Blog-gogi!

Feeling the Love

2011-04-18T08:51:00.000-04:00

I wrote some "Stories of Absurdity" a few posts ago and recently noticed wow, people are actually reading what I write. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Speaking of these stories, I'd still love to hear more of them from you guys. Check a few posts down and add your own.

Thanks for the love to the bloggers below!! I've read both of these sites before and they are totally worth a look!

Shotgun Korea

What the Kimchi?

Lunch in Korean Cafeterias

2011-04-18T08:40:00.001-04:00

Today as I was browsing around the internet, I found this post over at Brian in Jeollanamdo . His blog is probably my favourite in Korea and also one of the most popular boasting over 1 million hits. I've been following it for a few years now and have linked to his site several times from my own blog.

In the post, Brian mentions a video called "Lunch in Korean Cafeterias". In about four days, the video has received over 4000 hits. Whoever made this is obviously a hilarious, creative genius. Haha, oh dear. But it really is a pretty accurate description of how said lunches go. Check it out for yourself.

Stories of Absurdity

2011-04-11T04:35:00.000-04:00

I've come to the conclusion that the reason I love living in Korea is because of the constant entertainment value. From a Western perspective, some of the things I've seen and heard about here could be considered quite insane. They're the kind of stories you talk about over a beer and laugh over until you're crying. Better yet, they're the kind of tales that sound as if they've been concocted on a week long acid trip...until you remember they're true and actually happened.

That being said, I'd like to share 3 of the most absurd tales that I've experienced or heard about in Korea. If it didn't happen to me, it happened to a friend of mine. I swear.

If you have a story to add, throw down a comment because I'd love to hear.

1. This happened to a good friend of mine.

Almost every hagwon and public school in Korea has what they call a "Sports Day" festival once or twice during the year. Contrary to what you might expect, they often don't actually play sports. They usually consist of seemingly strange games which are unsafe, hilarious and perplexing to the expat observer. The best part about these games is that all directions are given in super fast Korean, so even if you are a participating foreigner you have no idea what's going on until it's too late.

My friend's hagwon was playing a game where all students were literally supposed to run around in a field chasing a pig. Yes, a live pig. (They had to change to this game after one of the foreign teachers was seriously injured by a prior game resulting in multiple stitches.) However, on this specific Sports Day, it was decided that pork was rather expensive. Consequently, the school chose to purchase a live chicken instead. As the teachers released the chicken onto the ground, it stood motionless beside the cage. It was a docile and relaxed bird. So, they did what anyone would do in this situation- they harassed the crap out of the chicken until it started running around. My friend stood by watching wondering what the hell was going on.

Suddenly, all of the students in the school began to chase the chicken around the yard until two of them finally caught up to it. Each was super excited to be the potential winner and grabbed a leg for himself. The students then fought over the chicken with all of their might and ripped the live chicken in half, while blood and guts shot out everywhere. My friend, a vegetarian, was mortified.

2. This happened to a colleague of mine.

At my old hagwon, a colleague of mine was living in an apartment above the school. One morning, she awoke to find a massive puddle of water on the floor in the kitchen. Using a little bit of common sense, she determined that there was a leak in one of the pipes under the sink that required a plumber to fix.

Because the apartment belonged to the school, my colleague spoke to our supervisor and asked her to call in a plumber. My supervisor ensured her this would be done. After several days of cleaning up kitchen puddles with no plumber coming by to the check out the problem, my colleague confronted our supervisor again. "You need to send somebody in to look at this. There's more and more water on the floor each day."

Finally, a few days later, our supervisor came back with an update on the situation.

"_______ teacher, the "landrover" [sic] went to your apartment. He is an expert. He said there is no problem with the pipe. He said you are throwing water on the floor in the middle of the night."

Really? Seriously? Oh dear.

3. It happened to a friend of a friend.

Recently, a friend's colleague had to have a major operation on her brain. They literally cut open her skull and removed a chunk on a Friday. On Monday, adminstration told her that she had to return to school immediately....to deskwarm.

You can't make this stuff up.

First Prenatal English Hagwon to Open Doors Tomorrow

2011-04-04T10:45:00.000-04:00

The opening ceremony for a new kind of English hagwon is scheduled to take place in Busan tomorrow morning. Embryo English, a private language academy for expecting mothers and their unborn babies, is the first of its kind in the nation. The school caters to women in any stage of pregnancy who want their children to get ahead in learning English.

"We are so excited to be the pioneers in this industry," explained Yun So Bin, owner and manager of the hagwon. "The response to our program has been overwhelming. We even have a waiting list with the names of hopeful couples who are trying to conceive!"

Mothers with already -born- children in awe of Embryo English robot teacher

One such prospective mother, Kim Geum Jin, stood eagerly outside of the hagwon. "I heard about the program from other mothers in my neighbourhood. We discuss educational matters quite frequently," she commented. "Especially when it comes to English education. I want the best for my unborn daughter and I want her to get a head start studying for the university entrance examination."

Embryo English is the second language academy opened by Yun. Her first, called 24/7 English, is open all hours of the day for those who prefer to receive instruction past midnight. However, she has even higher hopes for her new school and wants to surpass her current enrollment at 24/7.

When asked about the pedagogical techniques to be adopted by this new school, Yun responded enthusiastically. "Our primary method of instruction will be robot-centered learning. Because they are still in the womb, the embryos will not even realize the robots are not native English speakers. We have already purchased several of the machines in anticipation of tomorrow's opening. In addition, our curriculum has been designed to incorporate embryo- level English textbooks written by a Professor at a local university."

The ribbon cutting ceremony is set to kick off at 10 am tomorrow. All are welcome to attend.

More random thoughts

2011-04-04T09:35:00.001-04:00

Recently a new co-worker of mine told me she thinks anyone who stays in Korea longer than a year is probably a little strange. Upon hearing this I immediately threw up my defense shield and started telling her about all of the great people I've met here. Witty, intelligent, creative, open-minded, worldly, beautiful people. Then, I remembered I'd spent the last several hours trying to write the lyrics to a parody song called Papa Roti to the tune of the Gaga's single Paparazzi and I realized oh shit, it's me. haha.

Changes

2011-03-07T06:57:00.002-05:00

(A Post of Randomness about Changes)

Lately my blog has been more neglected than my plan to lose weight.
Me: Hey, how's it goin? Lost any weight yet?
My bro: Nope, still fat. You?
Me: Yep, still a fattie over here, too. Damn.

Anyway....I'm hoping to change this lack of updates now that I'm back from vacation and have some more free time on my hands. I recently landed a pretty sweet job at a college and no longer have to work five days a week. Movin' on up in the world I guess. Now that my first week of classes is over and I've met all of my new students, I'm feeling like this could be a very interesting semester. Although these new students are not necessarily the top college freshmen in Busan, I don't want to jump to conclusions about their English ability just yet. (However, I thought the same thing about the young man with the hideous bright pink hair in my class today just before he yelled out "TEACHER! Me is NO ENGLISH!!!" for no apparent reason. Maybe books have covers for a reason?) If there's one thing I've learned from people in education who are much older and wiser than I (ie. basically every.single.member. of my immediate and extended family... and everyone else I know), it's that teaching is all about going with the flow and flying by the seat of your pants. Flexibility is key. Things don't always go the way you want them to and it can be frustrating. Sometimes you have to really remember why you're there in the first place on those rougher days- because you love teaching and you love kids (or young adults in this case).

When I was back at my first school a few years ago, I used to write down the things that made me laugh hysterically or those that were so absurd at the time that I knew I'd look back and find them amusing later.
I had this one particularly energetic kindergarten girl named Amy. She was always up to no good but her cuteness made up for it. I've said some of my favourite lines of all time to her.
-Amy, pull up your pants please.
-Amy, stop sexy dancing. And while you're at it, get down off the table.
-Amy, stop playing the xylophone
-Amy, stop eating the raw macaroni noodles. They're for art.
-Amy, don't pick your nose. Or eat it.

-Me: *pointing to a picture of mittens* What are they?
-Amy: TORNADO!!!
Just thinking about her makes me smile.

SO, I've decided to throw down a few things that have happened lately that made my day for different reasons. I guess they don't mean anything to you lovely readers, but I hope they inspire those of you who are currently teaching abroad to jot down more things that happen on this wild ride called ESL teaching.

Me (the nutshell version): Okay guys, you're all adults here. You're all responsible for your own education. However, there are some rules in my classroom- some are university policy and some are my own. Don't skip class or minus 2%. If you're late for class, minus 2%. If you don't hand in your papers on time, minus 2%. If you're chatting on Kakaotalk, minus 2%. Pretty basic, easy stuff. Okay, now go ahead and introduce yourselves and tell me something you like.
Random guy: Teacher.....I like you.
Me: You....plus 5%!! And that goes for the rest of you as well.
________

Korean colleague: Wow! I was walking around Nampo-dong the other evening and I can't believe how many foreigners are around now.
Me: Oh really? I walk there every night and I don't notice too many.
KC: That's because you cannot tell the difference between Koreans and other Asians.
Me: Okay.

Parking Lot Greeter Seriously Injured

2010-12-14T01:18:00.002-05:00

Rotte Department Store greeter, Kim Tae Hee

BUSAN, KOR- A strange medical phenomenon occurred at a Rotte Department Store in the Seomyeon area yesterday afternoon. Emergency medical personnel on the scene reported that Kim Tae Hee, a parking lot greeter, became suddenly and inexplicably paralyzed from the waist up.

"I was performing my regular bowing duties in the parking lot when something didn't feel right" explained Kim, age 32. "As the 657th car of the day was passing by me, I was mid-bow. When I tried to return to an upright position, I was stuck! I didn't feel any pain, I just couldn't stop bowing!"

Emergency medical personnel were contacted immediately by Kim's colleague, Park Jae Won, the associate responsible for using airplane signals to guide cars into the appropriate space.

"At first when she came to me, I thought she was bowing very formally and respectfully. Then, I realized she wasn't getting up!" reported Park. Thanks to Park's quick response, Kim was immediately rushed to the Seomyeon Medical Center for treatment.

Doctors continue to be baffled by this mysterious paralysis, but speculate that it will only be temporary.

A spokesperson from Rotte, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that "he hopes for a speedy recovery. Kim is the best bower we have. The parking garage just isn't the same without her."

*image stolen from Google

Hilarious (and somewhat accurate) Videos

2010-11-29T03:32:00.001-05:00

Although I originally created this post so that my readers could witness the pants-wetting hilarity that is the first video, it basically turned into a link dump for all things teaching-in Korea-related. Enjoy!

1) I saw this cartoon video posted over at Brian in Jeollanam-do and I couldn't resist reposting it. Although it's obviously meant to be funny, I think that a lot of what is said rings true.

Why You Shouldn't Teach English in Korea

2) This one is always a classic. I only wish I had created this masterpiece myself. As is explained by the video poster, here is a definition of deskwarming:

Desk warming is when public school native teachers in South Korea are forced to come in to school over winter or summer vacations. There are no children at school and nothing productive for them to do. It is a tad frustrating, as you can see from how Hitler reacts.

Hitler Has to Desk Warm

3) I couldn't resist putting up some of the videos from the national English curriculum. Some of these have been canned now. But...honestly, this is what some of us are working with. Thank God I'm not teaching elementary.

a)
Ann and awkward Kevin
b)
Let's Talk about Seaons!
c)
And my personal favourite:
More from Ann and Kevin

Busan Night Live

2010-11-09T01:20:00.001-05:00

In collaboration with Club Fabric, a group of foreign expats and a handful of Korean locals joined forces to produce the second BuSan Night Live (BSNL). The free event took place last weekend in the Kyungsung University area on both Friday and Saturday nights- Nov. 5 and 6. The live comedy sketches featured performances by both experienced actors and some fresh faces. It also included a special performance by expat acapella group Dynamic Wave.

I had a great time at the show and laughed hysterically throughout. The house was packed with drink specials and some pretty cool people. Although there were a few technical issues with lighting, sound and music, I'd say it was a job really well done. I look forward to seeing another show!!

By far, the funniest skit was the Ajumma Olympics and I found it on Youtube! For anyone currently residing in Korea, this is a serious must see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8D7YKRL0yE&feature=related

Coming in a close second in my books was the Airline Comparison skit. In Korea or not, this is just straight up funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTPiqVCl96s

Video Games

2010-10-28T06:39:00.001-04:00

I've been feeling relatively uninspired in the last couple of weeks when it comes to blogging. It's not that I'm unhappy or bored; I just can't seem to think of anything super interesting that's happened either. Nothing post-worthy anyway. That is...until last night. (*suspenseful music plays*) Haha.

So I was taking some me time to myself last evening when a wave of awesomeness apparently swept through my apartment. I was suddenly struck by the idea that I had to buy an original Nintendo Entertainment System. Now, I'm not usually one to make impulsive purchases. I don't go on huge shopping sprees or buy really nice things for my apartment. Most of my money goes to student loans, traveling, and food. But, last night was different. When I laid eyes on that NES with duck hunt gun, two controllers, and 3 games (Super Mario Brothers, Duck Hunt, Double Dragon 2), I knew it had to be mine. It was a trip down memory lane. Half an hour later, I was entering in my mailing address and clicking send! I can hardly wait for this week to be over.

A little while later, (as I pondered over the endless humiliation that awaits my friends when I beat Mario level 8 while they're still on level 2--challenge anyone?) I imagined what could have been the best video game of all time. I call it "Kimchi Kombat" and it looks a little something like this:

So....not my most mature post ever...but eh! What can ya do? And thanks google images for the pictures.

Sign!!

2010-10-18T07:58:00.000-04:00

I was reminded today of a peculiar situation that often happens to expats living in Korea (and I would assume probably in several other countries around the world). I'm sure all of the NETS here can relate to this.

