There are layers of existence for people here in Thailand, from the brief vacationing families who hardly leave their tourist resort boundaries, to the locals living in remote villages who know little of the outside world. Shannon and I are coming as close to seeing (perhaps slightly even experiencing) the local communities of northern Thailand, and it's a wild, alien place.
To begin with, it's much more violent than I had originally imagined. We've fortunately not not been involved in anything unusual or difficult, but talking with people who've lived here for many years and learning more about life here, it can be a scary place to be at times.
Right now, we're in a small village called Tham Lod - mostly bamboo huts and farmland. It's nice, quiet, and everyone we've met has been incredibly friendly. Yet the owner of the hostel and the workers who've been there for a while have plenty of stories about people dying and being murdered. I started reading the owner's book, which begins with him being wrongfully accussed of murdering one backpacker only to have another dead person's whereabouts being linked with him and his buisness. Asking a hostel staff member a bit about this, he mentioned that while that story was rather unusual, things have a way of happening out in the middle of nowhere. A few years back, a Dutch tourist dies in a cave Shannon and I had only hours earlier crawled out of. The week prior to our arrival, a few local Thais had been murdered, and their bodies found in a large sinkhole outside of town. This story became really interesting when it turned out the limited search and rescue crews in the area were not available for some time, and it was the various trekking guides and tour staff who had to retrieve the bodies.
You may also have heard of the two Canadians shot in Thailand only a month or two ago. The man died, the woman survived, and the police officer who shot them is expected to be set free and be back on duty soon. While there are a few stories on how things happened, the version backed by the most evidence is the one where a drunk off-duty police officer tries to get friendly with a Candian girl, her boyfriend tells him to get stuffed, and as things go the way they do when people have been drinking, the officer shoots them both. Shannon and I just left the town this happened in, Pai, a few days ago.
In smaller towns, where authority and justice seem to be nice ideas that don't necessarily get followed, it's quite a different world from that at home, or even the one touched on briefly while traveling. Now, all this doesn't make being in Thailand unsafe - even the shooting in Pai could have been avoided if cooler heads and common sense had prevailed (or so I believe). And from conversations with other travelers, Thailand is one of the safest countries in the world when it comes to assault and robbery, especially for females travelling alone. But it for locals, for people living within the rules and law that seems to apply in small villages where no one knows what happens outside, it seems to be a scarier place. Today, walking into town after hearing all the stories from the folks living here, I even noticed all the road signs I passed had bullet holes through them. In the few days I'm here in Tham Lod, not much it seems will happen, but I bet as you look over longer and longer timelines, this small village can be a pretty wild place.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Thailand
This will be relatively short, but I've made it safely to Thailand and am having a blast here now. The trip was generally uneventful, other than the full glass of orange juice I dumped in my lap during the flight to Thailand. That was pretty uncomfortable to go through.
Shannon and I are in Tonsai Bay now, a rock climbing mecca where there are more tanned, muscular bodies than anywhere I've ever seen in my life. We've gone climbing three or four days now, and it's been unbelievable. Took me some time to get used to hanging so high by a rope, but every time I go I like it more and more.
I've got food poisoning now, and spent all last night expelling it from my body in every way you could imagine. Today has been a very slow, painful day to get through, and I've only gotten out of bed twice. I shaved though, which is only noteworthy because I was so ill I managed to slash my chin with my razor. I'm not in good shape at the moment.
Anyway, tomorrow we're off to either Koh Pi Pi, Au Nang or Koh Lak - it all depends on how well I feel and what we want to do. I may blog again next week if I have time. Hope everyone in the rest of the world is doing well!
Shannon and I are in Tonsai Bay now, a rock climbing mecca where there are more tanned, muscular bodies than anywhere I've ever seen in my life. We've gone climbing three or four days now, and it's been unbelievable. Took me some time to get used to hanging so high by a rope, but every time I go I like it more and more.
I've got food poisoning now, and spent all last night expelling it from my body in every way you could imagine. Today has been a very slow, painful day to get through, and I've only gotten out of bed twice. I shaved though, which is only noteworthy because I was so ill I managed to slash my chin with my razor. I'm not in good shape at the moment.
Anyway, tomorrow we're off to either Koh Pi Pi, Au Nang or Koh Lak - it all depends on how well I feel and what we want to do. I may blog again next week if I have time. Hope everyone in the rest of the world is doing well!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
"Yeah, But You Should See The Other Guy!"
I can't think of any better way to start this blog than to come straight out and admit I got my back-side beaten up by a 16 year-old last week.
I've been going to Taekwondo now for almost a year, and every so often we get to spar with each other. Being the only person over 5'8", and weighing twice what most everyone else does, I always have to fight the toughest kids in class. And yes, they're all in high school, though that doesn't necessarily make them any less bad-ass.
This week I took a surprisingly good beating, though to be fair, I was trying more for good technique on my part and less for avoiding kicks to the abdomen. And so, every time I put out a good, well planned kick or two, the speedy little Korean student would slip in and hammer me three or four times before I could finally step back and start over again. I got some well deserved congratulations from everyone in class for doing so well, but I also have some bruised ribs and a tennis-ball sized welt on my foot from it all.
Oh, and the time before I fought this kid, I got a minor concussion. This kid is quite good, and had to fight everyone in class one day. I was at the end, so he was pretty tired, so I was able to chase him around the room. I'm all ready to (gently) finish him off, so to speak, when with my last kick to his head, I slip. Well, I had enough momentum going for me that I threw my entire body up in the air air and came down squarely on the back of my neck/skull. If it hadn't been so painful, I'm sure it would have been quite hilarious, like a cartoon character stepping on a banana peel.
I'm off to Jeju island for a school camp on Tuesday, then when I'm back Shan and I are heading to Thailand. It's getting very very exciting here, though dealing with the dog and our friend's cat while we're gone is a hassle and a half. Yes - for anyone out there who was wondering - this is definitely a sign I'm not ready to have children. So, there will be little to no blogging for the next month, but I'll be back in March! Thanks for reading everyone, send me an email if you're ever interested in what's happening with me, or if you have a fun story to tell yourself.
Oh, and my hip/buttock is moderately better these days. Physio has helled a bit, but it seems running, exercise and being very cautious with it also helps. Cured? I don't think so. But better. Okay, type to you later.
Rich
I've been going to Taekwondo now for almost a year, and every so often we get to spar with each other. Being the only person over 5'8", and weighing twice what most everyone else does, I always have to fight the toughest kids in class. And yes, they're all in high school, though that doesn't necessarily make them any less bad-ass.
This week I took a surprisingly good beating, though to be fair, I was trying more for good technique on my part and less for avoiding kicks to the abdomen. And so, every time I put out a good, well planned kick or two, the speedy little Korean student would slip in and hammer me three or four times before I could finally step back and start over again. I got some well deserved congratulations from everyone in class for doing so well, but I also have some bruised ribs and a tennis-ball sized welt on my foot from it all.
Oh, and the time before I fought this kid, I got a minor concussion. This kid is quite good, and had to fight everyone in class one day. I was at the end, so he was pretty tired, so I was able to chase him around the room. I'm all ready to (gently) finish him off, so to speak, when with my last kick to his head, I slip. Well, I had enough momentum going for me that I threw my entire body up in the air air and came down squarely on the back of my neck/skull. If it hadn't been so painful, I'm sure it would have been quite hilarious, like a cartoon character stepping on a banana peel.
I'm off to Jeju island for a school camp on Tuesday, then when I'm back Shan and I are heading to Thailand. It's getting very very exciting here, though dealing with the dog and our friend's cat while we're gone is a hassle and a half. Yes - for anyone out there who was wondering - this is definitely a sign I'm not ready to have children. So, there will be little to no blogging for the next month, but I'll be back in March! Thanks for reading everyone, send me an email if you're ever interested in what's happening with me, or if you have a fun story to tell yourself.
Oh, and my hip/buttock is moderately better these days. Physio has helled a bit, but it seems running, exercise and being very cautious with it also helps. Cured? I don't think so. But better. Okay, type to you later.
Rich
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Hard at Work Doin' Nothin'
It's week 3.7 of winter vacation here in Korea, and I've been nice and busy doing nothing these days. Actually, I really have been keeping myself wonderfully occupied with a whole schlack of activities these past few weeks, but it's still a pain having to stick around Mokpo/Korea when if you added up all my free time, it would be nearly a whole extra month doing something more interesting than this.
I've been working about 45 minutes a day at school this week, and the work I do is literally just "listen and repeat" with the kids so they can learn some new phrases in English. Shannon's not doing anything right now, so by 11:30 each day, we turn into Hugh Grant in that movie "About a Boy" where he retires at 30 and spends his days managing small blocks of time with trivial activities. Well, I have managed to go to the gym nearly every day lately, which is pretty good, but otherwise it's lots of reading, studying Korean and platting schemes to trick my students to do what I tell them to for next semester. Any scheme plotting is always a good time.
Miso
Since there's not too much going on then, why don't I introduce you all more formally to the littlest member of our Korean household, Miso. Any regular reader of my blog here will know of our poor little mongrel, but for those unaware, here's a quick history of our new four-legged friend.
We got the little guy after a friend found him wandering the streets. After a few days trying to find his owners, she began asking around if anyone would take care of him. Since we felt it was that or have him put down,
Shannon and I took him in. 10 months later, he's still a little rough on deciding where he should and shouldn't be peeing, but he's so cute how can you get mad at him.
It's winter now, so he hasn't stopped shivering in a few months.
I think the fact that he's small, has little hair, and was meant really to be in Mexico (he is half Chihuahua) makes him not so adept at dealing with chilly temperatures. Canada may be the end of him, I think. Still, if anyone is ever interested in babysitting, he's very loving, likes to cuddle, and sleeps comfortably with you under the covers.
Oh, and we're babysitting a friends cat right now. The cat is nuts, and spends most of the day trying to break in (and subsequently, out of) the fridge. Here's a funny picture we took of him that shows off all his insanity. Well, that's all until next week, or whenever-ish. I'm a little slow on the blogs now that I have all this free time. Strange how things work that way. After next week though, it's off to Thailand! I probably won't be blogging during that stint, but feel free to email me if you need to hear an adventure or two!
I've been working about 45 minutes a day at school this week, and the work I do is literally just "listen and repeat" with the kids so they can learn some new phrases in English. Shannon's not doing anything right now, so by 11:30 each day, we turn into Hugh Grant in that movie "About a Boy" where he retires at 30 and spends his days managing small blocks of time with trivial activities. Well, I have managed to go to the gym nearly every day lately, which is pretty good, but otherwise it's lots of reading, studying Korean and platting schemes to trick my students to do what I tell them to for next semester. Any scheme plotting is always a good time.
Miso
Since there's not too much going on then, why don't I introduce you all more formally to the littlest member of our Korean household, Miso. Any regular reader of my blog here will know of our poor little mongrel, but for those unaware, here's a quick history of our new four-legged friend.
We got the little guy after a friend found him wandering the streets. After a few days trying to find his owners, she began asking around if anyone would take care of him. Since we felt it was that or have him put down,
Shannon and I took him in. 10 months later, he's still a little rough on deciding where he should and shouldn't be peeing, but he's so cute how can you get mad at him.It's winter now, so he hasn't stopped shivering in a few months.
I think the fact that he's small, has little hair, and was meant really to be in Mexico (he is half Chihuahua) makes him not so adept at dealing with chilly temperatures. Canada may be the end of him, I think. Still, if anyone is ever interested in babysitting, he's very loving, likes to cuddle, and sleeps comfortably with you under the covers.
Oh, and we're babysitting a friends cat right now. The cat is nuts, and spends most of the day trying to break in (and subsequently, out of) the fridge. Here's a funny picture we took of him that shows off all his insanity. Well, that's all until next week, or whenever-ish. I'm a little slow on the blogs now that I have all this free time. Strange how things work that way. After next week though, it's off to Thailand! I probably won't be blogging during that stint, but feel free to email me if you need to hear an adventure or two!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Blame It On the Rain
The lack of foaming agents in Korea has started to come to my attention these last few weeks. It's by no means a serious issue, or even something that bothers me at all, but it's a strange thing to continually come across - go wash your hair, and you get no suds. Brush your teeth, and your mouth never gets as foamed up. The body wash we have, rather than getting all sudsy, just coats your body with a "silicone gel" that's put into it.
