We are now in Chiang Mai.
It is very touristy, it feels maybe even more touristy than Bangkok did. But it is very nice.
Yesterday, we started off our day with a trip to the train station, and we dropped off our luggage to lighten our load as we made our way through the city. Thank goodness we did, it was REALLY hot, and we wound up doing a lot of walking.
We started off with a trip to the Grand Palace and the temple of the Emerald Buddha. We were on our way from Wat Pho (the temple with the 47 meter reclining Buddha) and a security guard stopped us.
"Hello, and welcome to Bangkok!"
"Hi, thanks!"
(about five minutes of small talk about Canada, Thailand, and what nice people we were)
"Where are you going in today?"
"We were going to the grand palace, and to see the emerald Buddha."
"Oh, I'm very sorry, the day is Wednesday, and today, they pray until one, so no emerald Buddha. Maybe, my friend the tuktuk driver can bring you on tour of three other temples, only 300 bath"
(Jessie, suspiciously) "Oh maybe, we will just walk ahead"
"But, my friend the tuktuk driver..." (getting in our way)
"NO THANKS! RESTAURANT! EAT NOW! BYE!"
We did not get a snack on the way to the temple, but it was a handy way to get out of there. On the way to the temple, which was open, we saw about four or five guys working the same scam. pretty bad.
Strike one Thailand.
The temple and Grand Palace were nothing short of crazy. I've never seen anything that shiny, and everything was covered with mosaics, some pieces were mirrored, so the whole place shimmered.
The emerald Buddha was actually quite small, maybe only real person size, but it was seated on top of a huge tower of gold and tributes that was probably thirty or forty feet tall. There were no pictures though, but I got a good postcard!
We woound up skipping the Grand Palace. We weren't ona tour, and I just wanted to see the Golden Buddha, so we just looked at stuff on our way in and out.
After that, we got Thai massages at the Wat Pho Thai Massage school which is the main school in Thailand. It was very cool. No lights, and eucalyptus mist all around. I got a massage from the biggest woman I have ever seen, she was about 6'2" and built like a linebacker. But man... what a great massage. It's cool - they rub you with their hands, their feet, their arms. and it's only $5 for half an hour!
We then went to the Bangkok zoo, which was pretty good. Not as big as the Toronto Zoo, but pretty nice. Very cool birds, and they had tiny monkeys.
We got to the train station pretty early for our train, but that was good, I think. The sleeper train was quite an experience too, but not the greatest sleep. When we got on, a guy came around and offered us orange juice, and we thoguht "Sweet! Free orange juice!" Not really. About half an hour later the guy came by again to collect 40 bath, basically, more than most meals we have had so far. The next car was a party, but unfortunately, when we went, there were no seats.
AFter the beds got set up, we got into Jessie's bunk with the curtains drawn and looked out the window. There was a fire in the distance, and the whole sky around it was orange. It was pretty amazing.
I woke up with a kink in my neck.
When we got to Chiang Mai, wwe had no idea where to go. We had no plans! We got into a cab, and told him to take us to the best, cheapest guesthouse in the Lonely Planet Guide. Well, our cab driver had a better idea! Why not just drop into a guest hosue that is owned by his sister first to compare? Sure, we said, we had no plans anyways, so why not give it a try?
We got there, and we were served some free coffee, as "a welcome to Chiang Mai". The rooms weren't ready, but luckily, his "sister" was there to give us a little talk about an exciting trekking opportunity! The talk was hilarious, and the woman who gave it was pretty theatrical in it. It was very rehearsed, and she kept making jokes about how trekking will show the girls if their boyfriends really love them (carrying their things, them) or where to find their boyfriends if they didn't come home (No funny no honey no money, I'll teach you Thai boxing!). Unfortunately, when we revealed that we had our trekking quota met already, the rooms were unavailable. Oh well... thanks for the free coffee.
We finally found a guest house, and it is prety nice. We're going to stay here, I think. It's not the greatest, but it's safe, and we know we won't have to find something somewhere else now, which seems to be pretty difficult, because of the package deals and the sheer number of tourists through here.
This afternoon we checked out the Chiang Mai zoo, which was really really big. ANd very poorly designed, and it seemed like maybe some of the zookeepers had quit and just not been replaced. Cages were empty all over the place, and water was murky in all the marine exhibits. But we got to see some leopards chase eachother (one chased, the other looked incredibly unimpressed and unamused) and some chimps strike some very amusing poses. Most exciting for me were the painted storks, and the bird enclosure that was a few acres big and had a lot of peacocks.
Tonight we checked out the night market, which was basically more of the same. I bought some more shorts, and a scarf. I never imagined I would have to come to Thailand to find a good scarf, but there you have it. I also got some sweet aviators, finally. They make me look/feel really creepy and somehow that makes me happy. Also, I got some cheap binoculars for next week.
Tomorrow: temples, and maybe a scooter rental.
Friday, January 27, 2006
Monday, January 23, 2006
Bangkok, day 2
So, our second day in Bangkok is going pretty well too.
We slept in late, and we went back to where the main tourist markets were from yesterday to do a little walking around and shopping again. Most of it was gone! We forgot it was Monday, I guess, and that the whole city is not on vacation with us. We bought some more light-weight pants and some souveniry stuff, and had lunch at this cool little restaurant. The restaurant, along with our guesthouse and most places here, it seems, have no partition between inside and outside. It's just a big veranda that has no doors or windows, you just walk until the roof stops covering you.
We wound up coming back for a nap this afternoon (it was really hot) and it went three hours! When we finally woke up, we did more shopping (Jessie has done more shopping since we got here than I have known her to do the whole time I have known her!) and came back to depoit our stuff... no wait, that was before the nap too. Big naps mess me up.
Anyways, after our nap we looked at the Lonely PLanet guide, and saw a restaurant that was right accross the street from our guest house! We walked over, but it was really confusing... although the guide described it as right across from the ferry stop (the ferries run on the river like buses, there are three lines, and we're going to ride one tomorrow!) you could only access it from the street! We wound up finally finding it, after a nice but fruitless walk along the river all the way to the next stop, by walking back to the street. We didn't even know that that was what it was, we just thought it looked good from the water, but it turned out to be what we were looking for. When we finally saw the sign (which was covered with salamanders) we saw it was the right place. We wound up having our most expensive meal since our arrival, dining on crab meat and white snapper, and five iced teas/coffees, for only about $20, tip included! That's crazy! And we're not talking about small serving either, or disgusting Korean crab that oozes strangely! I was impressed with the teas most though... I may go back and polish off another five tomorrow...
Today will be our last at this guest house, tomorrow we will head to China town for a night. We're going to go to a big temple and palace tomorrow (I forget the name), and we'll be riding the riverboat express, which looks pretty colourful from what we saw from our waterfront restaurant tonight. We are also going to go see the largest sprawling Buddha in the world, which is 47 meters long, and represents Buddha in his death phase, acheiving Nirvana.
So Bangkok is pretty amazing. It is like nowhere I have ever been, and has much more immediate appeal than Korea did. The area we are in right now definitely has the power to make lifers, which it clearly has out of many of the people we see. It's the type of place where you can get really comfortable, get a job at a bar or something, and just hang out for the rest of your life, sipping ultra-cheap drinks and chatting with people who pass through.
Since this is the ultra-touristy area, there's definitely a problem with seeing this as "Thailand" though. Most people we run into are not Thai, there's music we know playing everywhere, and everything is translated and super easy. Many of the people here are professional travellers too, I think. Big partiers, very sociable, or so it appears. The kind of people who I get along with personally, but always seem just a bit too cool to not be intimidating. You know what I mean? If only I knew some good ice breakers...
