Funk and Sketch

The funk part: Last night I went to the Vinyl Underground, a pretty sweet club in Busan. It's definitely a play on the Velvet Underground since their sign has a giant banana on it. The theme was Funked up and Soul out which was great, it was kind of amazing for a few hundred people to be dancing to something that wasn't kpop, hiphop or electronica. I've never actually been to anything like it but the best thing about being in my 20s (or one of them anyways) is not caring about making a fool of myself, especially on the dance floor. I called it an 'early' night and left around 2:30/3. It would have been cheaper to stay out longer and split a cab home but sometimes you just want to go to bed.

The sketch part: my landlord coming round to tell me about the water bill. I am a female resident who lives alone; I have zero desire to interact with my male landlord who gives me a funny vibe. Apparently, everyone in the building has to pay 10,000 won (around 10 bucks) for the water utility regardless of how much or little we use. Apparently, I am 2 months behind. Why am I two months behind? Because there is no paper bill given and I'm just supposed to miraculously know to pay this. How am I to pay this? By stopping by HIS APARTMENT ON THE THIRD FLOOR TO GIVE THE MONEY. Sketch? I think so. I also really, really don't like doing anything without accompanying paperwork when it comes to housing and my job. It just screams unprofessional. I refused to pay it right then which was kind of funny because I realized after he left that he could see 20,000 won, the exact amount I owed sitting on my bedside table through the open crack of the door. Whatever, that was my dinner money. I am going to go talk to my co-teacher about it tomorrow morning before I pay. So sketch. I'd rather just make a bank transfer at the ATM every month, give me an official bill. I think I'll have my school speak to him because I feel uncomfortable in the extreme. It's probably nothing. Koreans do things differently but I have gotten through life pretty well by going with my gut.

And because today's blog post was utterly uninspiring, some konglish for your viewing pleasure:I'm not sure if this qualifies as Konglish per se, since the English isn't exactly wrong, it's just strange. I saw it on a t-shirt in a shop window near Pusan National University (PNU for the natives) in Busan.

Yangsan's First Expat Bar, Faux Sushi, and a Street Market

Last night The Female Kiwi (who agrees that she needs a better pseudonym...I'm working on it), The Hooligan and I met up at Yangsan's first expat bar, The Hemingway. Perhaps a cliched name but considering the universal facts of expat life it does seem appropriate. I went a bit overboard with my camera. I was taking pictures in color accent mode which does cool things in full light but made most of these photos turn out mostly black and white with awesome blue accents from the lighting.
Also, since I failed to ask anyone if they minded having their photo on my blog the only evidence you get to see of the night out is this lovely picture of feet. Not even my feet but The Female Kiwi and The Celestially Inclined Brit. ...I have not had enough coffee to be coming up with pseudonyms me thinks. I hope the Celestially Inclined Brit doesn't read this blog or is amused by my need for more caffeine. I blame the paint fumes for lowering my brain cell count!!!! I don't have enough to lose!What's this you ask? Obviously not the bar but on a street post down the way. Gang signs Korean style--hang up some dried fish. Oh yeah.

This afternoon I had a craving for sushi. I had been watching Lost in Translation (and giggling like mad because apparently the problems Westerners have in Japan aren't all that different from the issues here) and got an insatiable craving. I remembered seeing a sign for fusion sushi downtown so off I went. It was the worst sushi ever. It does not deserve to be called sushi. What is a California roll without avocado I ask?! Ironically, the fish was really fresh...it was just that it was on top of an inside out mini kimbap roll (ham, radish, fish paste) and then smothered in MUSTARD and MAYONNAISE. Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. Luckily I was so hungry that I managed to force down enough food so they wouldn't think I was being insulting by not eating it. They might have gotten a hint though from the faces I was making. Oh well.

Down the street from me they set up a market a few days a week. Fish, veggies, fruit, kim (seaweed) and the works. I got mini dried anchovies and a giant box of strawberries. The fish guy told me I was very beautiful (in English) and I replied in Korean that his fish were very yummy. He smiled and gave me an extra handful for free. Everyone seemed please to see me out and about, doing something so Korean like shopping at the local market. Getting treated well always makes my day and made up for the fact that an old lady half sat on me on the bus. At least she was a Korean lady...an American might have caused serious damage.

