Budding Young Artists

Now, my students don't want to learn just as much as U.S. students don't want to learn. So, while I talk or when they are supposed to be working, the students are doing everything but. Usually it's talking. Sometimes it's studying for other classes. You get the girls looking in the mirror, playing with their hair. You also get lots of drawing.

Now, Korean students don't draw at an amateur level. This is the region of the world where anime reigns. They draw the most elaborate things. Last week during final exams, a student drew a wonderful picture which she brought to me. It hangs in my cubicle. It's of a smiling woman and some peacocks. Very interesting.

Another student did a really elaborate picture in red ink. It's of a very "Strawberry Shortcake" kind of cartoon character. You wouldn't believe the detail in the picture. I had to snap a pic.

So, I really would prefer that they paid attention. But at least they're doing something artistic and something that amazes me.

Homesickness Sets In

For once while being here, this time it isn't me. My good friend, my best friend here in Korea and the sole reason that I didn't put in my 60 days notice 60 days ago, Victoria,is being hit hard by homesickness right now. This is due to a few things. One, yesterday was July 4th for us, so it was a little strange to not celebrate anything. Also, she's doing research on the USA for her English summer camp. This coupled with the general ickyness of Korean food has pushed her over the edge a bit.

Naturally, this is where I come in. I know that she is right now where I'm gonna be soon enough. In other words, she has to get over her homesickness so that she can help me get over my homesickness when it hits me hard.

So, yesterday I called her and arrainged to meet for dinner... Pizza Hut. This is as close to comfort food that we can get here in Anseong. On the way home I stopped by the shop that I got my dojong at. I had a dojong made for Victoria with her name on it. I also went across the street to the office supply store and bought the inkpad that goes with it.

When I got to Victoria's apartment I gave her the present. She was quite happy to get it, and I hope that it helped her feel a little less homesick. I'm here for her, so whatever Korea throws at us, we can work through it together. She keeps me sane... I keep her sane. It takes two strange people like us to keep eachother sane. Thank God that we ran into eachother that saturday on the street, or I'd be completely miserable and lost.

Want To See My Dojong?

I hope the answer is yes. Yesterday, on the way home from school, I stopped at a store that makes key copies and dojongs. Dojong is the Korean name stamp. Koreans use these stamps to "sign" official documents with red ink. It's very cool. I wanted one.

In the shop I picked out the style handle I wanted. I purchased a carved wooden handle. It has birds and deer and cranes flying and trees carved on it. Ms. Lee informed me that they were all symbols for a long life and good health. I said I'd settle for the good health (still recouping from my weekend of food poisoning). I then wrote my name in Korean for the woman who worked there, she spoke no English.

The woman typed my name into a computer program which made it into the fancy convoluted letters that are on the dojong. She nudged it so it would fit just right. Then she clamped my blank dojong into the machine and the computer went to work. It took about 10 minutes for the machine to slowly and surely carve out the stamp. It was very cool to watch. When the machine was done, she took a chisel and cleaned up the stamp, used a toothbrush on it to get rid of the sawdust, and sanded it down. She used the stamp to show me.

I'm going to use this stamp on all of my letters and things that I send back home. So, if you want a letter with my personal dojong name stamp, you should probably email me your address. Give me some time, and you'll get something from me.

An Old Abusive Friend Returns

Thursday after eating lunch at school, I started to feel sick to my stomach. I went home by bus and slept through the afternoon. At 12:30am friday, I was doubled over in pain and went down to my landlady's apartment. Someone answered the door and I said "taxi." She and her son drove me to the ER. Yup... food poisoning again.

I was at the hospital a total of 4 times over the weekend, each time I received a shot in my butt. Koreans love giving shots in the butt. It's their form of entertainment I think.

So, my weekend was filled with lots of bad things. Lots of vomitting, pulling back muscles from vomitting, searing stomach pain... you name it... I had it.

