M.A.S.H. Didn't Cover This

Yesterday I was in Seoul at the War Museum. The museum covers the entire history of war in Korea, which is very extensive. From the Chinese, to the Japanese, to the Korean war that we know, this peninsula has been invaded over 300 times. It's no wonder that the sense of cultural identity is so strong. I realised immediately that I am completely 100% ignorant of Korean history and that is a very very sad thing indeed.

First off, the museum is a formidable building, with planes and tanks outside, and sculpture.

For some reason, the museum also exhibits other things. Somehow, this months offerings really didn't "mesh" well with the general austere and militant theme.

In all seriousness though, the museum was a humbling experience. Outside, they have porticoes lined with floor to ceiling plaques. They list all of the soldiers that died trying to protect South Korea during the Korean War. Then there was one porticoe just for the U.S. casualties. It is staggering to see the thousands upon thousands (I believe 35,000 in total) of names of people who died in this country. We found the name of Victoria's cousin, a sobering experience.
Inside, there is everything that you could imagine. Ships, cannons, a scale model that you can walk through of the fortress at Hwaseong.
The most interesting and relevant part of the museum for me was the section on the Korean War. Now, I don't claim to know jack squat about the war. It was an eye opening exhibit. I had no idea how far the North Koreans had pushed back the South Koreans, they were down to the south edge of the peninsula before the U.S. intervened. I also didn't know that the entire war was fueled by the struggle between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. How many wars had to be fought around the world to keep the balance between the two. It's a crazy thing. I just don't understand completely how "evil" the Soviets were and why they had to be squashed everywhere they were. That's what all of those Russian courses have led to, me questioning the standard dogma of the day.

Anyway, the exhibit on the Korean War was prolific. The most extraordinary aspect for me was learning that 100,000 students volunteered to fight for South Korea. We were at the museum with 3 middle school students. There was a diarama about a battle at a girls middle school between the North Koreans and the student volunteers. I tried to get the middle school girls to see that girls their age faught and died for their country. I don't know if they can appreciate it.

The museum is worth seeing again. I need to read learn more about this country and what it has been through. I am a bit troubled by the youth and their absentmindedness when it comes to Korean history. I hope that they listen to their grandparents and the older generation who remember the hard times. Oh well, enough of my stupid American observations. Who am I to make observations?

Only In Korea

Here is a card game you cannot get in the U.S.A. I'm fairly certain that the title of the game doesn't translate quite as well as it should.
I'm assuming that all the other euphemisms for "masturbation" were taken for other game titles. Maybe I can find a whole set of these games. "Hey kids... who wants to Spank the Monkey???" Crazy stuff.

How Much Are You Willing To Pay?

This is the question of the hour. How much are you willing to pay? Random items in Korea are incredibly expensive. It makes little to no sense. Now, imported items are clearly going to be expensive. Therefore, magazines from the U.S. and English language books are a bit pricey. Not out of the range or people, but an Oprah magazine (Victoria reads them) costs about 7000 won (remember, there are 1000 won in a dollar roughly) here in Korea, and is under $4 in the U.S. Other pricey itmes, a deck of playing cards range from 6000-10,000 won ($6-10).

Nowhere are skyhigh prices seen more clearly than in the grocery store. Now, I understand the high price of beef. This country is 70% mountains. You can't raise cattle on a mountain, they won't get fat... too much exercise, not enough grazing. So, when you want beef, you have to pay for it... through the nose. A steak at Outback Steakhouse here costs between 30,000 and 50,000 won.

Fruit. This is the one I don't understand completely. I was in a grocery store in Cheonan. The fruit was astronomical. One mango... 12,300 won. 30 or so blueberries... 7056 won. An exotic apple... 8,500 won. And lastly, 2 cantaloupe melons... 35,000 won. Don't even think about making a fruit salad here. You'd have to mortgage your home, and sell some plasma.