We slept in late, and we went back to where the main tourist markets were from yesterday to do a little walking around and shopping again. Most of it was gone! We forgot it was Monday, I guess, and that the whole city is not on vacation with us. We bought some more light-weight pants and some souveniry stuff, and had lunch at this cool little restaurant. The restaurant, along with our guesthouse and most places here, it seems, have no partition between inside and outside. It's just a big veranda that has no doors or windows, you just walk until the roof stops covering you.
We wound up coming back for a nap this afternoon (it was really hot) and it went three hours! When we finally woke up, we did more shopping (Jessie has done more shopping since we got here than I have known her to do the whole time I have known her!) and came back to depoit our stuff... no wait, that was before the nap too. Big naps mess me up.
Anyways, after our nap we looked at the Lonely PLanet guide, and saw a restaurant that was right accross the street from our guest house! We walked over, but it was really confusing... although the guide described it as right across from the ferry stop (the ferries run on the river like buses, there are three lines, and we're going to ride one tomorrow!) you could only access it from the street! We wound up finally finding it, after a nice but fruitless walk along the river all the way to the next stop, by walking back to the street. We didn't even know that that was what it was, we just thought it looked good from the water, but it turned out to be what we were looking for. When we finally saw the sign (which was covered with salamanders) we saw it was the right place. We wound up having our most expensive meal since our arrival, dining on crab meat and white snapper, and five iced teas/coffees, for only about $20, tip included! That's crazy! And we're not talking about small serving either, or disgusting Korean crab that oozes strangely! I was impressed with the teas most though... I may go back and polish off another five tomorrow...
Today will be our last at this guest house, tomorrow we will head to China town for a night. We're going to go to a big temple and palace tomorrow (I forget the name), and we'll be riding the riverboat express, which looks pretty colourful from what we saw from our waterfront restaurant tonight. We are also going to go see the largest sprawling Buddha in the world, which is 47 meters long, and represents Buddha in his death phase, acheiving Nirvana.
So Bangkok is pretty amazing. It is like nowhere I have ever been, and has much more immediate appeal than Korea did. The area we are in right now definitely has the power to make lifers, which it clearly has out of many of the people we see. It's the type of place where you can get really comfortable, get a job at a bar or something, and just hang out for the rest of your life, sipping ultra-cheap drinks and chatting with people who pass through.
Since this is the ultra-touristy area, there's definitely a problem with seeing this as "Thailand" though. Most people we run into are not Thai, there's music we know playing everywhere, and everything is translated and super easy. Many of the people here are professional travellers too, I think. Big partiers, very sociable, or so it appears. The kind of people who I get along with personally, but always seem just a bit too cool to not be intimidating. You know what I mean? If only I knew some good ice breakers...
Bangkok > Korea
Here's why:
Better food
Better atmosphere
Better service
Better markets
Better weather
I'm having a good time so far. We both are.
Our trip went off absolutely hitch-free. The last post may not sound too enthusiastic about just how easy the trip was, but that's because I was typing it on a pay computer that kept cutting me off, so it was about the sixth time I had written everything.
Actually, not only was the trip hitch-free, there were random awesome turns of chance, like getting bumped up on the bus, and getting a really cheap cab ride, and randomly walking into the main tourist area... so it's great.
That's all for now!
Better food
Better atmosphere
Better service
Better markets
Better weather
I'm having a good time so far. We both are.
Our trip went off absolutely hitch-free. The last post may not sound too enthusiastic about just how easy the trip was, but that's because I was typing it on a pay computer that kept cutting me off, so it was about the sixth time I had written everything.
Actually, not only was the trip hitch-free, there were random awesome turns of chance, like getting bumped up on the bus, and getting a really cheap cab ride, and randomly walking into the main tourist area... so it's great.
That's all for now!
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Foreigner! Bar!
So, Jessie and I headed to Kwangju around 7 tonight as we started our journey to Thailand.
We were planning on some Starbucks, and then a trip to a DVD bang to burn time until our one AM bus to Incheon came.
But Jessie had a great idea, and that was to try again to get into that foreigner bar that she had proofread the article about for the Kwangju times.
Awesome
It felt like the Grad Club, small tables and couches, and everyone smiled at us. The ambient conversation was in english, which rocked, and we were welcomed very warmly, apparently among the first strangers to try out the new, as yet unadvertised bar.
It was great. Jessie and I wound up having three drinks each, somehow, having only intended to have coffee. But seriously, after close to five months of soju, rum and coke was the greatest thing in the world.
I got to talking to the owner (one of them) and it looks like I may be able to get some gigs in the future there, which is really exciting, and just as exciting is that he wants to jam too, with the potential of performing together, from the sounds of it. YEAH!
Then we watched Amelie 2 at a DVD bang, which was really good. I love DVD bangs.
Then we went to the bus station, and found out that the bus leaving at 1 AM had sold out, so we would have to wait until 2 AM. We started to use the computers (and started typing this) when the driver came over and offered us two tickets on the 1 AM, so the trip was off to a good start.
Anyways, we're all checked in now, so all we have to do is wait now.
But we're off to a good start!
We were planning on some Starbucks, and then a trip to a DVD bang to burn time until our one AM bus to Incheon came.
But Jessie had a great idea, and that was to try again to get into that foreigner bar that she had proofread the article about for the Kwangju times.
Awesome
It felt like the Grad Club, small tables and couches, and everyone smiled at us. The ambient conversation was in english, which rocked, and we were welcomed very warmly, apparently among the first strangers to try out the new, as yet unadvertised bar.
It was great. Jessie and I wound up having three drinks each, somehow, having only intended to have coffee. But seriously, after close to five months of soju, rum and coke was the greatest thing in the world.
I got to talking to the owner (one of them) and it looks like I may be able to get some gigs in the future there, which is really exciting, and just as exciting is that he wants to jam too, with the potential of performing together, from the sounds of it. YEAH!
Then we watched Amelie 2 at a DVD bang, which was really good. I love DVD bangs.
Then we went to the bus station, and found out that the bus leaving at 1 AM had sold out, so we would have to wait until 2 AM. We started to use the computers (and started typing this) when the driver came over and offered us two tickets on the 1 AM, so the trip was off to a good start.
Anyways, we're all checked in now, so all we have to do is wait now.
But we're off to a good start!
Friday, January 20, 2006
Strange Dreams
Last night, I had the strangest dreams.
One:
I was a don again. I was studying a program I wasn't too excited about, basically I was just there because with this don position, everything was apparently free. Jessie was there too, also attending classes. I walked her to class once, in my underwear. I'm not sure why. But on the way back I ran into a former co-worker who really gave me the creeps. She was no different in my dreams! A guy in his underwear=check-out time. I ran by her.
Then, I was miraculously dressed. I was walking through the residence common areas, and oh man, I would have given a LOT to live there. There were bowling alleys, weird shuffle-board tables on the floor, pool tables... apparently it was a public building as well, so although it was busy at the moment, I knew that at night, it would be really easy to get a table for myself! I was happy!
The don's apartment was amazing! It had two big bedrooms, a big kitchen, it was perfect. I got back one day to find Jessie cooking up a bizarre mixture of chicken balls (like Chinese take-out) and whole heads of broccoli and this thick brown sauce in a huge frying pan in our kitchen. I never dreamed about eating it though, just being astonished at the process.
She said "I guess we can just keep the milk in this milk fridge I found beside the bed". And there, miraculously, was a little convenience store fridge for displaying milk, sitting on the counter.
That was the first weird dream.
Two:
I was doing a play with people from Powassan. James Bolton, Jennifer Aultman, and Paula Rick, among others. Jessie and some university people were there too. I think we were doing a production of Peter Pan, because I remember there being some rigging. Also, some rigging problems, because there were suspended beams right through that area where the flying should have been.
The weirdest thing was that my job on the play was to do sound. They wanted everything tracked differently. They had all the equipment, and it was all bolted down, and there were no cords to attach it all. I sent people out to find cords for me, and they brought back a single stereo connector that was too short to reach between the equipment that was all bolted down. So, I had all this great equipment and actors, but I couldn't make it work.