On the other hand, when given beer the locals just can't seem to give me enough foamy head whenever they pour me a drink, so I suppose it all balances out in one fashion or another. All right, enough meandering for now.
I number of months ago I went into some details on a pain in my hip that had come up and brought about a number of trips to the doctor, including my local "herb" doctor. Well, the pain has come back again, and I'm onto Round 2 of trying to sort it out here in Korea. I'm starting to think perhaps it's a pinched nerve or something up with my back, but my self-daignosis is by no means the interesting part of this story.
I've been going to physiotherapy for a few weeks now, which I think is pretty similar to Canadian standards. My doctor however is a little out there for my liking. He doesn't speak much English, so we get by in a mixture of our two languages to figure out what's going on. The other day though, his English came through just fine.
I was having a rather painful day yesterday (which has carried over to today), so I went in to try and see if we could better diagnose my problem. I told him that my leg and buttock was getting quite painful, and I was even having some difficulty walking today.
"Ah, yes," he says, "that's because of the rain."
The rain? I'm in a great deal of pain and you're blaming it on the weather? Ridiculous. Anyway, I did my physiotherapy, and things still aren't any better. Today I'm going to a new doctor, and if he can't help I may end up going to the hospital to get some much more in-depth testing. I'll keep you appraised on my progress, since I'm sure there are a few people or family members who are concerned for my health and well-being.
On a more fun and bizarre note, I got a new haircut this week. Normally this wouldn't be noteworthy, but since we've moved houses, I decided to try someone closer to home, and went with the nearby "stylist". Well, what an experience that was!
As you may be able to see, the stylist, a young guy who I was hoping could speak English, spent very little time actually "cutting" my hair, and styled it instead. And not to my liking. When he did cut, he would jump around me, waving his hands, thrashing though my hair, sliding his leg out to one side to crouch low and cut juuuuussssst the right piece of hair to make it look right. I asked him three or four times to cut it shorter, but he just kept saying "No, no - Wax!" The final product is like no hair style I'll ever wear, but when not styled that way, it doesn't look so bad on me.
All right, that's all for this week I think. I'm not working for another week or two now, so I don't expect much to happen here besides reading books and relaxing. Bye for now.
On the other hand, when given beer the locals just can't seem to give me enough foamy head whenever they pour me a drink, so I suppose it all balances out in one fashion or another. All right, enough meandering for now.
I number of months ago I went into some details on a pain in my hip that had come up and brought about a number of trips to the doctor, including my local "herb" doctor. Well, the pain has come back again, and I'm onto Round 2 of trying to sort it out here in Korea. I'm starting to think perhaps it's a pinched nerve or something up with my back, but my self-daignosis is by no means the interesting part of this story.
I've been going to physiotherapy for a few weeks now, which I think is pretty similar to Canadian standards. My doctor however is a little out there for my liking. He doesn't speak much English, so we get by in a mixture of our two languages to figure out what's going on. The other day though, his English came through just fine.
I was having a rather painful day yesterday (which has carried over to today), so I went in to try and see if we could better diagnose my problem. I told him that my leg and buttock was getting quite painful, and I was even having some difficulty walking today.
"Ah, yes," he says, "that's because of the rain."
The rain? I'm in a great deal of pain and you're blaming it on the weather? Ridiculous. Anyway, I did my physiotherapy, and things still aren't any better. Today I'm going to a new doctor, and if he can't help I may end up going to the hospital to get some much more in-depth testing. I'll keep you appraised on my progress, since I'm sure there are a few people or family members who are concerned for my health and well-being.
On a more fun and bizarre note, I got a new haircut this week. Normally this wouldn't be noteworthy, but since we've moved houses, I decided to try someone closer to home, and went with the nearby "stylist". Well, what an experience that was!
As you may be able to see, the stylist, a young guy who I was hoping could speak English, spent very little time actually "cutting" my hair, and styled it instead. And not to my liking. When he did cut, he would jump around me, waving his hands, thrashing though my hair, sliding his leg out to one side to crouch low and cut juuuuussssst the right piece of hair to make it look right. I asked him three or four times to cut it shorter, but he just kept saying "No, no - Wax!" The final product is like no hair style I'll ever wear, but when not styled that way, it doesn't look so bad on me.
All right, that's all for this week I think. I'm not working for another week or two now, so I don't expect much to happen here besides reading books and relaxing. Bye for now.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Matters of Miscommunication
Well, I was at school working today. Up until about 8:50 this morning I wasn't expecting to be at all, so you can imagine my surprise when I got a phone call while just getting out of bed asking me where I was (yes, I am getting up late these days while on vacation). Somehow it seems no one let me know what day I was supposed to come in and work our school's winter camp, or they did let me know but in a way that made absolutely no sense to me. Either way, I was under the impression that I wasn't supposed to work until next week. Ha!
Of course, getting to school I had nothing at all prepared, and my classroom is being torn up to have new flooring done, so my options for getting anything ready at school were pretty limited. Fortunately I'm working with another teacher who happened to put together enough stuff to get through the day.
These little problems of never properly knowing times or dates of events, or even knowing of the events at all, has always been a bit of a problem while working here, and today was one of the best examples of it. It's even stranger when I'm asked what I'm "choosing" to do about something, when I never knew I had an option. For example, this winter camp - after weeks of deliberation, talking about when the camp will be, who will work it, how much the pay will be, I was asked at the end of school whether I would come and what day I would be coming on.
"Uuuh, yes, I'm going to come, and I'm going to come when I was told I should come (which was the 14th of January, not today, the 7th)."
Lunch today was also another "what option would you like, though we haven't given you any" situation. I was told that, since most of the students coming to this camp were poor, something would have to be done about meals for them. Maybe an outside group, maybe the cafeteria, no one knew the details yet. Today, as I'm packing up to go home, I'm asked what I wanted to do for lunch.
"Uuuuh, I'm going to eat lunch at home. Is that okay?" Yes, yes, that's good. Bye!
Now, most of these issues can all be chalked up to matters of miscommunication - everything was talked about with everyone involved, it just happens that I don't understand Korean and someone along the line forgot to let me know in a way I could understand what was going on. At least, I'm assuming that's the problem, though it might also be the people involved in organizing this. See, Shannon's now working a winter camp too, one that was setup so she could be working while I was and make some money/not be bored. Her co-teacher ran into my co-teacher for this camp and tried to get details on when the camp would be, how long each day, and when I would be working it. She had about as much success speaking Korean as I did in English.
Anyway, it's over and done now. I'm working this week and next (and maybe the week after?), and I'm 90% sure of what they're paying me (though that was a debacle too, requiring the services of a nice teacher not involved in the process to "point out" that maybe I was entitled to more than they were giving me), so I think I've got it all under control.
Once this is all done, it's off to Thailand for Shannon and me. We're going to be there from the 6th of Feb until the 29th, and I'm very much looking forward to a nice few weeks hiking mountains, sitting on beaches and taking it easy. My last blog I mentioned how it had been unseasonably warm here - well the next day a blizzard blew in shutting down the nearby airport and dropping as much as 40 cm of snow in places. Mokpo only got a few centimetres, but it was some pretty wild weather to see. Though maybe I just haven't seen a good Canadian winter in a long time. Anyway, happy New Year everyone.
Of course, getting to school I had nothing at all prepared, and my classroom is being torn up to have new flooring done, so my options for getting anything ready at school were pretty limited. Fortunately I'm working with another teacher who happened to put together enough stuff to get through the day.
These little problems of never properly knowing times or dates of events, or even knowing of the events at all, has always been a bit of a problem while working here, and today was one of the best examples of it. It's even stranger when I'm asked what I'm "choosing" to do about something, when I never knew I had an option. For example, this winter camp - after weeks of deliberation, talking about when the camp will be, who will work it, how much the pay will be, I was asked at the end of school whether I would come and what day I would be coming on.
"Uuuh, yes, I'm going to come, and I'm going to come when I was told I should come (which was the 14th of January, not today, the 7th)."
Lunch today was also another "what option would you like, though we haven't given you any" situation. I was told that, since most of the students coming to this camp were poor, something would have to be done about meals for them. Maybe an outside group, maybe the cafeteria, no one knew the details yet. Today, as I'm packing up to go home, I'm asked what I wanted to do for lunch.
"Uuuuh, I'm going to eat lunch at home. Is that okay?" Yes, yes, that's good. Bye!
Now, most of these issues can all be chalked up to matters of miscommunication - everything was talked about with everyone involved, it just happens that I don't understand Korean and someone along the line forgot to let me know in a way I could understand what was going on. At least, I'm assuming that's the problem, though it might also be the people involved in organizing this. See, Shannon's now working a winter camp too, one that was setup so she could be working while I was and make some money/not be bored. Her co-teacher ran into my co-teacher for this camp and tried to get details on when the camp would be, how long each day, and when I would be working it. She had about as much success speaking Korean as I did in English.
Anyway, it's over and done now. I'm working this week and next (and maybe the week after?), and I'm 90% sure of what they're paying me (though that was a debacle too, requiring the services of a nice teacher not involved in the process to "point out" that maybe I was entitled to more than they were giving me), so I think I've got it all under control.
Once this is all done, it's off to Thailand for Shannon and me. We're going to be there from the 6th of Feb until the 29th, and I'm very much looking forward to a nice few weeks hiking mountains, sitting on beaches and taking it easy. My last blog I mentioned how it had been unseasonably warm here - well the next day a blizzard blew in shutting down the nearby airport and dropping as much as 40 cm of snow in places. Mokpo only got a few centimetres, but it was some pretty wild weather to see. Though maybe I just haven't seen a good Canadian winter in a long time. Anyway, happy New Year everyone.
Friday, December 28, 2007
A Matter of Scheduling
For anyone who's talked to me in the past few weeks, you'd probably have a hard time pinning down exactly what days off I have over the next two months. Even friends here in Korea, whom I've talked about this in great detail with, will probably have trouble being sure about what exactly is going on with my schedule between now and March. That's because I don't really know exactly what's going on, and I'm pretty sure my school doesn't either.
Here' what I do know. I have to work for 10 days in January, but I'm not 100% sure when. Probably near the end, with the last 3 or 4 days being an overnight camp on Jeju Island, 4 hours south of Mokpo. The rest of the time working is still a muddled mess, and may not be sorted out till the day before I come in, which is most likely the 14th of Janurary.
After that, I come to school for two days on Feb 4th and 5th, during which time I'm sure I will do zero work, and then I'm off on vacation until March 3rd when school starts again. It's that long February break that Shannon and I will use to do something exciting, though we havne't found anything that's got us really pumped to go do. I think we just need to find some cheap flights to a warm beach.
Christmas is over now, and the kids are bringing all their fun toys to school. So many foriegners here in Mokpo have mentioned how little it's felt like Christmas lately, and I've been trying to come up with a few reasons why. The lack of cold is one reason, as even for Korea it's been unseasonally hot. No visits with extended families are happening. There's no malls to go to, which I never realized how much a crowded mall made me think of Christmas until now. And Wham! That silly Wham! song, "Last Christmas" is the most played Christmas song by far here in Korea. The only problem is, it has so very little to do with Christmas, it doesn't bring out any holiday or festive feelings at all. But, Christmas is in the title, and people here seem to love it, so I'm sure next year it'll be the #1 Christmas song again.
Anyhoo, today is the last day of school before the holidays, so I thought I should finish off the blog before I leave. I've got 3 hours of free time now which will be sent entirely on cleaning my classroom. It's not too bad of a disaster, but it's messy enough that I'll need all 3 hours. I'm off to Seoul again for New Year's Eve. I don't expect to be blogging again until a few days after then, so I should have some more exciting tales from the big city when I return! So long, and Happy New Year!
Here' what I do know. I have to work for 10 days in January, but I'm not 100% sure when. Probably near the end, with the last 3 or 4 days being an overnight camp on Jeju Island, 4 hours south of Mokpo. The rest of the time working is still a muddled mess, and may not be sorted out till the day before I come in, which is most likely the 14th of Janurary.