A Delightful Day of Nothing

On sunday, I did nothing. I spent the day relaxing. It was wonderful. I did end up meeting with Victoria for an early dinner and to relax at the Soda Star coffee shop. We met at a place that is new to us, that serves cheese bulgogi. Bulgogi is pork or beef that is merinated. Here, it's put into a pan on the table to cook with cabbage, onion, carrote, spicy sauce, and at the last minute, cheese is added. You eat it wrapped in lettuce leaves. It's good stuff. We brough a baguette to make little sandwiches. A complete success, even if it isn't terribly Korean. Who knows, maybe we'll start a trend.
After the meal, we walked across the street to the Soda Star. Now that it's a million degrees out with 300,000% humidity, I've changed to a new drink. It's a frozen drink made from yogurt and strawberries. It's quite tastey. Before going to the restaurant I stopped to get a deck of cards. I thought we could play some rummy while relaxing at the coffee shop. My corner shop had a deck, they wanted $10 for it. I went to 7-11 and bought a deck of cards for $6! Can you believe it? If you want to make a fortune, think playing card imports into Korea. Anyway, it was a great time in Soda Star. Here are some shots of the interior of the coffe shop. The owner's wife painted everything on the walls.

Google And Their Bizarre World

This has nothing to do with Korea. My homepage at school on my computer is the google homepage. It's just easier than having to find an english search engine. With that said, every day on Google's homepage, they have a "How To of the day." They are the most useless and random of things. Today the two "how to" tips are "How to ride a horse bareback" and "How to prepare for a hurricane." Well, if you're in a hurricane, the first thing you should do is not be riding your horse bareback. What is up with these tips? Do they help anyone? Is the random juxtaposition of the two just a bit too random? I'm sitting here confused and dumbfounded and just a little amused. Oh Google... you do so much for us.

Slave Labor

I guess the southerners had it right. Sometimes slave labor is the only way to get things done. If you doubt it, ask Victoria. Thursday I had the day off. She called me up early in the morning and asked if I wanted to go to the store with her. I agreed. I ended up going to her school with her and staying all day and "helping" her fix up her new English room. Along for the ride was Victoria's new dog Kim Chi. Not to be confused with the Korean staple of kim-chi. This is Ms. Chi, first name Kim.

Here is a shot of me sharpening pencils with a very pink Hello Kitty-esque pencil sharpener. The school's do not own a pencil sharpener, they use a pen knife.

Here is Ms. Kim Chi. She is sitting on one of the cushions for the students... like she owns the place. Yup... can you say "spoiled?"

I was still sick with my cough. I was taking traditional Korean medicine. It looks an awful lot like rabbit droppings.

And, just to keep the ACLU off of her case, Victoria helped out too.

Now, Victoria has put a lot of effort into getting her room ready for her students. I think that they will be so happy to see it. She really has made it quite an amazing place... I hope the kids will appreciate it as much as they should.
Here is the Wall of Fame. When a student completes the task, their name will go in the picture frame on the rung of that ladder. What a clever idea.
Here's the "book tree" or "tree of knowledge." I'm not sure what it's gonna do, but we laughed when she made it. She says, some things workout well, some don't. This tree would be an artistic thing that didn't work out so well.
Her room is posh. She has a water cooler in the classroom. Now, she was warned by her co-teacher "don't lose the watercooler." She's doing a super job of not losing it so far.

Graffiti

There isn't a whole lot of graffiti in Korea... well, not in Anseong. While walking to downtown early on thursday morning, one of the shops still had their security gate thing closed. This was the graffiti on it. I was amazed so much to see it.

Is This Kosher?

I took the lazy way out again. I ordered pizza from Dominoe's for dinner. It's so convenient, even if it's overpriced. But, I'm sick and coughing up a storm, and couldn't think about climbing up that hill and not collapsing dead. Anyway, the pizza came. Very good. It had this strange ad attached to the box. What do you make of it? Do you think that it's kosher? Is it blessed by a Rabbi? Is Dominoe's just really pro-Jewish in Korea?

The Spider Tree

While walking from my apartment the other morning, I looked up. In one of the trees that I pass there were literally hundreds of big huge spiders. They were spinning their webs and just hanging out. It was one of the most amazing things that I've ever seen.