It's funny, because the second dream is just a perfect analogy for how I have felt teaching here. I didn't even realize it until I was telling Jessie about the dream this morning. It's like, I have all these great resources. I have students, multimedia equipment, and these great ideas, between my own brainstorming and all the web sites I have found. But, I'm just missing that one thing that I need to put it all together, so I have production (lesson) after production (lesson) that bombs.
If only I had a few dozen more 30' long stereo connectors. Then I would be the greatest teacher in the world!
One:
I was a don again. I was studying a program I wasn't too excited about, basically I was just there because with this don position, everything was apparently free. Jessie was there too, also attending classes. I walked her to class once, in my underwear. I'm not sure why. But on the way back I ran into a former co-worker who really gave me the creeps. She was no different in my dreams! A guy in his underwear=check-out time. I ran by her.
Then, I was miraculously dressed. I was walking through the residence common areas, and oh man, I would have given a LOT to live there. There were bowling alleys, weird shuffle-board tables on the floor, pool tables... apparently it was a public building as well, so although it was busy at the moment, I knew that at night, it would be really easy to get a table for myself! I was happy!
The don's apartment was amazing! It had two big bedrooms, a big kitchen, it was perfect. I got back one day to find Jessie cooking up a bizarre mixture of chicken balls (like Chinese take-out) and whole heads of broccoli and this thick brown sauce in a huge frying pan in our kitchen. I never dreamed about eating it though, just being astonished at the process.
She said "I guess we can just keep the milk in this milk fridge I found beside the bed". And there, miraculously, was a little convenience store fridge for displaying milk, sitting on the counter.
That was the first weird dream.
Two:
I was doing a play with people from Powassan. James Bolton, Jennifer Aultman, and Paula Rick, among others. Jessie and some university people were there too. I think we were doing a production of Peter Pan, because I remember there being some rigging. Also, some rigging problems, because there were suspended beams right through that area where the flying should have been.
The weirdest thing was that my job on the play was to do sound. They wanted everything tracked differently. They had all the equipment, and it was all bolted down, and there were no cords to attach it all. I sent people out to find cords for me, and they brought back a single stereo connector that was too short to reach between the equipment that was all bolted down. So, I had all this great equipment and actors, but I couldn't make it work.
It's funny, because the second dream is just a perfect analogy for how I have felt teaching here. I didn't even realize it until I was telling Jessie about the dream this morning. It's like, I have all these great resources. I have students, multimedia equipment, and these great ideas, between my own brainstorming and all the web sites I have found. But, I'm just missing that one thing that I need to put it all together, so I have production (lesson) after production (lesson) that bombs.
If only I had a few dozen more 30' long stereo connectors. Then I would be the greatest teacher in the world!
Disappointment
On Wednesday, Jessie and I went to Kwangju. She decided that she did want a large back back after all to rbing to Thailand, so we were going shopping. I had bought one a few weeks ago. I researched the product, looked into several different brands, and bought one. Unfortunately, I didn't look into proper sizing, and wound up with one that was quite uncomfortable due to the fact that actually adjusting it so it would sit on my hips meant that it swung around crazily. It just wasn't meant to be that loose.
Luckily, it fit Jessie perfectly, so she bought it from me, and I picked up a brand new, fully adjustable (to North American sizes) backpack. It's pretty great, with the exception of being a little excessive with clips and doo-dads. I'm just wondering how the plane will like it.
After shopping, we were going to go to a restaurant that Jessie had just heard about. She has taken a small job on the side editing the foreigner news in Kwangju, and she edited an article about the grand opening of a new restaurant, opened by some local expats!
It's called Mike and Dave's Speakeasy. It serves curry dishes, tacos, and sandwiches. Sandwiches! Can you imagine such a thing?!?! Oh, what a delight that would be. Also, they promote their place as being somewhere where "The music is on at a reasonable volume, it's well lit, there is not a couch in sight, you can comfortably order in your native tongue without hand gestures, and where no strange ingredients will be found, like eggs on pizza or honey on fish" (okay, not a direct quote, but pretty close, describing basically the opposite of every Korean establishment). We were both really excited, and I was freaking out over the possibility of humus being only an hour and twenty minute drive away.
But when we got there, the restaurant was nowhere to be found! No signs, no nothing! And absolutely no staircase where they said it was, that led where they said it should! We went up one that led to a locked door, and another that just took us up one of the most urine-soaked stairwells I have ever known (And Lordy, I've known some doozies!).
We tried to find it for about twenty minutes, but we only knew the english name, not the Korean name, so Koreans were no help to us.
We finally wound up heading to the pizza and pasta place we went to the day of the GIC tour. Well, we sat at our dimly lit table, and even though we could easily have pointed to things on the menu, they had to send over a special waitress who spoke english, which at least saved us from the wild gesturing. We sat on couches, and were served a fruit salad with a bizarre yellow cream dressing covering it all, and that was followed by pizza with eggs and yellow sauce on it.
At least the music was not on too loud.
Luckily, it fit Jessie perfectly, so she bought it from me, and I picked up a brand new, fully adjustable (to North American sizes) backpack. It's pretty great, with the exception of being a little excessive with clips and doo-dads. I'm just wondering how the plane will like it.
After shopping, we were going to go to a restaurant that Jessie had just heard about. She has taken a small job on the side editing the foreigner news in Kwangju, and she edited an article about the grand opening of a new restaurant, opened by some local expats!
It's called Mike and Dave's Speakeasy. It serves curry dishes, tacos, and sandwiches. Sandwiches! Can you imagine such a thing?!?! Oh, what a delight that would be. Also, they promote their place as being somewhere where "The music is on at a reasonable volume, it's well lit, there is not a couch in sight, you can comfortably order in your native tongue without hand gestures, and where no strange ingredients will be found, like eggs on pizza or honey on fish" (okay, not a direct quote, but pretty close, describing basically the opposite of every Korean establishment). We were both really excited, and I was freaking out over the possibility of humus being only an hour and twenty minute drive away.
But when we got there, the restaurant was nowhere to be found! No signs, no nothing! And absolutely no staircase where they said it was, that led where they said it should! We went up one that led to a locked door, and another that just took us up one of the most urine-soaked stairwells I have ever known (And Lordy, I've known some doozies!).
We tried to find it for about twenty minutes, but we only knew the english name, not the Korean name, so Koreans were no help to us.
We finally wound up heading to the pizza and pasta place we went to the day of the GIC tour. Well, we sat at our dimly lit table, and even though we could easily have pointed to things on the menu, they had to send over a special waitress who spoke english, which at least saved us from the wild gesturing. We sat on couches, and were served a fruit salad with a bizarre yellow cream dressing covering it all, and that was followed by pizza with eggs and yellow sauce on it.
At least the music was not on too loud.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Nerves
So, I'm on holidays right now. It's pretty boring.
I mean it's only been two days. So I'm glad that we're going to Thailand, because otherwise I can see myself getting really bored. It's way too easy in this town to spend a whole day just sitting around inside. There's not too much to do, I mean, there is the potential for some great walks, but other than that, doing "things" means heading to another town, which is a big time commitment, and can add up financially too.
On the bright side, I am getting a little more guitar-playing in, which has been seriously lacking lately. I don't know why, maybe it's apartment living, afraid of interfering with other people's space and noise... and my tenitis is getting bad too. My ears ring pretty much constantly now, regardless of the noise I have been exposed too. How does that even happen?
I'm also getting nervous about Thailand. That's pretty huge, you know? Heading for three weeks to a whole new place. What if I forget my toothbrush? Maybe they just use their fingers over there, and I'll be stuck massaging my gums the old fashioned way.
It's pretty wierd. I'm pretty wierd.
Well... back to Beverly Hills Cop.
Maybe I should vacuum. It gets dusty in here so quickly. Carpet may accumulate more dust, but at least I would not have to be constantly removing dust bunnies. That, and I wouldn't be sticking to the floor when I went in my bare feet.