Quack, Quack

Today I found another way to avoid the paint fumes for 2 hours: go out to lunch with my coworkers. When they told me that we were going out to Tongdosa (a very rural town about 30 minutes away) I was confused. I mean, there are hundreds of restaurants locally. What could they possibly have that we couldn't get around the corner? The answer: a super traditional duck meal served in a traditionally styled building. At least the interior was, the outside was a bit of a mix. Fabulous, fabulous food. It's a little hard going out to eat with a bunch of people who speak virtually no English when I speak virtually no Korean but we manage. I am learning more Korean in my 2 months in Yangsan than I did in the entirety of last year.Look at that amazingness! I couldn't tell you what half of it was. To be fair, sometimes we used a phone dictionary to figure out what it was in English and I'd never heard of the English word either. Honestly though, if it doesn't have dairy in it, I really don't care.This was the view from the window of the restaurant. Yup, farm country. I actually know people who teach out there.Who doesn't love random stone artwork? Anyways, we got back to school at 2 and I battled a serious food coma for the rest of the day. This is the first day in a very long time that I've been unable to eat dinner. Seriously, it's 10:30pm here and I'm still full. For those of you that know my metabolism personally that's pretty miraculous.

And because it's been far too long since I posted some Konglish for your viewing pleasure...I actually have no idea what 'ice kiki' is but maybe it's ice cream?

"Free Speech" in Korea

"Free Speech" in Korea is somewhat of an oxymoron. South Korea has done an admirable, indeed, nearly miraculous job, revolutionizing its economy and bringing it to the attention of the OECD world. However, while Korea might be a forerunner of economic progress in Asia it is seriously lagging behind in corresponding social development.

While perusing the Marmot's Hole (a news blog focusing on aggregating interesting articles from the various English newspapers available in Korea) I ran across this article on university students that had been blacklisted. At first, I thought, 'what is this, a list of the seriously obnoxious disciplinary issue kids?' but this horrified me far more. Up until 2008 (supposedly they have stopped, official policy changes were not mentioned), students on campus at Sookmyung Women's University were blacklisted for participating in any sort of government protest or criticism. This adversely affected their chances of receiving scholarships, getting into study abroad programs and any other special program.

In most of the OECD world, universities have been at the forefront and often instigators of social change. Students are a country's future, their investment in success. Stifling their creative ideas and expression of what they believe to be right and wrong is a very quick way to undermine your investment. How can you expect innovation and invention when students are shown that only toeing the line will let them succeed? How can social change and natural evolution occur when it is stifled at the very moment in life when human beings have the most passion, drive, and energy to effect change? This sort of thing infuriates me to no end. Don't get me wrong, Western schools have a myriad of their own problems but I get sick about reading how fabulous the Korean education system is (in fact, it was publicly endorsed by President Obama earlier this year) when it has as many serious flaws as our own system.

A Miraculous Experience at the Bank

Yesterday, I went to the bank and experienced a miracle...it only took me 5 minutes to get everything I wanted done! Monday, the school's online banking program was down so they couldn't pay me. No worries, they took care of it first thing Tuesday morning but wanted me to check on my account to make sure everything was in order. Unfortunately, my Korean isn't good enough to feel comfortable using cell phone or internet banking services so I actually have to go in person to the bank to check on things. Theoretically I could have gone to the corner ATM to check the balance but I had to deal with some bills too. Not to mention the paint smell in the school makes me look for any reason to leave early and get away from the omnipresent headache that the fumes leave me with.

When I walked into Hana bank, the woman who speaks English immediately dropped whatever paperwork she was working on, helped me figure out my bills and chatted with me for a few minutes. By the way, not only can you do money transfers from any ATM, you can pay the new style bills simply by inserting the bill into the ATM, swiping your card, and punching your pin number. Two seconds later, your bill stub and receipt is spit out and VOILA you are finished. The bank tellers were highly amused by my utter astonishment at this process. Fricken fantastic! I don't even think checks exist in Korea anymore. At least, I've yet to see one. My bank helper and I are going to meet up next weekend for a Korean/English language exchange. Getting paid for an English lesson outside of my job is illegal but language exchanges are free, mutually beneficial and a good way of making Korean friends.

Tonight, I'm going with Hooligan 1 and the Female Kiwi to Yangsan's very first expat bar, The Hemingway. The Hooligan and I have made mutual threats of bodily harm and have now agreed to lend each other a few books on a trial run. I think the Hooligan is going to make me give Faulkner another chance, something I have mixed feelings about. In any case, I'm under no obligation to finish the book if I don't like it which is the brilliant thing about not buying a book.

The Modern Teacher...