After that, I come to school for two days on Feb 4th and 5th, during which time I'm sure I will do zero work, and then I'm off on vacation until March 3rd when school starts again. It's that long February break that Shannon and I will use to do something exciting, though we havne't found anything that's got us really pumped to go do. I think we just need to find some cheap flights to a warm beach.
Christmas is over now, and the kids are bringing all their fun toys to school. So many foriegners here in Mokpo have mentioned how little it's felt like Christmas lately, and I've been trying to come up with a few reasons why. The lack of cold is one reason, as even for Korea it's been unseasonally hot. No visits with extended families are happening. There's no malls to go to, which I never realized how much a crowded mall made me think of Christmas until now. And Wham! That silly Wham! song, "Last Christmas" is the most played Christmas song by far here in Korea. The only problem is, it has so very little to do with Christmas, it doesn't bring out any holiday or festive feelings at all. But, Christmas is in the title, and people here seem to love it, so I'm sure next year it'll be the #1 Christmas song again.
Anyhoo, today is the last day of school before the holidays, so I thought I should finish off the blog before I leave. I've got 3 hours of free time now which will be sent entirely on cleaning my classroom. It's not too bad of a disaster, but it's messy enough that I'll need all 3 hours. I'm off to Seoul again for New Year's Eve. I don't expect to be blogging again until a few days after then, so I should have some more exciting tales from the big city when I return! So long, and Happy New Year!
Monday, December 24, 2007
Bright Lights, Big City
"The sounds of the city, somehow they comfort
me, on mornings when I am lonely"
A litle musical quote to start off this weeks blog seems a little fun. I'm a week behind again, and my apologies for that, but hopefully I can deliver on a modestly enjoyable blog-reading experience for you.
Last weekend was a great one, with a whole wack of teachers from Mokpo heading up to Seoul. I'm sure most everyone out there has heard of Seoul, as it's one of the largest cities in the world and has been ranked as one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in as well. 1 in 5 Koreans live in or right around Seoul, and while I've been to it a few times in the past, this was the first time I'd had a guide with local knowledge of the city.
I wasn't able to make it up until Saturday evening, as I was stuck at school working during the morning. Friday night had seen a major flurry of snow roll through Seoul, and I was sad at having missed out on the very Western wintery feeling everyone had had. Still, it was good just being able to get out of town for a while, whether it's for a few days or just a few hours.
We had a reservation for 20 at a Indian restaurant that night, and geez-oh-my was it amazing! I've never really had Indian food very often until this past year, and this was by far the best I've tried. I managed to make a complete wiener of myself trying to speak Korean to the Indian staff working there too, but that didn't seem to bother anyone and made for a good giggling at me with everyone. I guess the idea of traveling to Korea to try Indian food and using English as the means to communicate just seemed a little odd to me at the moment.
After dinner we got a good sampling of the night life away from Itaewon, the infamous tourist/foriegner district of Seoul. Itaweon is not really a bad place to go to, but it really loses any feeling of being in a foreign country, and quickly feels more like a backpacker hostel mixed in with a US military base. Speaking of US military, I learned that there are some 30,000 of them living in Seoul, and that they have a midnight (or maybe 1am) curfew every night. It seems excessive alcohol, late nights, and foreign militiary boys from the US don't go over so well in Seoul.
Anyway, we staying in the Hondae district, which is where (one of?) Seoul's major university is. I'm not sure if all night-time venues are overflowing with foreigners, but wherever we went there was an excess of Western faces sights and sounds. I don't think I needed to speak Korean to get a drink all night. Though speaking it better than I do would have come in handy at around 5 that morning when we went looking for somewhere that would serve us some food.
The next day had a moderately slow start to it. Two of our friends are moving to Seoul, so we helped move some things to where they could be stored till March, and grabbed some breakfast as well. We hit up a small diner, a "greasy spoon" I'm told is a good word for places like this. I hadn't had a big meal of eggs and hashbrowns in ages, and i made a moderate pig of myself scarfing down all the exciting morning goodies I hadn't had in so long.
The rest of the day was spent shopping, which was relatively unintersting. Everyone had hit all the neat touristy artsy spots the day before, so on Sunday we stuck to foreign (Western) food markets and cheap electronics shops. By the time we got home, I was deathly exhausted.
It's almost Christmas now, and while Canada is pumping itself full of Christmas music and commercial marketing schemes, it's pretty quiet here. There's been a few times out for dinner that I've heard some Christmas jingles, and every church has christmas lights strung around them. Still, it's not the same overwhelming cram-it-down-your-Celine-Dion-Jingle-Cats-what-would-Jesus-do-throat kind of experience. There has however been a different Christmas party every few days around town, with lots of singing and various forms of merry making. So even all this distance away, it's still very holiday-ish here too.
Well, I'll let everyone know how the actual Christmas day went down later. Till then, have a fun holiday!
me, on mornings when I am lonely"
A litle musical quote to start off this weeks blog seems a little fun. I'm a week behind again, and my apologies for that, but hopefully I can deliver on a modestly enjoyable blog-reading experience for you.
Last weekend was a great one, with a whole wack of teachers from Mokpo heading up to Seoul. I'm sure most everyone out there has heard of Seoul, as it's one of the largest cities in the world and has been ranked as one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in as well. 1 in 5 Koreans live in or right around Seoul, and while I've been to it a few times in the past, this was the first time I'd had a guide with local knowledge of the city.
I wasn't able to make it up until Saturday evening, as I was stuck at school working during the morning. Friday night had seen a major flurry of snow roll through Seoul, and I was sad at having missed out on the very Western wintery feeling everyone had had. Still, it was good just being able to get out of town for a while, whether it's for a few days or just a few hours.
We had a reservation for 20 at a Indian restaurant that night, and geez-oh-my was it amazing! I've never really had Indian food very often until this past year, and this was by far the best I've tried. I managed to make a complete wiener of myself trying to speak Korean to the Indian staff working there too, but that didn't seem to bother anyone and made for a good giggling at me with everyone. I guess the idea of traveling to Korea to try Indian food and using English as the means to communicate just seemed a little odd to me at the moment.
After dinner we got a good sampling of the night life away from Itaewon, the infamous tourist/foriegner district of Seoul. Itaweon is not really a bad place to go to, but it really loses any feeling of being in a foreign country, and quickly feels more like a backpacker hostel mixed in with a US military base. Speaking of US military, I learned that there are some 30,000 of them living in Seoul, and that they have a midnight (or maybe 1am) curfew every night. It seems excessive alcohol, late nights, and foreign militiary boys from the US don't go over so well in Seoul.
Anyway, we staying in the Hondae district, which is where (one of?) Seoul's major university is. I'm not sure if all night-time venues are overflowing with foreigners, but wherever we went there was an excess of Western faces sights and sounds. I don't think I needed to speak Korean to get a drink all night. Though speaking it better than I do would have come in handy at around 5 that morning when we went looking for somewhere that would serve us some food.
The next day had a moderately slow start to it. Two of our friends are moving to Seoul, so we helped move some things to where they could be stored till March, and grabbed some breakfast as well. We hit up a small diner, a "greasy spoon" I'm told is a good word for places like this. I hadn't had a big meal of eggs and hashbrowns in ages, and i made a moderate pig of myself scarfing down all the exciting morning goodies I hadn't had in so long.
The rest of the day was spent shopping, which was relatively unintersting. Everyone had hit all the neat touristy artsy spots the day before, so on Sunday we stuck to foreign (Western) food markets and cheap electronics shops. By the time we got home, I was deathly exhausted.
It's almost Christmas now, and while Canada is pumping itself full of Christmas music and commercial marketing schemes, it's pretty quiet here. There's been a few times out for dinner that I've heard some Christmas jingles, and every church has christmas lights strung around them. Still, it's not the same overwhelming cram-it-down-your-Celine-Dion-Jingle-Cats-what-would-Jesus-do-throat kind of experience. There has however been a different Christmas party every few days around town, with lots of singing and various forms of merry making. So even all this distance away, it's still very holiday-ish here too.
Well, I'll let everyone know how the actual Christmas day went down later. Till then, have a fun holiday!
Friday, December 14, 2007
A Busy Week of Nothing Much
It's been a slow week here in Korea, and it's nice to finally have Friday come around. I hinted at having a pretty big week coming up this week, and in some senses it was, but in others, well, I've basically spent half of it or more just sitting at my desk again. Allow me to explain.
I'm going to be working during my vacation in January. How much I'll be working isn't enirely determined yet, but it will probably be at least 2 1/2 weeks. So, to make up for that, Shannon and I have requested an extra week off in February, which means we'll be traveling from Feb 6th-Mar 1st (not sure where quite yet). To make up for the lost week (during which I'll probably only teach 10 hours out of 40) I've been scheduled to have an extra 10 classes per week for three weeks, plus a Saturday of work. Basically my workload has nearly doubled from now until Dec. 27.
So, why have I been just sitting at my desk? Because no one is coming to class anyway. I've actually taught less during this week of "hell" than I did the week prior when I had only a regular workload. Most of this has to do with my grade 4's off at the English Village all week, but even then other classes haven't been coming. So I've spent X hours preparing for 30 classes and only 15 have actually happened. It's a lot of busy work with very little reward.
My computer also crashed this week, which made for some interesting scrambles to get teaching done. The curriculum is based around textbooks and CD-ROM's, and in each class I'll use it for 60% of the time, so I had some mad dashes making up new materials as well as some long boring waits when classes didn't come and I had nothing to work with. Anyway, I'm whining, let's chat about something more interesting.
I've been learning a little more about driving and liability issues on the road in Korea. Not that I'm planning on getting a car or scooter anymore, but it's pretty interesting and bizarre stuff. For example, liability is always split when it comes to an accident in Korea, usually 60-40, and rarely more than 80-20. You could be in a parked car, engine off, having a snooze, and if someone hits you, you'll have to pay for some of the damages. In fact, if you don't have enough insurance to cover it, you have to pay out of your own pocket to cover it. My one friend who was in a car accident (a very bad one where someone ran a red light and creamed him off of his scooter. His superman-esque tumble was eventually stopped by a refrigerator) found that he was still liable for 20% though he did nothing wrong, and he had to fight very hard even to get that amount. His description of the law was that:
"Say you're sitting in your living room, watching TV and a car comes crashing through your wall and pins you underneath it. By the law's rationale here, you're partially at fault, since maybe you shouldn't have been sitting watching TV at that time or maybe you should have had a fence up around your house."
Here's a couple of links if you're interested in reading more about this,
Anyway, it's Friday afternoon, I may or may not have one more class to go today. I work tomorrow then I'm off to Seoul! Should be some good times. See you next week.
I'm going to be working during my vacation in January. How much I'll be working isn't enirely determined yet, but it will probably be at least 2 1/2 weeks. So, to make up for that, Shannon and I have requested an extra week off in February, which means we'll be traveling from Feb 6th-Mar 1st (not sure where quite yet). To make up for the lost week (during which I'll probably only teach 10 hours out of 40) I've been scheduled to have an extra 10 classes per week for three weeks, plus a Saturday of work. Basically my workload has nearly doubled from now until Dec. 27.
So, why have I been just sitting at my desk? Because no one is coming to class anyway. I've actually taught less during this week of "hell" than I did the week prior when I had only a regular workload. Most of this has to do with my grade 4's off at the English Village all week, but even then other classes haven't been coming. So I've spent X hours preparing for 30 classes and only 15 have actually happened. It's a lot of busy work with very little reward.
My computer also crashed this week, which made for some interesting scrambles to get teaching done. The curriculum is based around textbooks and CD-ROM's, and in each class I'll use it for 60% of the time, so I had some mad dashes making up new materials as well as some long boring waits when classes didn't come and I had nothing to work with. Anyway, I'm whining, let's chat about something more interesting.