I mean it's only been two days. So I'm glad that we're going to Thailand, because otherwise I can see myself getting really bored. It's way too easy in this town to spend a whole day just sitting around inside. There's not too much to do, I mean, there is the potential for some great walks, but other than that, doing "things" means heading to another town, which is a big time commitment, and can add up financially too.
On the bright side, I am getting a little more guitar-playing in, which has been seriously lacking lately. I don't know why, maybe it's apartment living, afraid of interfering with other people's space and noise... and my tenitis is getting bad too. My ears ring pretty much constantly now, regardless of the noise I have been exposed too. How does that even happen?
I'm also getting nervous about Thailand. That's pretty huge, you know? Heading for three weeks to a whole new place. What if I forget my toothbrush? Maybe they just use their fingers over there, and I'll be stuck massaging my gums the old fashioned way.
It's pretty wierd. I'm pretty wierd.
Well... back to Beverly Hills Cop.
Maybe I should vacuum. It gets dusty in here so quickly. Carpet may accumulate more dust, but at least I would not have to be constantly removing dust bunnies. That, and I wouldn't be sticking to the floor when I went in my bare feet.
Monday, January 16, 2006
A great walk!
Yesterday Jessie and I took a long walk. Now that the weather is nice, but before it gets super hot in the summer, it is the ideal time to get out and about and do some exploring.
Yesterday we took the least popular of the five streets that meet in the center of town and went across the highway towards the mountains, and did a little tour of the area near where Robert and his wife live. It is gorgeous out there! Even on a relatively dreary day with clouds and fog about, it was a great walk. The far side of town has a different view of the mountains than we do, one that is much more rocky and less forested. Also, it appears to be where the money lives, as some of the houses out there are just obscenely large by Korean standards. Basically, they are typical-sized Canadian houses!
There was a highway that we walked on, with lots of windy little roads that you could wander down and get lost. Also, lots of very intimidating loose dogs. Unfortunately, there were many many more dogs who were tied up, on three foot lengths on a driveway, that unfortunately appeared to be their usual situation. It's pretty sad, beautiful dogs tied up so tightly. In Canada, I'm pretty sure that the Korean dog situation would make for a much busier humane society.
Here are some pictures from the walk:
For those of you who though I was exaggerating, here is the assembly line at the wine factory. Yeah, I wasn't exaggerating at all, you can see that now. TRADITIONAL!
Yesterday we took the least popular of the five streets that meet in the center of town and went across the highway towards the mountains, and did a little tour of the area near where Robert and his wife live. It is gorgeous out there! Even on a relatively dreary day with clouds and fog about, it was a great walk. The far side of town has a different view of the mountains than we do, one that is much more rocky and less forested. Also, it appears to be where the money lives, as some of the houses out there are just obscenely large by Korean standards. Basically, they are typical-sized Canadian houses!
There was a highway that we walked on, with lots of windy little roads that you could wander down and get lost. Also, lots of very intimidating loose dogs. Unfortunately, there were many many more dogs who were tied up, on three foot lengths on a driveway, that unfortunately appeared to be their usual situation. It's pretty sad, beautiful dogs tied up so tightly. In Canada, I'm pretty sure that the Korean dog situation would make for a much busier humane society.
Here are some pictures from the walk:
This is one of the branching roads from where we were walking. Up ahead are tiny farmhouses with tiny little plots of land that are cultivated right up to the road. This road parted in to three, each only one car wide, which I'm sure makes for some interesting situations, as most people in this area seemed to drive trucks.
This was one of the biggest houses we saw. Most Korean houses are bungalows that I have seen, and tend to get longer rather than deeper or higher when they get bigger. Most of the small roads are lined with walls like this, but they hay was a new touch. You can see the mountains in behind. The narrow roads with farms right beside reminded me of France and Jessie of Argentina.
If you are reading this, odds are that in the past you have read about our restaurant troubles in Yeongam. Well, we finally got out for some barbecue on the way home. You can see the little portable grill on the right, as well as all of the side dishes that we get brought, on the house, of course. There's more of a meal in side dishes than in the main course! Of course, this restaurant visit was not without troubles. We think they were out of soup (we ordered meat soup and barbecue), and suggested instead we get two orders of barbecue, but we aren't sure, because we just said "Nay" (confusingly, yes) until she brought us food, because we didn't understand.
Now, here's some pictures from our GIC trip last Saturday:
For those of you who though I was exaggerating, here is the assembly line at the wine factory. Yeah, I wasn't exaggerating at all, you can see that now. TRADITIONAL!
This is the temple at Jiri mountain, currently over-run with foreigners. In the foreground is the largest stone lamp in the world. It's 6 meters tall. OOh... Ahhh. In the building in the background are gold Buddhas, that are about the same height. OOh... Ahhh. 
Here's Jessie in front of huge statues of what appear to be Buddhist rock stars. Why? No one knows for sure. 
Here's the bell at Jiri Mountain. There's nothing for scale, but take my word for it, the bell is about my height.
And the newest addition to the apartment:
This wonderful little table is our latest dumpster salvage. It's a little scratched, but it cleaned up really nicely. On top, some roses, the middle, our Celadon vase that was a gift from James Park, and on the bottom, a plat Jessie bought that unfortunately, is not faring too well.
Korea made me do it.
Here's a list of things I never thought I would do, but then I started doing once I arrived in Korea.
Watch Gilmore Girls
I'm doing this one right now. This show is frighteningly clever, and by that I mean unrealistic. This town has the highest collective GPA in the world, and they will banter until creamed corn comes out your ears. The same goes for The Apprentice, Sex and the City, Survivor, Wife Swap, Nanny 911, McGyver, McGyver, McGyver, Mission Impossible, Jamie Oliver's Italian Getaway, The Bachelorette, Temptation Island, I'm a celebrity, get me out of here!, and of course McGyver.
Wear turtle necks
I'm from a country that has a cold cold reputation, and yet I fall into turtle necks in Korea. Reasons? It gets cold here. Not real cold, but cold enough that when all the doors and windows get left open it is really cold. And thus turtlenecks.
Hating Schoolchildren
I don't really hate them, it just feels good to write it every once in a while. They are incredibly frustrating sometimes.
Condemn an entire school of thought
Sorry, the whole hierarchy and chain of command thing is crazy. The checks and measures that we still have to observe even though they don't understand what they are saying, and they don't know what we are saying get really really frustrating.
Play a long-term online video game
So, for those who know me, you know I'm not too excited about video games. But I've been playing this game called "The Kingdom of Loathing" (www.kingdomofloathing.com), which is a mock-RPG. It's pretty funny, they have parts of the game that mocks everything I mock! It's funny!
Cry with frustration
Yeah, it happened. It's so hard, because I am a conversation teacher, and conversation is worth no marks, and the kids I teach do not have a large enough vocabulary to piece together a conversation. How should I be teaching them? I wind up teaching them vocab, which turns out to be useless, because it is just piss in the ocean. These kids just memorize sheets and sheets of vocab, but have no idea how to piece it together. And possibly because of the ranking system (where the best students get the most help) the kids are afraid to put those words into sentences in case they make a mistake. The other day, at camp, I actually punched the bathroom wall. I was so frustrated, I could not get them to do anything, and even the fun activities I had planned were turned into work byt he fact that it was keeping them from doing their hagwon homework! GAH!
Take up/Give up drinking coffee again
It started off innocently enough. Basically, I just didn't want to offend by turning down coffee when it was offered. So, I had one on arrival, and one sometimes at lunch. Then, I started iking it, so I got some for at home. Then, I started having one when I woke up in the morning. Then, I had one at school at lunch. Then, when things started wearing me down a little, I had one when I got home, and some days two.
Did I mention that these were double of instant coffee? If you add all that up, it's about 6 normal coffees a day. That's more than I was having last summer when I stopped because it was too much.