There are many great things about teaching for a public school in Korea but my favorite is probably the fact that I actually got training. Aside from the late night gab fests there was a weeks worth of seminars from dawn to dusk. One of the biggest things to consider was how our students interact with technology and how different their relationship with it is from us, even though we aren't really that much older (at least I'm not, some of the veteran teachers have a larger age gap of course). Today's students need a diverse multimedia approach to material to make it engaging. They can't go a day without cell phones, computers, television, and video games...instead of trying to change a wall teachers have to try to incorporate the technological changes into the classroom. For instance, almost none of my students own paper dictionaries but nearly every kid has a cell phone with a dictionary on it. With the strict warning that playing games = Miss Karpen gets a lovely new cell phone, my students can look up words in a way that they feel more comfortable with. Flash cards work all right for presenting new vocabulary but bright slides on a power point work even better. In many ways, I'm old fashioned--I live for that musty smell of books. Yet, in order to reach out to my students I find myself spending hours of my day on education blogs, investigating new ways to get kids motivated and interested. There was an interesting video posted on YouTube about getting kids to 'pay attention.'

Sometimes it's overwhelming to try to wade through all of the information out there, trying to cull out the few gems that will make your lesson a bit better. On a funnier note, I did find a great Mr. Bean clip to use in my restaurant mini unit. Of course this video I can't seem to make embed so here is the link.

A quick update...

As I've mentioned, they are painting my school. This afternoon they decided to finish painting the teacher's room. Not in the morning when there is no one there but in the afternoon when we are all working. This wouldn't be such a big deal if paint fumes didn't make me nauseous and/or high. It brought back memories of my studio art class in Paris. One day I made the mistake of sitting next to a girl who was overly enthusiastic about her turpentine. Upon leaving class, this conversation ensued:
K (my friend): Are you okay Alex?
Me: ~Giggles stupidly~. I think so, why do you ask?
K: You keep giggling and ...you are walking more bizarrely than usual.
Me: ~Giggles some more~. That girl next to me was using some seriously smelly stuff.
K: The turpentine?
Me: I think so...~laughs stupidly~...wait a second. I think, I think I might have gotten accidentally high!
K: ~Starts laughing with me/at me~

It didn't last for terribly long but I was fairly ridiculous while it did. The sleep deprivation didn't help. ANYWAYS. I'm sitting quietly at my desk in the teacher's room reading my usual education blogs and such when I notice the smell is really starting to get to me. I put on my face mask (and yes, it did look completely toolish to wear that inside) and tried breathing shallowly. As you can imagine, it didn't work so well. After about 5 minutes, the head teacher probably noticed my increasingly gray face told me very sternly to go home. It was the first time I didn't argue with her to stay until I finished whatever inane task I had given myself for the afternoon. I was just like 'thank you! many allergies!' Turned off my computer and bolted. My head still feels a bit funny. I have no idea how the painters go without even wearing basic face masks.

Dear Lungs/head,
Please stop hating me. I rescued you from the fumes.
Love,
Alex

Oh the Joy of Winter Camp

So this was probably the least successful first day. It was the most successful in that we actually got every single planned activity done and hit up everything from my filler list. This class was far more advanced and smaller than the others so they went through the material much faster. I managed to make it work but I wish I could have some idea of class level before walking in. Wishful thinking, I know but it would be nice. I also have several students who ended up with my relative's English names...and I didn't chose them. Very random and yet easy to remember.

They are really going gung-ho with the painting of the school and it reeks of chemicals. On the plus side someone figured out that they couldn't finish painting my classroom while I was teaching so they must have done it Friday afternoon or Saturday. In any case, it looks fabulous except for the paint splatters on the floor. Advice on how to get rid of those? My co-teacher doesn't seem to be bothered by them but I'm a tad too OCD to let it slide.

Today I was given a free calender by someone in our school because "I am so beautiful." I feel like hearing this should get less awkward as the year goes on and yet I feel embarrassed every time. It's far worse than someone drunkenly proclaiming this to you in a bar or club. I also seem much more likely to then trip over something after such a proclamation. At least I was sitting down when it was presented to me.

Absolutely nothing planned for this evening except for dragging myself to E-Mart. I tend to put this off for as long as possible but I am out of breakfast cereal which counts as a dire situation.

On Jehovah's Witnesses in Korea

The one set of Koreans who all seem to speak English perfectly are the Jehovah's Witnesses. If you get stopped in the street, in a shop or on the bus and the person's English is fantastic, it's a Jehovah's witness. They worm their way into your conversation with very polite and engaging questions about where you are from, your life, etc and then finish it off with a pamphlet and invitation to come to a meeting or church. Saying you are Jewish or any other religion has absolutely no effect. The best thing to do is take the pamphlet and run. I have no idea who is teaching the Jehovah's Witnesses English but if their language program got made public, I think all of the expats would quickly be out of work. This is my favorite comic ever by Luke Martin over at ROKetship. Go look. No really, go now.