So I got home from the gym, and noticed this open binder in the foyer with all of our apartment numbers on a paper inside. Beside the apartment number paper, were several other sheets in the binder, with what appeared to be a novel-size memo of some sort concerning our building. I looked at it, was like meh, and hit the elevator 'up' button. Now, I study Korean with a colleague, read exhilarating children's novels featuring green elephants, and try to practice with shopkeeper ajummas, but there's no way I can read all of those documents. Before I could escape to the confines of the elevator, our 80-year-old apartment security ajosshi (safety first!) halted me, and escorted me back to the paper. He pointed to the paper and motioned to the pen.
"Sign?" I asked.
"Sign," he replied.
"Sign what?"
"SIIGGGNNN!!" He picks up the pen, and pantomimes what signing is. Oh Christ. I KNOW what sign means. I'm the one who said it to you in the first place.
"이게 뭐예요?" (What is this?) I finally say in Korean and point to the paper. He just pointed again to the number of my apartment and said sign. Alright, fine. I will sign this piece of paper if it lets me get onto that elevator. My school deals with my apartment anyway so I'm sure that if something is life or death, I'll find out about it eventually.

The above little anecdote I suppose is kind of a lead in to what I'm actually talking about here. I can't count the number of times I have been presented a legal document and told to sign. I know we're in Korea and the language used here is Korean. Yep, makes perfect sense. However, there's just something inherently ridiculous about signing things that you can't even understand. The whole point of signing something is to indicate you've read and understood it. I may as well sign my name McSchlotzin because it doesn't really matter anyway.

I think my favourite example of this phenomenon is when you open a new bank account here. They hand you about 6 different papers, all Korean front and back, and just circle all of the places you have to sign. You throw down your name and voila! At least when I open up a bank account at home, I can semi-skim the legal jargon, think to myself sigh...this is boring, and then sign anyway.

Fall in Korea: A Photo Essay

2010-10-11T03:32:00.001-04:00

Shot with my fancy, schmancy Olympus point and shoot! (Read: crappy, old camera that I bought in 2007)

A Kimchi Catastrophe!

2010-10-11T02:21:00.001-04:00

Another issue in Korea, along with the videos in my last post, has been making national headlines lately. This issue- a national shortage of kimchi- has even been featured in international news sources such as the Seattle Times and the L.A. Times. I figured it was about time I got around to posting on it.

The Seattle Times has more on the story:

Freakish fall weather has resulted in a national kimchi crisis, causing South Korean consumers to clutch their purses, hearts and stomachs as they seek to deal with a shortage of the oblong-shaped cabbage used to make the ubiquitous spicy dish.

With heavy September rains ruining much of the Napa, or Chinese, cabbage crop, prices have jumped fourfold to more than $10 a head.

In response, the federal government last week announced a temporary reduction in tariffs on Chinese-imported cabbage and radishes in a plan to rush an additional 100 tons of the staples into stores this month.

For anyone who's spent any time in Korea, you will already be well aware of the fact that a shortage of kimchi in Korea is a problem of epic proportions. In previous posts, I've noted that kimchi is served as the staple part of every single Korean meal whether breakfast, lunch or dinner. Sometimes, my school cafeteria lunches will literally be a menu like this:
-Regular, plain ol' kimchi (cabbage)
-Radish kimchi
-sprout kimchi
- kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew)
-rice

And just to quantify the magnitude of this disaster, the L.A. Times has compiled some kimchi facts:

South Koreans eat more than 2 million tons of the dish of fermented cabbage, radish and chili paste in total each year.
It is believed by many to ward off aging, reduce cholesterol and fight disease.
There is a museum dedicated to kimchi in Seoul.
Portions of it were blasted into space with the country's first astronaut in 2008.

I've posted before about space kimchi being prepared the first Korean astronaut. In fact, I managed to snap a picture of some of it the last time I visited the War Memorial in Seoul. Sorry that the second picture is pretty poor quality. Unlike most of the fancy K-bloggers, I just have a boring point and shoot camera and photography isn't my thing.

The Times also reports that local restaurants and businesses have been trying to deal with this situation as best they can. Some of the various methods employed include charging for refills of kimchi, serving radish kimchi instead of more popular cabbage kimchi, and suspending home delivery service until the shortage passes.

Finally, according to the Times,

Depriving Koreans of their kimchi, many say, is like forcing Italians to forgo pasta or taking all the tea from China.

Now, I'm aware that Italians love their pasta. But, having never been to Italy, it's difficult to gauge whether or not this love is as deep and meaningful as is the Korean love for kimchi. However, for my readers at home, I will say this. To take away kimchi in Korea, would not even compare to taking away Tim Hortons coffee, or beer, or hockey in Canada. The loss of kimchi would be much, much worse. It would be more like taking away all three things from Canada and then stomping on a beaver. In fact, I think the best way to describe the severity of the situation here in Korea is with an anecdote from the same article:

In recent days a black-market cabbage trade has sprouted. Police say many residents are hoarding the vegetables for resale. Four men were recently caught stealing more than 400 heads of Chinese cabbage

Crazy Videos

2010-10-08T02:38:00.007-04:00

A crazy occurrence has happened in the last week here in the ROK. It seems that essentially EVERYONE is talking about it, too. That's because it made the front page of local newspapers and was instantly uploaded to YouTube. From teenagers to the elderly, the latest drama in Korea has caused a lot of laughs and lot of debates.

1) Ajumma Fights Female Student on the subway

Those of you who have read my previous descriptions about ajummas, may not be so surprised by this video. However, although Korean ajummas can be a headstrong, stubborn, and determined people, it's not very often that they drop the gloves and throw down.

Apparently, eyewitness accounts of the incident reported that the middle school girl was sitting cross-legged on the subway next to the ajumma. Her shoes were covered with mud which touched the ajumma's pants and caused her to go into an all out rage. The female student then apologized twice but the ajumma did not accept. The student then spoke to the ajumma in banmal, the least respectful form of Korean, which is considered totally inappropriate to use with elders. It is usually reserved for a very casual conversation with friends. A lot of speculation has happened surrounding this video (and be be found here on Dave's ESL cafe) giving me reason to not trust the above version 100%.

In addition, the video has sparked a lot of conversation and controversy. First of all, people are arguing over what exactly was said between the two as it's hard to make out in the video. Secondly, posters are also arguing over who is crazier, the student or the ajumma. While some say the student was too disrespectful in Korean culture to speak that way, others say that ajumma is insane and that violence is never the solution to the problem. I agree with the latter group. Okay, so there's a little mud on your pants and the girl spoke to you rudely. Who cares? You're like 70 years old. You should be the mature one in this situation and set an example. There's no need to lose your temper and throw a young girl across the subway car by her hair. You can always express your feelings in a more calm manner while remaining seated. Third, people are arguing over why nobody stepped in between the two to stop the fight. I also question this myself, but do remember the "Bystander Effect" from second year social psych classes. Lastly, there is a rumour going around that this ajumma is a well known subway bully, and likes to start fights with younger girls whenever possible. If you want to read more about all of this, check out the link to Dave's above.

2) Wheelchair Man Flies into a Rage (August, 2010 but only circulated recently)

In this incident, a man in a wheelchair is at a subway station headed towards the elevator. When he arrives at the elevator, a woman has just closed the doors. He flies into a rage and rams his wheelchair into the door several times. Finally, the door breaks and the man's wheelchair momentum carries him forward into the elevator shaft. He falls down the shaft and his chair falls after him and possibly on top of him. A lot of people found, and still find this video to be hilarious. I must admit, I laughed pretty hard the first time I watched it. One poster on Dave's ESL cafe even went as far as to say "Only in Korea. This is the kind of stuff the Korean tourist industry should be advertising, because it is absolutely priceless."

Unfortunately, a few hours later it was reported that the man in fact died from this incident. That definitely makes it less funny.

Within a few hours, this man had been given a Darwin award- a prize awarded to those who die in incredibly stupid ways that are usually self-caused. He is another cause of much discussion. Several people have questioned the safety and durability of the elevator doors and can't believe they broke that easily. Others have questioned the sanity of the man, his emotional difficulties, and the problems often expressed by those with disabilities living in Korea.

Other Interesting Videos

These two incidents this week have caused a re-share of other craziness that has been witnessed on Korean subways and around the country. This is not to say that crazy incidents do not happen in other cities and other countries. But, for those of us living in Korea, there is just something that resonates and is just kind of funny. There are a LOT to be seen on YouTube, but I have selected just a few to post here.

3) Fight in Parliament (last year)

For anyone who hasn't seen this, it's pretty epic. It took place in 2009 and was the result of arguments over a new media law. I think it is seriously hilarious.

And now for a scary turned happy video...

4) Korean Subway Hero

In this video, an anemic woman becomes visibly ill and collapses onto the subway tracks. She is recused by a good samaritan just in time. This video gives me chills. BUT, it's good to know there are still some really good people out there. Coincedentally, this man just happened to work in construction at subway stations and was aware of the "safety gutter" in place for sudden emergencies such as this one.

The Awesomeness of the Korea Times

2010-09-17T02:41:00.000-04:00

So many NETs in Korea have made fun of the brutal reporting in the Korea Times that I almost feel like I'm flogging a dead horse by bringing it up. Although the issue hasn't yet been resolved, it seems like it never will be. Then again, maybe if enough people complain and draw attention to it, they'll actually get a credible editor. You know...someone who can read and write in English? How can one of the top two English newspapers in Korea, a "world class" source, actually let an article with this many grammatical errors slide? It's painful and it sounds like it was written by a high school ESL student. We all make mistakes from time to time while typing, but I don't go submitting crappy, unedited pieces to newspapers for publication. Sigh...I guess we can figure out who is the target audience for this paper. (Hint: It's not Native English speakers.)

I'll link the article to the title, as well as copy and paste it here, just in case it's taken down later.

Check it out:

'Super' Earth reported to exist

The existence of the earth’s siblings would be fresh to people.
There are planets very similar to Earth, including the new one 10 times bigger in size. The planet is called “Super Earth.”

Some have continents and oceans, too, as seen on Earth. There is also an extremely dried one like Mars.
The other one which belongs to ocean planet is fully covered in the water of ocean and is called Gliese 581C. No continents are found in the middle of the water. The planet was discovered by Michel Mayor and it revolves a very small fixed star with the other two. It is 20 light years away and located in Libra.
Until March 2009, Gliese 518c was the smallest planet outside the solar system. However, it was still super earth since it was five times bigger than the earth. The wind of the planet would be the same as the one of the earth since it has white clouds up in its blue sky.
The weather of 518c is perfect as its sky is always blue. There is also no need of weather forecast since the sun is always in the same spot.

World Cup 2022

2010-09-14T22:58:00.002-04:00

A friend of mine pointed me in the direction of an article in today's Korea Times. It discusses the South Korean bid for the 2022 World Cup in some detail and reveals a somewhat surprising fact: "S. Korea to share games with North if chosen to host 2022 World Cup".

Gearing up to realize this dream, Seoul is bidding for the 2022 World Cup. Han Sung-joo, chairman of the bidding committee, is now the standard bearer to that end, and explained why Korea should be the last man standing.

“We held half of the World Cup in 2002,” Han said in an interview with The Korea Times.

and also

“The Korea World Cup will accelerate the drive toward ‘One Korea,”’ he added, noting, “FIFA seems to consider what legacies each World Cup can generate in deciding on the host nation. The promotion of peace in Asia is one of the best legacies that the World Cup could bring.”

What is going on here? Is this really going to happen? There are so many issues here that I feel like I can't even delve into them in enough depth to cover everything. Namely, there's the recent sinking of the South Korean ship deemed to have been executed by North Korea. There's the fact that the two countries are still technically at war. There's the obvious issue that North Korea doesn't allow many foreign visitors into the country. There's the problem that North Korea repeatedly ignores UN sanctions concerning nuclear weapons and human rights. The fact that millions are still starving and trying to defect into China and South Korea every day. How is South Korea even wanting this? Isn't this an issue for the big wigs at FIFA? Not according to Han, the chairman of the bidding committee.

“We need to get the agreement of FIFA and North Korea, but as the former is expected to support the move and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il favors the World Cup, our plan could be realized,” said Han who had served as foreign minister and Korean ambassador to the United States. He is now teaching at Korea University.

“FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter expressed positive views about this during a meeting in Zurich in November 2009.”

In my mind, and in the minds of some foreigner friends I have, this could drastically hurt the chances of South Korea winning the bid to host the cup. It may be a really poor choice on their part but I suppose only time will tell. Regardless of what Han claims that FIFA President Blatter said about the issue, I really can't see how this would be okay.

Going to the Gym

2010-09-07T01:35:00.000-04:00

I've finally got my fat behind back into the gym again. Don't me wrong, I'm not enormous or anything, but I'd deifnitely like to be smaller again. Plus, when it gets to the point where your friends are giving your ass nicknames, you know it's time to hop back on the eliptical. I figure 3-4 times a week should do the trick.

I found a "cultural center" in my area about a five minute walk from my place and signed up for the monthly membership. At 44,000 won a month, it's a steal for sure. The cultural center has everything from a library to concert halls and a swimming pool. Unfortunately, none of that is included with the monthly membership, but that's okay because I can still hop in the pool for a few bucks if I want.

The facilities in the gym itself are pretty decent. It's only a year or two old so all of the machines are basically still new looking and in tip top shape. They've got about 20 treadmills and 20 bikes all equipped with their own individual flatscreen TVs so that's nice. The two channels of English television are a Godsend. It's too bad that the elipticals don't have the TVs too, because that's where I spend most of my time. Ah well, that's what MP3 players are for I suppose.

So anyway, back in 2007 when I last belonged to a gym in Korea, I had a bunch of foreign friends who were also members. We would go work out together and have eliptical races and do other ridiculous, but entertaining things that made working out more fun. They were kind of like my security blanket from the trainers who worked there. The trainers were pretty cool. They spoke some broken English and seemed to like us just fine. However, as terrible as it sounds, I didn't really want to talk to them. After spending an 8 hour day in the classroom, trying to decipher broken English while speaking slowly and miming, I just wanted to work out in peace or with friends. Sometimes you need quiet time, or a chance to have a conversation that doesn't leave you exhausted. So, I would put on my headphones and just ignore everything around me. If the trainers came over and tried to correct my posture during a certain lift I would just smile and nod and say thank you.