But it's been three days. This time, I've decided not to go cold turkey, so I can still have it occasionally if I want one. But never if I need one. Don't feed the need.
Speaking in sentence fragments and using words my students use
Sometimes, even to be understood by the Korean english teachers, I have to say things like "I go office" or "No home today, store, no home!". It's pretty sad. Also, I've started saying "Many many" instead of "a lot", "much", "a great deal", and sometimes even "very".
Many large!
Become too dependent on people around me not understanding anything I say
Basically, I have become an out loud griper in public. No-one understands! But, soon, it'll bite me in the ass, I know.
Eating yogurt
I hated yogurt. Sometimes I think that I still do, even as it is sliding down my throat, and I am enjoying it. Yogurt is sick! But I can't stop eating it!
Considered -10 degrees too cold to go out
Come on! Do we really need toilet paper that badly? It can wait until tomorrow.
Well, that's all for now.
Watch Gilmore Girls
I'm doing this one right now. This show is frighteningly clever, and by that I mean unrealistic. This town has the highest collective GPA in the world, and they will banter until creamed corn comes out your ears. The same goes for The Apprentice, Sex and the City, Survivor, Wife Swap, Nanny 911, McGyver, McGyver, McGyver, Mission Impossible, Jamie Oliver's Italian Getaway, The Bachelorette, Temptation Island, I'm a celebrity, get me out of here!, and of course McGyver.
Wear turtle necks
I'm from a country that has a cold cold reputation, and yet I fall into turtle necks in Korea. Reasons? It gets cold here. Not real cold, but cold enough that when all the doors and windows get left open it is really cold. And thus turtlenecks.
Hating Schoolchildren
I don't really hate them, it just feels good to write it every once in a while. They are incredibly frustrating sometimes.
Condemn an entire school of thought
Sorry, the whole hierarchy and chain of command thing is crazy. The checks and measures that we still have to observe even though they don't understand what they are saying, and they don't know what we are saying get really really frustrating.
Play a long-term online video game
So, for those who know me, you know I'm not too excited about video games. But I've been playing this game called "The Kingdom of Loathing" (www.kingdomofloathing.com), which is a mock-RPG. It's pretty funny, they have parts of the game that mocks everything I mock! It's funny!
Cry with frustration
Yeah, it happened. It's so hard, because I am a conversation teacher, and conversation is worth no marks, and the kids I teach do not have a large enough vocabulary to piece together a conversation. How should I be teaching them? I wind up teaching them vocab, which turns out to be useless, because it is just piss in the ocean. These kids just memorize sheets and sheets of vocab, but have no idea how to piece it together. And possibly because of the ranking system (where the best students get the most help) the kids are afraid to put those words into sentences in case they make a mistake. The other day, at camp, I actually punched the bathroom wall. I was so frustrated, I could not get them to do anything, and even the fun activities I had planned were turned into work byt he fact that it was keeping them from doing their hagwon homework! GAH!
Take up/Give up drinking coffee again
It started off innocently enough. Basically, I just didn't want to offend by turning down coffee when it was offered. So, I had one on arrival, and one sometimes at lunch. Then, I started iking it, so I got some for at home. Then, I started having one when I woke up in the morning. Then, I had one at school at lunch. Then, when things started wearing me down a little, I had one when I got home, and some days two.
Did I mention that these were double of instant coffee? If you add all that up, it's about 6 normal coffees a day. That's more than I was having last summer when I stopped because it was too much.
But it's been three days. This time, I've decided not to go cold turkey, so I can still have it occasionally if I want one. But never if I need one. Don't feed the need.
Speaking in sentence fragments and using words my students use
Sometimes, even to be understood by the Korean english teachers, I have to say things like "I go office" or "No home today, store, no home!". It's pretty sad. Also, I've started saying "Many many" instead of "a lot", "much", "a great deal", and sometimes even "very".
Many large!
Become too dependent on people around me not understanding anything I say
Basically, I have become an out loud griper in public. No-one understands! But, soon, it'll bite me in the ass, I know.
Eating yogurt
I hated yogurt. Sometimes I think that I still do, even as it is sliding down my throat, and I am enjoying it. Yogurt is sick! But I can't stop eating it!
Considered -10 degrees too cold to go out
Come on! Do we really need toilet paper that badly? It can wait until tomorrow.
Well, that's all for now.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Retention
Yesterday was a good day.
We went for a long walk along the highway on the way to Kwangju to try to find these temples we keep seeing from the bus window. We didn't.
But we did find another little temple. There was a sign with an arrow at the road with a temple sign, so we checked it out. It was tiny! It was maybe ten by fifteen. If there had not been a sign, I would never have recognized it as a temple.
We walked out to a pottery store on the highway where Jessie had thought that temples were. They weren't there, so we took another road home, and wound up coming to our apartment building from behind, which is really weird.
Our apartment building is built about three quarters of the way up the highest point of land in Yeongam, so you can see it from everywhere. You can see it from the bus before you ever get into town, you can see it from the bus station when you are still a fifteen minute walk away, and yesterday we could see it from the Northern city limit when we were about 45 minutes away. The other weird thing about the building is that it marks the end of the "city" part of Yeongam and the beginning of the "country" part. So, on one side, there is pretty dense housing, with tiny snaking roads and stores and apartment buildings, and behind, there is a kilometer or two of rice paddies and orchards.
When we got home, we talked more about our camps, and reassured eachother that we were really doing a good job. Jessie was talking about her camp, and the commercials that her students had made. One of them used something I had taught them last week! So, that made me feel pretty good. At least they were listening, and something that I said actually sunk in.
Even if it was something really stupid like "I feel crazy!"
We went for a long walk along the highway on the way to Kwangju to try to find these temples we keep seeing from the bus window. We didn't.
But we did find another little temple. There was a sign with an arrow at the road with a temple sign, so we checked it out. It was tiny! It was maybe ten by fifteen. If there had not been a sign, I would never have recognized it as a temple.
We walked out to a pottery store on the highway where Jessie had thought that temples were. They weren't there, so we took another road home, and wound up coming to our apartment building from behind, which is really weird.
Our apartment building is built about three quarters of the way up the highest point of land in Yeongam, so you can see it from everywhere. You can see it from the bus before you ever get into town, you can see it from the bus station when you are still a fifteen minute walk away, and yesterday we could see it from the Northern city limit when we were about 45 minutes away. The other weird thing about the building is that it marks the end of the "city" part of Yeongam and the beginning of the "country" part. So, on one side, there is pretty dense housing, with tiny snaking roads and stores and apartment buildings, and behind, there is a kilometer or two of rice paddies and orchards.
When we got home, we talked more about our camps, and reassured eachother that we were really doing a good job. Jessie was talking about her camp, and the commercials that her students had made. One of them used something I had taught them last week! So, that made me feel pretty good. At least they were listening, and something that I said actually sunk in.
Even if it was something really stupid like "I feel crazy!"
Saturday, January 14, 2006
It's OVAH!!!
Yesterday was my last day of camp.
I almost lost it.
The first activity was for everyone to describe their hero, or someone that they really respected. I gave them twenty minutes to work on this, and get ready to present.
During that twenty minutes, I ran around the school and tried to get a DVD player. I submitted lesson plans three weeks ago, so that they could make sure that I had all the resources I needed. Well, I didn't have a DVD player. My lesson plan for that day was for another activity that got cut and "Watch Movies". SO, maybe that's understandable, maybe they didn't know I meant a DVD. But there was no VCR either! SO, thanks for reading my lesson plans, and looking out for me! I'm so glad that i put all that work into them!
Not that I should reallybe surprised. I mean, no-one that I submitted them to could read or understand english anyways. Even Jessie's vice-principal, who "read" my lesson plans daily can't understand what he is reading. But he still has to read them! Just to be sure I'm not sneaking in anything that is wrong! And when I made a change and crossed out the cut activity, he recrossed it out and put his little signature stamp on either side of the line so that they could be sure that I wasn't trying to pull a fast one somehow. You know, because they could understand what Ihad written.