Okay, now that you've read the comic: This has actually happened to people I know in Korea, where they find out where you live and harass you constantly trying to get you to go to church with them. It borders on stalking/harassment. I have heard about many a person hiding in their apartment with all of the lights turned off, trying to be quiet when they ring the doorbell.

People, this is why you never tell the friendly people where you live. Or even what neighborhood.

I'm off to go dancing with friends in Busan. I'm kind of tired but I love dancing. I was supposed to go last night but it was a terrible ankle day so we ended up just drinking and chatting. I also disillusioned Hooligan 1 who thought that Busan and Pusan were two different cities...instead of the same one with 2 different spellings. It was highly amusing. I laughed at the Hooligan's expense for a good 10 minutes.

Hooligan 1: Yeah I live near Busan.
Other people: Pusan?
Hooligan 1: No, BUsan, not Pusan. It's nearby.

...Me: This is why you need to learn the Korean alphabet buddy. :-p All in good fun though and I do have the Hooligan's permission to mock things like this mercilessly in a public forum. After all, Hooligan 1 isn't really an easy to guess moniker.

Stating the Obvious

Lately, this article has been all over the expat blogosphere. Basically it is an "expose" (stupid Korean computer won't give me a traditional accent over the 'e') on how difficult it is for foreigners to access basic services, especially online and with any type of banking. It's kind of a 'no shit Sherlock' for foreigners to read about but apparently breaking news for the rest of the country. Anyways, what amused me is this quote:

In a survey conducted by the YMCA from November to December, the association found that 72 percent, or 58 students, of the total 81 respondents had trouble using financial services here.

Are you telling me that over the course of an entire month they were only able to survey 81 people? There are 1.1 million foreigners with the highest concentration in Seoul. I find this slightly ridiculous. I will agree though that unless you have a buddy who is bilingual, using any internet service in Korea is nearly impossible. And let's face it, if you are using your credit card online you really want to be able to read what's going on. It's one thing to click and experiment in the Korean version of Power Point, it's quite another when you are whipping out your Visa.


Tonight I'm going out dancing, and since I'm heading into Busan there will probably be more ridiculous Konglish pictures tomorrow. Stay tuned!

I smell trouble...

Today, in the Korean Times, Jung Sung-Ki reports the possibility of a preemptive military strike against North Korea if they suspect a nuclear attack being planned. Does this reek of disaster to anyone else? Let's go blow up nuclear facilities...because that's a great way to keep the peace (and the environment) happy. Granted, the tension between the two countries has been running very high since the missile tests last year, however, I think that the chances of North Korea actually firing their missiles at anyone is very slim. North Korea would lose the little financial and political support it has left and quickly be blasted to smithereens as the rest of the world reacts. There would be no chance of anything remotely productive coming out of a North Korean missile attack. Granted, the North Koreans did issue this statement:

In a statement carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency, its National Defense Commission warned that it would initiate a "sacred retaliatory battle" against the South, cut off all dialogue and exclude it from all negotiations related to the security of the Korean Peninsula. The commission, headed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, is the highest ruling agency in the Stalinist state.

As usual, communication has broken down from it's fragile state and deteriorated into threats and melodrama. Ironically, this sort of break down in communication is strangely reminiscent of trying to deal with any work place in Korea.

No one in my office seems to be the slightest bit concerned about this latest development. Conversation revolved around the usual topics of food, work and children. The attitude reinforces my own opinion that this statement by North Korea is simply the latest in a long line of empty threats and promises.

On Konglish, Ankles, and a Night on the Town

Last night, not only were my ears not tortured, I actually enjoyed myself. Granted, some of the music was not fabulous but The Basement was packed and I had a blast dancing with my friends. Yes...dancing. I know the doctor keeps telling me to rest but the fact of the matter is that yesterday I managed to slip on 2 separate sets of stairs, fall off of 2 curbs and knocked over my own garbage pail (though that didn't hurt my ankles). I'm doomed to miserable boredom if I just try to rest because I will never stop accidentally hurting myself. The ankle braces are going to stay on, I'll keep doing acupuncture and what not but I'm not going to let a little pain get in between me and enjoying my life. Forget it, it's too fricking dull and life is too short.

Anyways, so back to the title topic. Konglish. Nothing makes my day like a sign of awkward English. My friend KG and I couldn't stop giggling over a few of these...
All I have to say here is really?!!!!!! As if the name wasn't enough...look at that email. The most frightening/hilarious thing about this is that Cocks' Tail is a heteronormative, mainstream bar. It just has an absolutely ridiculous name.