At my new gym, I'm the only foreigner I've seen around and I don't personally know anyone else who is a member. I figured it was only a matter of time before the trainers and every single person who was excited to practice speaking English would pounce. Walking in there on the first day, I felt like I was a little baby moose surrounded by a pack of wolves. The kind of stuff you see on the Discovery channel. The wolves surround the moose in an organized fashion. Their prey unaware of the pack's presence as she sips water by the cooler. They move in quietly, in a stealth manner, assuring not to alert the moose. Suddenly, . . .I survived the first week before the inevitable happened.

I had just finished my 40 minute eliptical workout and was sweaty and thirsty to boot. I was sipping on some water by the cooler, and heading over to the free weights when an ajosshi approached me. I was even wearing my MP3 player...sigh...

A- Where are you prom?
Me (friendly, but short) Canada.

A- Oooh! Bery good. Canada bery good country! What your job?
Me (trying to quietly edge away)- English teacher.

A- Oh okay. What school?
Me- *tell him school name*

A- Oooh I know. How old?
Me- 26.

A- I am 63. It's old, right?
Me- Well good for you for being so fit and at the gym.

A- How old your dad?
Me- Umm..he's 61.

A- I have two child. One son, same age as you. I am your dad. Hahahaha
Me (oh god)- Oh..ha...ha...ha..

A- Do you go to churchee? Are you Christian?
Me (jabbing the weight into my eye)- Nooo....

The conversation continued for several minutes with more awkward, yet typical questions and answers. He proceded to call over the trainer to have him watch me lift the weights to make sure I was doing it correctly. I really enjoy having the trainer and about 10 other people surrounding me watching me do bicep curls. After, he would randomly come over to talk to me during the rest of my workout. Now, don't get me wrong. He was a nice guy and well meaning. But seriously, I'm here to work out and I don't want to talk. I'm wearing my MP3 player and trying to slowly back away from you. Please, take the hint. This is not my English class and I don't feel like teaching. Does anybody out there feel me on this?

Canadian vs. Korean High schools- Part 2

2010-08-16T00:06:00.000-04:00

This post is Part 2 of a 2 part series comparing Canadian and Korean High schools. You can find Part 1 here .

Sick Days
As a teacher in Canada, one is entitled to a certain number of sick days each year. Last time I checked, the number was somewhere around 20. You can also use some of these days off for mental health or personal reasons. Anyone who has ever taught before is well aware of how tiring and stressful teaching can be. It's easy to get burnt out. The unions for high school teachers in Canada have fought hard with the government to ascertain these days and no one takes them for granted. If you're sick, you just stay home. No questions asked.

If you are sick as a teacher in Canada, you can arrange a substitute teacher in a few different ways. One of them is just to call your favourite sub and have them come in for you. This method is preferred when the substitute is already familiar with your students and is aware of how you run your classroom. If you know in advance that you will be absent for a conference, you will likely use this method. The other way is to use the automated system. This machine will go down the list of substitute teachers and call each one until someone clicks the button to accept the job. It's impersonal, but it's simple and it gets the job done.

In Korea, the situation with sick days is totally different. Although my contract allows me a handful each year, there is a lot of pressure on the teachers to come in anyway. You could be half dead with the flu, and you'd still be edu-taining up at the front of your classroom. This causes serious problems because then the teachers end up spreading the germs around to one another. The Korean teachers will not take a sick day unless they absolutely must due to a culture of shame, responsibility and the expectation of constant hard work. (This aspect of culture is difficult to explain. It's not to say that Canadians are lazy or that Koreans shame each other into working themselves to death. To really understand this, you'd likely have to experience the culture of both workplaces.)

Additionally, there is no substitute teaching system in place, which confounds this issue even more. No one wants to be responsible for taking a sick day because other teachers in the school have to cover their classes. In a high school where the subjects are so specialized, a lot of the teachers are totally unqualified to teach subjects that are not their own. For example, there's no way I could walk into a 3rd grade high school class here and teach physics. Just like there's no way most of the Korean teachers could walk into my classroom and teach English. This leads to a period of the students and the teacher just sitting in the room for an hour doing nothing subject-related, or self study.

Vacation
At home, the vacation days for high school teachers are a combination of following the Christian calendar, in addition to the breaks between semesters, professional development days and national holidays. There are about 2 months of summer, 2 weeks at Christmas, one week for March break, time off between semesters, and the smaller breaks like the New Year, Thanksgiving Easter, and May 2-4 weekend. Except for the conferences on PD days, the teachers do not have to be in school and can choose to complete any additional work at home.

The Korean school system follows a calendar centered on Buddhism and lunar holidays. They have longer breaks for Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) and the Lunar New Year. At Christmas and for the January New Year, there is just one day off. PD days do not exist. The national holidays are for Buddha's birthday, Children's Day, Independence Day and National Foundation Day. They also receive the day off work whenever there is a national election. However, the summer and winter breaks between semesters here are really more of a stay-cation. The teachers of the "important" subjects like math, English and Korean must teach additional classes for the duration of the 5 week break and the students must attend. They may have one week off at the end to spend relaxing and prepping for the new semester.

Teaching Style and Technology
The style of teaching in Korea is still essentially what the West would call teacher-focused. The sole purpose of the high school classes is to prepare the students to take the university entrance exam. Thus, the majority of teachers will stand up at the front and deliver an hour long lesson followed by time for the students to complete relevant questions and exercises from the textbook. There is not a lot of group work and rarely an open discussion involving several members of the classroom. (My thoughts: Consequently, a majority of the students here have such a wealth of knowledge about things that Western children might not know. They are extremely familiar with calculus, history, English literature and physics because they have to study every subject and for so long. However, this style of teaching, has lead to little focus on critical thinking and more of a spoon-feeding mentality. It's evident in the classroom.)

A lot of schools in Korea have implemented some expensive technology like the SMARTboard and are equipped with flat screen TVs, projectors and a sound system in several classes. A lot of the lessons are accompanied by PowerPoint presentations and audio tracks in CD or MP3 format. It's quite similar to what you would see used in Canadian high school classrooms. However, there is little use of manipulatives here and the majority of teachers are still using a chalk and chalkboard approach.

In recent years, Canadian teachers have made the shift to a more student-focused approach. The teacher is to be seen as more of a mentor and facilitator in the classroom. I have rarely seen a classroom in which the teacher will simply lecture for an hour. The teachers are also working within a framework focusing on the students having multiple intelligences and different learning styles. For example, because some students learn best from an audio-visual approach while others do better in a hands-on environment, the teacher will try to incorporate various methods of learning into the lessons. There is a lot more expectation concerning developing "differentiated" lesson plans that are suitable for students of various academic skill. (My thoughts: There seems to be a higher level of critical thinking but less knowledge of hard facts among students at home. I really enjoy the student-focused style of teaching and I think the students do, too. However, sometimes I feel the expectation to reach each student's level is mind-boggling and just impossible. Of course, we try our best to accomplish this but now it seems that every student is labeled with one exceptionality or another. Are we testing too much? Expecting too much? Labeling too much? It's complicated...but I suppose no system is perfect.)

There's just so much I could write on this topic but nothing would ever substitute for seeing both systems first hand. I think this is just enough to give you, lovely reader, a glimpse at both!

My vacation

2010-08-06T00:19:00.000-04:00

I'm off to the Philippines for 10 days to become catatonic on the beach and sip San Miguels under palm trees. I am SO happy to get out of Korea for a while and take a break from my kiddies, even though they're great for the most part. Upon my return I'll eventually be posting part 2 of the high school comparison. Happy vacation to all of you weigookin out there!

My Newest Friend

2010-07-28T22:59:00.000-04:00

Now I've had some pretty random things happen before...
It happened on Songjeong beach after midnight.

Canadian vs. Korean High schools- Part 1

2010-07-27T02:41:00.004-04:00

This post is Part 1 of 2.

Foreword
I recall being nervous as I approached my new school on the first day, in anticipation of meeting my future colleagues and students. In fact, the first time I actually stepped foot inside the doors of that Korean public high school, I was rather shocked to the say the least. The differences between the schools here and back home were aplenty, from the physical structure to the pedagogical methods employed. So, for those who are curious back home, or the random surfers who have crashed onto my blog, I hope this comparison is enlightening. **Reader beware, this is really, really long**

School Building
I'm told by staff and students alike that my particular high school was erected sometime in the 50's...and let me tell you, it's pretty obvious. Unlike most high schools in Canada I've seen, my school in Korea consists of 3 separate buildings on the same lot instead of one massive one to accomodate everyone. All of the students in 3rd grade whose sole focus in life is to the study for the university entrance exam have one building all to themselves. The 1st and 2nd graders who are only halfway to studying themselves to death share a building up higher on the mountainside. The third building contains the gymnasium/auditorium.

The inside of the school itself here is quite dirty. In Canada, there are strict health codes that schools must adhere to, and therefore, each school has several janitors who try to make the school look shiny and new again. Here, it appears as if they've hired a couple ajummas who double as cooks and cleaners to do the bare minimum. Shockingly, the majority of the cleaning is done in a 20 minute period by students each day! As you can imagine, they take their cleaning duty very seriously and want to spend their entire class break scrubbing hard and keeping their school a tidy place to be! It's not uncommon to see spit on the ground or smell something seriously funky wafting in from the bathroom. That reminds me-- my students told me all of the toilets are broken or only semi-functional.

Another thing I'm always curious about here are the safety regulations. I recall back in my high school days, the board had to spend a couple million dollars to bring my older school up to the required code. This included installing a brand new sprinkler system and fire doors in case of an emergency. There was also a CCTV network put in place should a serious incident arise.

My school here in Korea has a CCTV network to boot. I can watch teachers in the English zone during their classes on a monitor right beside me. However, it appears that there are zero sprinklers or fire doors in this school (which is a little shocking as half of the school is made of wood, including the doors to every classroom). I have spotted some smoke detectors and alarms throughout the school, but I suppose if this building ever lights ablaze, it's burning right to the ground.

The Courses and Curriculum
Most of the high schools in Canada have a wide selection of courses from which students can choose. Although there are several required classes to obtain your highschool diploma, the students have quite a bit of freedom in the other courses they choose. If they would like to be a Doctor in the future, they can choose to focus more on maths and sciences, for example. In addition, the classes are leveled by difficulty. They are expected to decide rather early on in their high school careers whether they want to take classes that are more geared toward higher education, or those leveled toward entering the work force at a younger age. They can make these choices themselves (and with the help of guidance counsellors), keeping in mind their future goals and their current grades and focus on study.

The situation in Korea is vastly different. Students here have far less choice in the courses they take at school, but instead choose a school itself. That is, they can opt to go to different styles of high school. They are already separated by academics, trades, or athletics by the time they are 15 years old. Those in the academic high schools usually have high hopes for an undergraduate education and often wish to become doctors, lawyers and CEOs. Those in the athletic high schools are Korea's future hopes for professional athletics and Olympians.

Once students in Korea are attending an academic highschool, they must follow a strict curriculum with very few choices in their course load. For example they are able to choose whether or not to study Japanese or Chinese, but they must take every science, math and English class the school has to offer. There's no option to back out of calculus and choose finite instead. Three different subjects have been labelled the most important: English, Korean and math. Because of their special designation, students must take several of these classes each week and often attend extra study classes after regular school hours. Subjects like art, music and PE are definitely taking a back seat at my school. I mean back of the bus far.

Typical School Days/Extracurricular activities
In Canada, the actual number of hours that students spend in school isn't really that long. A typical day begins around 8:30 in the morning. Now obviously the schedule varies from school to school, but students are generally finished sometime around 2:30 or 3 pm. At my high school, we had four, 100 minute periods a day with an hour lunch in the middle.
At the end of the day in school at home, a lot of students would remain to participate in any number of extracurricular activities such as sports, student council, or orchestra. A lot of students, such as myself, were juggling various different clubs and organizations at the same time. In fact, I would guess that something like 40% of my schools population was involved with some sort of extracurricular activity.

A highschool day in Korea is much, much longer. The students arrive each morning around 8 am for homeroom. Their periods are each an hour in length with lunch beginning around 12:30. After an hour lunch, they resume their regular classes which finish around 4:30 pm. I remember being shocked when I first arrived that after regular classes, all students stick around the school for additional classes in the designated "important" subjects. These classes are often scheduled to finsh around 8 pm! Finally, after a long day, the students must stay at school to self-study in cubicles until 10 or 11 pm! No wonder they're always trying to catch a quick nap in my classes! Then, the next day it's just rinse and repeat as usual. There are really no extra curricular activities available (with one exception-see below "The Infamous Athlete"). Even if there were, there would be absolutely no time to participate.

The Infamous Athlete
I've posted before on this infamous athlete. A far cry from a fine specimen of a student, these teens are about the only kids in school who particate in extracurricular activities. They are the ones who don't go to an athletic school, and have ended up attending an academic school where they spend the majority of the time training for their one, specific sport. Every class usually has one or two of these athletes, when they actually attend.

*flashback* haha. I recall the first time I met an athlete. It was toward the beginning of the school year and in the midst of trying to learn the names of 100s of students, I had each one create their own English name and desktop nametag. As the task was coming to a close, I approached a student in the back who was half asleep with no nametag visible from my perch at the front of the class. I tapped his shoulder and he opened his eyes. "Where is your nametag?" *blank stare* "What is your English name?" *more blankness* "English name. Paper. Write name. Name. Naaaammmmmeeeee." *more staring* Finally, a student nearby said "Teacher, he is athlete" and the mystery of the blank face was solved. The designated athletes rarely speak a word of English because they never attend class. When they are there, it is perfectly acceptable (and expected) that they will just sleep in the back corner and make zero attempt to complete any work. After all, they're trying to get a sports scholarship into university!

Engrish!

2010-07-15T00:50:00.007-04:00

Alright, so I must admit that I'm fairly disappointed my submission to Engrish.com hasn't appeared on their site. It is CLEARLY worth at LEAST an honourable mention. If you agree with me, let's start a petition and take this mutha to the top! haha. This is my old cell phone's alarm screen.

Konglish signs

2010-07-01T06:46:00.003-04:00

One of my favourite things about Korea is the Konglish signs that can be spotted just about everywhere. They always put a smile on my face. I recently submitted a picture to Engrish.com and I'm waiting to see if it makes it up! I know it's website-worthy!! Check out a few of the Konglish signs I've spotted around Busan lately.

