to show signs of going back up. I must admit that I'm a bit jealous of my friends who have disposable income and are taking this winter break to go travel. I honestly can't see how some of them afford it. I keep forgetting I'm on average 4-5 years older than most of the people i know here. Many are a year or two removed from college and they haven't done some of the stupid stuff I have done (oh credit cards. . . I hate you. it won't be much longer now until I will nuke you in a firely blaze of hell. . . the joy, oh the joy). Reguardless, I'm having to be extra careful about my spending and I will have to find other ways to entertain myself. I really need to find something constructive to do to keep myself preoccupited.

Either way, it all equals up to no trips to Japan (sigh) in the near future. I promised myself that if I was good for the next few months, I'll reward myself for my birthday at the end of March. It all will depend on just how much I want to reward myself. Japan or PS3 (yes, it's that damn serious to me. I miss my gaming habits damn it!!!)

New Year's Evolution

2008-12-31T19:47:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-31T00:32:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-23T19:30:00.000-08:00

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. . .

2008-12-18T07:28:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-15T04:55:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-10T16:26:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-10T00:22:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-09T23:34:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-08T18:33:00.000-08:00

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. . .

2008-12-05T12:06:00.001-08:00

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. . . .

2008-12-04T20:30:00.000-08:00

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

Random Pictures of the Week: Dec. 4th

2008-12-03T20:12:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-03T08:38:00.000-08:00

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?

2008-08-20T12:44:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-15T23:33:00.000-07:00

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. . .

2008-08-14T10:34:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-14T01:32:00.000-07:00

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!