I've been learning a little more about driving and liability issues on the road in Korea. Not that I'm planning on getting a car or scooter anymore, but it's pretty interesting and bizarre stuff. For example, liability is always split when it comes to an accident in Korea, usually 60-40, and rarely more than 80-20. You could be in a parked car, engine off, having a snooze, and if someone hits you, you'll have to pay for some of the damages. In fact, if you don't have enough insurance to cover it, you have to pay out of your own pocket to cover it. My one friend who was in a car accident (a very bad one where someone ran a red light and creamed him off of his scooter. His superman-esque tumble was eventually stopped by a refrigerator) found that he was still liable for 20% though he did nothing wrong, and he had to fight very hard even to get that amount. His description of the law was that:
"Say you're sitting in your living room, watching TV and a car comes crashing through your wall and pins you underneath it. By the law's rationale here, you're partially at fault, since maybe you shouldn't have been sitting watching TV at that time or maybe you should have had a fence up around your house."
Here's a couple of links if you're interested in reading more about this,
Anyway, it's Friday afternoon, I may or may not have one more class to go today. I work tomorrow then I'm off to Seoul! Should be some good times. See you next week.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Rather Proud
So I'm a week late here on the blog, my apologies to any regular readers out there who find it's the only way to be sure I'm still alive here in Korea. Last week was the first time it got and stayed cold all week long, and I've been freezing in my classroom with no motivation to do anything but sit near the heater. I also was a little short on sleep last week too, which made it less enjoyable to get motivated and write on the blog. And why was I lacking sleep? Well, that's what this blog is all about today.
As you may already know, I work on my own without the aid of a co-teacher. It's not a very desirable way to teach from a Korean standpoint, but it gets the job done and saves money for the school. Shannon works with one of the best co-teachers around. Her co-teacher is an amazing teacher, highly motivated, and will most likely be principal of a school one day (still a very impressive and unlikely achievement for a woman in Korea). The two of them have been doing such a good job lately, that their open classes (classes put on so that other teachers can come and learn from them, something many schools will do) have been noticed by the provincial education board and are being done more and more often. Most teachers in a year will do one or fewer open classes - Shannon has now down maybe a dozen.
Anyway, things were going really well with their classes, and they were asked to start traveling to other cities outside of Mokpo to do these classes. In fact, Shannon and her co-teacher (Chu Su Yeong) are now the example for the entire area on how team-teaching should be done, and will travel to schools hours out of town to help them instruct. They were also the ones chosen to put on a demonstration for all the elementary teachers in the city, which, after watching 5 or 6 other open classes, was by far the best teaching example I've been shown. Someone also video taped this class, and sent it off to Seoul to the National Board of Education. And so, from a selection of 40 entries from around the country, Shannon and Chu Su Yeong were chosen as one of the 4 finalists.
Last week, everything seemed to come together all at once. The final travel day for teaching around the province was on Saturday, and the Education Board was coming on Friday. So, everyday for the entire week, Shannon was at school, sometimes till after midnight, preparing with Chu Su Yeong for the big day on Friday. Once that was finished, they spent all night Friday preparing for Saturday. When it was finally all wrapped up Shannon slept for over four hours Saturday evening just to try and feel back to normal again.
So that's pretty much all wrapped up now. The semester is almost finished, Chu Su Yeong is moving to another school in March, and life will be back to normal - except that there really hasn't been a "normal" in life since coming to Korea, which I absolutely love. It's funny though, since Chu Su Yeong is now that much better off when it comes to her career, and will probably be a principal even sooner now. Shannon on the other hand hasn't really gained much other than a new and interesting experience from it all. We talked about how she could probably get her pick of jobs next year with this on her resume. I would bet she could make as much as $60,000 or more next year (legally too) if she played it right and ended up with a job that had her working most of the time. But, she's pretty much done with teaching, so she'll have to be happy with the experience.
Oh, I almost forgot - they gave out awards to everyone involved in this, some nice glass plaques to put on the mantle at home for the hard work the teachers put into everything. Except they never gave one to Shannon. Ooooh, I was (and still am) so mad about that! She was right there in front of them, and they gave these nice plaques to every local teacher as a thank you and not to her!
Anyway, this blog is dragging on here, and I'll end it quickly. Before I go though, the one big bonus that did come from all her hard work is, she's going to get an extra week off in February, which means from Dec. 28th to March 3rd, she only works for two days. I'm in a little bit of a different pickle, which I'll talk about in the blog later this week. Till then, it's back to work for me - the heater's running, I've got a thermos full of hot chocolate, and I've got double the classes to go through till from now till January. So long!
As you may already know, I work on my own without the aid of a co-teacher. It's not a very desirable way to teach from a Korean standpoint, but it gets the job done and saves money for the school. Shannon works with one of the best co-teachers around. Her co-teacher is an amazing teacher, highly motivated, and will most likely be principal of a school one day (still a very impressive and unlikely achievement for a woman in Korea). The two of them have been doing such a good job lately, that their open classes (classes put on so that other teachers can come and learn from them, something many schools will do) have been noticed by the provincial education board and are being done more and more often. Most teachers in a year will do one or fewer open classes - Shannon has now down maybe a dozen.
Anyway, things were going really well with their classes, and they were asked to start traveling to other cities outside of Mokpo to do these classes. In fact, Shannon and her co-teacher (Chu Su Yeong) are now the example for the entire area on how team-teaching should be done, and will travel to schools hours out of town to help them instruct. They were also the ones chosen to put on a demonstration for all the elementary teachers in the city, which, after watching 5 or 6 other open classes, was by far the best teaching example I've been shown. Someone also video taped this class, and sent it off to Seoul to the National Board of Education. And so, from a selection of 40 entries from around the country, Shannon and Chu Su Yeong were chosen as one of the 4 finalists.
Last week, everything seemed to come together all at once. The final travel day for teaching around the province was on Saturday, and the Education Board was coming on Friday. So, everyday for the entire week, Shannon was at school, sometimes till after midnight, preparing with Chu Su Yeong for the big day on Friday. Once that was finished, they spent all night Friday preparing for Saturday. When it was finally all wrapped up Shannon slept for over four hours Saturday evening just to try and feel back to normal again.
So that's pretty much all wrapped up now. The semester is almost finished, Chu Su Yeong is moving to another school in March, and life will be back to normal - except that there really hasn't been a "normal" in life since coming to Korea, which I absolutely love. It's funny though, since Chu Su Yeong is now that much better off when it comes to her career, and will probably be a principal even sooner now. Shannon on the other hand hasn't really gained much other than a new and interesting experience from it all. We talked about how she could probably get her pick of jobs next year with this on her resume. I would bet she could make as much as $60,000 or more next year (legally too) if she played it right and ended up with a job that had her working most of the time. But, she's pretty much done with teaching, so she'll have to be happy with the experience.
Oh, I almost forgot - they gave out awards to everyone involved in this, some nice glass plaques to put on the mantle at home for the hard work the teachers put into everything. Except they never gave one to Shannon. Ooooh, I was (and still am) so mad about that! She was right there in front of them, and they gave these nice plaques to every local teacher as a thank you and not to her!
Anyway, this blog is dragging on here, and I'll end it quickly. Before I go though, the one big bonus that did come from all her hard work is, she's going to get an extra week off in February, which means from Dec. 28th to March 3rd, she only works for two days. I'm in a little bit of a different pickle, which I'll talk about in the blog later this week. Till then, it's back to work for me - the heater's running, I've got a thermos full of hot chocolate, and I've got double the classes to go through till from now till January. So long!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Vengence!
There are times in Korea where I'm afraid I've turned into that preconceived notion people often hold of what a foreigner is often like -that old, bitter person who can no longer be bothered to learn the local language or deal with local customs, and is more likely to grunt at you than take the time and effort to form any dignified response to questions. Now, I can assure you I'm very much not becoming that kind of person, but there are moments where, when confronted with something about Korea I don't understand or that I've gotten fed up with, I get a little aggressive (though always in good humour, and never in a way that will upset anyone).
Dealing with strangers, for example. Generally people on the street are nice, friendly people; but on a Saturday night when they've had a little soju, I feel I've instantly become a tool for amusement, like an animal in the zoo. Groups of people will shout "Oh look, a foreigner!" then point, and say "Hello! Nice to meet you!" not in an attempt to meet me, but just because it's fun to shout. Before I would laugh, maybe wave and say "hello" back, but now I've come to saying "anyong" back, which is the way you're supposed to greet children in Korea, and not adults. Of course the only real effect this has is that they think I can't speak Korean well, though sometimes people are amazed I can speak any Korean at all.
My kids at school have also been turning me into "that guy", where I'm the teacher who is always going crazy. Now, to be fair I am doing my best to discipline the students properly, but when you can't explain to them the reason they're being kept after class, or why you're disciplining student A instead of student B when both were talking, it makes it tough on everyone. In the end, I'm finding that making students clean the room, write lines, or sit quietly after school does little to keep them well behaved, but it makes me feel a great deal better. So here I am, sitting in a room full of 12 year olds, taking satisfaction in that while I may not be able to get them to study English, it sure feels good to make them miss lunch.
Even the elevator in my building hasn't been able to avoid my wrath of silly behaviour. Our 15-story building has two elevators, which is nice, but they're at opposite ends of the building. Waiting for the elevator sometimes can take forever, and I continually am getting angry with the poor design choices and logistical flaws I see in our apartment building. So of course, I have to teach someone a lesson, so I find myself pushing the elevator button on my floor (the 6th) every time I go by it, regardless of whether I'm taking the stairs. Am I hoping for a complete renovation of the building so that I can have things put just the way I want them? want them? Of course not, but yet there I am, hitting elevator buttons thinking about how much wiser I am and how much better my countries architectural designs are, and if I just keep hitting floor number 6, maybe the whole world will figure that out.
And even as I realize how ridiculous and inane it is to feel this way, I hit the button, and then walk down the stairs, slowing down another persons day just enough for them to think "What is wrong with that foreigner? Doesn't he know that in Korea..."
Dealing with strangers, for example. Generally people on the street are nice, friendly people; but on a Saturday night when they've had a little soju, I feel I've instantly become a tool for amusement, like an animal in the zoo. Groups of people will shout "Oh look, a foreigner!" then point, and say "Hello! Nice to meet you!" not in an attempt to meet me, but just because it's fun to shout. Before I would laugh, maybe wave and say "hello" back, but now I've come to saying "anyong" back, which is the way you're supposed to greet children in Korea, and not adults. Of course the only real effect this has is that they think I can't speak Korean well, though sometimes people are amazed I can speak any Korean at all.
My kids at school have also been turning me into "that guy", where I'm the teacher who is always going crazy. Now, to be fair I am doing my best to discipline the students properly, but when you can't explain to them the reason they're being kept after class, or why you're disciplining student A instead of student B when both were talking, it makes it tough on everyone. In the end, I'm finding that making students clean the room, write lines, or sit quietly after school does little to keep them well behaved, but it makes me feel a great deal better. So here I am, sitting in a room full of 12 year olds, taking satisfaction in that while I may not be able to get them to study English, it sure feels good to make them miss lunch.
Even the elevator in my building hasn't been able to avoid my wrath of silly behaviour. Our 15-story building has two elevators, which is nice, but they're at opposite ends of the building. Waiting for the elevator sometimes can take forever, and I continually am getting angry with the poor design choices and logistical flaws I see in our apartment building. So of course, I have to teach someone a lesson, so I find myself pushing the elevator button on my floor (the 6th) every time I go by it, regardless of whether I'm taking the stairs. Am I hoping for a complete renovation of the building so that I can have things put just the way I want them? want them? Of course not, but yet there I am, hitting elevator buttons thinking about how much wiser I am and how much better my countries architectural designs are, and if I just keep hitting floor number 6, maybe the whole world will figure that out.
And even as I realize how ridiculous and inane it is to feel this way, I hit the button, and then walk down the stairs, slowing down another persons day just enough for them to think "What is wrong with that foreigner? Doesn't he know that in Korea..."
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Ski School
Winter is creeping up on us here in Korea, and while it's far from the bitter cold and nastiness of the Canadian winter, it isn't without it's hardships. Lack of central heating, or any heating really, makes being at school a challenge every day now. My space heaters have just been set up, so that helps things warm up nicely, but it takes a good hour to get my classroom close to comfortable. Even when I do, the kids come in without closing the door, then open up every window in the room. I still haven't figured out exactly why - sometimes they're calling to their friends, but really I think they just like to complain about being cold.