An Unexpected Companion

You can never be prepared for everything that happens in Korea. If you think you've seen it all... spend just one day in Korea.

Last week, it was raining very hard. The rivers were flooding, a car landed in the river, it was a deluge of biblical proportions.

With that said, I had to walk to the bus station to go home. Before I left the school I visited the bathroom, just like my mother would want me to do. "Did you kids use the bathroom before we go?" As I was standing at the urinal, I looked over and found that I wasn't alone.

This little green frog was sitting there, next to the sink, as if he were always supposed to be there. He was so perfect, he looked fake. Sitting there like a little statue. He did move though. You never see this in the bathroom of a U.S. high school.

Heaven Forbid

Yesterday I went to the pharmacy with Mr. Yoo to get some cough remedies. Pharmacies here in Korea are interesting to say the least. You cannot buy any type of medication in regular stores, only in pharmacies. Also, the pharmacist is a very informed man who can prescribe things for you. Of course, the down side to this is that you have no idea what you're taking. I've taken so much medication here that I have absolutely no idea what in the world it is. I just blindly trust that it's good for me.

The pharmacist gave me some pills for my cough. They do not believe in liquid medication at all from what I have seen. No cough syrup. I was also given 2 little bottles of warm ginseng drink (Koreans love these little bottles of health elixer/energy drinks, they're all over the place and there are hundreds of varieties). These tasted like moldy butt. What I was really hunting for were some cough drops. I explained to Mr. Yoo what cough drops were, and then I spotted Halls on a shelf to the side. I pointed and said "Halls" and he got me a package. You know when they sell them in a paper tube with 7 or 8 per package? That's what I got. I asked for two but he would only sell me one.

Here is the thing that gets me. He has no problem giving me whatever drugs he thinks are good for me, but he won't give me two tubes of Halls cough drops? Am I going to freebase those cough drops and overdose? Is all of that mentholated vapor going to push me into pulmonary shock? They're cough drops! Nothing more. They're candy with an extra ingredient. It seems so comical to me that of all the things to be cautious about it would be the cough drops. He has no idea what I'm taking, never asked, and he gives me drugs. But cough drops we have to be careful with. I don't get it.

A Moment For Reflection

Today I found myself sitting in my classroom, waiting for my high school summer school students who haven't shown up since the first day (it's day 7 now). When I do this, I just sit on the internet and fiddle around for 30 minutes or so, just in case one of them drops by. I was watching a Regina Spektor video online from her website: www.reginaspektor.com. If you don't know her, I recommend her highly. Click on "video" and watch her one music video. You won't be disappointed.

Anyway, as I was watching this I remembered that the person that gave me my Regina Spektor CD copies was a student from my last Russian class at Wayne State. Then I began to wonder if he would be continuing onto the second year of Russian. And I remembered how my class was so upset when they found out that I wouldn't be teaching the second half of first year. And I remembered how much fun it was to teach them, even the crazy girl (you all know the story of her final oral project about her family).

Where am I going with this? All of these things were just in the winter. Here it is, the end of July, and I'm 13 time zones away, waiting on kids that aren't coming. I'm sitting in a classroom in Juksan High School in South Korea, wearing my indoor slippers, sick with a summer cold (they're the worst). Who knew 7 months ago that I would be here? No one. I had no clue. Yet, here I am. It was a very "we're not in Kansas anymore" kind of moment. Life is strange. Sometimes strange and wonderful. Sometimes strange and disappointing. The only constant is strange. I couldn't feel more outside of my own world than I do right now. It's definitely an experience you can only get in a place like this.

Questions, Comments, Concerns?

Hi all. Just a quick note to say that I'm a little discouraged by the lack of feedback that I'm getting. I feel now like I'm writing this whole blog for two people, Sharon and Shari, who frequently comment. Next time you read... maybe think about writing something, so I know that SOMEONE is reading me. Maybe it's the sensitive writer in me feeling the pain of a bruised ego. Ahhh... the divine torture that only a true artist can appreciate.