Never have I been so excited to eat a restaurant ;)

I think this one should say something like "Danger" instead. Ambiguous meanings are part of the beauty of Konglish.

Haeundae Sand Festival: A Photo Essay

2010-07-01T06:26:00.009-04:00

A few weeks ago I went and took a gander at the Haeundae Sand Festival. After being out in the sun for approximately 30 minutes, my pastey skin started to take a turn for the worse. And that turn was headed toward tomato town, my friends. Fortunately, I did manage to snap a few photos beforehand. Enjoy :)

Speaking Test Conundrums

2010-07-01T04:01:00.006-04:00

Hello lovely readers! I apologize for my absence as of late. The dawn of speaking tests and final exams is upon us here in Korea. I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to finish all of the grading and sending in my marks. I am completely exhausted from tracking down students all over the school and asking hundreds and hundreds of speaking test questions each day. I'd like to tell you more specifically about what's been happening at my high school in the last couple of weeks and present you with some of the problems I've been facing. I must also warn you that this post will likely be somewhat of a rant.

I think that for a lot of us NETs here in Korea, giving speaking tests can frequently prove to be irritating and time consuming. (At many schools we are not even required to give them, and therefore our classes are worth literally 0%.) We are given essentially zero instruction as to how to complete these tests and zero criteria. I suppose this is no surprise as I also have zero curriculum and no textbook for most of my classes. Unlike many of the NETs here in the ROK, I feel I'm lucky as I have completed my teacher training and have my B.Ed from Canada. Thus, I figured I would fall back on what I learned in teacher's college and used a method of testing and grading that I deemed appropriate.

So, I'd like to organize this post as follows: list a number of particulars about my situation, the problems I have encountered, and how I attempted to solve them.

Particulars
- I organize my lessons into units that are common topics of interest in English, or that are practical conversations for the students to know (eg. going to the movies, discussing music, traveling, going shopping etc.)
- I usually teach 3-4 lessons in one unit and then give a speaking test at the end.
- I decided to conduct my speaking tests interview style wherein I ask the student a series of questions (usually 7-8) and they answer them using the vocabulary and target sentences we studied in our classes.
-I chose to grade each question on a rubric using a 4 point scale that includes things like correctly answering the question, using key vocabulary, correct grammar, and pronounciation.
-I was told that my speaking tests are worth 10% of the their overall English marks.
-My classes have 25-30 students each.
- Each student takes 2-4 minutes to complete the test and it usually takes two periods X each classes= 2 whole weeks to finish all students
-Most classes have 2-3 students who are either in competitive sports or are students with exceptionalities. These students do not attend any afternoon classes and are either practicing their sports (rugby or fencing) or studying with special education teachers. Unlike in Canada, the sports team members are not top students and are not required to have good grades to remain on the team. They are usually the lowest students in the class. Many of them miss every single one of my classes. I don't even know who they are.

Okay, so I think that brings me to the problems I have been facing.
Problems

1. I was told I must administer a speaking test to every single student. This includes the students who are sports players and those who are in special education students. How can I administer the speaking test when they never attend my classes? More importantly, what is the point of giving them these tests? They haven't even learned any of the vocabulary or target sentences. I have literally been pulling them out of their morning classes to give them these silly tests. A large number of them speak ZERO English. If I am marking honestly, each of these students will receive a grade below 20%

2. Because I was told that these tests would amount to 10% of their overall English grade, I naturally graded each test out of whatever number was appropriate, and then transformed their grades into a percentage. I then averaged the percentages from various speaking tests and got a final grade for each student. After having spent well...quite a lot of time doing so, I was told I had to assign each student a letter grade from A through E. Okay, I can do that easily enough, I thought. But then, what is the point of that? If these tests are 10% of their grade, wouldn't it make a whole lotta sense to have a specific number? Administrators can then simply add my 10% to the other teachers' 90%. If there's one thing I hate, it's doing pointless work.

3. Immediately following this letter grade discussion, I was asked how I would be assigning the letter. I said that I would make numerical categories and assign them the corresponding letter grade. My plan was that 90-100% scores would receive an A. 80-89% scores would receive a B and so on. Anything below a 60% would receive an E. (And, in all honesty, these tests were pretty easy. I had to find a middle ground between students who speak basically zero English, and those who take extra classes in debate and persuasive writing with me. There is NO excuse for any student to get below 60%.) I was then informed that this was not correct and asked how I did the grading in the first place. I explained the same thing I explained in 2. above. Apparently this is not how I should be scoring. I should just have been giving a letter grade all along! But...how can they get a numerical grade out of 10% if I'm just assigning letter grades I asked. And, how can I take the averages of various speaking tests with only letter grades? I was then told that A=100%. Huh? How can a whole letter category just be one, single number. If that were the case, I would have wayyyyyyy fewer A's assigned than I have now. In my mind, 100 is perfect. I can't just group together the top students and give them all A's. How would I even know who is at the top before I'd done speaking tests with all the classes? And, I don't just go tossing out 'perfects' like condoms at Pride parades. I gave out 100% to probably about 7 or 8% of students who earned it(one of whom is a native English speaker!!). Furthermore, how can I listen to 7 or 8 different answers to questions and then just assign one single grade overall with no scoring throughout the test? In my experience, students will answer some questions perfectly, and then say "I don't know" to the next. In my mind, it makes SO much more sense to grade numerically on a rubric for each question and then total the score at the end. Working from a letter grade to a number is totally backwards. I just can't understand this madness.

Solutions

1. Track down every single athlete and special ed. student wherever they are and interrupt their other classes for them to have a speaking test. Grade more generously than normal. Give them 1 point for opening their mouths and saying "Eh?" Realize that the school will likely bump up their grades to a 50 or 60% anyway.

2. Let the other teachers duke it out about how to assign letter grades and just let it go even though it's illogical and nonsensical. I'm not going to win against them anyway. In Korea, a modern Confucian society, there is pretty much no way I'll win a debate against my elders. My elders include everyone at the school except for one other teacher. If problems arise, they are the ones who will have to deal with angry parents, students, and administrators.

3. Same as 2.

Korea vs. Argentina

2010-06-17T00:18:00.003-04:00

The second Korean world cup game is underway tonight at 8:30 pm local time. After seeing how insane the fans and cheering were last week, I can hardly wait to head over to the game tonight. I've been looking forward to it all week and have some plans to watch with friends. The games are definitely a way bigger deal in Korea than it is in Canada. In fact, as I'm typing this I can hear my students cheering Dae Han Min Guk (Republic of Korea) together in the hallway. However, this is likely because Canada really, really sucks.

From what I understand, there's about 10 different places around the city that are broadcasting the game live on uber huge screens and jumbo- trons. I'd love to head over to the soccer stadium to watch the game with a few other fans (read: 50,000 people), but it's all the way on the other side of the city and by the time I finish work and head over, I'm gonna be watching from the streets and getting ajumma elbows left and right. Instead, I decided to go to one of my favourite shopping/drinking/cultural areas called Nampo-dong to witness the madness. There's a huge outdoor screen there as well where fans gather to drink beers outside, chant Korean cheers, and yell at Argentina.

During lunch time at my school, I was put into a super awkward position when another teacher asked me about tonight's game. She was all "What score do you guess for the Korea game? Do you think Korea is win?" Now don't get me wrong, of course, I'm cheering for Korea hard tonight. I've been sporting my jersey ALL day...but I think they would be pretty lucky to pull off a win against Argentina when they have Messi, the superstar.

Then she asked me "Who do you like? Messi or Pak Ji Sung?" For those of you who don't know, Pak Ji Sung is the God of sports in Korea-second only to Kim Yun A. (I'm starting to think she's God freals...I see her everywhere-- all the time!) Anyway, Pak Ji Sung plays for Man U in the premier league and is probably the most famous Korean soccer player. He scored the winning goal against Greece the other night and I do definitely recognize his talent. He's making some serious waves. BUT...I've seen Messi play, and that guy is phenomenal. So I decided to play it safe and replied with "If I say Messi, will you be angry?"
"Yes"
"Okay, then I definitely prefer Pak Ji Sung...but he needs to fix his teeth."

Anyway, I'm predicting a strong game from Argentina, but for Korea to put up a good fight. I'm hoping for a 2-2 tie. Go Korea! Korea shouting! Korea fighting!

Air Con

2010-06-11T00:09:00.003-04:00

For the life of me, I can't figure out why my school hasn't turned on the air con yet. It's so hot that I feel like I'm actually melting in here. I'm sweating like I'm about to take the most important test of my life and I'm already wearing a t-shirt with my jeans rolled up at the bottom. What classy educator attire!

I guess they're just trying to save a buck or two. But seriously, it's kind of hard to teach your best and expect the students to actually concentrate when the boys are dripping sweat all over their desks.

For the life of me, I also can't figure out why I'm saying things like "air con". Before I came to Korea, there's no way I would have ever said something like air con. Either "Turn on the AC, buddy!" or "Dude, I'm sweating like a mofo in here...can we get some air please?" would have sufficed. Konglish is stealing my soul.

Other Konglish classics include (but are not limited to): choco, large-ee, sa-lad-uh, hand-uh pone, and gib-a-me!

Only in Korea

2010-06-08T21:03:00.004-04:00

--Only in Korea is it acceptable for a student to give his teacher a bottle of Butt lifting cellulite gel on Teacher's Day.
(Just FYI, it freezes your bum in a Vick's vapo-rub kind of way. My friend told me...)

Elections

2010-06-03T22:05:00.010-04:00

The music is finally over!! No more dancing in the street with two thumbs. No more K-pop blaring at 8 am. No more passing out candy, or handing out pamphlets to unsuspecting victims.

For those of you outside of Korea, you should be aware that what I'm describing above is an accurate portrayal of the election campaigning we endured over the last month. It was also the source of my recent post, The Ubquitous Solution.

Election time in Korea was totally different than any type of campaigning I'd ever witnessed before in person or on the tele. The candidates, and the ajummas they had working with them, were literally passing out candy and dancing all day on trucks. The music that accompanied their dancing was often specific songs they had chosen that were repeated over, and over, and over again. What were the song choices you ask? One candidate had chosen "If You're Happy and You Know It" while another played "Jingle Bells". Still other candidates played their favourite K-pop tunes. They blared speeches through loudspeakers all across the country at all times of the day. They walked around holding posters of the candidate in front of their faces in a mask-like fashion. They even bowed formally to every car passing by. Honestly, it kind of reminded me of voting for the candidate with the best music and best candy in my middle school student body elections.

Now, I'd rather not delve into a cultural comparison of the campaigning in the West versus campaigning in Korea. I'm not in the mood today to write a long post. I'm just here to report what I saw...and heard.

I did have a video here about the noisy election trucks, but the creators had to take it down after receiving death threats. Wouldn't be the first time I guess..

The Ubiquitous Solution

2010-05-27T03:57:00.002-04:00

I haven't written any poetry for a long time. Possible pictures to follow.

The Ubiquitous Solution

Opening a new store?
Get up on a truck and dance about it.

Celebrating an important event?
Get up on a truck and dance about it.

Advertising your company's sale prices?
Get up on a truck and dance about it.

Promoting a candidate for an upcoming national election?
Get up on a truck and dance about it.

...But Now We're Back Together (Pt. 2 of 2)

2010-05-25T01:56:00.012-04:00

The day following the drunken ajoshi sexual harassment, I was still pretty annoyed with Korea in general. As I said in my previous post, expat teachers around here will sometimes have a string of these days every 3 or 4 months. In my mind, our relationship was totally over. For those three days, I wasn't even considering the fact that we might get back together...

I went into school that morning for basically no reason whatsoever. The entire school was on a field trip to various universities around the country, and only the English teachers were left at school. Initially, I had been told that we would have this day off and had made plans to finally get some things done. However, the day before the field trip, I was told to come into school anyway, and that my previous notification had been incorrect. Ugh! Why can't people make up their minds about what's going on around here? This can't be the first time a field trip has ever happened. Anyways, there was literally zero point in us being at school, as we were desk warming the entire time. I was finished all of my lesson planning, marking, and all other prep work that goes along with teaching. I watched an episode of Glee online with another English teacher and chatted about Kurt's cuteness,Rachel's captivating voice and my undying love for Sue Sylvester.

After being at school for about 90 minutes, we received a phone call from the same person who had told us to come in that day. He said we could leave for the day. Well...then why did I come in at all? Instead of sleeping in and going ahead with my intial plans, I had woken up at 7 am and cancelled everything. Oh well, at least now it was still rather early in the day and I had time to make my way across the city to finally shop for some foreigner sized jeans. It's so hard to find anything above a size 6 or 8 here. It's not like I'm enormously fat or anything, but I am a 5'10" female in a land where women in dangerously high heels are still usually about 5'8".

I had heard from some other expats that Shinsegae department store had a GAP in it. Even though I hadn't stepped foot in a GAP since my days of wearing braces and size 2 clothing, I figured foreigner store=foreigner sizes and I'll try my luck there. In addition, Shinsegae is literally the World's Largest Department Store and is listed in the Guinness Book as such (see pictures below). It has an ice rink, movie theatre, spa, and who knows what else. If a record breaking store doesn't have fat pants, then I figured I was ddong (ddong=Korean word for poo) outta luck. Upon entering the store, I began to get a little excited. I was so happy to see familiar sized clothing and things I recognized from home. That is, until I looked at the price tags. The cheapest jeans in the flippin' store were like $115!!! Can you imagine paying that much for GAP jeans at home? Most of them were at least $125. What the frickin frack?! That's like more expensive than Guess or other similar jeans. My short-lived lack of irritability was fading fast as I left the store in a hurry.