Of course, like always, Victoria was my savior. She stopped by on saturday with some yogurt drinks for me, which helped me last time, and some pain meds for my pulled muscles. She decided to make me some chicken soup for sunday. I was feeling better on sunday and spent the day with her, hanging out in her little apartment, going to see XMen 3, and eating her soup. Best of all, she got me in touch with her doctor here in Korea who speaks English very well. He is going to be my new doctor.

The thing that I do not like about the Korean medical system is that there are no "family doctors." You have to go to the hospital or out-patient clinic for everything. There is no one person who follows your every sickness. So, I'm going to have this now with my new English speaking Dr. Wong.

Is It Wrong To Be This Excited?

I did it. Oh, they said it couldn't be done. Yet, I did it anyway. I broke the seal on my new rice cooker. Oh sure, the instructions were in Korean... who needs instructions? Sure I have never used one... why should that stand in my way? I used the dang thing. Sure it looks like Hello Kitty's head with a handle on top, but it works.

What did I cook? Rice? Not quite. I made rice pudding!!! The best part of all was that I didn't have to stir it once. It was a rousing success. If you have a rice cooker gathering dust... make some pudding. It's easy and you'll be so happy you did.

Steamy

In the morning here in Korea it is so humid that there is thick thick fog all around, you could cut it with a chopstick. But it makes for beautiful pictures.

The 'Ick' Factor

Some things are just kind of gross here in Korea. My school has these anti-smoking posters up in the hall. They're overly graphic, lots of diseased and rotting things.

There is a restaurant down the street from me. It has a fish tank outside with what I believe to be puffer fish in it. They're on the menu. Here's some shots of the condemned.

With the world cup going on something strange has been going on in my school. Everyday now students are coming into the office with big wounds. I thought about this a while and came to one conclusion. Monkey see... monkey do. These kids are watching the world cup and then coming to school and playing extreme soccer. Here is an example. The leg belongs to the student in the black jacket.

Last, and certatinly least, big bugs. You've never seen bugs this big. Wooo.... check out this one that was dead on the floor. It's quite beautiful in a macabre kind of way.

Lost In Translation

When shopping in Korea... you'll find that some things just don't quite translate properly. See what I mean???

Was I Ever So Young?

Look how cute I am. I just want to pinch my own cheeks. Me at around 15 years... with Chris Tilton.

Is It Me?

Am I the only one that's hot? Is it me? This country so unbelievably muggy and hot in the summer. This morning, I went outside and instantly was drenched in sweat. It is so humid it is miserable.

It's exam time here at school, and each day I have to watch two classes taking their exams to make sure that none of the little angels cheat. Meanwhile, I'm melting like a snowcone in Phoenix. Thank God I bought a little and expensive fan for my desk, otherwise I would be a puddle, nothing more.

You know the second that I get home the AC goes on and I don't leave it. I'm officially ready for the fall and the winter now. Bring it on.

What Are The Odds?

Last night I met Victoria and Beryl at Pizza Hut, which is very expensive as far as pizza goes, it was $48 for us all lastnight, but it's good and reminds us of home. Anyway, on the way back towards town we passed the bus terminal, where you buy your tickets and stuff. By the way, I can now read Korean well enough to read the schedule and a map, so I'm tickled pink. We passed a white woman, I said hello to her. She said something in Russian. What??? So, I started to talk to her in Russian and she broke out in tears. What did I do?

This woman had just gotten in to Korea. She was on her way to meet her husband and had missed the last bus of the evening to get to Icheon. So, I had to help her. She was so upset. This took ages, a good hour to figure out. I found out that she could take a bus to a different city and transfer to a bus to Icheon. She didn't want to do that because that was how she got in this situation in the first place. Eventually with my help, 2 Korean girls, and 2 Mongolian women that spoke Russian, Korean, and German (Mein Deutsch ist nicht sehr gut), we figured out what to do. I took her to a normal bus stop so that she could go to Pyeongtaek and a friend of hers was going to meet her. She was so happy when it was all over. We chatted a bit in Russian. She tried to give me a big bag full of eggs, but I didn't want or need them. She got on the bus and all was good.