Souvenirs

This is the question that plagues all travelers. What kind of souvenirs to bring back home? What is perfect for you mom or dad? What about your sister? Close friends? It's a tough question. You want to find that one item that 1. you know they would appreciate, 2. you know they would use or display, and 3. screams KOREA! The folk village had some nice things. I bought several things there. But what about the peculiar? The grotesque?

Last night, I was at a bookstore in Seoul. They had a display tables filled with these keychains and paperweights. They contained real insects. Who wants one of these for a souvenir?

I could also bring home somthing that my students made. How about these. My kids were making these. One girl had a canister filled with hundreds of them. Little oragami stars. I don't know what you do with them, but they're pretty neat.

If the laws didn't forbid it, I could bring back some exotic plant. How about this tree? This is growing by my school. Never in all my years (and there have been a few) have I seen anything like this. Do you have any clue as to what it is?

Something for you car maybe? Somthing to balance out all of those Jeff Gordon, Red Wings, U.S. Flag, etc. things that people put all over their cars.

Ahhhh... I know. Something familiar. Something with that "great American style taste!"

Well, whatever I bring back, I'm sure you'll appreciate it. You know, the gift is not important. It's the thought that matters.

Cultural Differences: Subtlety

Subtle is a word that I don't think translates into Korean. There are subtle things here, subtle flavors in their food, subtle gestures in their behavior. In their cities, there is no subtlety in their advertising or planning. There are 2 kinds of shops here. One has writing on the glass and you have absolutely no idea what they are selling. Looking into the shop you still have no idea. These shops are subtle. Then there are the shops with the big neon signs and the flashy English writing (which is very trendy). There is no way to not know what is going on in these places. Here are a few pics from my recent venture to Daejeon.

"Hey, what kind of bar did you want to go to tonight?"

"I think you know my answer to that one!"

Did you need to make a withdrawl at the bank?

Lastly, I see these ads EVERYWHERE. In the morning they're plastered on windshields. They're on little cards all over the city, on the sidewalks. For a very conservative society I don't quite understand how this one fits in.

This is the entrance to a PC room. A place to go and check your email. Is there something strange with this type of decor?

So, when you're walking about Korea, it's hard not to be distracted by the images and things "shouting" at you from every square inch (or should I say centimeter) of free space on a building. You get used to it, but it's still strange sometimes.

Cultural Differences: Squatting

Everyone knows that there are cultural differences between Americans and foreigners. That's a given. Now, these aren't just using chopsticks instead of forks and bowing instead of shaking hands.

Koreans squat an awful lot. It's very normal for them. While they're waiting for the bus at the bus stop, often they will squat down and just stay like that. This is a very natural position for them. They start squatting when they are little kids and they continue to do it through adulthood and even into old age. Squatting for Americans however is a bit awkward. Not for the Koreans.

Now, you know when you tell someone that you're going abroad and they say to you in a rather mocking tone "wait till you see the toilets." You ask about them and they reply "you'll see." I hate that. With that said, in Korea there are 2 types of toilets. The standard good old American style toilet. These are found in homes and in nicer places, like hotels, restaurants, and shops. The other style of toilet is called a squat toilet. These are found in public places, bus terminals, train stations, restaurants, schools. I have never used one, I don't think I have the finesse or balance to do so. But, instead of just talking about it, I might as well show you. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This is a squat toilet from the students' bathroom in my school. The trash can is for used toilet paper, since the septic systems here in Korea are not always the greatest.

Students: The Same The World Around

I'm in the middle of teaching summer school English camp. My high schoolers have stopped coming. They showed up for the first day. They missed the last 2 days. This really doesn't bother me in the least. I mean, I put in a lot of work into preparing for summer school, but it's not wasted work, these are lessons that I will be using during the normal school year. The funny thing is that Mr. Yoo, another English teacher here, is giving me reasons for the students skipping out on summer school. I think he's just trying to make me feel better about it. The first day they didn't show up he said something about the students go out to lunch and then they just don't come back for some reason. The second day he said that he thinks the students go to hogwan in the afternoon (hogwan is a private academy). I told Mr. Yoo "it's quite simple. They're students. It's summer vacation. The last place they want to be is school." There's no need to justify basic human behavior. Students the world around are all the same.