I decided to venture into some other stores and ask around for help. I saw one that I kind of liked so I headed inside. I looked around the store and didn't see anything that appeared to fit me so I inquired at the cash register in Konglish. "Anyung haseyo? yu-gi Weiguk-in size-uh?" (Hello. Do you have foreigner sizes here?). She nodded and brought me over to the nearest clothing rack, holding out some jeans for my inspection. I looked at the jeans for half a second, and instantly realized they were man pants!! They were baggy, and they had big pockets and lacked curves or boot cut or skinny or ANYTHING resembling women's jeans. I asked her in Korean if anywhere in the department store had women's jeans for people size 8 or above and "ani-yo" (No!) was her reply. For the love of all that is holy, is it really that hard to find pants in this city of 5 million? I left the store, still very annoyed, and hopped on the subway to head home (with images of half naked ajoshis on the subway platform dancing through my head). Fortunately for me, I was finally about to run into some good luck. I had boarded the subway at the perfect time.

It was a busy afternoon and there were no seats left on the train. I grabbed an overhead bar with one hand and held on tightly as the car departed the station. In my other hand was a purse and a rather large shopping bag. A really cute little girl who was about 5 years old and her older brother were sitting in the seats directly in front of me, accompanied by their mom. They motioned for me to pass them the bag and I was like ummm....why? at first. (Not the brightest crayon in the box at times, haha). Then, I realized the little girl was offering to hold my shopping bag for me so that it would be easier for me to stand up amidst the crowd of other passengers. Awww! What a little cutie. She had a huge grin on her face and seemed excited to see a foreigner on the subway. I gave her my bag and said "kamsahamnida" (Thank you!) as I returned her smile.

After a few minutes of overhearing her conversing about me in Korean and trying to make out exactly what she was saying, I decided to introduce myself. "Anyung? Juh neun Ellisa-imnida. Juh neun Canada saram-eeh-yo. Erum-ee mowah-eh-yo?" (Hello. My name is Ellisa. I'm Canadian. What's your name?) She was really excited to hear me speak Korean and laughed a little at the same time. She told me her name, and then told her mom that she really likes Canadian people (but wasn't sure about those crazy Americans!). Haha...awww again! I pondered it for a moment, and then decided to give her a little Canadian souvenir. I found a toonie in my purse and handed it over. Her face lit up again. She was on cloud nine with that $2 coin. She asked me how much it was worth, so I told her and she got even more excited! Wow! A whole two dollars! Next, she wondered if the person on the coin was a man or a woman. Aww..how cute. (It's the Queen of England for those of you who don't know).

And with that, I was back together with Korea. My three days of hostility had ended and blue skies were on their way again.

Korea and I broke up...(Pt. 1 of 2)

2010-05-14T01:32:00.012-04:00

Note--I put up some better pics for the baby's first birthday post. Check 'em out!!

*sigh* These last few days have been trying on my patience. In fact, Korea and I had a fiery disagreement wherein we broke off our relationship. Fortunately, we were not alone in our troubles! Most anyone who has lived in Korea for a long period of time will tell you that they had a rough patch around the 3 month mark. Usually around this time some of the novelty starts to wear off and you begin to miss friends and family back home a lot. You need a few days to deal and get over it. That said, it's not a big emotional trauma--I wasn't crying myself to sleep each night or drinking soju by the bottle. It's just that it has been about 3 consective days of irritated "Ms. S teacher" which I think it can best be summarized by the following--Although my love for Korea remains strong, I sometimes want to punch people...right in the surgically-altered nose. (Fear not,Lovely Reader, for my tale ends in happiness. We're back together Part 2 is coming soon!!)

Part 1-Things Get Rocky
My tale of woe began about 3 days ago after a particularly irritating day at school. I don't know if it was the weather or the drinking water or the fact that they were going on a field trip in two days, but one of my classes of high school boys were acting like two year olds who'd just eaten 5 packages of pixie sticks and been given a toy like Bop It or Furbie. In other words, really.freakin.annoying. Now it's not like this is a big deal every once and a while, and boys will be boys, but their complete lack of concentration in combination with my lack of ample sleep took my level of irritability from zero to testy in one 50 minute class.

Immediately after school I headed over to the local supermarket-uh to pick up some milk, water and a beer to relax with while I watched How I Met Your Mother. As I waited second in line (line: synonym-queue, defintion-noun. 1. A series of people waiting for something in single file), an ajumma suddenly entered the store, elbowed me in the side, and walked right in front of me to the cash register to hand her money to the store lady. B#%$@ please. *snaps fingers* Uh uh. No you didn't. No touch-ee policy. I wanted to whip out the electronic dictionary in my phone and read her word-for-word the definition of a line in my broken Korean. I wanted to cuss her so badly, but she wouldn't have understood me anyways. I decided keeping my cool was the best course of action. I looked at the lady behind the cash and gave her the knowing eye. I could tell she felt embarassed about the situation too, but also didn't want to say anything. We wouldn't want this old ajumma to lose face. Ugh!! Sometimes I just can't handle the ajumma right to do anything they want. They are always butting and pushing and yelling and no one ever stands up to them.

That night I drank a few more beers and went to a local chicken place where I received the wrong order. Really? Really?! I even pointed to the picture when ordering for pete's sake. Heavens to Betsy. Gosh darn it.

Part deux- The Break-up
The next day at school went fairly well. I was a little bit tired from the night before, but not too bad. I'd say my level of annoyance was midway between zero and testy. I was teaching a new unit about shopping and even though it was challenging, most of the kids seemed to work pretty hard. Of course there were the usual sleepers and Korean speakers, but that's just a normal day teaching English in the ROK.

After school I went over to Hadan area to meet Amy at her school. I was waiting just outside the door in this little nook when a really old ajosshi, who wreaked of soju and mothballs came out of nowhere and cornered me. It seems as though ajosshi did not receive my recent letter. Maybe this is because his address is the subway station. Or, maybe it's due to Korea Post's poor delivery standards I've been hearing about lately.

Anyway, I could barely make out what he was saying because he was so drunk and my Korean isn't so stellar. What I did make out was "Are you Russian? (ie. Are you a prostitute?) and How much? Grrr!! Why must you assume that all Whities are Russian, or that all Russians are prostitutes? Was it my bright white, zipped-up-to-the-neck, Helly Hansen hiking jacket that was indicative of hookery? My grey and yellow Chucks? I can't even begin to get into this.

Of course I responded that no, my intention for waiting outside of the school was not to have paid sex and tried to walk away. Much to my dismay, he stuck out his arm and prevented me from leaving. I tried to move again and he blocked me again. He continued blocking me and rambling to me in Korean. I told him again "I'm not Russian. No! Stop!" At this point, people in this tiny space in front of her school were stopping on the sidewalk to watch. I walked a few paces to the right and he tightly grabbed my arm from behind. My purse fell down my off my shoulder and he touched it. I promptly grabbed it back and put it back on my shoulder and was starting to get visibly upset. Now, there were probably about 5 people of all ages standing around watching and NO ONE was helping. No one even said anything. I did a quick basketball-style pivot and walked the other way. He followed again and grabbed my arm again. At this point, I was really, really angry. This had been going on for at least 2 or 3 minutes with an audience of several people and no one was helping. Finally, I got loose from his arm and turned and ran the other way. (No thanks to anyone else, I might add. Again, wouldn't want this ajusshi to lose face!) I made it halfway down the subway stairs and he was still follwing me yelling in random Korean. My frustration was so high at this point I had tears in my eyes. I picked up the pace and literally sprinted through the subway station, up the stairs on the other side, and hid around the corner about 3 blocks down until the coast was clear. I made Amy come meet me about a block away from her school. Why do so many ajusshis have to treat foreign women like this? (Not all ajusshis are like this by any means, but it's not like this is an isolated incident.) Why didn't any Korean help me? That's it! I'm pissed. We're breaking up!

To Be Continued...

Random Thoughts by Me

2010-05-11T21:15:00.005-04:00

Sometimes it bothers me when students come into the staffroom and say "Teacher. Where is Ms. Kim?" Ummm..do you not realize that literally every single teacher in this room is named Ms. Kim except me?

I swear I'll do it. Don't come any closer or I'll do it. "Teacher. Don't you like kimchi?" "No. It tastes like crap and too much causes gastric cancer."

"Look at this stuff. Isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think my collection's complete? Wouldn't you think I'm a girl...a girl who has...everything?" Hahah stupid mermaid. You don't even have legs.

Baby's First Birthday

2010-05-10T06:17:00.007-04:00

*Edit* I uploaded some better pics from a much better camera than mine.

Sorry for the lack of updates in the last couple of weeks. I've had a relaxed few weeks at school because of field trips and exams, so I've been busy making the most of my time here. Anyway, without further ado...

Korean First Birthday (Korean word-Tol)

A few weeks ago, my colleague invited me to her baby's first birthday celebration. This is a huge deal in Korea, and is based on a long standing tradition.

A long time ago, before Korea had the advanced medicine found today, large numbers of infants would die at an early age due to disease. A child making it to his or her first birthday was cause for a huge celebration! Although the times have changed, several parts of the Tol have remained the same. As you can see above, the baby is dressed in fancy clothing, but it seems to have gotten less colorful than in the past from what I've read.

There is also still a huge celebration including food and a big gathering of friends and family. This was the second Tol celebration I've attended in Korea, and both were held in massive buffet halls. The baby's family pays for everyone to eat this amazingly huge and delicious buffet while guests are expected to bring money and/or presents for the baby. The cost seems to average out in the end. The buffet was incredible! There was every kind of food imaginable -Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Western and several others. I ate wayyyyyy too much sushi and not enough kimchi.

The most entertaining aspect of any Korean party is the hired entertainment. Tol parties are no exception. An emcee is hired to carry out the ceremony and keep guests entertained. There is also usually some strange dancing and singing which is loud and irritating, to be quiet honest. Call me crazy, but watching people acting like children and singing in loud, high pitched voices, who may or may not be dressed up as animated characters is not my idea of a good time. It's okay for a few minutes, but after half an hour it gets old. I wish I had a video of when the girls playing flute and violin randomly jumped up front out of nowhere and joined in. (Check out the video below. Sorry about the heads in the way, we were close to the back. You get the point though)

During this part of the ceremony, my friends and I kind of ignored the singing and started talking about something un-baby related in English while the Korean emcee continued talking on the mic. At one point, I heard the word weigook (foreigner) and looked up to see about 100 guests, the emcee and hired help all staring at us simultaneously. Wouldn't be the first time my face matched my hair in Korea! Anyway, we had no idea what was happening or why they were staring at us. The emcee asked my Korean friend where we were from, she answered, and then the emcee thrust the mic in my face. Thank God I understood her Korean when she said "Congratulate the baby in English" because all of this happened in like 30 seconds. They appreciated my wonderful English sentence and gave me a prize for being from so far away. Every once and a while it pays to stand out here.

Lastly, the best part of the Tol is when the baby must determine his or her future at age one! Nah, I jest, not really. But there is some truth to this statement. Basically there are a bunch of items laid out in front of the baby on the table. These will include a pencil, money, bow and arrow and a myriad of other things. The baby is then set free to choose whichever item he or she wants and this choice is said to predict his or her future. For example, if the baby picks the pencil it means he or she will be a brilliant scholar. I'm sure you can figure out what choosing the money means. While the audience awaits the baby's choice, they can gamble on what the baby will prefer. Each person receives a raffle ticket which they can enter into a jar according to what they believe the baby will choose. There is a separate jar for each item. After the baby makes the choice, 2 or 3 names will be drawn from the winning jar and those people will win a prize! Yay!
All in all, I'd say it was a happy evnet.

English in Korea

2010-04-19T20:42:00.004-04:00

Foreword
I don't mean to rag on ESL/EFL speakers. (But it's my blog and I'll cry if I want to...haha)I realize that learning a second language is extremely challenging. It can be frustrating, embarassing and cumbersome. My biggest concern about English in Korea is the education system itself. As an educator, I find myself sitting around reflecting on the issues here quite often. How can anyone deny there is a fundamental flaw with English education and its organization and implementation when students with 10 years of study under their belts cannot respond to the question "Where is he?"

A Small Rant of Sorts
I would say the majority of people in Korea are not fluent in English. In and of itself this is obviously not a problem. We're in Korea and people speak Korean. BUT, for many Koreans, although they have studied the language for at least ten years in school, they are unable to hold a conversation. Generally they can understand what you are saying and score high on TOEFL tests for listening. However, because there is a phenomenon known as "English sickness", many Koreans do not like to speak the language. Basically, English sickness refers to a feeling of being extremely shy when speaking in front of native speakers and being very afraid to make mistakes. Of course people are shy when speaking a language that is not their own, but there is a marked increase in that attitude here compared to in the western world. I know that my Korean sucks, but I also realize that practice makes perfect and I try to speak what little Korean I know all of the time.

There is also the enormous problem of the education system itself. The focus in schools is entirely on grammar and grammar is taught in Korean. For students who do not attend an English hagwon after public school, their only experience speaking English with a native speaker is my 50 minute class, once a week. How effective can this possibly be? Many of my high school students know vocabulary like neurological and understand complicated sentences. However, ask them a simple question like "How are you?" and every single student, without fail, will answer "I'm fine thank you, and you?" Sometimes it feels like there is no ability to think outside of the box or use the phrases they've learned in their grammar classes in actual conversation. In my classroom, if I ask a question like "Where is your book?" about half of the students will look at me with a blank face.

Another thing that baffles me is how it seems that every English speaking native Korean has somehow learned the same phrases and vocabulary. Even though many of these phrases are things that are rarely said in English, they come up in just about every conversation here. Also, the mistakes I hear in spoken English are always the same. How is this possible when they have all studied English at different schools, in different countries and for various lengths of time? Sometimes it's not even that they are technically mistakes, it's just that they are awkward uses of a common phrase or are incorrect in the context. Here are some examples I hear ALL the time:

Strange uses of words
1) meeting- This can mean anything from hanging out with a friend at the bar to having a school staff meeting.
Random Korean- I can't come for dinner tonight. I have a meeting.
Me- Ahh really? For school?
Random Korean- No, with my friend for dinner

2)appointment- Similar to above
RK- Tonight I am busy because I have an appointment.
Me- Oh at the Doctors? Are you sick?
Random Korean- hahah no! An appointment with my friend

3)emergency- usually used to mean something that is not even close to being an emergency
RK- I want to come out for dinner, but I can't because there is an emergency in my home!
Me- Oh no! Is everything okay?
RK- I can't find a babysitter for my daughter.