Anyways, there was no DVD player, so we wound up spending the twenty minutes trying to hook up a school laptop to the big monitor, which didn't work. When I finally admitted to myself that I would have to show the movie on a laptop, I decided to see how they wereprogressing on their little assignment. Two were finished, many were about half done, and a few had not even put pen to paper yet.
I extended it ten minutes, and gave the one kid who said he hadn't started yet because he had no pen a pen.
After ten minutes, most were finished, but the two who had finished first refused to present theirs. Well, apparently, you misunderstood what you were siging up for when you volunteered for an extra-curricular english CONVERSATION class. I mean, they're only happy when I am presenting to them, which doesn't help their conversation skills at all! And when I try to make their conversation activities fun, like creating a character, writing a song, or playing games, no-one pariticpates!
I gave them a little speech which only two people understood about how they will only improve in a class like this if they vlunteer and participate, but I'll be honest, the speech was more for me than for them. Then, even the ones who had understood would not volunteer. I almost started crying.
There are no marks!
There is no teacher!
You stand to lose nothing!
WHY THE HELL WILL YOU NOT SPEAK AT ALL?!?!?!
I almost started crying. I gave them another five minutes to finish, and I left to go to the bathroom.
It is so frustrating, because the students are absolutely unmotivated once they decide that they are done. I have no marks to give, so if they aren't self-motivated, they will not gain anything from my classes. And, as I've said before, many of the kids there were forced to go to round out numbers. And heaven forbid Samho middle school should be under-represented at a camp they are hosting! Better shove some more in!
They finally presented, but it was hard to get them to do it, but i think they had gotten wind of how angry and frustrated I was. Then we watched a movie.
It didn't really sink in until I was about halfway home on the bus that I was finished for the semester. Just in time too. Seriously, I can not believe the send off I got from this camp. It's so frustrating. You're teaching the best and the brightest of the school a "conversation" class, but they don't even know how to ask to go to the bathroom. The Korean teachers must be aware of the problems, so I don't understand why they do this. Well, the prestige of having a native speaker at your school. That's all basically.
I slept in real good today, and got drunk last night.
VACATION!
It's not really that cool. It's one, I'm in my pyjamas, typing in my blog and watching "Growing Up Gotti". No, wait! Holy Crap, I am the coolest ever.
I almost lost it.
The first activity was for everyone to describe their hero, or someone that they really respected. I gave them twenty minutes to work on this, and get ready to present.
During that twenty minutes, I ran around the school and tried to get a DVD player. I submitted lesson plans three weeks ago, so that they could make sure that I had all the resources I needed. Well, I didn't have a DVD player. My lesson plan for that day was for another activity that got cut and "Watch Movies". SO, maybe that's understandable, maybe they didn't know I meant a DVD. But there was no VCR either! SO, thanks for reading my lesson plans, and looking out for me! I'm so glad that i put all that work into them!
Not that I should reallybe surprised. I mean, no-one that I submitted them to could read or understand english anyways. Even Jessie's vice-principal, who "read" my lesson plans daily can't understand what he is reading. But he still has to read them! Just to be sure I'm not sneaking in anything that is wrong! And when I made a change and crossed out the cut activity, he recrossed it out and put his little signature stamp on either side of the line so that they could be sure that I wasn't trying to pull a fast one somehow. You know, because they could understand what Ihad written.
Anyways, there was no DVD player, so we wound up spending the twenty minutes trying to hook up a school laptop to the big monitor, which didn't work. When I finally admitted to myself that I would have to show the movie on a laptop, I decided to see how they wereprogressing on their little assignment. Two were finished, many were about half done, and a few had not even put pen to paper yet.
I extended it ten minutes, and gave the one kid who said he hadn't started yet because he had no pen a pen.
After ten minutes, most were finished, but the two who had finished first refused to present theirs. Well, apparently, you misunderstood what you were siging up for when you volunteered for an extra-curricular english CONVERSATION class. I mean, they're only happy when I am presenting to them, which doesn't help their conversation skills at all! And when I try to make their conversation activities fun, like creating a character, writing a song, or playing games, no-one pariticpates!
I gave them a little speech which only two people understood about how they will only improve in a class like this if they vlunteer and participate, but I'll be honest, the speech was more for me than for them. Then, even the ones who had understood would not volunteer. I almost started crying.
There are no marks!
There is no teacher!
You stand to lose nothing!
WHY THE HELL WILL YOU NOT SPEAK AT ALL?!?!?!
I almost started crying. I gave them another five minutes to finish, and I left to go to the bathroom.
It is so frustrating, because the students are absolutely unmotivated once they decide that they are done. I have no marks to give, so if they aren't self-motivated, they will not gain anything from my classes. And, as I've said before, many of the kids there were forced to go to round out numbers. And heaven forbid Samho middle school should be under-represented at a camp they are hosting! Better shove some more in!
They finally presented, but it was hard to get them to do it, but i think they had gotten wind of how angry and frustrated I was. Then we watched a movie.
It didn't really sink in until I was about halfway home on the bus that I was finished for the semester. Just in time too. Seriously, I can not believe the send off I got from this camp. It's so frustrating. You're teaching the best and the brightest of the school a "conversation" class, but they don't even know how to ask to go to the bathroom. The Korean teachers must be aware of the problems, so I don't understand why they do this. Well, the prestige of having a native speaker at your school. That's all basically.
I slept in real good today, and got drunk last night.
VACATION!
It's not really that cool. It's one, I'm in my pyjamas, typing in my blog and watching "Growing Up Gotti". No, wait! Holy Crap, I am the coolest ever.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Camp, what happened?
So, Korean camps are far from fun. That is my conclusion.
Here's the big story from today.
It starts yesterday, really. I was doing some activities, the kids were supposed to create their own characters, and describe them, and write an introduction for them. Anyways, I could tell I was losing some of them, because everytime I looked away, they pulled out their hagwon homework and started doing that instead.
These three girls, who actually attend Samho Middle School (Jessie's school where this camp is) were having a lot of trouble following. They are extremely low level, and as horrible as it is to say, have no place at an extracurricular camp aimed at advanced students. Especially when they have so little english that they can't be disciplined when there is no coteacher. I mean, nevermind that they have no idea what is happening to begin with.
Anyways, one girl sat with her head down all morning. For three and a half hours. Her friend talked all day. And when I told her to be quiet, she said "Sorry!" and gave me the cute innocent face, which I HATE! And then when I gave her a look, she'd shut up for about five seconds before starting to talk loudly in Korean again. She also spent the whole class sketching little doodles on a huge sketch pad. About four pages of size 2' by 2.5'. Anyways, I got pretty peeved, but I had a group activity coming up, so I figured I would just wait. When I finally told them what the assignment was about creating a character, everyone started to work, except for these two and their friends, because of course, they had no idea what they were supposed to be doing.
I tried to explain to them, but they hadn't been listening, and they did not get it. They were so level, they had no idea at all what they were supposed to be doing, and had no idea. I tried to get another student to explain it to them, and finally they got it. YES! Well, sort of. They actually started drawing dozens of small pictures, copied from a textbook, rather than anything original. I said "No, new character!" but they did not get it. And then, getting them to write descriptive sentences was really hard too.
Today the one girl sat again with her head down all first period, and the other chatted up a storm. Such a great storm, in fact, that at break, I told her that if her and her friends could not stop talking, that they should probably not be at a voluntary camp. She didn't understand (I was obviously using much simpler english than that), so I said "Be quiet or go home". Apparently all she understood was "Go home", because she and her friends never came back from break. I asked the others where they were, and they said thye had gone home. One girl added "I'm glad. I hate them". It was actually kind of funny, she obviously didn't mean hate, but it was clear that the rest of the class was really irritated by them too.