I have no idea what they mean by this. It isn't wrong...it just doesn't really make any sense. And as evidenced by the picture, NOT ALL KOREANS ARE BONE THIN. Just most of them.

Sometimes

People who haven't lived away from their home country for any amount of time tend to ask me 'isn't it hard?' My answer is usually 'sometimes.' Sometimes, it is incredibly hard to lift the spoon to your mouth to eat, to be stared at constantly, to exist constantly as alien, other, the outsider--and keep doing it day after day. That sort of 'sometimes' day doesn't happen to me very often. I tend to focus on the little joys...a student's enthusiasm, a beautiful sunset, a new Korean word. When I do that, everything else is just part of the adventure.

Today was a sometimes day. Yesterday Salsa Boy left and it didn't sink in. It was like he had just gone out on a boy's night or something. This evening I went out to a restaurant to get dinner alone. We had been there several times together and they were confused that I was alone. They asked me if someone was meeting me...the waitresses seemed perplexed by my lonesome self. I just shook my head, said '1' and asked where I should sit.I pulled out my dinner date (Much Ado About Nothing...Shakespeare, French, Spanish and Habermas the only thin gs I seem to be able to read slowly) and morosely picked at my dinner. And as miserable as it was to eat alone, I drew it out so I wouldn't have to go home. After I paid, one of the ladies who works there told me to wait a moment (at least that's what I think she said) and wrapped up a big sweet potato for me in tin foil to take home.

I have no idea what I'm going to do with the sweet potato, except maybe eat it as part of my dinner tomorrow. It was a completely random thing to give me. And yet, the stupid sweet potato cheered me up, put a smile on my face and helped pull me out of my funk. I'm still lonely but people are looking out for me and tomorrow will be another day. Tomorrow, I will not let my plans consist of cleaning my bathroom and reading. I'm letting myself be dragged to an open mic night. I've ranted enough about this sort of thing here. With a couple of drinks, I won't mind the off key notes and the company will be good.

The Last Day

Salsa Boy left Korea today. We've known each other since his 3rd day of Korea...meeting each other was a defining experience of the past year for both of us. I'm letting myself mope around a bit today but tomorrow I refuse to be sad. I will go out, be social and wait for the 15 hour time difference to allow for a phone call.

Yesterday, we tried to have a super Korean day. We started off the morning with acupuncture (okay, more Chinese than Korean but whatever) since I am having ankle problems and his back was bothering him a bit. When I explained the history of my ankle problems and the recent irritation this is what the specialist said to me:
Doc: "You! Running, NO! Rock climbing, NO! Taekwondo, NO! Rest. You, RESTING!"
Me: "but...but"
Doc: Resting!
Me: ~leaves and plans to go hiking~

So I know that technically hiking is not resting but it was Salsa Boy's last day in Korea and we wanted to watch the sunset from the top of the mountain peak behind my house. Besides, doctors are always telling me to stay off of my feet. It gets boring. Very boring. I've read 13 books in the month of January. It's only the 17th. I can't afford to be so sedentary, it's expensive!

We got some bibimbap for lunch, hung out for a bit, made snacks for the hike and then headed up the mountain. Going up was fine, coming back down my Achilles decided that they hated me again and I had to use Salsa Boy's shoulder for a crutch for the bigger steps. Whatever, it was completely worth it and I promise that for the next 2 weeks I will behave myself, just like the doctor ordered. Besides, look at these pictures!

I live down there! Salsa Boy swore that he could see my house, after orienting himself with the elementary school and everything but I kind of don't believe him. These are the first two Korean people I've ever seen not dressed head to toe in hiking gear out on a trail. It made me happy to see someone bending the dress code besides the foreigners.
The pavilion at the top of the peak/ridge. Standard architecture but a lovely place to sit, have a snack and enjoy the sunset.

Tomorrow's plan: get acupuncture, plan the Yangsan book club, maybe grab someone to get dinner with me.

Daily Life

So I'm sure I've posted about Sam Gip Sal before. However, the place Salsa Boy and I went to last night was incredible. The kimchi was so good I actually wanted to eat it...without hiding it in my rice. The table was literally covered with tasty side dishes. Check this out:Let's get a close up on those little gray things on the right...It took us a few minutes to figure out That you are just supposed to suck the meat out of the shell. Tastes...like the ocean and it's a bit gritty. Kind of fun to eat though.

Today was the last day of winter camp which was bitter sweet. Not a single one of my students gets to go play after camp. They all rush off to private institutions for more English, Math, Science or piano lessons. No wonder they get stressed out so easily. Anyways, I'll miss them but I get to see them again in February!They had fun posing for the 'crazy' photo though.