And cold they are! On the last few days of the mild season, where I'm still in a tee-shirt but thinking about keeping my coat on during school, the kids (and sometimes the teachers) are bundled up like there's a blizzard outside. Gloves, ski jackets, toques, and even snowpants, are all showing up in my classroom, turning my students into a small army of abominable snow-men ready to hit the slopes. The older students usually aren't quite so dressed up, but instead they bring giant bunny slippers and blankets to class, and I'm not sure if they look like they're about to take an afternoon nap.
Just Another Day at the (Doctor's) Office
I came down with a horrible cold the other day, one of those ones that puts you out of commission for three or four days and makes you wish you'd never been born. I suppose it actually wasn't too bad, laying on the coach and reading or playing games all day, but I would've been much happier without it. Anyway, the point here is that it brought me back tot he doctor again. I also managed to get a case of tonsilitis this time, which wasn't in any rush to go away. The doctor I went to, a ears-nose-throat specialist, was another amazing adventure in Korean medical practicality and efficiency. The waiting room was packed when I got there, people were standing it was so full. The wait time? About 5-10 minutes. Each doctor had 1-2 nurses who rotated through the room, meaning there was always a nurse typing up reports and always one on hand to take down information as the doctor dictated it. I was called into the doctor's room while the other patient was just standing up to leave. He didn't speak much English, so we communicated mostly in Korean, but even then, there wasn't much to be said.
Open your mouth.
Tonsilitis. (He points to a diagram to help explain things)
Bam! In with the first spraying tube. Whap! In with the second.
Any muscle pain? Any back ache?
Zap! Another spray in my throat. Blammo! Something gets squirted up my nose.
Take lots of rest, take this medication, come back again if things don't seem right.
Before I'm out the door the next patient is sitting down to be examined.
Of course, with Korean medicine, a problem with anything from tonsils to toe-jam requires a shot in the bum, so I got my injection, was given a antibiotic prescription and sent on my way. The pills are kicking my ass now in a few interesting ways (nothing too serious), but my throat is a hundred times better now. There's something to be said as well for a medical system that can serve you so fast, costs $2-$3 a visit and doesn't rely on indecipherable scribblings from a doctor to determine what kind of possible life-saving medication you might need.
Well, that's all for this week. I'm off to a big elementary school teacher's meeting. Unlike most of the meetings we have, this one could actually give some benefit to me and my teaching skills. No one here ever seems to worry about my teaching skills. I hope at least the doctors in Korea get a little more guidance and review when it comes to doing their job.
And cold they are! On the last few days of the mild season, where I'm still in a tee-shirt but thinking about keeping my coat on during school, the kids (and sometimes the teachers) are bundled up like there's a blizzard outside. Gloves, ski jackets, toques, and even snowpants, are all showing up in my classroom, turning my students into a small army of abominable snow-men ready to hit the slopes. The older students usually aren't quite so dressed up, but instead they bring giant bunny slippers and blankets to class, and I'm not sure if they look like they're about to take an afternoon nap.
Just Another Day at the (Doctor's) Office
I came down with a horrible cold the other day, one of those ones that puts you out of commission for three or four days and makes you wish you'd never been born. I suppose it actually wasn't too bad, laying on the coach and reading or playing games all day, but I would've been much happier without it. Anyway, the point here is that it brought me back tot he doctor again. I also managed to get a case of tonsilitis this time, which wasn't in any rush to go away. The doctor I went to, a ears-nose-throat specialist, was another amazing adventure in Korean medical practicality and efficiency. The waiting room was packed when I got there, people were standing it was so full. The wait time? About 5-10 minutes. Each doctor had 1-2 nurses who rotated through the room, meaning there was always a nurse typing up reports and always one on hand to take down information as the doctor dictated it. I was called into the doctor's room while the other patient was just standing up to leave. He didn't speak much English, so we communicated mostly in Korean, but even then, there wasn't much to be said.
Open your mouth.
Tonsilitis. (He points to a diagram to help explain things)
Bam! In with the first spraying tube. Whap! In with the second.
Any muscle pain? Any back ache?
Zap! Another spray in my throat. Blammo! Something gets squirted up my nose.
Take lots of rest, take this medication, come back again if things don't seem right.
Before I'm out the door the next patient is sitting down to be examined.
Of course, with Korean medicine, a problem with anything from tonsils to toe-jam requires a shot in the bum, so I got my injection, was given a antibiotic prescription and sent on my way. The pills are kicking my ass now in a few interesting ways (nothing too serious), but my throat is a hundred times better now. There's something to be said as well for a medical system that can serve you so fast, costs $2-$3 a visit and doesn't rely on indecipherable scribblings from a doctor to determine what kind of possible life-saving medication you might need.
Well, that's all for this week. I'm off to a big elementary school teacher's meeting. Unlike most of the meetings we have, this one could actually give some benefit to me and my teaching skills. No one here ever seems to worry about my teaching skills. I hope at least the doctors in Korea get a little more guidance and review when it comes to doing their job.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
You Know You're Korean When:
This is a list of things that identify you as being Korean. I'm not sure who put it all together, but I trimmed it down and changed a bit to make it more resemble the experience I've had in the past 14 months here.
You know you're Korean When:
You're 12-years old and you don't go home until 10 pm.
You're unmarried at 25 so you have to be home by ten.
You stare like a deer blinded in headlights at anyone different than you.
You attempt to go into the subway or elevator before the people get
out.
If you aren't chewing and slurping your food at a loud volume then
you obviously aren't enjoying it.
You "slightly disregard" traffic rules. Like stopping at crosswalks
or red lights.
You go home and everything smells bad (but not to you).
You think having 4 seasons is really special.
You describe any girl over 110 pounds as "fat."
You drive out of blind alleys at 60 km/h.
You're an "expert" at making ramyen (instant) noodles.
You try the doorknob instead of ringing the doorbell or knocking
first.
You eat more off your friend's plate than your own.
You answer the phone with a loud warbling
Wieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee????????
Your favorite teacher is the one that beats you the hardest.
You think you look quite dignified while drinking
your shooter of 2 cent booze after noisily slurping octopus.
You're comfortable using a small hole in the ground for a toilet, and think hocking a loogie at the same time is a good way to multi-task.
You jump out of the shower at the local gym and stand naked in front
of the mirror blow drying your family jewels.
You grab the communal toothbrush at the gym and take it into the
shower with you.
Even though you weigh 120 you have to try and out bench the 190
pound guy, because he's a foreigner.
You think that your mom's kimchi can cure your grandma's halitosis
and your grandpa's cancer.
Your cell phone has more than 20 pictures stored on it... of
yourself.
There's more toilet paper in your dining room than your bathroom.
You believe that flushing toilet paper down the toilet will clog up
the plumbing, so instead you throw all your used paper in a bin next to the
toilet.
You are no longer bothered by the old Korean lady shoving a
mop between your legs as you stand at the urinal.
You view the handicapped-ramped crosswalks as a perfect place to
park your car into at an angle. Pedestrians and handicapped people be
damned - you need to park.
You hang a plastic glove filled with water in the window because you
believe mosquitoes and flies are scared of their reflection.
You assume all thin blonde women are Russian prostitutes.
You open all of your windows in the middle of winter and crank up
the heat.
You're standing in the shower at the Sauna and offer to scrub a
total stranger's back.
You don't think it's at all weird to share a hot tub butt naked with
a grandfather and his two grandsons.
You open the window a crack when your fan is running, still afraid you might somehow be killed by the fan while you sleep.
You dial a wrong number, and then yell at the person on the other
end of the line for not being the person you were trying to call. You hang up
on them in a huff... and then hit redial.
You do exactly what your boss tells you to do, no matter how stupid
and idiotic.
You would never dream of asking to get paid extra for the overtime you
work.
You feel well rewarded for all your long hours and sacrifice if you get
taken out for BBQ and some Noraebong (karaoke) twice a year.
You sleep under a piece of oversized gauze and call it a sheet.
You put sweet potato on pizza.
You think picking your teeth or nose in public isn't polite... unless
you oh-so discreetly do it with one hand covering up the activity.
You push, claw, and elbow your way to position yourself to be the
first to exit the subway car, and then right after you exit, you walk at a
snail's pace.
You go on a nice beach vacation, where you sit under the beautiful
shade of your huge umbrella fully clothed, wearing a Darth Vader visor,
covered in sun tan lotion, refusing to go near the water.
You eat dog because it supposedly gives your four thrusts instead of
three.
After going to the washroom, you wash your hands for 1 second under
ice cold water and dry them in your hair.
You open up a new business with an arch of balloons and two dancing
girls.
You proudly adorn your new business with a sign that reads:
"SINCE 2005"
You close the business two years later after realizing there were
already ten identical businesses on the same block.
You would rather park on the sidewalk than the huge parking lot a few feet away.
You drive for 5 hours to spend 30 minutes at some over crowded
tourist trap.
You ask the foreigner next to you if he can use chopsticks while he
is comfortably eating with chopsticks.
You deny that Koreans still eat dog, after the foreigner next to you
has just said, "Last night I went out for dog with some Korean friends, it
was better than I thought it would be!"
You think eating eel will give you a hard-on, but eating bean
sprouts will make you lose it. The reasoning behind both is: "the
shape".
You correct the pronunciation of the American you meet by saying: "Ahh... you mean-euh Joji Bushi..."
You think the messages of the Buddha and Jesus are perfectly
compatible with the statement: "Koreans are a superior race."
No one in your country has AIDS, but "kimchi" (cold cabbage with hot sauce) can cure it.
You laugh at your foreign co-worker's "Broos-euh Willis-euh" shaved
head, while pressing down your comb-over with a hand covered in your own
saliva.
You order pizza and it comes with corn and mayonnaise as well as a
side serve of pickles to put on top.
You think that smoking in a crowded restaurant (with a no smoking
sign) or any other place is perfectly acceptable behavior for men but
woman who smoke in public are clearly prostitutes.
Your students are convinced that music by The Beatles is hard core
rock'n'roll.
You think that the sink in the bathroom/public toilet is for fixing
your hair and appearance and NOT for washing your hands after going to the
toilet.
You have a terrible cold and it doesn't occur to you that coughing
in other people's faces and food will make them sick too.
You honestly believe foreigners care about whose island
takashimi/dokdo is.
You think an ambulance with a siren blazing is just another car.
Therefore, you need not make way. Tow-trucks on the other hand, should be always be given the right-of-way.
You hear the monthly air-raid sirens you are totally unfazed and go
about your business.
You stick a needle in your thumb to relieve indigestion.
You wear an undershirt with a t-shirt.
You own a cell phone with a built-in breathalyzer.
Your main purpose of going to the office everyday is to persuade
your colleague(s) into a night of drinking.
Low cut, v-neck, floral print, pink t-shirt, shiny jeans, and Paris
Hilton-esque sunglasses are perfectly acceptable items for a heterosexual
man to wear for a night on the prowl.
You understand why prior to a given date your building will have heat, and
after a given date there will no longer be heat, regardless of the outside temperature.
You cover your mouth when you laugh or smile but not when you cough
or sneeze.
In the winter (-10 degree weather), you wear short skirts, but in
the summer(+40 weather) you cover all skin with jeans and a sweater
because that's the fashion.
You don't wear deodorant because Koreans don't sweat.
You know you're Korean When:
You're 12-years old and you don't go home until 10 pm.
You're unmarried at 25 so you have to be home by ten.
You stare like a deer blinded in headlights at anyone different than you.
You attempt to go into the subway or elevator before the people get
out.
If you aren't chewing and slurping your food at a loud volume then
you obviously aren't enjoying it.
You "slightly disregard" traffic rules. Like stopping at crosswalks
or red lights.
You go home and everything smells bad (but not to you).
You think having 4 seasons is really special.
You describe any girl over 110 pounds as "fat."
You drive out of blind alleys at 60 km/h.
You're an "expert" at making ramyen (instant) noodles.
You try the doorknob instead of ringing the doorbell or knocking
first.
You eat more off your friend's plate than your own.
You answer the phone with a loud warbling
Wieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee????????
Your favorite teacher is the one that beats you the hardest.
You think you look quite dignified while drinking
your shooter of 2 cent booze after noisily slurping octopus.
You're comfortable using a small hole in the ground for a toilet, and think hocking a loogie at the same time is a good way to multi-task.