I called Jessie's coteacher when I got home to tell her what had happened. Her response was "Yes, I had been worried about those girls since they signed up". Well, if you were worried about them being at this camp, why were they allowed to sign up? If they can't hack it/won't take it seriously, why are they allowed to ruin a voluntary camp for other students?! I was told not to worry about getting in trouble for them going home early, because they wer trouble-makers, and would probably not tell their parents, because they would get in trouble anyways.
There are so many problems with the organization of these camps. We were not given any clear goals, we were given no resources, when there were not enough volunteers, it was not seen as an opportunity for more individualized attention, but instead more students were forced to attend the camps to round out the numbers. Now, we have un-motivated students who do not want to be there, so no wonder it's like pulling teeth to get participation.
Also, when school "vacation" starts, kids have more classes at hagwon. SO extra english camps are not exactly a priority, since the kids who go to hagwons tend to be the bets in english class, and thus are the ones who get dragged into camp. So, when I say it is time for a break, they start doing their hagwon homework.
Here's a tip Korea. Let your kids play. No wonder they sleep at school, studying is their life, and they stand to learn more at a hagwon than at school. They'll have more energy at school, and maybe not so much energy to drive me crazy! God!
Here's the big story from today.
It starts yesterday, really. I was doing some activities, the kids were supposed to create their own characters, and describe them, and write an introduction for them. Anyways, I could tell I was losing some of them, because everytime I looked away, they pulled out their hagwon homework and started doing that instead.
These three girls, who actually attend Samho Middle School (Jessie's school where this camp is) were having a lot of trouble following. They are extremely low level, and as horrible as it is to say, have no place at an extracurricular camp aimed at advanced students. Especially when they have so little english that they can't be disciplined when there is no coteacher. I mean, nevermind that they have no idea what is happening to begin with.
Anyways, one girl sat with her head down all morning. For three and a half hours. Her friend talked all day. And when I told her to be quiet, she said "Sorry!" and gave me the cute innocent face, which I HATE! And then when I gave her a look, she'd shut up for about five seconds before starting to talk loudly in Korean again. She also spent the whole class sketching little doodles on a huge sketch pad. About four pages of size 2' by 2.5'. Anyways, I got pretty peeved, but I had a group activity coming up, so I figured I would just wait. When I finally told them what the assignment was about creating a character, everyone started to work, except for these two and their friends, because of course, they had no idea what they were supposed to be doing.
I tried to explain to them, but they hadn't been listening, and they did not get it. They were so level, they had no idea at all what they were supposed to be doing, and had no idea. I tried to get another student to explain it to them, and finally they got it. YES! Well, sort of. They actually started drawing dozens of small pictures, copied from a textbook, rather than anything original. I said "No, new character!" but they did not get it. And then, getting them to write descriptive sentences was really hard too.
Today the one girl sat again with her head down all first period, and the other chatted up a storm. Such a great storm, in fact, that at break, I told her that if her and her friends could not stop talking, that they should probably not be at a voluntary camp. She didn't understand (I was obviously using much simpler english than that), so I said "Be quiet or go home". Apparently all she understood was "Go home", because she and her friends never came back from break. I asked the others where they were, and they said thye had gone home. One girl added "I'm glad. I hate them". It was actually kind of funny, she obviously didn't mean hate, but it was clear that the rest of the class was really irritated by them too.
I called Jessie's coteacher when I got home to tell her what had happened. Her response was "Yes, I had been worried about those girls since they signed up". Well, if you were worried about them being at this camp, why were they allowed to sign up? If they can't hack it/won't take it seriously, why are they allowed to ruin a voluntary camp for other students?! I was told not to worry about getting in trouble for them going home early, because they wer trouble-makers, and would probably not tell their parents, because they would get in trouble anyways.
There are so many problems with the organization of these camps. We were not given any clear goals, we were given no resources, when there were not enough volunteers, it was not seen as an opportunity for more individualized attention, but instead more students were forced to attend the camps to round out the numbers. Now, we have un-motivated students who do not want to be there, so no wonder it's like pulling teeth to get participation.
Also, when school "vacation" starts, kids have more classes at hagwon. SO extra english camps are not exactly a priority, since the kids who go to hagwons tend to be the bets in english class, and thus are the ones who get dragged into camp. So, when I say it is time for a break, they start doing their hagwon homework.
Here's a tip Korea. Let your kids play. No wonder they sleep at school, studying is their life, and they stand to learn more at a hagwon than at school. They'll have more energy at school, and maybe not so much energy to drive me crazy! God!
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Saturday
On Saturday, Jessie and I took a tour with the Gwangju International Center. It sounded pretty interesting. A day trip for 10 000 won (roughly ten bucks), with lunch included. The tour was of a traditional aloe wine “brewery” and then a trip to a mountain-side spa and temple.
The tour started, in typical Korean fashion, 45 minutes late. The buses were delayed for some reason, and we were brought to wait in the office headquarters of the aloe wine company. It was pretty brutal, because it basically meant that we were being made to wait in a tiny conference room (there were about 30 or so of us), including the children that belonged to the foreign families in attendance. So the kids had nothing to do, the twenty somethings there just laughed, because we are all used to the school system, so pretty much nothing surprises us anymore.
Finally, we poured onto the bus, and were driven an hour and a half to the aloe wine factory. Wow! Talk about traditional! The place was basically a scaled-up version of the Bay Brewing Center, with slightly less tradition (for those of you not from North Bay, the Brewing Center is a DIY booze place where my friend Jim worked in high school). Yes, just like in the old days, using methods steeped in tradition, the wine was aged in a warehouse in large stainless steel drums separated by steel catwalks, and then pumped by small plastic tubing into bottles. From there, “ajumas” (old ladies) carefully (out of respect for tradition) hold the bottles up to an ancient machine that automatically screws the safety caps into place. Then, using imported ancient Chinese technologies, the labels are applied to the bottles as they move along a “conveyor belt”. Man, I’m so glad I caught all of this tradition!
For those of you who have never been on an Asian tour, let me fill you in on the experience you are missing.
First, there will be about 100 to 150 of you, which is much more efficient than an equivalent tour in Canada, which probably would have had 6 to ten people. A man will speak to you through a megaphone directed at the chest of a man seven rows in front of you. When he is done, three more men will be introduced, because anyone who has a big title attached to their job MUST be introduced! And yes, don’t worry, they have a prepared speech! Then, you will be ushered through a tour that most closely resembles a conga line that is three thick. If you should hesitate for even a moment to get a better look at something that may interest you, you will be left behind. If someone notices you falling behind and cares to help, they will gently guide you with a hand on your inner thigh, which they will use to guide you from behind. If you think “Oh man, there are a lot of people on that platform, maybe I should let them get off before I try to get on!” an old lady will immediately move in to fill the space you have created, like water into a brine-filled dialysis tube. But don’t fret! You may not get a chance to see, but it’s just a stainless steel drum filled with dried berries, and it smells terrible anyways! Should you care to comment, as you are used to being able to speak freely now about anything without fear of being understood, you will be overheard by the one ajuma who could understand, who will give you dirty looks for the rest of the tour.
After the grand tour, we were directed upstairs for free samples! Wow, aloe soju is perhaps the vilest substance that has ever entered my mouth. Wait, forget I said that, so that you are happy when you get the gift pack I got for Christmas.
Then, back onto the bus for another hour. The day was looking better, the free lunch was coming up. It was really good.
Oh, did I say we were going to a spa? I meant public baths! Hope you like being nude!That caught a lot of foreigners off guard, myself included, because we were told that it would be a good idea to bring swimming trunks and a towel, so I thought “Cool! Cheap massages and swimming! Whee!”