And to close, my daily dose of Konglish. An expat friend of mine, M, saw this sweatshirt and couldn't resist buying it.Highly entertaining.

In which I accidentally ate something's intestines.

Yesterday, Salsa Boy and I decided to be more adventurous for dinner. We went into a restaurant where we didn't recognize anything in the pictures or on the menu. The picture we had originally chosen looked really yummy but they were out of that so we just pointed randomly at something else.

It turned out to be tripe, otherwise known as intestines. Barbecue style no less.The stuff on the side is actually yummy sweet potato or sweet squash of some sort. The initial taste of tripe dipped in sauce is pretty good. Five minutes later when you are still chewing it is somewhat less appealing. Salsa boy loved it, I ate my rice. I'm glad I tried it though (and even happier that my camera was actually with me for once

Winter Camp, Day 2

Success! Winter camp continues to go well despite the fact that I had 4 new students today, one of which only came for the second half of class. The downside of this is that all of the new students are now boys. 5 boys are highly controllable but the greater the number, the more difficult it is to keep a class on task. Girls are just as distractable (is that a word? blogger spell check says no) but tend to be more sneaky about it and less disruptive. In any case, I really love teaching small classes. It's so nice to be able to call students by their name to get their attention. Startles the crap out of them too since they aren't used to that in public school classes.

A big part of today's activity was reading a Garfield comic, learning about beginning, middle, end and then writing their own comic. I gave each group of 2 a picture template to use (this website is great for teachers) and a dictionary. Out of 6 groups, half of them (guess which half, the boys or the girls?) were about death, killing, robbery or all three. It was highly entertaining. The comic is between 2 characters, an alligator and a bird man thing. Here is one groups (dialogue approximated from memory after corrections):

Bird Man: What's wrong?
Alligator: My friend went to hell.
Bird Man: Good!
Alligator: I'm going to eat you!
Bird Man: Ahhhhhhh!

Most of them were pretty awesome and only one didn't really make sense. I had my Korean co-teacher of the day work with the 2 lowest level groups, helping them express their Korean ideas in English.

Time to go home!

My First Winter Camp

I beg of you dear reader* to abandon any notions you may have of 'camp.' Forget summer frolics in canoes, camping, roasting marshmallows or arts and crafts. Forget running under the sun and playing until it's time to eat and then playing again until it's time to sleep. Dismiss notions of ghost stories, capture the flag, rock climbing, long bike rides and lazy ice cream cones in the park. For we are in Korea, and camp is a word that they have taken from the Western lexicon and perverted for their own nefarious purposes. Okay, nefarious is going too far. Maybe. Here's the drill: Winter Camp is just school that is optional during winter vacation. Ditto for summer camp. It's like being forced to go to summer school even if you got perfect grades all year. At Salsa Boy's old school the camps were in 4 hour sessions. Imagine being forced to sit through a 4 hour phonics class on your "vacation."

At least my school isn't quite so cruel to their students. Basically, We get them for 2 hours and 20 minutes a day during which time we have to have a lesson plan but so long as the kids are learning something and the parents don't complain, the school doesn't seem to care what we do. There is no official curriculum or goals that we are required to meet. My coteacher gave me one sentence framing what she wanted to happen 'that the kids have fun learning.' I'm a big fan of that sort of thing. She is only with me on Monday and Friday and the other days I have a Korean teacher who is there to translate things if needed and take care of discipline. Anyways, I didn't have a lot of warning on how to plan this thing so we decided to model each day into 3 periods with 2 breaks. I basically tried to alternate learning games with learning activities. We learned about this one game at my training session that you do to The Cure's song "Friday, I'm in Love." It was definitely good for learning the days of the week. I wish there was a similar song for the months. Maybe I'll make one up...somehow. When they finished their journal entry at the end of the day I corrected the entries and gave them a sticker for finishing all of their work for the day well. It's so funny how ecstatic 4th and 5th grade kids get over a little sticker. It's like they are so used to just doing the work for no reward that getting one is a thrill.

As much as I poke fun of the Korean idea of winter camp, it isn't a terrible idea. My kids had fun and I am really enjoying getting to know them. Today I had about 10 kids instead of the usual 40 that we have during the academic year. They got the one on one attention they needed and I feel like they actually learned a little more English in just two hours than they did during the entire month of classes in December. My school also runs a math camp, a music camp, a computer camp and of course, the obligatory remedial camp for kids who failed their end of year tests. I don't know about you but I probably would have begged my mom to let me go to the music camp. Also, what are parents supposed to do during vacation? Korean jobs don't usually give much vacation time and baby sitters are expensive. If you are going to pay money for care**, it's nice to get something more out of it than knowing your child hasn't burnt down the house or decided to eat a cookie peanut butter sandwich for lunch. Actually, that sounds really good right about now...