Commonly used phrases
1)frankly speaking
RK-Frankly speaking, I think blah blah blah.

2)these days
RK- These days, we can see blah blah blah.

3)body condition
RK- How is your body condition?

My Most Traumatizing Life Experience

2010-04-19T02:58:00.005-04:00

Now there is nothing about this experience that is inherently Korean. Unlike my usual posts, nothing in this one is even remotely related to Korean culture or what I would consider to be normal, everyday life. In fact, nothing in this piece is even witty, or informative. I feel as though there is really only one true word to describe this experience, nay, problem I encountered--traumatizing. Every problem needs a solution, dear Reader...and I have decided to solve this one with a letter.

Before I begin, I feel as though I need to introduce some new vocabulary. By this time, you should be familiar with the term ajumma as I have used it in several prior posts. I have described this type of woman who is native to Korea in great detail and could continue to share hours of subway pushing and stomach slapping stories. But...I digress. The word of today is ajosshi--- a noun referring to an older Korean man. It is essentially the male equivalent to ajumma. However, instead of dressing in unmatching, polyester patterned clothes, he will undoubtedly be wearing a suit of some kind. He will always be smoking a cigarette and may be red-faced from too much soju. Ajosshis are even more well known for giving their unwanted opinions than ajummas. For example, just yesterday an ajosshi yelled at me to get down from... *drum roll to horrible, terrible foreigner misbehaving* sitting on a low cement wall outside of the subway station. I know, Reader. How could I do such a thing as sit?

Dear Ajosshi on the subway platform,

I am writing you this letter to express my sincere disgust with your actions late last night. Although I am familiar with the feeling of experiencing a "first" in a country which is not my own, last night's first was unexpected and unwanted regardless of the country in which I happen to be residing.

Now ajosshi, I understand that some people have a need for instant gratification. I also understand that maybe you were severely inebriated after several "one shots" of soju at the time of the incident. However, intoxication does not, and can never erase the images of last night that are forever etched into my mind. Ergo, I have decided to remind you of the events that transpired last night in case you have forgotten, and so that you may be fully aware of how it felt from my point of view. I am also hoping to shame you into sobriety and a decrease in perverted actions. Thus, it is my hope that upon reading this letter, you will undergo a period of intense meta cognition during which you are able to realize your transgressions and change your ways.

As you may or may not be aware, ajosshi, I was riding the subway headed westbound to Nampo-dong last night around 10:15 pm. After a long day of exploring the beaches and shopping areas of Haeundae, Amy and I were returning home to relax and prepare for the long week ahead. The subway cars were fairly empty and many of the passengers were busy reading, listening to music, or chatting with friends. Our train had stopped to let passengers off and was just about to re-commence motion. All of a sudden Amy turned to me with a bright red face and exclaimed quietly "Oh my God!". My mind raced temporarily as I attempted to assess the situation. Was she choking on her gum? Did she suddenly remember she had left her apartment door unlocked? Did she smell something nauseating? No, ajosshi, none of these were the case. I only wish they were. Amy pointed to the subway platform in front of us and said "Look!"

If only I could take back the events that followed. If only I hadn't looked up. If only you hadn't been standing there ajosshi. If only, if only, if only..sigh.

When I looked up, there you were ajosshi. I know it was you as I distinctly remember your eyes and your blue face mask to trap germs. As you may or may not know, you were standing there, with your pants down, fully exposed...and you were....well....you know. Those 3 seconds were the longest and most traumatizing of my life. "AHHHHH!!! OH MY GOD!" I retorted as the subway pulled away from the station quickly after. "Did that just happen? Wow. Ewwww. I can't believe I just saw that. I saw everything!!" I looked around the subway car. Most of the passengers were facing the opposite way and hadn't seen the man. Those who were in the same direction as us appeared to be too busy to notice.

So, as you can see ajosshi, I was greatly affected by your actions. In fact, I have been replaying last night's occurence over and over again in my mind all day...and I really, REALLY, wish I wasn't. I fear that these images will long be present in my thoughts and will resurface each and every time I board the subway.

Thus, in order to resolve this problem, I would really appreciate a letter of apology. In addition, your promise to remain fully clothed in public at all times would be well received. I can only hope that no other unsuspecting victim has to witness a repeat episode of your unacceptable actions. In the future, you must learn to think about your actions and their consequences before you dive right in.

Sincerely,
E

My Walk to School: A Photo Essay

2010-04-09T08:52:00.012-04:00

Cheesy blog alert!!
This walk is 8 minutes of pure bliss...especially in cherry blossom season. It's incredible to live right beside the ocean and fall asleep to the waves crashing every night. So without further ado, from apartment door to staff room, I give you: *drum roll* My Walk to School.

Dokdo argument heating up?

2010-04-07T07:54:00.011-04:00

So I was taking a gander at the Korea Times today, Korea's oldest (and notoriously terrible?) English newspaper, when I came across this little gem-- "Seoul Decries Tokyo’s Claim to Dokdo Islets"-- written by Na Jeong-ju.

The presidential office expressed deep regret Tuesday over Japan's territorial claims to a set of South Korean islets in the East Sea, saying the provocative act is a result of its misunderstanding and distortion of historical facts.

"It is truly disappointing," Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Sun-kyoo said, hours after Japan's Diet approved the government's diplomatic bluebook, an annual report on foreign policies and activities, which described Dokdo, called Takeshima in Japanese, as part of Japan's territory.

For those of you unfamiliar with this topic (who are either living in another country, or in Korea under a rock), basically it has been close to the hearts and minds of Koreans everywhere for the past several years. During my last teaching contract in Seoul in 2008, I even witnessed Dunkin Donuts initiating a t-shirt campaign in support of Korea's claims to the islands.

Now given that I'm not Korean and I don't share their emotional sentiments towards Japan (arising at least partially from their colonization of Korea in the early 1900's), it is a little difficult for me to relate to this issue. I have tried to discuss it with several Koreans to get the facts, but it seems like it`s one of those things that is hard to pinpoint without a lot of strong feelings (read: biased, unwavering, steadfast opinions) being evoked. Alas, I had to resort to reading to figure out the gist of what was happening. I'll try to break it down pretty simply below.

To summarize what I`ve read and understand about the island itself:
Firstly, Dokdo is a relatively tiny piece of land with a surface area of less than 1 square kilometer. It is smack dab in the middle of Korea and Japan in the "East Sea/Sea of Japan". (Don't even get me started on the sea name. It's a whole other post of debate between Japan and Korea). It was formed millions of years ago from volcanic rock and consists of two "larger" islets with several other smaller ones in the surrounding area. These islets have been designated a nature reserve, and thus travel to the area has been largely restricted by the Korean government over the years. Interestingly, Dokdo currently has only two Korean residents who make their living by fishing. Other than that, it seems that the only people who spend any reasonable amount of time there are the police officers who take turns patrolling the place.

To summarize the value of the island:
As far as the value of the island is concerned, it seems a bit insignificant to me. The more I read/heard about this topic, the more I suspected that this disagreement had nothing to do with the value of Dokdo itself. However, there are definitely some assets of mention. Namely, in a country where the sea life is depleting rapidly due to industrialization and a massive harbour/fishing industry, Dokdo is one area that still contains a large population of fish. It is also rumoured to have large gas deposits. Finally, I think there is some intrinsic value in the islands' nature reserve status in that it will remain beautiful, preserved and largely undamaged by tourists in the years to come.

My opinion--What is this really about?
Now, it seems like the Korean government has been in charge of this island for 50-60 years now. There also appears to be a lot of historical evidence supporting their side... not to mention the fact that Koreans live there, patrol it, and tour it. (Conversely, I do have reason to believe that the two lone inhabitants are not there by chance). And, I`m not saying that issue should not be discussed or taken seriously by Koreans and Japanese citizens (and whoever else may be involved). I know the Koreans feel cheated and feel as though the Japanese are lying about major historical events. However, it just seems to me that there are so many bigger issues happening in the world today, and even between these two countries. People really get upset about this issue. It shakes them to their very core. Yet, I suspect that the real issue behind this drama has more to do with the history of these two countries and less to do with the island itself. Take the following quote from the end of the article for example:

"The incident came as many people from Korea and Japan are preparing to open a century of peace and friendship, marking the 100th anniversary of Japan's colonization of Korea in 1910," ministry spokesman Kim Young-sun told reporters.

"We want to make it clear again that Japan's move to ignore our sovereignty over Dokdo is not acceptable and will have serious consequences."

Wow! Serious consequences!? Like what?! It almost sounds like a threat. A threat over a small island with two inhabitants in the middle of nowhere? I think it's clear that there is obviously something else going on here and that the something else is the violent history between these two neighbours. Anyway, I just think that maybe it's time for some serious lovin' to happen between Japan and Korea and for their relationship to move forward instead of looking to the past.

15 Korean Survival Tips!

2010-04-04T05:10:00.010-04:00

Foreword
For those at home, and my own entertainment, I have decided to compile a list of tips for survival in Korea. This list is by no means exhaustive, or 100% serious. But seriously...

1. Buy an umbrella! Enough said.

rainy day at Haeundae beach

2. Get on and off the bus quickly. The driver will wait for no one and neither will the other passengers. There is no time for casual swiping of the MYb card or to chat with chingus (friends). GET OFF!

3. While riding the bus, sit down or hang on for dear life. The larger the vehicle here, the more it rules the road. This is especially true if said vehicle is some form of public transit. Thus, the buses go super fast and if you're not careful you might fall.

4. Don't be surprised or angry if people bump into you/push you on a regular basis sans apology. It's just part of what happens in a small country with a large population. Korean citizens do not mean to be rude, they are just trying to go about their business quickly. "Sorry" is not thrown around lightly here like it is in Canada.

packed subway car in Seoul

5. For the love of God, do NOT sit in the section of the subway reserved for the elderly or disabled. Someone will probably get very angry if you do and it's kind of awkward. Just FYI, this area is located at the very end of the subway cars and usually has about 10 seats.

6. If you are speaking English to someone who is not fluent in the language (because your Korean is not so stellar), think about what you're saying and how you're saying it. Do not speak as though you're out drinking with your closest friends from home. Slow down, avoid slang, use common words and practise all of the miming you learned in drama class. The same rules should apply to Koreans. Sometimes I wish some of them would slow down a little and talk to me like I'm a toddler.

7. If attempting to travel via taxi, avoid the black cars. They are more luxurious and have a higher fare. I know far too many teachers here who have learned this the hard way.

8. Be respectful to your elders and those around you with a higher position than you in the workplace. It's such an important part of the culture here. Even if that elder is not your favourite person in the world and just swatted you with their umbrella, try to remain calm and shake it off. A little deep breathing and relaxation will go a long way around here. It's best to avoid disagreements unless it's over a really serious issue. Try to pick your battles whenever possible.

9. While shopping at your local Home Plus (or other grocery/department store), be aware that the wheels on the carts are able to turn in a full 360 degree circle. Unlike at home where consumers with carts are restricted to a forward/backward motion, shoppers in Korea are free to shop as though they are in the midst of an army reserve obstacle course. Achilles tendon protection guards are highly recommended.

10. Make sure to have some thick skin when teaching English to children, no matter what their age. It seems that calling someone fat or pig around here is more a statement of fact than an insult. It is also said in relevance to the size of an average Korean, who is quite a bit smaller than the average Westerner. I remember the first time a student called me fat I was mortified. Why I never...I thought to myself. Haha. I had never thought of myself as fat before in Canada and I wanted to show that kindergartner who was boss! After a while though, it just stops phasing you and you don't care. Shake it off.
True story: I once knew a teacher here who overheard one student calling another student fat. The teacher responded by saying "Yeah, well you have a big nose" and the name-caller was suddenly very upset. "How did that make you feel? Did you like when I said you had a big nose?" A soft "no" was the student's response. Although this type of thing would never fly in Canada, it's not actually drastic at all here and solved the problem. It also really made me laugh..
Speaking of drastic...

11. Korea is one of the few developed countries in the world that still uses corporal punishment in public schools. For instance, if students are poorly behaved in class, you might witness a teacher lining up said students against the wall and hitting their legs with a broom handle. Occasionally there are also reports of more severe punishments written up in the local newspapers. I know that this is a serious issue for many of the NETs (Native English teachers) here. It's kind of hard to give advice on what to do about this, because in all honesty I don't think there is much that we, as NETs can do. I certainly do not practise this method in my classroom or condone it. I think the use of this type of punishment is gradually declining, and in the meantime, most of us NETs are just living with it.

12. Don't be surprised if your Western ideas about personal space are compromised the instant you step foot into Korea. People here are much more touchy than at home and will pull you around, hold your hand, and link arms with you. It's actually kind of nice to see people showing some affection for once! I've kind of grown to like it.

13. Expect Korean citizens and neighbours to become more involved in what you consider to be your personal business than what you're used to at home. Don't let it bother you.

Let's take recycling here as an example. Over the years and under different housing situations I've had here, I have never been able to discern for sure what can be recycled and what is garbage. I have asked so many people, and tried to find information, but it is either unclear, or always changing. My old apartment was just a 3 story villa style and we carried our own garbage and recycling to the curb where it was picked up by the appropriate workers. However, there was a scary ajumma in the building who would constantly go through the garbage and recycling, come find me, and yell at me about what was in the garbage. This was super awkward because I never understood much of what she was saying aside from the Korean words for garbage and paper, so I would just stand there while she yelled in fast Korean. One time she even brought a bag of garbage to my hagwon (private school) and emptied it over another teacher's desk. No joke. I hope your mouth is gaping wide because mine sure was when I heard. Can you imagine looking through your neighbour's garbage to ensure they had correctly recycled?

Of course, I had a similar incident during my first couple of weeks here at my new apartment. Because it's a large complex, we carry our recycling bags down to the appropriate area, and everything is sorted into different containers such as cardboard, aluminum, lights, batteries, etc. I went down there and started sorting things when the building security guard came out and started yelling at me. I was like ahhhhh...what am I doing wrong now? I can clearly see that this is the container for pop cans. Anyway, he took my bags of recycling and just threw everything off the side and then left. Was he watching my recycling efforts on the CCTV security cameras? Strange.