You jump out of the shower at the local gym and stand naked in front
of the mirror blow drying your family jewels.
You grab the communal toothbrush at the gym and take it into the
shower with you.
Even though you weigh 120 you have to try and out bench the 190
pound guy, because he's a foreigner.
You think that your mom's kimchi can cure your grandma's halitosis
and your grandpa's cancer.
Your cell phone has more than 20 pictures stored on it... of
yourself.
There's more toilet paper in your dining room than your bathroom.
You believe that flushing toilet paper down the toilet will clog up
the plumbing, so instead you throw all your used paper in a bin next to the
toilet.
You are no longer bothered by the old Korean lady shoving a
mop between your legs as you stand at the urinal.
You view the handicapped-ramped crosswalks as a perfect place to
park your car into at an angle. Pedestrians and handicapped people be
damned - you need to park.
You hang a plastic glove filled with water in the window because you
believe mosquitoes and flies are scared of their reflection.
You assume all thin blonde women are Russian prostitutes.
You open all of your windows in the middle of winter and crank up
the heat.
You're standing in the shower at the Sauna and offer to scrub a
total stranger's back.
You don't think it's at all weird to share a hot tub butt naked with
a grandfather and his two grandsons.
You open the window a crack when your fan is running, still afraid you might somehow be killed by the fan while you sleep.
You dial a wrong number, and then yell at the person on the other
end of the line for not being the person you were trying to call. You hang up
on them in a huff... and then hit redial.
You do exactly what your boss tells you to do, no matter how stupid
and idiotic.
You would never dream of asking to get paid extra for the overtime you
work.
You feel well rewarded for all your long hours and sacrifice if you get
taken out for BBQ and some Noraebong (karaoke) twice a year.
You sleep under a piece of oversized gauze and call it a sheet.
You put sweet potato on pizza.
You think picking your teeth or nose in public isn't polite... unless
you oh-so discreetly do it with one hand covering up the activity.
You push, claw, and elbow your way to position yourself to be the
first to exit the subway car, and then right after you exit, you walk at a
snail's pace.
You go on a nice beach vacation, where you sit under the beautiful
shade of your huge umbrella fully clothed, wearing a Darth Vader visor,
covered in sun tan lotion, refusing to go near the water.
You eat dog because it supposedly gives your four thrusts instead of
three.
After going to the washroom, you wash your hands for 1 second under
ice cold water and dry them in your hair.
You open up a new business with an arch of balloons and two dancing
girls.
You proudly adorn your new business with a sign that reads:
"SINCE 2005"
You close the business two years later after realizing there were
already ten identical businesses on the same block.
You would rather park on the sidewalk than the huge parking lot a few feet away.
You drive for 5 hours to spend 30 minutes at some over crowded
tourist trap.
You ask the foreigner next to you if he can use chopsticks while he
is comfortably eating with chopsticks.
You deny that Koreans still eat dog, after the foreigner next to you
has just said, "Last night I went out for dog with some Korean friends, it
was better than I thought it would be!"
You think eating eel will give you a hard-on, but eating bean
sprouts will make you lose it. The reasoning behind both is: "the
shape".
You correct the pronunciation of the American you meet by saying: "Ahh... you mean-euh Joji Bushi..."
You think the messages of the Buddha and Jesus are perfectly
compatible with the statement: "Koreans are a superior race."
No one in your country has AIDS, but "kimchi" (cold cabbage with hot sauce) can cure it.
You laugh at your foreign co-worker's "Broos-euh Willis-euh" shaved
head, while pressing down your comb-over with a hand covered in your own
saliva.
You order pizza and it comes with corn and mayonnaise as well as a
side serve of pickles to put on top.
You think that smoking in a crowded restaurant (with a no smoking
sign) or any other place is perfectly acceptable behavior for men but
woman who smoke in public are clearly prostitutes.
Your students are convinced that music by The Beatles is hard core
rock'n'roll.
You think that the sink in the bathroom/public toilet is for fixing
your hair and appearance and NOT for washing your hands after going to the
toilet.
You have a terrible cold and it doesn't occur to you that coughing
in other people's faces and food will make them sick too.
You honestly believe foreigners care about whose island
takashimi/dokdo is.
You think an ambulance with a siren blazing is just another car.
Therefore, you need not make way. Tow-trucks on the other hand, should be always be given the right-of-way.
You hear the monthly air-raid sirens you are totally unfazed and go
about your business.
You stick a needle in your thumb to relieve indigestion.
You wear an undershirt with a t-shirt.
You own a cell phone with a built-in breathalyzer.
Your main purpose of going to the office everyday is to persuade
your colleague(s) into a night of drinking.
Low cut, v-neck, floral print, pink t-shirt, shiny jeans, and Paris
Hilton-esque sunglasses are perfectly acceptable items for a heterosexual
man to wear for a night on the prowl.
You understand why prior to a given date your building will have heat, and
after a given date there will no longer be heat, regardless of the outside temperature.
You cover your mouth when you laugh or smile but not when you cough
or sneeze.
In the winter (-10 degree weather), you wear short skirts, but in
the summer(+40 weather) you cover all skin with jeans and a sweater
because that's the fashion.
You don't wear deodorant because Koreans don't sweat.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Wedding Bells and Flesh Wounds
A friend here in Korea, an English teacher named Emmanuel who has been in Korea for a number of years now, recently got married to a Korean woman. The two met through either a church or a choir group they were part of (or maybe it was a church choir), and in September they had their official ceremony in Canada. The Korean ceremony was held just last weekend, and Shannon and I along with a few other friends from town were able to attend.
It was quite a nice event, and I was surprised at how similar it felt to a western ceremony. This might just be me getting used to Korean events though, so maybe you shouldn't trust me too much in that assessment. What I did notice that made it unique and entertaining was the traditional Korean dancers/musicians who performed at it, as well as the bizarre initiation they made Emmanuel and his new wife go through. The dancers were really spectacular, with lots of drumming and symbol banging. They each had ribbons attached to their hats as well, and they could whip them around in all kinds of neat, hypnotic ways. As for the initiation thing, Emmanuel explained to us that it was designed to deter a man from getting married more than once - taking away a single woman is something Koreans see as a sad thing, so it involved lots of beating of his feet. Maria, his new wife, had to caress or kiss Emmanuel according to where the MC told her to. Being a former nun, things got a little tricky for her once she had to start poking him below the belt, and Emmanuel took a slap on his feet every time she messed up or refused to poke/kiss wherever the MC told her to. It was all in good fun, but I think the guy with the stick took his job more seriously than Emmanuel would have liked.
In other news, Shannon's had an unfortunate ordeal with her dermatologist lately. Cosmetic surgery is quite cheap here in Korea, and the technology is extremely advanced - already Shannon's had an old scar removed for $10, and we've met others who get heaps of work done for things like acne, unwanted tattoos and scarring. Well, Shannon decided to get an old tattoo removed, a small maple leaf on her ankle that never turned our right when she had it done. The doctor she went to is quite reputable, and we assumed it would all go fine. Now, she's got what we believe to be 3rd degree burns on her ankle. We don't know what exactly went wrong, probably the laser was set to high for the procedure, but she's had to go to the doctor every other day to get re-bandaged, have creams put on her ankle, and just to check it to make sure it's okay. It's getting better now, but she's still in quite a lot of pain and it's been more than a month since it went wrong. I'll put some pictures of it up sometime soon, though if you're not big into seeing injuries, you may want to avoid checking this out.
School has been busy this week, as some of the classes that were canceled were now rescheduled. It didn't quite make up for everything I missed, but I've had a few days of working straight through the day with few breaks in between. It's never that bad, working some long days now and then, and really, it's nice to know I haven't been completely forgotten.
It was quite a nice event, and I was surprised at how similar it felt to a western ceremony. This might just be me getting used to Korean events though, so maybe you shouldn't trust me too much in that assessment. What I did notice that made it unique and entertaining was the traditional Korean dancers/musicians who performed at it, as well as the bizarre initiation they made Emmanuel and his new wife go through. The dancers were really spectacular, with lots of drumming and symbol banging. They each had ribbons attached to their hats as well, and they could whip them around in all kinds of neat, hypnotic ways. As for the initiation thing, Emmanuel explained to us that it was designed to deter a man from getting married more than once - taking away a single woman is something Koreans see as a sad thing, so it involved lots of beating of his feet. Maria, his new wife, had to caress or kiss Emmanuel according to where the MC told her to. Being a former nun, things got a little tricky for her once she had to start poking him below the belt, and Emmanuel took a slap on his feet every time she messed up or refused to poke/kiss wherever the MC told her to. It was all in good fun, but I think the guy with the stick took his job more seriously than Emmanuel would have liked.
In other news, Shannon's had an unfortunate ordeal with her dermatologist lately. Cosmetic surgery is quite cheap here in Korea, and the technology is extremely advanced - already Shannon's had an old scar removed for $10, and we've met others who get heaps of work done for things like acne, unwanted tattoos and scarring. Well, Shannon decided to get an old tattoo removed, a small maple leaf on her ankle that never turned our right when she had it done. The doctor she went to is quite reputable, and we assumed it would all go fine. Now, she's got what we believe to be 3rd degree burns on her ankle. We don't know what exactly went wrong, probably the laser was set to high for the procedure, but she's had to go to the doctor every other day to get re-bandaged, have creams put on her ankle, and just to check it to make sure it's okay. It's getting better now, but she's still in quite a lot of pain and it's been more than a month since it went wrong. I'll put some pictures of it up sometime soon, though if you're not big into seeing injuries, you may want to avoid checking this out.
School has been busy this week, as some of the classes that were canceled were now rescheduled. It didn't quite make up for everything I missed, but I've had a few days of working straight through the day with few breaks in between. It's never that bad, working some long days now and then, and really, it's nice to know I haven't been completely forgotten.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
My Sheltered Existence
By living in a small city removed from all the big-city life in Korea, I've limited my exposure to much of what Korea is actually like. Visits to Seoul and Busan have given me a taste of what things are like, but to actually work and live in a big city is a whole different experience. Plenty of friends though have spent time (often years) in the bigger cities, and sometimes what they tell me makes me pretty happy I'm living here in Mokpo and not anywhere else.
Most jobs outside of my province are at private schools, called Hagwons. These hagwon jobs are privately run institutions, with anywhere from several hundred students to less than ten. Owning your own business in Korea is something the people here take huge pride in, and the owners of these hagwons often take extreme measures to make sure things are running the way they want them to run. Take sick days, for example.
For me, when I take a sick day, it's a pretty big deal. I phone my school, they get all worried, want to take me to the doctor, and fret over me the whole day I return to school. This is relatively little stress compared to some people. One coworker here had a fairly serious medical issue that needed attending to, and had a trip to the hospital planned for testing. After explaining this to his teachers, they thought about it and said - "Okay, you should be in for 10:00 then." "No," my friend said, "I'm going to be in the hospital all day today." The teacher thought about it for a while, then said "I will find out if that's OK first."
Another teacher managed to injure herself pretty good, and following her school's orders, got a doctors note to excuse herself from class. After giving it to her school, she said she would be back in a few days, however her school didn't agree - "This note is from today. You will need another note for tomorrow." And so, every day she planned to miss class, she had to get up at 6am, hobble to the doctors (a subway ride away), get a note, give it to school, and make her way home again.
Some schools won't even let you take sick days, despite their inclusion in your contract. I've heard stories of schools phoning doctors offices to make sure the teacher really was sick, threats to punish other teachers at the school if sick days are taken, and one English teacher even had two people from his hagwon come over to his house and walk into his bedroom to get him to come to work.
There are other painful methods of control these private schools may try to use on the English teachers here. Two friends of ours, a couple from Canada, were told they should stop hanging out with their friends around town, as it was a distraction from their work (or they might hear other schools that weren't so bad). Eventually, the English teachers threatened to quit, and so the school said fine, we'll fire all your coworkers as well and hire new staff.
Yep, things here at my small town public school are pretty good compared to other places in Korea. I get paid on time, I haven't been shafted out of any money, and the only real demand they have from me is to play volleyball once a week.