*I've been reading some more antiquated fiction lately. So sue me.
**I'm not actually sure if the kids have to pay for the camps at public school. I know that the hagwons run camps for extra money during vacations but since the teachers have to work anyways I have no idea if they'd charge extra. I kind of doubt it but you never know.

Pink Cereal. Yes, pink.

In my attempt to find breakfast food that would not make me sick, and is not instant noodles, I bought some corn flakes that have dried apple and strawberry in it. Now, the box was pink but I didn't think that this meant the cereal would be pink. Oh no, the cereal is pink. Even the cornflakes have an oddly pink tinge to them. It turned my soy milk pink. This was highly disconcerting behavior for breakfast cereal. Tasty though, if a bit sweet.

Last night I went out. There is nothing like 14 foreigners sitting down in a ribs restaurant to garner stares. Soju was heavily involved and thankfully I did not wake up with the soju headache.

Sometimes it's so hard to just put yourself out there. As an expat, you have to be super outgoing in order to make friends quickly and not wither away as a hermit. The hard part for me is that while I love being social, sometimes I just want to be left alone with my books. I feel like I already did this over and over again in Anyang/Seoul and it's hard to make yourself so vulnerable for people who are going to leave in a year, or sooner. It makes you a bit jaded and it's hard to always live in a world that is constantly changing. Usually I find it exhilarating but tired as I was last night, and as much fun as the people were, I just found it overwhelmingly exhausting. I didn't want to be bubbly Alex, I wanted to be cynical Alex who would rather discuss Bulgakov or Arendt than the latest film in the cinema.

On the plus side I have a set of 8 shelving units being delivered to my apartment today which means the ends of my crap in piles around my apartment floor. Organizing my books will undoubtedly put me in a better mood and ready to face the world this evening when we go dancing.

ADD Hell

Right before I went on vacation they moved my office to the teacher's room on the third floor. In many ways this is fabulous, the primary reason being that it is significantly warmer and also the copy machine is right there. Not to mention that people are always putting out treats on the main table and I am the closest to the snack plate. However, there are things that are not so wonderful:

1. Being so close to the source of coffee and tea: What I first thought of as a boon is really just a recipe for disaster. My first full day of sitting in the office is done and I've had so much coffee and tea that I feel nauseous. I haven't accidentally done that in awhile. It's just that, it's SO TASTY AND HARD TO RESIST!!!! Every time I got frustrated I got up, walked over and refilled my shiny new extra large travel mug.
2. I'm easily distracted. Every single time someone enters the teacher's room to get to their desk, I turn around. Every time someone talks or gets up, I turn around. Needless to say this disrupts my work flow a bit.
3. Not being able to admonish my computer in French or English since people generally tend to frown upon speaking to inanimate objects.

On the plus side, I am slowly figuring out how to use power point in Korean. I tried downloading the Open Office software but their version of power point was so awful that I went back to the Korean Microsoft version instead. There is a lot of random clicking involved in this alternated with stifled exclamations of glee when I figure out how to do what I want to do.

Now I must master the other ADD Hell, otherwise known as the grocery store. Incidentally, I spent over an hour making a supermarket vocabulary related power point presentation. This morning I was forced to eat instant noodles for breakfast since I didn't go grocery shopping last night. Instant noodles should not ever be considered a breakfast food. It broke my spirit just a wee bit.

...To say I need a Friday beer is the understatement of the century. I spent 7.5 hours today writing lesson plans. Weirdly enough, I was in a good mood through all of that and I'm in a good mood now. Lesson planning can be frustrating at times but at least it is productive.

For everyone who complains about Korea, a rebuttal

Sometimes it seems like the expat world is overflowing with people who love to bitch about Korea. We get it, everyone has off days but it gets old fast.

Today Salsa Boy and I made the ridiculous journey from Anyang to Busan with 3 obscenely overweight suitcases, a briefcase (his), a carry on type bag (mine), and a purse. He is all moved out of his apartment and spending a couple of weeks with me before flying home to Texas. Anyways, we managed to get to the train station, on the KTX (high speed train) and even off the train again at our station. Unfortunately, the train station we arrived in is an older station which means it was retrofitted and isn't really handicap or suitcase accessible. On the overly narrow escalators, one of Salsa Boy's suitcase almost knocked over a middle aged Korean guy who managed to catch it and not fall over. Instead of getting mad at us, he insisted on helping us to the exit and practically confiscated my suitcase from me. Yes, Salsa Boy was dragging 2 but because I am a girl my suitcase got taken. Not that I'm complaining. Turns out, he spoke pretty good English and struck up a conversation with us. When he found out where we were going, he insisted that he drive us to a subway station 5 minutes away so we wouldn't have to get on the local one and transfer. His friends picked him up in a minivan, helped us pile all of the suitcases in, drove us to the train station and helped us get into the elevator.