14. Don't write anyone's name in red pen or marker. It's kind of an old superstition here and it means that person will soon die.

15. When someone offers you a gift, it is a common ritual to refuse the gift at first. Even though both parties know this, and even if you really want the gift, you should still say no. "Oh thank you, but I can't accept this. No, no, no. No, really, no. I can't. I just can't. No, no. Well....okay."

Any others you can think of?

Things I ♥ about Korea

2010-04-01T07:09:00.005-04:00

Korea is a country of convenience in a lot of ways. There are some things here that are just so brilliant and simple that I think we really need to get them back home. I have the feeling that this post will eventually have a sequel as more things come to mind.

Customer Service
Customer service in Korea is seriously amazing. Compared to Canada, I think the majority of Koreans in the service industry go above and beyond. Obviously I've had some bad experiences as well. I'm also not saying that Canadians don't work hard at their jobs...but I can't even put into words how above and beyond the average worker here will go to provide you with the best service possible. Whether you're at the bank, at a restaurant, in a taxi, or at a department store, the employees will treat you like you are the most important person in the world. This is especially astonishing given that Korea is a country where tips are not given or expected in any industry!

Take the bank for example. Today I went to the bank alone to attempt to set up my internet banking account to complete wire transfers back to Canada without ever having to set foot in a bank again. As you can imagine, I have no idea how to say that in Korean. Moreover, just to set the scene a little bit, I think it's safe to say that my spoken knowledge of Korean was just as good as the teller's knowledge of English. The language barrier was seriously like the Hoover Dam. There was a lot of pointing, miming, and the simplest mixture possible of Korean and English. The process took somewhere around 40 minutes to complete with a billion forms to sign and computer screens filled with info. Even though I'm sure the teller was frustrated, she was SO pleasant the entire time. She was always smiling and trying to communicate with me in the best manner possible. When we were finished, she was still concerned about me not understanding that I had to create a new password. She actually CALLED my co-teacher like an hour later to discuss everything with her and ensure that I was up to speed. She then proceeded to give my colleague her name, and phone number and told her for us to call anytime we had a problem.

Customer service here is also completed in such a timely manner. If you call the internet company to set up a new account in your home, they will come the next day! You're not sitting around waiting for Rogers all morning some two weeks later only to have them not show up.

Umbrella Stands
I know, I know. How am I seriously posting about umbrellas again?

As you know from reading my earlier posts, every single person in Korea has an umbrella and it rains quite often here in the Spring. One simple thing I absolutely love are the umbrella stands at many stores. There is a rack outside of them that is sort of like an umbrella parking lot. You can clip your umbrella into it and then you don't have to carry the soaking wet thing all around inside of the store. It saves you and the floors from being totally soaked. A lot of places also come equipped with umbrella bag dispensers. You just slip your umbrella into the stand where bags are held and pull out your umbrella in a perfect sized little bag. You can carry it around and be dry to your heart's content!

MYb / TMoney Cards and the Transit System
Transit in Korea is really excellent. Outside of the city, I recently heard you can travel to over 90% of Korea using the nationwide buses or trains. Within Busan itself, the buses and subways go everywhere and have frequent service. The subway cars are clean and new and the stations have everything from flat screen TVs to popcorn vending machines. In addition, given that the buses drive so fast I can barely stand up, you are guaranteed to make it to your destination in the blink of an eye!

MYb cards are super great. We seriously need to get something like this for our buses and subways. I really prefer them to the monthly transit passes available in Toronto. The TTC cards have become so expensive-- around $100 per month-- and you always have to go buy a new one at the beginning of every month. Also, if you don't have a transit card, you pay the same fare of $2.75 regardless of if you are traveling for 5 minutes or 5 hours. Even without the MYb card, the bus fare here is something like 1$ so it's pretty cheap.

Anyway, let me explain about the card before I go off on a tangent--MYb cards (for Busan) and T Money cards (for Seoul) are so convenient. You can choose from either an actual card for your wallet or a little key chain that hangs from your cell phone. They have a computer chip inside which keeps track of the money and you can add money to the card whenever you like. Machines to recharge the cards can be found in every subway station, and many convenience stores or even banks. When you get onto the bus or subway, you just hold your card in front of the scanner and it automatically subtracts the base fare for your trip. You can transfer from bus to subway super easily. Just swipe the card again as you get off the bus and once more when you get onto the subway. It keeps tract of how you far you go and charges you accordingly (ie. If it takes around $1 from your card when you board the bus, when you transfer to the subway it only takes around 20 cents more). If you are using the card, as opposed to a cash fee, you save a small amount each time. Genius!

Taking a Number
Have you ever gone to a TD bank during the noon hour break only to discover that 20 people are ahead of you in line and that you have to stand amongst a crowd of people surrounded by those little cue poles with the retractable belts? I have...and it's kind of annoying...especially given that I have the knees of a 90 year old and standing still in the same place for 30 minutes starts to bother them.
Any place that has the potential for a long cue to form here will have a number machine. You just take a number and wait for you turn while relaxing on a comfortable chair and watching people dump their change into the machine that counts it for you and dispenses bills. I'm aware that we have these number machines in a few places in Canada, but we need to whip these out more often. Also, we really need to get that change counter in EVERY one of our banks and not just Zehrs Woodstock. Counting and rolling coins is not my idea of a good time. Coin party..woot woot!

New Blog Name

2010-03-29T03:41:00.004-04:00

Marc's suggestion was the clear winner in my mind by laugh-meter. It made me laugh the hardest. Thanks for the idea..love it!
(Gogi means meat for those of you who don't know.)

And one more thing: Thanks to all for the awesome comments I've been getting so far. My personal fav was "You make reading fun!" Haha..really makes me feel like I've entered the right profession. If you want to write the comments on my actual blog, or subscribe, knock yourself out! I'm just getting used to this thing so bear with me. Oh, and if you write your own and you want me to link it then let me know!

HELP!!

2010-03-26T02:10:00.002-04:00

*GASP*!!! I found another blog with the same name as mine and it has been around longer and is much more developed. We can't have people mistaking someone else's crappy blog for my awesome one now can we?! Haha...but seriously, I need to come up with a new name for this thing. Any ideas or suggestions?

Kimchi: FAQ and Cafeteria Lunches

2010-03-23T08:53:00.005-04:00

I can honestly say that I don't think a day ever passes here sans some sort of kimchi discussion. Without a doubt, Koreans certainly love their kimchi. Possibly that is the understatement of the century. It's the country's national food, and they eat it literally every meal, every day. All of this kimchi conversation got me thinking about Canada and if we even have a national food? I figure if we do, it's probably poutine, pancakes with maple syrup, or beaver tails. Who knows? No one really talks about it. How often do you have conversations about poutine? I can't even remember the last time I ate it.

Now, back to kimchi... don't get me wrong, the stuff is pretty good and after you've been here a while you sort of get used to kimchi being a regular topic of conversation. On the other hand, some days I feel as though if one more person talks to me about kimchi I'm going to ferment my own brain. I've decided to dedicate this brief blog posting to kimchi..in all it's glory.

What is kimchi?
For the most part, kimchi refers to a pickled, fermented, spicy cabbage side dish eaten here alongside every meal. When most people say kimchi, this is what they mean. However, it can also be used as a verb in a sense. You can "kimchi" almost any vegetable...and they do.

How popular is kimchi?
Well, as I already stated it is eaten as the staple food here for almost every meal. It's rice to India or potatoes to North America. I think this quote from Wikipedia (Great job picking reliable sources, Ellisa teacher!) about sums it up: "Kimchi is so ubiquitous that the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) developed space kimchi to accompany the first Korean astronaut to the Russian-manned space ship Soyuz."

Questions I am Asked on a Daily Basis Concerning Kimchi
At my school, we are provided with a cafeteria style lunch each day. You grab your little metal tray and pick out which of the foods you feel for and grab yourself some chopsticks. Everyday in the cafeteria (and elsewhere around Korea) I am routinely asked questions about kimchi and my eating habits. Depending on my mood on any given day, I sometimes don't feel like answering these questions as I've been asked them so many times. But you've gotta hand it to Koreans--they really do have a strong sense of national pride, history and culture. As a famous Korean essay once said " If we don't love kimchi, who will?" It's pretty cool that they love their food so much. As a Canadian, I am just not used to having my food discussed everyday.
So...in no particular order:

1) Have you tried kimchi?
Really? Really? How any foreigner on their third school contract in Korea could have avoided trying kimchi is completely beyond me.

2) Asker: Do you like kimchi?
Me: Yes.
Asker: *surprised and excited* OOOOOOHHHHHHH!!!!
Why the surprise? I don't understand.

3) Kimchi....it's too spicy for you?
For some reason, I think it is a popular myth in Korea that Westerners do not eat/enjoy spicy food at all. I`m not saying ALL Westerners enjoy spicy food, I think palettes can vary widely from person to person. I`m simply saying that I'm not sure exactly where they learn this information, because they always seem shocked when we don't find kimchi too spicy, or really, spicy at all. As for me, if I go for Mexican, I drown my burrito in hot sauce. At sushi restaurants, I live for Wasabi. Sriacha sauce is my best friend when it comes to stir fry and other Asian rice dishes. Speaking for myself and on behalf of foreigners everywhere, kimchi really isn`t all that spicy. Even my dad could eat it! (He has probably tried to repress the memories of the spicy meals I would cook for our family...sorry dad :) )

4) Some days in school caf, I'm just really not feeling kimchi. Like I said, it's there everyday, and in our culture we don`t eat the same food everyday. Most of us would whine if we had to do that. Which leads me to my next question:
Where is your kimchi? Don't you like kimchi?
Yes. Just not every meal. Also, please stop scrutinizing my food selection so closely. It's making me uncomfortable.

5) Un-kimchi related
Wow. You are so good with chopsticks! How can you know how to use these things?
Well, for one thing I've lived in Asia for quite some time now. If you think I'm good with these flat, metal ones, you should see me with square wooden ones! I demand a stick-off!!
Secondly, we eat with chopsticks at home quite a bit, too. This is especially true of my generation. Large urban cities like Toronto are so multicultural that going for sushi or Korean BBQ is pretty common. I think every single one of my friends can at least eat with the wooden ones.

6) Did you know kimchi is good for your well-being (or "body condition")?
Well.. it is a vegetable so I kind of figured as much. Apparently the fermented aspect also really increases the salubrious effects of kimchi. Many Koreans also believe kimchi cures cancer. I've never really read too my scientific data on the subjects of fermentation and disease, but there are kimchi research institutes across the country, so who knows? I'm beginning to think I should!

Best.Song.Ever.

2010-03-21T02:28:00.007-04:00

If you've been around Korea for a while, then you no doubt are aware of the EV Boyz and their amazing song "Kickin' It in Geumchon". I LOVE this song. It's so hilarious. The video and lyrics are so so Korea. I just have to post the link for those of you who haven't seen this yet. CHECK IT OUT!!!

Kickin' It in Geumchon!!

They also did a song about Taco Bell worth seeing:

We Want Taco Bell

(I'm not affiliated with them. I don't even know them...but props to them for an awesome video!)

Lovable Busan

2010-03-17T06:20:00.008-04:00

Lovable Busan is a group of awesomeness. In order to join this group, all you have to do is be born a non-Korean, click join on Facebook and you're good to go! Essentially it is a a hiking and tour group that wanders the local mountains and streets of my city, Busan. They also go island hopping and to some of the major events and festivals around Korea on the weekends. It was started in the year 2000 by a Korean man named Charles who does it just for fun. He's not a pro tour guide, doesn't make money and all of the trips are cost free (unless you choose to purchase food along the way). He told us that the reason he started said group was because he is an avid traveler himself. I'm insanely jealous of his 70 country tour of the world..but that's beside the point. Anyway, one year he went to Chile and made a local friend named Carlos. Carlos was a really cool guy who took Charles all up and down the coast of Chile. Now, it's one thing to travel with your fellow countrymen (or women) from back home, but it's a whole different realm to travel with a local who can show you the little secrets and take you off the beaten path. And that, my friends, is why Lovable Busan is so key. It's so so so amazing in Korea because Lonely Plant Guides only have so much info for us foreigners, and the rest of the information is generally written in Korea anywhere you look.

My First Venture

My first journey with the group was a 6 hour hike last Sunday. I was uber excited because I haven't really had the chance to meet many foreigners yet. Young-do is not exactly the most foreigner-filled part of Busan, and I've spent a lot of time doing start of the year tasks at school lately. All together there were around 10-12 people in our group--largely other English teachers and then a few of Charles' Korean family friends. It was a pretty good mixture of people as some were Canadian, some were American, and some were South African.

Our Mission

Bongrae Mountain

The very first thing we did was bus it over to a local mountain and begin the trek. It's not the biggest mountain ever, but it's a reasonable size for climbers who aren't exactly avid. Charles told us that the first 30 minutes were going to be pretty steep but I was all Pssshhh, whatever Charles. I'm gonna run up that mother. I walked the first 5 minutes or so pretty quickly. This was not a good idea. After feeling as though my lungs had collapsed, I learned my lesson and walked up the mountain at a normal pace. Luckily for me, there were other people who weren't in the greatest of mountain climbing shape. We stopped a couple times to "take pictures of the scenary" and "look at the cute dogs." We also stopped to check out the random, outdoor, free gym. These are pretty common on trails around the city. Nothing like pumping some iron after ascending a mountain!! I'd say the whole trek up and down the mountain with a pitstop took somewhere around 3 hours. Not too bad to summit a small mountain.

Sidenote: It always amazes me how older people in Korea are so fit and so into climbing mountains. A lot of them seem to go every single weekend and spend most of their day doing so. There are always 60 or 70 year old Koreans who are walking up the mountain like it's a stroll in the park with their dog. They are fashionably dressed in the latest North Face climbing gear, men are smoking cigarettes and casually chatting with friends. What gives? How are they passing me and making it look so easy? I am impressed.