75% of my classes are canceled today and yesterday, so it's another few days of blogging, studying Korean and watching movies. On a complete aside, if you're looking for a good (though 90% depressing) movie, I just finished Children of Men in my spare time here. It's a gloomy, dystopian film, but it's wonderfully made and holds a glimmer of hope throughout it that doesn't make you feel entirely sad. Anyway, it's time to "hangug mal kongbu hae" (study Korea). Till the next blog, take care! Oh, and here's some photos from Halloween too, where plenty of hours building my costume ended with great results.
Most jobs outside of my province are at private schools, called Hagwons. These hagwon jobs are privately run institutions, with anywhere from several hundred students to less than ten. Owning your own business in Korea is something the people here take huge pride in, and the owners of these hagwons often take extreme measures to make sure things are running the way they want them to run. Take sick days, for example.
For me, when I take a sick day, it's a pretty big deal. I phone my school, they get all worried, want to take me to the doctor, and fret over me the whole day I return to school. This is relatively little stress compared to some people. One coworker here had a fairly serious medical issue that needed attending to, and had a trip to the hospital planned for testing. After explaining this to his teachers, they thought about it and said - "Okay, you should be in for 10:00 then." "No," my friend said, "I'm going to be in the hospital all day today." The teacher thought about it for a while, then said "I will find out if that's OK first."
Another teacher managed to injure herself pretty good, and following her school's orders, got a doctors note to excuse herself from class. After giving it to her school, she said she would be back in a few days, however her school didn't agree - "This note is from today. You will need another note for tomorrow." And so, every day she planned to miss class, she had to get up at 6am, hobble to the doctors (a subway ride away), get a note, give it to school, and make her way home again.
Some schools won't even let you take sick days, despite their inclusion in your contract. I've heard stories of schools phoning doctors offices to make sure the teacher really was sick, threats to punish other teachers at the school if sick days are taken, and one English teacher even had two people from his hagwon come over to his house and walk into his bedroom to get him to come to work.
There are other painful methods of control these private schools may try to use on the English teachers here. Two friends of ours, a couple from Canada, were told they should stop hanging out with their friends around town, as it was a distraction from their work (or they might hear other schools that weren't so bad). Eventually, the English teachers threatened to quit, and so the school said fine, we'll fire all your coworkers as well and hire new staff.
Yep, things here at my small town public school are pretty good compared to other places in Korea. I get paid on time, I haven't been shafted out of any money, and the only real demand they have from me is to play volleyball once a week.
75% of my classes are canceled today and yesterday, so it's another few days of blogging, studying Korean and watching movies. On a complete aside, if you're looking for a good (though 90% depressing) movie, I just finished Children of Men in my spare time here. It's a gloomy, dystopian film, but it's wonderfully made and holds a glimmer of hope throughout it that doesn't make you feel entirely sad. Anyway, it's time to "hangug mal kongbu hae" (study Korea). Till the next blog, take care! Oh, and here's some photos from Halloween too, where plenty of hours building my costume ended with great results.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Lost In Translations
Direct translations of languages never really works, does it? Translating Korean directly into English will often give you linguistical gems such as "I went to your house, but you did not exist" or "My thought is go is needed." Of course, there's always some bias on the part of the translator, but here's one I didn't come up with: the following is a Google-supplied translation of my last weeks Korean blog entry. Enjoy!
"Last week's good for me. But the more I try to study a lot of time during the American Philosophy. Amazing, thought ¼ Korea now know enough, you can write a diary?
These days, students are really good for me. These days, fewer classes. Classes usually thought ¼ ¼ 10:08 feel good. Students who do not have English books and magazines read to the Korean people. The Korean practice, but also very hard on me.
Next weekend, "Hallowe'en"? Our party, "P-Club" to be going. Jeollanam province so many people all impressed me. Going to be.
Because today's students for the exam again, not lessons. I think, "Hockey" to go? Goodbye to you."
If that wasn't enough for you, here's what Babel Fish's online translator had to say:
"It was good at the last week. During hour Korean end it studied plentifully, compared to it does. Like that unit, now a possibility of writing Korea which is sufficient it knows in body thought and lost chance there is.
The recent students truth were good. Also the recent study writes. When being study to body thought, the usual body feeling is good. When being the students, there is a Korean book or an English magazine Ilg possibility. Also Korea does practice but quite eagerly.
"Percentage le above nu" it is to the next weekend. Our green onion mote the "P-Club" it will be, well! the example bedspread. From the person all total nudity south door it comes plentifully. There will be a fun, well! the example bedspread.
Student wild examination today again there is not study because of description below. "It sees an empty height" in my thought the song. Goodbye."
Somehow my phonetic spelling of the word "hockey" translates into "It sees an empty height" while "Hallowe'en" becomes "Percentage le above nu." Too funny.
"Last week's good for me. But the more I try to study a lot of time during the American Philosophy. Amazing, thought ¼ Korea now know enough, you can write a diary?
These days, students are really good for me. These days, fewer classes. Classes usually thought ¼ ¼ 10:08 feel good. Students who do not have English books and magazines read to the Korean people. The Korean practice, but also very hard on me.
Next weekend, "Hallowe'en"? Our party, "P-Club" to be going. Jeollanam province so many people all impressed me. Going to be.
Because today's students for the exam again, not lessons. I think, "Hockey" to go? Goodbye to you."
If that wasn't enough for you, here's what Babel Fish's online translator had to say:
"It was good at the last week. During hour Korean end it studied plentifully, compared to it does. Like that unit, now a possibility of writing Korea which is sufficient it knows in body thought and lost chance there is.
The recent students truth were good. Also the recent study writes. When being study to body thought, the usual body feeling is good. When being the students, there is a Korean book or an English magazine Ilg possibility. Also Korea does practice but quite eagerly.
"Percentage le above nu" it is to the next weekend. Our green onion mote the "P-Club" it will be, well! the example bedspread. From the person all total nudity south door it comes plentifully. There will be a fun, well! the example bedspread.
Student wild examination today again there is not study because of description below. "It sees an empty height" in my thought the song. Goodbye."
Somehow my phonetic spelling of the word "hockey" translates into "It sees an empty height" while "Hallowe'en" becomes "Percentage le above nu." Too funny.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Working Hard or Hardly Working?
I don't think I've ever been directly affected by the strength of the Canadian currency, but right now the high dollar is killing me. Back in January, every 1000 won I made translated into $1.25 Canadian, which translated into a pretty decent paycheque every month. Now, it's down to $1.05 Canadian, and I've been missing out on several hundred dollars over the last while. I could look at things differently and note that perhaps I should be thankful to have gotten such a good rate back in January and think of that as extra money earned, but with the Korean dollar sitting at more than a 5 year low to the Canadian, I've been thinking of ways to start new rumours of Quebec once again looking to secede from Canada. If only I had that kind of international influence.
I don't know what's been up with my school this past month, but I think I've taught less than half of my scheduled classes. Yesterday I taught for only 2 1/2 of my 8 hours at school. I actually snuck out early, only a little after 4, since it's getting to be quite a bore sitting at the computer all day with nothing to do. So far today,3 o my 4 classes have not shown up, and I'm thinking that I should again slip out early. It's tough to do though, sine every student in the school is an inadvertent watch-dog, alerting people to your presence. The moment they see me, they blurt out a barrage of "hello" "hi" "how are you" and other English phrases so that everyone within ear shot knows I must be walking down the hall.
When it comes to days like this, where I've got nothing to do and I'm ready to go home, I end up moving out of the school in the most ridiculous of stealthy fashions. Sometimes I'll go out of my way to use the far washroom, then grab my shoes on the way back to my classroom so I can slip out the door. On days when the teachers are playing volleyball and I don't want to be "asked" to join, I'll try and make sure no one is near the front office before I dart across the hallway to the shoe closet, hoping no one saw me and won't come running down the hallway calling "Ree-cha-duh! Ree-cha-duh!"
The school year though has been going really well. I know the materials I'm teaching much better now, I'm able to better cope with wild students and classrooms, and I feel more in control of things. My big problem now is one of personal motivation. Now that I've crossed the hump from being a "really bad" teacher into the position of "OK" to "pretty good" teacher, there's been no motivation to improve more. There is no grading or review process set up for me, no one notices the difference when I spend 2 minutes or 2 hours preparing for a lesson, and and with nearly half my classes not happening lately, sometimes I find myself not even knowing who I'm supposed to be teaching. My two best classes, the ones that come on time and whose teachers help things run smoothly, I'm usually good at putting together something stimulating for them. Otherwise, I'm inching closer and closer towards the bare minimum.
It's 12:35 now, and I don't teach again until 3:30. Since it looks like there's some kind of school-wide activity happening today, and since it's Friday, I imagine 75% of my 3:30 class won't arrive until nearly 4:00.
Yep, I'm definitely earning all of my pay today.
I don't know what's been up with my school this past month, but I think I've taught less than half of my scheduled classes. Yesterday I taught for only 2 1/2 of my 8 hours at school. I actually snuck out early, only a little after 4, since it's getting to be quite a bore sitting at the computer all day with nothing to do. So far today,3 o my 4 classes have not shown up, and I'm thinking that I should again slip out early. It's tough to do though, sine every student in the school is an inadvertent watch-dog, alerting people to your presence. The moment they see me, they blurt out a barrage of "hello" "hi" "how are you" and other English phrases so that everyone within ear shot knows I must be walking down the hall.
When it comes to days like this, where I've got nothing to do and I'm ready to go home, I end up moving out of the school in the most ridiculous of stealthy fashions. Sometimes I'll go out of my way to use the far washroom, then grab my shoes on the way back to my classroom so I can slip out the door. On days when the teachers are playing volleyball and I don't want to be "asked" to join, I'll try and make sure no one is near the front office before I dart across the hallway to the shoe closet, hoping no one saw me and won't come running down the hallway calling "Ree-cha-duh! Ree-cha-duh!"
The school year though has been going really well. I know the materials I'm teaching much better now, I'm able to better cope with wild students and classrooms, and I feel more in control of things. My big problem now is one of personal motivation. Now that I've crossed the hump from being a "really bad" teacher into the position of "OK" to "pretty good" teacher, there's been no motivation to improve more. There is no grading or review process set up for me, no one notices the difference when I spend 2 minutes or 2 hours preparing for a lesson, and and with nearly half my classes not happening lately, sometimes I find myself not even knowing who I'm supposed to be teaching. My two best classes, the ones that come on time and whose teachers help things run smoothly, I'm usually good at putting together something stimulating for them. Otherwise, I'm inching closer and closer towards the bare minimum.
It's 12:35 now, and I don't teach again until 3:30. Since it looks like there's some kind of school-wide activity happening today, and since it's Friday, I imagine 75% of my 3:30 class won't arrive until nearly 4:00.
Yep, I'm definitely earning all of my pay today.
My Slow Crawl Towards Bilingualism
Here's my attempt at a Koran blog entry. The translation is down below, so you can see how well I'm doing. For any Korean readers (do I have any out there?) I apologize for my many likely mistakes and spelling errors.
지난 주에 좋았어요. 많이 시간 동안 한국말 공부했지만 더 하려고 했어요. 그런대, 체 생각에 지금 충분한 한국 알고 일기 쓸 수 있어요.
요즘 학생들이 정말 좋았어요. 요즘 수업도 적어요. 체 생각에 수업 없을때 보통 체 기분이 좋아요. 학생들이 없을 때 한국 책이나 영어 잡지 읽 수 있어요. 한국도 연습하지만 아주 열심히 해요.
다음 주말에 "할러위느" 있어요. 우리 파티를 “P-크럽"에 있을 거예요. 많이 사람 모두 전라남도어서 오려고 해요. 재미있을 거예요.
학생들 시험를 하기때문에 오늘 다시 수업 없어요. 제 생각에 "허키"를 보러 가요. 안녕히 가세요.
Last week was good. I studied Korea for lots of time, but I had hoped to study even more. However, I think I’ve studied enough that now I can write my journal in Korean.
The students have been very good these days. I’ve also had few classes these days. I think when I don’t have class, I usually feel good. When the students don’t come, I can read my Korean books or English magazines. I also study Korea, but it’s quite hard.
Next weekend is Hallowe’en. We’re going to have a party at P-Club. People are going to come from all Jeollanamdo province are going to come. It’s going to be fun.