Now would I have gotten in the car with a complete stranger if I was traveling alone? Absolutely not. Would I do it with my black belt boyfriend? Absolutely. It made our slightly hellish journey a little easier and put me in a fantastic mood.

We had to take 2 cabs from the final subway stop to my apartment since there was no way our luggage was going to fit into one tiny Korean cab. My cab driver was an elderly Korean who was an absolute sweetheart. He didn't speak any English but I managed to hold a basic conversation! Or rather, I gave 1 or 2 word answers to his questions but still! I told him where I was from and he told me that his son (or maybe it was daughter, I'm not sure, this is before he figured out that he had to speak slower for me to understand) was studying at university in Vancouver. Also, that there was a ridiculous amount of snow in Seoul and it was cold. This might not sound like much but I miss making small talk sometimes and it's fun when I can carry on a little bit. I'm looking forward to my Korean class that starts up soon!

Right now I should be asleep as it's after midnight and I have work tomorrow. Unfortunately, I'm always extremely restless before and after traveling so I'm up poking the internet.

In which I'm reduced to posting about the weather

The largest snowfall in 70 years...and my snow boots are in a different city. To be fair, it never really snows in Seoul. You get a flurry or two every winter but very rarely something that sticks. Silly me, I thought that with a pair of high tops and pointy flats I'd be set for everything! Check out these photos on NPR. There has been a lot of frustration in Anyang. It's a major city and yet most of the plow allocation has been focused on Seoul, just 20 minutes north, leaving the roads out here treacherous beyond belief. Since it rarely snows in the area, the cities were completely unprepared and the few snowplows that it owns hadn't even been serviced and made road ready for this winter. The government actually dispatched soldiers to go help clear roads and shovel sidewalks.

Of course, I'm still sick so I mainly have been sitting inside, coughing, sniffling and napping. I am on my 7th book of this vacation. To say I miss our lovely free public library is the understatement of the century. I forgot how much of my budget goes to keeping myself in books. For the first time in my life I am (rather unsuccessfully) trying to train myself to read slower. Right now I'm reading The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. It's fantastic and mind blowing. He is also one of the first Russian authors I've read who manages not to completely confuse me with the Russian names. The characters actually remain separate entities in my head instead of blurring together in a never ending mess of similar word endings.

Last night I went to Pyeongcheon's very first Turkish restaurant, Istanbul. It had nothing on the Turkish food I can get in New York but by Korean standards it was fabulous. The staff is all Turkish and they only speak Turkish and Korean though the menu has some English. I think that the influx of foreigners to the area has led business people to realize what a cash cow foreign food is. Foreigners don't miss burgers, they miss the plethora of ethnic food available in their home countries. Within a 10 minute walk of Salsa Boy's apartment you can now get Italian, Tex Mex, Indian, Japanese, Chinese and Turkish. It's kind of exciting.

Tonight there is nothing exciting on the agenda. I'm going to help Salsa Boy pack (his contract is up on Thursday) and eat left over arroz con sam gip sal. It should have been con pollo but we were out of chicken and had left over sam gip sal meat in the fridge. Pork, chicken, it's all yummy when mixed with Puerto Rican spices.

New Years

New Years actually didn't end up being a doom fest. Yes, I was sick and not feeling so hot but I managed to cheer myself up and get out of the house with Salsa Boy. Of course, part of that process involved getting a soy vanilla latte but it's a small price to pay for happiness/not falling asleep at a bar. The original plan was to go into Seoul and go dancing but there is no way I was doing that when I have to stop every few minutes to blow my nose. It just doesn't work.

We went to a local expat bar, Uncle Don's, where the booze is cheap, the darts and pool are free AND the staff keep a never ending supply of chips and salsa going at the tables. You really can't object to that sort of combo. I lost miserably to Salsa Boy in each of the 3 games that we played. Ironically, the only thing I can hit with any sort of consistency is the bulls eye. It didn't help too much though since we were playing cricket.

Tonight is our very last flaming dr pepper party in Korea. It shall be an extravaganza. Salsa Boy even made a movie preview for the party which is very silly but created lots of good hype for the party!

I just tried 8 times in the last 24 hours to upload the video. Blogger won't do it. You'll just have to imagine 2 taekwondo black belts going at it, fireballs and insanity over the course of two and a half minutes.