North Korean Night Life

I've heard about these pictures, and now I've seen them. This one is from the BBC, so it must be valid. Hard to believe that this is true. Note the bright lights of Seoul and Tokyo and Beijing, etc. Also, notice that there is hardly any light in North Korea. Not even in the capital of Pyongyang. For those of you worried about missiles and my safety here in South Korea, let this serve as a bit of a comfort to you. If the North Koreans cannot even read a book at night by electric light, I don't really think they are going to get me.

Deep Fried American Goodness

Today, while shopping at my local GS Supermarket, the only market I go to, I found something new in the frozen food section. Cheese sticks.

OH MY GOD!!!! Is there anything more American than deep fried cheese? The store also had french fries, cheese rings (same as the sticks, but in ring form), and chicken nuggets. Well, I almost fainted from joy. Another great thing that I found was ham, for sandwiches. Such a hard thing to find. And to top it all off... I found the closest thing here to ranch dressing. It's a bit thick, a bit tangy, but it's close and that's all that matters.

So, now my freezer has cheese sticks in it, and my fridge has sliced ham, individually wrapped cheese slices, and the best of all... ranch dressing. I don't care about the price of any of these items... they are necessities here to keep me sane. God bless Western food and it's infiltration into Korea!

The Luckiest Guy In The World

Recently, a friend sent me this link.

http://www.wherethehellismatt.com


Now, I'd seen him on Good Morning America (AFN). This ia guy who is getting funded by a gum company to travel all over the world and do a stupid little dance. It makes absolutely no sense. I showed the video to Ms. Lee today. At first she said "that's not a dance." I agreed. After a little bit of the video she said "I think he's the luckiest guy in the world." I think she's exactly right. To have someone send you everywhere in the world for nothing more than the experience of traveling and to do a little dance. It's an odd arraingement, but it's amazing nonetheless. The places he's been, the things he's seen. You can't put a price on that. It kind of makes me think about my own experiences and my luck in life.

Who knew such "navel contemplation" could come from such a silly little dance

Summer School

You all know that I've been stressed about lesson planning for summer school. It's been a big deal, with power point presentations and all kinds of things. Today was my first day of summer school. I had 17 middle school students and 19 high school students.

There were 6 absent for middle school, 10 absent for high school. What was I worried about? For a moment I forgot who my students were. I forgot that these are the same kids that hate English class during the school year. Sure, they're my over-achievers in class, but they're still kids in summer school. They're not there by choice. I could stand up there with my finger in my nose and they wouldn't notice or care really.

They did enjoy my powerpoint presentation, so that was good. They also seemed to learn what I was teaching. We went over time in the high school group, and we came back to it in the last 10 minutes. They got it right for the most part, so that's reassuring.

The difficult part about summer school is finding a way to keep it light and breezy. I'm trying to come up with a holiday related activity for each day, and it isn't so easy. There's only so many wordsearch puzzles that a kid can do.

Rain Rain Go Away, Come Again Some Other Day

The rainy season is upon us. Typhoons are bringing rain. Anyway you slice it, it means one thing... a wet time in Korea.

It has been raining incredibly hard since saturday. All day saturday, all day sunday, most of the day on monday. It's now tuesday, and the rain is going to be off and on all day. The rivers are actually full. There is flooding in some provinces here in Korea. 10 counties have been given natural disaster status. 29 people have died. 3000 people are homeless. It's a horrible thing.

Luckily, I live in a provice and a city that weathers the storm very well. The worst part about the rain for me was that it was raining in my windows. When I went to close the windows, I slipped on the rain and landed on my right knee. This is the knee that I injured a couple of winters ago when I fell on the ice. You know that's gonna be a pain that lingers.