By the way, Victoria was so impressed with me speaking Russian to this woman and helping her out. This whole incident took about an hour. It was not how I planned on spending my evening, but I felt so good helping this woman. How can you not help someone who is crying and frustrated and upset? I'm such a saint. I'm going to ride on the dashboard from now on.

God Bless The Parents

Our students' parents are so wonderful. Today they brought in 2 large watermelons (which cost about $18 a piece) and sliced it up for the teachers. Another parent brought in sushi that she had made, it was all cooked, nothing raw, and gave each teacher a big roll of sushi. What a delightful way to end the day. I'm not sure if they're trying to get better grades for their kids or if it is a "thank you for keeping our kids for 8 hours out of the day" gift. Either way, I like it.

Tired Of The Folk Village Yet?

Last pics of the folk village until I'm home.

Folk Village Pics

Here's some more folk village pics.

More Of The Folk Village

On saturday, I returned to the Korean Folk Village in Yung-in, this time with Victoria and Beryl. We were in luck this time, there was a dance competition going on. We watched the dances for quite a while. Each dancer had such a unique hat on. I especially loved the hats that had a rotating stick that swung freely with a long streamer attached to it. Remember those dancers or tumblers that use the ribbon when dancing? Same thing, but attached to the head. I even have video of this, but I don't know how to post it. I think I'll have to figure out how to compress it first. Anyway, each dancer brought their own band with them that consisted of drums, mini-gongs, and a shawm (that annoying Shriner/snake charmer oboe thing).

I'm also going to include just some nice pics from the folk village. Please enjoy.

A Nice Cup Of Joe

Last night after school I went to meet Victoria at Soda Star, which is our favorite coffee hang out. It's a cozy place with comfy seating and an English menu. By far, the best thing that they have to offer is a black tea latte. We always get this tea with a piece of nice cake. It's quite the decadent treat. The tea always is decorated so beautifully. I took pictures of the tea when it arrived, and told the owner that I would put the pictures on the internet. He gave us a free green tea latte to show us the design. It tasted not so good, but he was happy for my "free advertising" on the internet. So, please enjoy the beautiful drinks at Soda Star in Anseong, Korea. If you visit I will definitely take you there for a relaxing cup of tea, and maybe something sweet too.

After Soda Star, I went to Victoria's for some chicken parmesian and eggplant parmesian. She is so great. The food was amazing. I haven't had Italian anything in two months. It was so good.

On the way home, I took a pic of my neighbor, the Anseong Catholic Church and it's glowing red cross. These glowing crosses are all over the city skyline. I hope the pic gives you an idea of what it's like at night.

More Pics

My school grounds, middle schoolers, me, a girl who asks for candy everyday.

Some Nice Pics

Here are some shots of my decorated apartment. Enjoy.

A Night To Remember

Sunday night was my dinner party. This was a busy busy day for me. I talked to my parents for 90 minutes over the computer. I used the webcam to show them all of the things that I bought at the Korean Folk Village on saturday (those pics will be coming next). After talking to the folks, I hung up the calligraphy paintings on silk and russian posters that I had. Finally the place is looking more like a home. Then I had to clean. This took forever, since I did HEAVY cleaning.

After cleaning, I met Beryl near the bus stop, and went with her to the grocery store. Now, this is where the menu changed. Sine a meatball's worth of beef was $6, I decided to buy some chicken that was already prepared. I got a fried chicken (which was spicy), and a chicken with a glaze on it (VERY SPICY). Everything else stayed the same for the menu.

Problems cooking. I used a steamer basket and cooked zuccini and peas. The pot boiled itself dry, and scorched. So, those were ruined. I ended up nuking the zuccini in the microwave with some water. No problem. The rice pudding took a good hour to cook. When I went to make the garlic mashed potatoes I saw that my garlic was moldy. Dammit. I made normal mashed potatoes then.

Victoria and Beryl enjoyed the meal though. They liked the potatoes, since they're so rare here in Korea. Also, the rice pudding was a huge hit.

Also, most importantly, my place settings looked great.