I don’t have class again today because the students have tests. I think I’m going to go watch hockey. Goodbye!
지난 주에 좋았어요. 많이 시간 동안 한국말 공부했지만 더 하려고 했어요. 그런대, 체 생각에 지금 충분한 한국 알고 일기 쓸 수 있어요.
요즘 학생들이 정말 좋았어요. 요즘 수업도 적어요. 체 생각에 수업 없을때 보통 체 기분이 좋아요. 학생들이 없을 때 한국 책이나 영어 잡지 읽 수 있어요. 한국도 연습하지만 아주 열심히 해요.
다음 주말에 "할러위느" 있어요. 우리 파티를 “P-크럽"에 있을 거예요. 많이 사람 모두 전라남도어서 오려고 해요. 재미있을 거예요.
학생들 시험를 하기때문에 오늘 다시 수업 없어요. 제 생각에 "허키"를 보러 가요. 안녕히 가세요.
Last week was good. I studied Korea for lots of time, but I had hoped to study even more. However, I think I’ve studied enough that now I can write my journal in Korean.
The students have been very good these days. I’ve also had few classes these days. I think when I don’t have class, I usually feel good. When the students don’t come, I can read my Korean books or English magazines. I also study Korea, but it’s quite hard.
Next weekend is Hallowe’en. We’re going to have a party at P-Club. People are going to come from all Jeollanamdo province are going to come. It’s going to be fun.
I don’t have class again today because the students have tests. I think I’m going to go watch hockey. Goodbye!
Monday, October 22, 2007
With Game in Hand and Towel on Face
There's a stigma that goes with being Asian, that Asians must be more inclined to use computers, be technically adept and play video games with a fervor not found in most other countries. Well, I'm not entirely sure about the computer knowledge or technical skills, but I can confidently say Koreans love love love their computer games. Video game systems like Xbox and Nintendo haven't caught on quite as strongly, but computer games have the people here wound up like a heroin epidemic could. The country is covered with PC rooms, shops that for a dollar an hour will let you play games online against the world. People spend hours doing this, the kids are obsessed, and CNN even did a brief special on it last week looking at how people get so addicted.
Being a pro-gamer in Korea is even a viable option for some of these guys, though it seems about as likely as young Canadian boys making a living playing major league baseball. Still, they're out there, Koreans who, for a living, play video games. And how the heck do people make money doing that? Well, besides tournaments, which there are plenty of it seems, there are two dedicated channels showing nothing but pro-gamers play against each other. For those with a small amount of video game knowledge, Starcraft is the game of choice. At any hour of the day, one of the two channels will be showing two guys duke it out in this decade old combat simulation game, and this is what the kids look up to. The CNN special showed a man, at least mid to late 30's, who spent all his free time at the PC rooms playing games. His wife and kids would come visit him there! A few years ago someone died after playing non-stop for 60 hours! The first thing my students learned to say when I start teaching them how to answer "what did you do yesterday?" is "play computer games." Our little north american wiener zombie nintendo kids have nothing on these guys.
I try my best to bring up some of the kooky things that happen in daily life in Korea, and there's been one I think I've sadly left out for a long time. Have I ever written about getting my hair cut yet? Well, that generally turns out just fine, though they did give me a wicked mullet one time. No, what's really bizarre is when they wash your hair. The word for hair in Korean is translated as "head sticks", which makes me laugh every time I think about it, and as the woman washes my head sticks, I usually end up with a giant grin on my face. You see, they throw a towel over your face while washing your hair. It's the strangest thing, since I think it's only there so either you can't see up the ladies shirt or so you just can't make eye contact with her at all. She could also be trying to avoid water splashing in my face, but the towel used is so small it really wouldn't stop much water at all. The last time I had my hair cut, the phone rang (which is so important in Korea it could pull a doctor away while delivering a baby), and I was left sitting alone in a sink with a towel over my face for nearly two minutes.
Today seems to be another random day of no classes. Shannon's already emailed me letting me know she's got nothing to do all day and was never told about it, and now it's getting on 12 o'clock and I still haven't had anyone show up for class.
Shannon and I have been toying with the idea of getting our dog a cat. We don't think we'll actually go through with it, since we don't need the burden of another pet to take care of, but our dog has some serious abandonment issues, and cries for hours when we leave, and will shove his kennel all around the living room. Having someone else to hang out with would probably do wonders for calming his nerves, and the idea of getting our pet a pet is hilarious, but given the reality of our situation, it's not something that's ever going to happen. One stray creature taking over our house is enough. If only we could trust the local Korean kids when it came to babysitting.
Being a pro-gamer in Korea is even a viable option for some of these guys, though it seems about as likely as young Canadian boys making a living playing major league baseball. Still, they're out there, Koreans who, for a living, play video games. And how the heck do people make money doing that? Well, besides tournaments, which there are plenty of it seems, there are two dedicated channels showing nothing but pro-gamers play against each other. For those with a small amount of video game knowledge, Starcraft is the game of choice. At any hour of the day, one of the two channels will be showing two guys duke it out in this decade old combat simulation game, and this is what the kids look up to. The CNN special showed a man, at least mid to late 30's, who spent all his free time at the PC rooms playing games. His wife and kids would come visit him there! A few years ago someone died after playing non-stop for 60 hours! The first thing my students learned to say when I start teaching them how to answer "what did you do yesterday?" is "play computer games." Our little north american wiener zombie nintendo kids have nothing on these guys.
I try my best to bring up some of the kooky things that happen in daily life in Korea, and there's been one I think I've sadly left out for a long time. Have I ever written about getting my hair cut yet? Well, that generally turns out just fine, though they did give me a wicked mullet one time. No, what's really bizarre is when they wash your hair. The word for hair in Korean is translated as "head sticks", which makes me laugh every time I think about it, and as the woman washes my head sticks, I usually end up with a giant grin on my face. You see, they throw a towel over your face while washing your hair. It's the strangest thing, since I think it's only there so either you can't see up the ladies shirt or so you just can't make eye contact with her at all. She could also be trying to avoid water splashing in my face, but the towel used is so small it really wouldn't stop much water at all. The last time I had my hair cut, the phone rang (which is so important in Korea it could pull a doctor away while delivering a baby), and I was left sitting alone in a sink with a towel over my face for nearly two minutes.
Today seems to be another random day of no classes. Shannon's already emailed me letting me know she's got nothing to do all day and was never told about it, and now it's getting on 12 o'clock and I still haven't had anyone show up for class.
Shannon and I have been toying with the idea of getting our dog a cat. We don't think we'll actually go through with it, since we don't need the burden of another pet to take care of, but our dog has some serious abandonment issues, and cries for hours when we leave, and will shove his kennel all around the living room. Having someone else to hang out with would probably do wonders for calming his nerves, and the idea of getting our pet a pet is hilarious, but given the reality of our situation, it's not something that's ever going to happen. One stray creature taking over our house is enough. If only we could trust the local Korean kids when it came to babysitting.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Gym Bunnies
Of all the blogs I've written, this is the one where I need visual aids the most. I'll do my best to describe this, but I think the scope and humour in all of this will never really be understood until you can see it with your own eyes.
I've been going to the gym quite regularly these days, which I'm very proud of indeed. The gym I go to is your typical Korean gym, with the music pumped way too loud and with the staff on hand to correct and change every exercise you do whether it's being done correctly or not. All the treadmills have TV's as well, which is no big deal, except instead of headphones for each person, they just blast the volume up high, filling most of the gym with a nasty cacophony of noise. Things get even louder when the aerobics class starts, though when those aerobics ladies stroll into the room, the music is the last thing I'm ever thinking of.
Watching these women do their thing is like watching a choreographed train wreck. The women, who aren't necessarily in bad shape, wear the most ridiculously loud, eccentric outfits I've ever seen that makes even the most attractive of them look absurd. They wear a mix of spandex, pleather, some kind of plastic-like material, more spandex, the occasional smattering of fish-net, poofy skirts, and I think one lady even wears velvet. It usually starts with the boots, which are a hybrid of knee-high boots and leg warmers. These aren't normally too bad, and some of the younger girls manage to pull it off, but then you get these bright skirts and strange low-cut bikini bottom things that would have trouble being justified in any fashion setting. Some ladies go for the pants, which they usually wear way too tight, and are made of some plastic-like material probably to induce more sweating. One lady wore bell-bottoms so large she could have hid small children around her ankles.
When the class starts, I'm sure it's not too different from any other aerobics class, though I've never seen one until now. The music cranks up just enough to make your ears bleed, the head girl goes to the front, and they go-go-go-go for 20 or 30 minutes straight. There's no instruction, just follow along with new people at the back, and those who know the routine at the front. Every time they do their thing, I take a pause, watch until I think I'm making them uncomfortable, watch for a few seconds longer, then continue to find myself glancing over until one of us finally finishes and leaves.
Things have been quite quiet these days. Shannon and I have settled down nicely into the second year in Korea, the routine at school is in full swing, and nothing too out of the ordinary is taking place. These last two weeks have been super quiet at school, with nearly half my classes canceled, and I'm setting new personal records for time spent doing nothing. I'm actually getting pretty good at studying Korea, and I can express myself in ways like "I'm planning to..." and "I think that..." which I'm pretty proud of. I still don't understand 99% of what Korean's say to me, and my students still howl with laughter anytime I say something in Korean to them, but I'm turning more heads now when I try and speak with locals.
It's 12:40 now, and I'm done for the day. I'm leaving at 3, but that's still over two hours of just waiting. Maybe I should pick up a new hobby, like knitting or building matchstick houses. Hmmm, maybe I'll see if the news headlines have changed in the last 10 minutes.
I've been going to the gym quite regularly these days, which I'm very proud of indeed. The gym I go to is your typical Korean gym, with the music pumped way too loud and with the staff on hand to correct and change every exercise you do whether it's being done correctly or not. All the treadmills have TV's as well, which is no big deal, except instead of headphones for each person, they just blast the volume up high, filling most of the gym with a nasty cacophony of noise. Things get even louder when the aerobics class starts, though when those aerobics ladies stroll into the room, the music is the last thing I'm ever thinking of.
Watching these women do their thing is like watching a choreographed train wreck. The women, who aren't necessarily in bad shape, wear the most ridiculously loud, eccentric outfits I've ever seen that makes even the most attractive of them look absurd. They wear a mix of spandex, pleather, some kind of plastic-like material, more spandex, the occasional smattering of fish-net, poofy skirts, and I think one lady even wears velvet. It usually starts with the boots, which are a hybrid of knee-high boots and leg warmers. These aren't normally too bad, and some of the younger girls manage to pull it off, but then you get these bright skirts and strange low-cut bikini bottom things that would have trouble being justified in any fashion setting. Some ladies go for the pants, which they usually wear way too tight, and are made of some plastic-like material probably to induce more sweating. One lady wore bell-bottoms so large she could have hid small children around her ankles.
When the class starts, I'm sure it's not too different from any other aerobics class, though I've never seen one until now. The music cranks up just enough to make your ears bleed, the head girl goes to the front, and they go-go-go-go for 20 or 30 minutes straight. There's no instruction, just follow along with new people at the back, and those who know the routine at the front. Every time they do their thing, I take a pause, watch until I think I'm making them uncomfortable, watch for a few seconds longer, then continue to find myself glancing over until one of us finally finishes and leaves.
Things have been quite quiet these days. Shannon and I have settled down nicely into the second year in Korea, the routine at school is in full swing, and nothing too out of the ordinary is taking place. These last two weeks have been super quiet at school, with nearly half my classes canceled, and I'm setting new personal records for time spent doing nothing. I'm actually getting pretty good at studying Korea, and I can express myself in ways like "I'm planning to..." and "I think that..." which I'm pretty proud of. I still don't understand 99% of what Korean's say to me, and my students still howl with laughter anytime I say something in Korean to them, but I'm turning more heads now when I try and speak with locals.
It's 12:40 now, and I'm done for the day. I'm leaving at 3, but that's still over two hours of just waiting. Maybe I should pick up a new hobby, like knitting or building matchstick houses. Hmmm, maybe I'll see if the news headlines have changed in the last 10 minutes.
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