My weekend has been spent loafing about. Victoria spent the day at my place on saturday. It was so hot outside, and her air conditioning was broken. So, she called me in the morning and said "I'm coming to your place to do some work and sit in your air conditioning." Well, she had good intentions. Unfortunately, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. She came over, relaxed. We watched 3 movies, ordered pizza. It was a nice but thoroughly wasted day. She did make one power point presentation, which I helped her with. So, it wasn't ENTIRELY wasted time. But we had a good time.

Sunday I spent the day alone. It's so nice to have time to yourself. I met up with Victoria and Beryl and we went to see "Pirates of the Caribbean 2." Let me just say this. The movie was incredibly long and it had way too many story lines going. I didn't really care for it a great deal. It had good parts, but didn't really draw me in. Beryl actually left after about 90 minutes.

Monday I again spent the day with myself. In the evening, we had a mini-potluck. It makes life easier. Victoria and Beryl came to my place, we had a meal, enjoyed ourselves. Beryl even made a peach cobbler. Not an easy task in Korea. She has a toaster oven. There are no ovens to be found in Korea. I was left with the mountain of dishes. Is this a fair trade-off? I'm still trying to decide.

Such A Strange Feeling...

Lately, I've been going through such strange emotions and thoughts. While everything is going fine in Korea, I'm no longer sick, I'm prepared for summer camp, and my life is back in it's own rhythm... I can't help but feel out of it.

I feel so much like my life is on hold. Like this is some strange facsimile of myself. I look out the window of my apartment at the torrential rains that have been nonstop since saturday, and I just don't understand or comprehend why I'm in Korea. What am I doing here? Did I just sign up for a job with good pay? Was I seeking some kind of adventure? Am I trying to find myself? I have no idea anymore.

I have good friends here and I have a pretty easy and normal life, but I just feel so strange. This isn't the life I normally lead in the U.S.A. This isn't the food I'm supposed to be eating. This isn't the job I'm supposed to be doing. This isn't the place that I'm supposed to be. These thoughts are just in my head and they have no way to get answered and no where else to go.

What am I trying to say? I don't know. Is this just homesickness and torrential rains talking? I don't think so. Do I want to leave? Not really. Do I want to stay? Not really. Indifference is a killer. I'm just unable to connect to my feelings here. Everything seems so foreign, especially myself. Shouldn't I be over these feelings? I've been in Korea about 3 months now. Who knew I'd make it this far? I didn't. But given these feelings and questions and doubts... can I make it 9 more?

Sometimes The Last Minute Works Out Best

Last night, I was getting ready to leave school. I packed up the laptop, had my shoes on, turned off my fan. Mr. Yoo came up to me and said, "okay, you're ready to go to dinner now?" Excuse me? What dinner? We were going to a going away dinner for someone whom I didn't know. Mr. Yoo said "you didn't know?" My response was "did you tell me?"

Last minute is how things get done in Korea. It's hard for me to get my anal retentive self to accept this and to roll with the punches some times. Nonetheless... these things always catch me off guard.

It worked out the best though. I didn't really want to cook last night, and was going to order pizza. Instead, I got a free meal and got a fare amount to drink. We ate at a Korean barbecue, my favorite restaurant so far. We've gone to this place 3 times. We had duck. Quack. I love duck. So, I got to feast on duck and drink some soju and chat with teachers in a relaxed atmosphere. If I weren't sitting uncomfortably on the floor I would have loved it. I'm getting better about sitting on the floor, but my American legs aren't used to it and they fall asleep almost immediately. It's a small price to pay for such a good meal.

So, sometimes last minute things are hidden blessings. That's the only way to look at them sometimes... otherwise I'd go crazy.

It's Official

I think I'm officially Korean now. I just used my dojong (lood further down the blog to find out what that is) to sign a document at school. I'm so Korean now. If I ate kim-chi I would have it made in the shade.

Foolishness

I hear some foolish things all of time. Here's a few that have made me chuckle. I wish I could remember more of them.

"Did you buy your clothes here in Korea?"
-of course not, are there many Koreans my size?