Jeolyeong Seashore - Namhang Bridge - Songdo Beach

After coming down the mountain we stopped for lunch along Jeolyeong seashore. It's actually fairly close to my apartment. Eating in Korea is a really communal activity, so everyone was sharing food. We ate everything from apples, to gimbab (similar to sushi rolls) to mandu (steamed dumplings). It was pretty cool getting to know a lot of the people more, and to converse with other foreigners, yay! We then hiked all the way along the shore on trails made of recycled tires. It reminded me of our track and field days at CASS in highschool. The track was made of the same thing. Along the way, ajummas were collecting seaweed and shells from the ocean and cooking them right there over small fires.

Next was Namhang bridge. It's one of the three ginormous bridges connecting Young island to mainland Busan. We had to take an elevator from the seashore up to the bridge in order to cross it. I cannot begin to describe the wind that was turning my hair into a birds nest, but I think this picture says it all. I think by the time we got up the elevator, stopped for photo ops, and walked across the whole thing, it probably took us about 45 minutes.

Our final destination was Songdo beach. It's a small, but nice beach close to bridge. I Crocodile Huntered it straight down to the side of the water to check out the ocean life in the shallow inlet. There were a million starfish, barnacles, and sea penises. I know it sounds crude, but there is no other way to describe them. I don't think any foreigner in Korea knows them by any other name.

Sea penis

Finally, we chilled on some rocks at the beach and had a picnic style dinner. Charles ordered fried chicken to the rock (yes, this is possible in Korea) and we sat and ate and had a beer and a bit of soju.

The Umbrella Phenomenon

2010-03-10T23:19:00.005-05:00

For any of you who have been to Korea before, I'm hoping you have an inkling about what this post will describe from the title alone. If you haven't been to Korea, then I should tell you that the umbrella phenomenon is twofold: 1) umbrellas are used in every type of weather, and 2) they seem to have the ability to instantly appear from nowhere. The following will attempt to explain this interesting cultural happening.

1) All Weather, All Terrain Umbrellas

I think it is fair to state that in Canada when people think umbrella, they think rain. In fact, I would be willing to bet there is an almost automatic association between the two. However, that is definitely not the case here in the ROK. Umbrellas seem to be utitlized for basically every type of weather.

Firstly, any type of precipitation whatsoever will certainly require an immediate umbrella. Whether it be snow, rain, sleet or hail, each person in the street will have an umbrella for the occasion. In fact, when I have forgotten my umbrella I feel as though everyone is staring at me thinking "What is wrong with that crazy foreigner? Where is her umbrella? Doesn't she know it's raining?"

Secondly, bright sunlight will generally also require the use of an umbrella--especially if one is an ajumma (see previous post for definition). Image is very important here and maintaining wrinkle-free, fair-toned skin is a huge part of that. While half of the Western world smother themselves in SPF 2 tanning oil and bake in the sun for 8 hours, half of the Asian world is over here with huge parasols fully clothed (ie. no tank tops, shorts or bathing suits). The probability of a person carrying an umbrella in the sun is directly related to their age. The older he or she is, the larger the chance that he or she will carry an umbrella.

I feel as though the sun umbrella phenomenon can be best demonstrated by those that are rented at the beach. When I lazily arrive at the beach mid-Saturday afternoon, there never seen to be any umbrellas left...or any space on the beach. Hmmm...I wonder why?

Peak season at Haeundae Beach, the most popular one in all of Korea

2) Magical Appearances

Most of the time in Canada I never have an umbrella with me. I am completely unprepared. If it starts to rain I'm like Oh crap, and I sprint for the nearest covered area. Conversely, I cannot stress enough how quickly the aforementionned all weather umbrellas appear when it starts raining, snowing, hailing or....shining? here in the ROK. It seems that every single person in the entire country owns an umbrella and that they carry it with them at all times. I would estimate that 95% of people are covered and dry within the first 2 minutes of a storm. But where do these umbrellas come from? And how do all Koreans always know when it will rain? I think this may remain an unsolved mystery for a while, my friends. In the meantime, I have purchased 2 umbrellas and intend to carry them around with me at all times in the event of an unpexpected shower.

THEN...

2010-03-05T00:46:00.011-05:00

Present Day

With my first week of teaching behind me, I can't help but feel somewhat relieved and overwhelmed at the same time. I am relieved that I get to relax for the weekend, that my fellow staff members are friendly and helpful, that the school is well equipped, that I am in a decent location, and that it feels really nice to be back in Korea, yet again! Conversely, the combination of moving countries, starting a new job, not speaking the local tongue (very well), being introduced to the entire school on stage while people say things you don't understand, giving a small speech to the 40 person staff and realizing that you have to learn the names of 400 Korean students can be mildly overwhelming.

However, it is comforting to realize how accustomed I am to living here now, and to know that the things that are most overwhelming usually involve students and school events, and not the day-to-day living. All of these feelings have had me thinking a lot over the last week, and have made me recall my first experiences in Korea in the summer of 2006. I can still remember my first hours stepping off the plane some 4 years ago and the immediate culture shock I felt. I've both spoken to and read the blogs of other foreigners concerning their arrival experiences in Korea and found them immensely interesting. Thus, voici my perspective...Enjoy!

Throwback to 2006

June of 2006 is so fresh in my mind that I still feel the seeming lack of oxygen available to breathe at Pearson airport as I waited in the check-in line. With sweaty palms and sunglasses at midnight, I questioned my decision to leave everyone I know and begin a new chapter in my life. I had already said my tear-filled goodbyes to the majority of my family and friends after some delicious meals and what can only be considered one of the most epic parties I've ever been thrown. The girls I loved and lived with for the better part of the last four years were the only thing left standing between me and the departure gate. My eyes welled up with tears (yay sunglasses) as I hugged everyone goodbye and promised to keep in touch (and snotted all over Lindsays shirt--I was sick, my bad!). As I walked through the gate I remember turning around and waving to everyone for the last time. Even Bita was crying. Ugh..just thinking about walking through that gate gets me all emosh. It's so hard to describe everything I was feeling at that moment--sadness, anxiety, loneliness, anticipation, excitement.

I spent the majority of the flight trying to sleep off my sickness. During those 13 hours I collected an entire bag full of tissues as I blew my nose every five minutes. Even with a gravol and a glass of wine, sleep was not coming easily to me. The rest of my waking time on the plane was spent watching movies and flipping through a photo album that Parm had given me, trying not to cry again.

By the time I arrived in Seoul Incheon airport I was so tired and so sick I could barely stay awake. All of the people around me were Korean, such a change from Toronto. It's not that I wasn't used to seeing Asians, but the homogenous nature of Korea's genetic population cannot be overstated. Everyone around me was Korean. Upstairs, the departure floor of the airport was totally empty and I'm not gonna lie, it was a little bit scary. I went outside to take a look, but the airport was in the middle of nowhere and there wasn't much eye candy around. There was no one to talk with, nothing was open and I was too scared to sleep lest someone steal my luggage. After taking a few pictures of "strange" phones and toilets around the airport, I sat on a bench with my eyes half closed for the next 5 hours until Burger King opened.

Look Ma! A video screen phone!

By 10 that morning I had finally landed in Busan. I was both excited and anxious about meeting my colleagues and seeing how my new life would look. Although I was feeling tired and sick, I tried to rush off the plane to avoid long line-ups. This plan was aborted quickly, as I realized that my idea of rushing did not even compare to that of the Koreans who stood up and unbuckled their belts the second the back tire of the plane hit the tarmac. Ajumma (see below for defintion) elbows were flying as I de-planed and made my way out to grab my luggage and meet whoever was picking me up from my school. This is the beauty of Korea--you never know what is happening until the second it occurs.

Ajumma definition- (This is the best way I've read it described and I had to copy it. Props to the blogger, Amanda. I'm even laughing hysterically as I read it again):
"Ajummas, technically, are middle aged women. Ajummas as most people use the term are loud, square-shaped women with the same ajumma perm, ajumma visors, ajumma sun masks that make them look like birds, and ajumma clothes. (Patterned cotton/poly pants and shirts, patterns not matching.) They'll hit you with their umbrellas, push you to get on the subway first (even when their are tons of open seats), and yell at you if you're doing something they think is wrong."-Amanda's Take Off Blog, 05/29/09

I was one of the last people to leave the luggage...thingy...and head out to where non-passengers were waiting. I looked around and I didn't see anyone there to pick me up. There were a couple other people holding up signs with English names on them, but none that had mine and it was kind of freaking me out. I walked further out into the main area when suddenly I heard a faint "Ellisa teacher?" Oh thank God, someone is here to pick me up and I'm not stranded alone in this country. "I'm 'A'" (I'll leave out the names) was the gist of what she said as she proceeded to grab my arm, my luggage, and hurry out to the parking lot. I learned very quicly that anything involving walking and cars happens at a lightning pace in Korea where room permits. I also learned that the rules of personal space applicable in Western culture do not necessarily apply here. Most Koreans have no qualms about grabbing someone they have just met by the arm (or even the hand) and pulling them around through the streets. I'm used to it now, but at the time it was a little shocking given that I'm not exactly a touchy-feely person.

Anyway, we hop into a cab outside of the airport and 'A' speaks some fast Korean to the cabbie. I didn't really know who she was, or where we were going, so I decided 20 questions was in order. I didn't want to say something like "Umm...who are you?" so the conversation went something like this:

Me: Are we going to my apartment?
A: Yes
Me: Oh cool. I can't wait to see it. Is everything already in there?
A: Yes
Me: Does the apartment have a phone?
A: Yes
Me: Wow. I didn't expect that to be set up already. Is it close to the school?
A: Yes
Me: Great! About how far away is it?
A: Yes

Me: Wait...what? Oh my gosh...she doesn't speak English. I can't believe they sent somebody who doesn't speak English to come get me from the airport. I've just traveled for 30 hours and I'm by myself in a new country. Ahhh.

The drive from the airport from my school was unlike anything I'd ever seen. Because I couldn't communicate with anyone else in the cab, I figured I may as well sit back and enjoy it. Korea is a mountainous nation and Busan is a concrete jungle. I felt completely surrounded by the peaks and each one was covered in trees and greenery. Each valley between mountains in Busan is filled with skyscrapers made of concrete and there was little to no visible plant or animal life. It was hard to believe how much different from Canada everything was...

case in point

...and it's even harder to believe how homey this place feels now. Don't get me wrong, it's not Canada, but it is definitely a place I have come to know and love. Although this blog could go forever into the details of my arrival at school and my apartment, I think I'll end this travel back through time here. I anticipate another great year in the ROK and can't wait to see what will happen next. This place is always an adventure.

My Glorious Return

2010-02-28T23:49:00.010-05:00

It's been five days since I landed back here in the ROK and I'm pretty much settled in now. So, at the request of my family, and my realization that I've been to like 12 countries in the past few years with no journaling whatsover, I've decided to blog about it! It's hard to believe how many of the little things I'd forgotten about in Korea--the "courtesy bell" available in the washroom stalls to cover up any unpleasant sounds, the Konglish t-shirts with random English sayings sported by many Koreans (my most recent favourite being "I love Crap"), and people coming up to me on the streets speaking Korean about things I can only imagine. Sigh...good to be back!

My Arrival

My 14 hour direct flight was all good. I kicked back and watched a couple of movies, listened to some tunes, and ate some bibimbab with a glass of wine. Then I had a 5 hour layover in Seoul, after which I hopped on my hour long domestic flight to Busan. One of my Korean co-teachers came to pick me up and take me to the island I'd be living on, Young-do. It was GORGEOUS outside, sunny and warm and a huge change from the snow storm I'd just left behind. We headed to my apartment through the madness of Korean traffic and an old man yelling through the window in her face, and somehow got a little lost along the way. I was like umm..don't you live and work here? Haha, I think we were taking a new route or something. Anyway, she was really, really nice and entertaining too. I am definitely excited to get to know the staff more!

My Apartment

...is a really cool place! I have a 2-bedroom to myself on the 17th floor of a building that overlooks the ocean. The second bedroom is basically set up as an office and there's also a separate kitchen and living room. The bathroom actually has a tub, which is like the shock of the century here! But....it's looking pretty sketchy so I think I'll stick to showering. I also have a separate room for the washing machine. Cheers to not having my dirty laundry water drain on the floor while I shower. Also, the teacher who I am replacing lived in the apartment prior to me and left behind a bunch of useful things like massive bottles of shampoo, laundry detergent, soap, and dish soap. Might I add that this was not just any dish soap..it was safe soap! Really safe soap!! Safety first..that's what I always say!

MMMMM!

No picture of my room yet--it was a disaster when I took these with clothes everywhere!

My School

My school is comprised of the three buildings in the center of the picture heading up the mountain side..the brown, pinkish and white ones.

View from my apartment

The gig I signed up for is at an all boys highschool (should be interesting!). It's about a 10 minute walk from my apartment and is also right on the beach. I'll be teaching 1st and 2nd grades, which I think is the equivalent to our grades 10 and 11. Essentially my role at this school is to be the English teacher but the focus is on conversation. I only teach English and I do so for all of the classes. I am the only foreigner on staff, and there are other English-speaking Koreans responsible for teaching grammar, reading and writing.

Okay, now let me set the scene of my arrival at my school. We had stopped at my apartment for about 5 minutes to chuck my bags down and get a quick tour of the place before heading to the school. At this point I had been traveling about 30 hours and had slept about 4 of them. My hair looks decent, but I'm wearing a plaid shirt, ripped jeans, and dirty Chucks..and it's quite possible that my scent isn't exactly fresh. I'm pastier than usual, have swollen ankles from the plane, and noticed that my eyes were pretty bloodshot. I had been really hoping we could stop long enough to shower, but off to the school we went. And what did we do there? Why..we marched right into the principal's office, where we interupted a staff meeting and my colleague, who was uber nervous, physically pushed me and my melon-sized cankles into the room and escorted me to a chair. The staff room was filled with the who's-who of the school and I was pretty nervous myself. I met the principal, vice principal, head of the English department, and a bunch of other people who I can't quite remeber because I was so tired and anxious. A lot of them didn't speak English, so Su gang had to translate between us, but she was so nervous being around all of them that she forgot half of their names. Luckily for me, things went really well :) I had a nice translated conversation with the principal who thought I looked really nice and seemed bubbly and was pleased to have me on staff. Yay!