"Did you buy your peanut butter at a Korean grocery store?"
-Are there other kinds of grocery stores in Korea???

I asked "why are the french fries served cold?"
She answered "they were hot when they cooked them."
-are you sure about that?

"Why is your weight so high?"
-my response "why are you Korean?"

There's so many more, I can't think of them. But they do give me pause every now and then.

Western Restaurants

There are western restaurants in Korea... lots of them. Their food though is not always terribly "western." Some come pretty close though.

Last night Victoria, Beryl, and I (God, it's like we're the 3 musketeers)met at a cafe called Grasso's. It serves Italian. Now, it's nothing to really write home about (well, does this count?), but it is pasta and it's passable.

The place is nice, you sit at little love seat type couches at the tables. Nice. They have a big assortment of beer... they even have Budweiser. If I drank beer, I'm sure I would be excited by that. They have the Korean take on Italian food, with kim-chi pasta. But I stuck to traditional pasta. Carbonarra. Now, I've had red sauce in Korea before, and they ruin it by adding red pepper paste to it... leaving someone who likes pasta angry and disenchanted. So, the white sauce is safer. The meal also came with soup, about 1/4 inch of soup in a little square bowl. The soup was exactly (and you can ask Victoria about this one) like creamed corn without the chunks of corn. The meal also came with exactly one piece of garlic bread per person. No more, no less.

Anyway, the food was pretty good for Korea, so this place will become a good restaurant for the three of us. It isn't very expensive either, so when I need a break from rice (which I need EVERYDAY) then I know where I can go.

Mother's Milk

I've been in a funk lately. It's been a mixture of homesickness, stress, frustration, and just a general depression. How do you combat these feelings?

I found the cure. Last night I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Oh my God. It was a little bit of America on bread. I bought Peter Pan chunky peanut butter. I got some Korean jam, mixed fruit... very good with nice chunks of strawberry in it. The bread was fresh from a bakery. It was such a great sandwich. Who knew that the lowly peanut butter and jelly sandwich would be so rejuvenative for me?

Under Pressure

This is so not a good time for me. First off, I had the food poisoning. So naturally, my stomach is touchy and I'm hesitant with food. I simply have to be very very cautious about everything I put into my mouth. This is adding to my general state of yuckiness that is pervading my personality of late.

Secondly, my school has scheduled English summer camp to start the day after school is over with. So, I get no break to recoup a bit. They've also scheduled both the high school and middle school camp at the same time. So, instead of a week of high school then some time to lesson plan then another week of middle school, I get high school in the afternoon and middle school in the morning. This means I have to do all of my lesson planning now, in 9 days. That's a lot of work.

Third, I'm down because during the 6 week summer vacation, I only get one week off. The rest of the time I must come into the school and sit here. I get to twiddle my thumbs for 4 weeks. I'm supposed to be lesson planning, but how much lesson planning can one person do in one sitting? I'll have gone mad after one week.

Fourth, there is just a general sort of malaise and homesickness that is pervading me right now. It has made me feel very lonely and isolated. It's also made me feel as if this is not my real life. This is just a side thing that is going on while I'm waiting to get back to my real life. I don't like this feeling but I don't know how to shake it.

This is my life in Korea for now. I know that after summer school (July 19 - Aug.1) I will feel better, but in the meantime, it sucks.

Rudeness... A Way Of Life

I know that I'm in another country and that the definition of rudeness is probably different here. Really, I do understand this fact. With that said, I am so sick of rude Koreans today. I've had my fill.

It started with the bus ride to Seoul today. An old lady sat infront of Victoria and I. She stared at me, with her mouth wide open (not even trying to hide it) and made a noise like "oooohhhhhh" and put her hands out wide apart, indicating my size. Great. She did stuff like this throughout the ride. That's an hour long bus trip.

In Seoul, I was run into so many times by Koreans rushing about, not paying attention while they're text messaging, or just running into you. No attempt at an "oops, excuse me." They just don't see this as a problem at all.

In the bookstore while I was waiting for Victoria a middle school aged kid came up to me... stared at me and then said "You're fat." I was dumbfounded. I told Victoria about it. Later I saw the kid again, he was still talking about it. Victoria went up to the kid and said "Excuse me, it is not polite to stare at someone and say 'you'er fat.'" The kids father turned bright red and asked the boy if he did it. The boy denied. I'm pretty sure that the father had words with the boy.

I'm so tired of people in Seoul. What's the point of going?

Korean Folk Dance... No. 2

Watch the Video

Korean Folk Dance... No. 1

This is video I shot using my new digital camera (I love technology!!) at the Korean Folk Village in Yung-in, South Korea. The music's a bit loud... turn down those speakers a bit.






Watch the Video

FREE Is The Sweetest Word In The English Language

It is getting time for seniors in Korea to take their college entrance exams. As a result, it is also college recruitment time. Just like in the U.S. we are talking about a lot of money, so the recruiters are out in force. The recruiters are at school several times during the week. And best of all... they bring the teachers presents.

Already I've gotten a nice metal travel mug from Pyeongtaek University with their logo on it. Very nice. Today Kyungmoon College came by. They brought a giant glass brandy-type glass that could easily hold 2 gallons of liquid. It was filled with different kinds of candy. It had a nice cork and lacey frilly cover. It is sitting infront of the vice-principal's desk. Very delicious. Another school came by and gave us each a drink. It's a medicinal Chinese tea. I did not drink it. They said it's very bitter. I say life is bitter enough without adding to it.

Victoria got the mug, and a folding leather pencil cup with a built in clock (some of our teachers got those too, but not me...) and some other leather thing (I forget) that all matches. Her school gets the better freebees.

I hope this doesn't stop soon.

Things I Miss...

not throwing up
small talk
talking at a normal tempo
my dog Lucy
telling jokes
students pretending to pay attention
beef
bread
comedy central
not using gestures all of the time
the 12-hour clock
South Park
bad television
fish with the head and bones removed
calling friends on the phone
breakfast with friends
my sister annoying me
driving
being able to read things outside
Frankenmuth and Zehnders
camping
diet pepsi
being able to ask people questions on the street and get an answer
rude people
anonymity
soup that is hearty, homey, and comforting
drive-thru banking
going to the movies
iced tea
my instruments
LCCB
feisty ladies
overly patriotic pro- Bush people
NPR
non-squid based snacks
sweets that are actually sweet
ranch dressing
fruit that you can afford
all food that is not kim-chi based
my family
my friends
having more than 2 people to talk to

Me Again

Here is a picture of me playing in a pit orchestra. It's obviously during a break or warm-up. I have no idea what show this is for. I'm guessing "Fiddler on the Roof" or "Camelot." This would have been about 3 years ago. What is that look on my face? That's such a "what the hell is that note???" look. If anyone has some pics of me on their computer, send them to me via email... they might be useful in my class.

Violated

Last night I was out with Beryl and Victoria. I was waiting outside of a little convenience store with Beryl while Victoria was inside buying cigarettes. We were talking to some middle school girls who were practicing their English with us.

All of a sudden a guy came up to me, he grabbed my upper arm and started to squeeze. I was so stunned. He was squeezing it and saying "hmmmmm... oooohhhhh... mmmmm..." I turned toward him and said "Don't touch me!!!!" He just laughed and walked on with his wife/girlfriend.

What the hell was that? In what world is it okay to grab some stranger and squeeze them and make strange noises for the hell of it? I need one of those cages that divers get into to keep the sharks away. Maybe I should wear water wings when I'm out on the street. Anyway, I'm glad that Beryl was there to see it... no one would have believed it if I had told them. I really feel creeped out and slightly violated.

Me So Korean

After months in Korea, I am so very Korean now. I now have my toothbrush at school so that I can hock up some phlegm with the rest of the teachers. I also now have my indoor slippers to wear at school. Now I leave my shoes under my desk and wear my slippers in school. The students were quite excited to see this, and it's quite comfortable. So, me wearing black socks with sandals/slippers is not geeky, everyone does it.