The funniest thing is that Koreans don’t even think twice about it, and it doesn’t even register with them that being nude for a couple of hours would be weird to a foreign person! You see, public baths are here as a result (or so I have been told/read) of rapid development. Now, most homes have the infrastructure for people to bathe at home every day, but that’s pretty recent. So, even though most can bathe at home, they still go to public baths to get their scrub on, I guess because that’s how they remember doing it with mom and dad.
Well, I was a little freaked out, but the key here is to go with the Korean flow, as they say (they being other expats with more experience). It was a little weird to walk in for the first time, but once you’re in, there’s no turning back. That’s right, you just hop into the huge hot tubs with all the other naked men. True, the conversation kind of sucked (what with them all being Korean, and not understanding English) but I eventually caught up to some foreigners in the sauna.
“So, you’re a physics professor at Kwangju University! How do you like that?”
“I’m up here sailor”
So, it was a little weird.
We were there for almost two and a half hours, which turned out to be too long for most of the non-Koreans, who quickly bored of the whole bathing thing, as we had all bathed that morning. And really… communal soap? Not too sure about that.
We went to a beautiful temple after that. It was on Jiri mountain, on the other side of the mountain from the spa (Jimjilbang). They had huge gold statues of Buddha, that must have been about 20 feet tall, and huge wooden painted statues of what appeared to be rock-star Buddhas (He was a jukebox hero, oh-whoa-whowoowhoa!). It was alos home to the tallest stone lamp in the world, which was pretty cool, I guess, if you’re into that sort of thing. If you’re into 6 m tall lamps, you’ll have to check out Jiri-san. The temple grounds were really very beautiful, and it was a great end to the day.
Back in Kwangju (a very long bus ride later) we went out with the other ex-pat teachers from Canada, as well as the Russian professors to this Italian place. There was a room capacity mix-up, so the professors and their families all wound up in one room, and the conversation teachers all wound up in another. It was a really good dinner, and very very cheap. A couple set, which included a pasta dish, a pizza, a salad, garlic bread (never came) and drinks was only (approximately) $23! And it was really good, which was the best part.
That’s a good place to stop I think. MMmmmmmm…
The tour started, in typical Korean fashion, 45 minutes late. The buses were delayed for some reason, and we were brought to wait in the office headquarters of the aloe wine company. It was pretty brutal, because it basically meant that we were being made to wait in a tiny conference room (there were about 30 or so of us), including the children that belonged to the foreign families in attendance. So the kids had nothing to do, the twenty somethings there just laughed, because we are all used to the school system, so pretty much nothing surprises us anymore.
Finally, we poured onto the bus, and were driven an hour and a half to the aloe wine factory. Wow! Talk about traditional! The place was basically a scaled-up version of the Bay Brewing Center, with slightly less tradition (for those of you not from North Bay, the Brewing Center is a DIY booze place where my friend Jim worked in high school). Yes, just like in the old days, using methods steeped in tradition, the wine was aged in a warehouse in large stainless steel drums separated by steel catwalks, and then pumped by small plastic tubing into bottles. From there, “ajumas” (old ladies) carefully (out of respect for tradition) hold the bottles up to an ancient machine that automatically screws the safety caps into place. Then, using imported ancient Chinese technologies, the labels are applied to the bottles as they move along a “conveyor belt”. Man, I’m so glad I caught all of this tradition!
For those of you who have never been on an Asian tour, let me fill you in on the experience you are missing.
First, there will be about 100 to 150 of you, which is much more efficient than an equivalent tour in Canada, which probably would have had 6 to ten people. A man will speak to you through a megaphone directed at the chest of a man seven rows in front of you. When he is done, three more men will be introduced, because anyone who has a big title attached to their job MUST be introduced! And yes, don’t worry, they have a prepared speech! Then, you will be ushered through a tour that most closely resembles a conga line that is three thick. If you should hesitate for even a moment to get a better look at something that may interest you, you will be left behind. If someone notices you falling behind and cares to help, they will gently guide you with a hand on your inner thigh, which they will use to guide you from behind. If you think “Oh man, there are a lot of people on that platform, maybe I should let them get off before I try to get on!” an old lady will immediately move in to fill the space you have created, like water into a brine-filled dialysis tube. But don’t fret! You may not get a chance to see, but it’s just a stainless steel drum filled with dried berries, and it smells terrible anyways! Should you care to comment, as you are used to being able to speak freely now about anything without fear of being understood, you will be overheard by the one ajuma who could understand, who will give you dirty looks for the rest of the tour.
After the grand tour, we were directed upstairs for free samples! Wow, aloe soju is perhaps the vilest substance that has ever entered my mouth. Wait, forget I said that, so that you are happy when you get the gift pack I got for Christmas.
Then, back onto the bus for another hour. The day was looking better, the free lunch was coming up. It was really good.
Oh, did I say we were going to a spa? I meant public baths! Hope you like being nude!That caught a lot of foreigners off guard, myself included, because we were told that it would be a good idea to bring swimming trunks and a towel, so I thought “Cool! Cheap massages and swimming! Whee!”
The funniest thing is that Koreans don’t even think twice about it, and it doesn’t even register with them that being nude for a couple of hours would be weird to a foreign person! You see, public baths are here as a result (or so I have been told/read) of rapid development. Now, most homes have the infrastructure for people to bathe at home every day, but that’s pretty recent. So, even though most can bathe at home, they still go to public baths to get their scrub on, I guess because that’s how they remember doing it with mom and dad.
Well, I was a little freaked out, but the key here is to go with the Korean flow, as they say (they being other expats with more experience). It was a little weird to walk in for the first time, but once you’re in, there’s no turning back. That’s right, you just hop into the huge hot tubs with all the other naked men. True, the conversation kind of sucked (what with them all being Korean, and not understanding English) but I eventually caught up to some foreigners in the sauna.
“So, you’re a physics professor at Kwangju University! How do you like that?”
“I’m up here sailor”
So, it was a little weird.
We were there for almost two and a half hours, which turned out to be too long for most of the non-Koreans, who quickly bored of the whole bathing thing, as we had all bathed that morning. And really… communal soap? Not too sure about that.
We went to a beautiful temple after that. It was on Jiri mountain, on the other side of the mountain from the spa (Jimjilbang). They had huge gold statues of Buddha, that must have been about 20 feet tall, and huge wooden painted statues of what appeared to be rock-star Buddhas (He was a jukebox hero, oh-whoa-whowoowhoa!). It was alos home to the tallest stone lamp in the world, which was pretty cool, I guess, if you’re into that sort of thing. If you’re into 6 m tall lamps, you’ll have to check out Jiri-san. The temple grounds were really very beautiful, and it was a great end to the day.
Back in Kwangju (a very long bus ride later) we went out with the other ex-pat teachers from Canada, as well as the Russian professors to this Italian place. There was a room capacity mix-up, so the professors and their families all wound up in one room, and the conversation teachers all wound up in another. It was a really good dinner, and very very cheap. A couple set, which included a pasta dish, a pizza, a salad, garlic bread (never came) and drinks was only (approximately) $23! And it was really good, which was the best part.
That’s a good place to stop I think. MMmmmmmm…
Monday, January 09, 2006
Crazy, crazy camp
January 10, 2006:
So, camp is crazy.
It is going to sound horrible, but I was actually relieved to find out that Jessie was having trouble on her first day at the camp that I was at last week. I was so worried that I was just a bad teacher, and that the reason that the kids weren'tresponding was that I was just horrible at engaging them.
Turns out though, they're just dicks. They were just as bad for Jessie, or at least, that is how it sounded.
Jessie had other problems too. She showed up and found nothing working. Nothing was working at all. The printer would not work, the computer would not work, the internet would not work. It is super frustrating when you are asked to plan lessons and told you will have certain resources, and then they are not there.
Another huge obstacle is that Korean students are only motivated by marks. They are forced textbook learning, which they learn rote, and imagination is not encouraged or rewarded. So when we try to play games that involve being creative
Continued January 11, 2006:
they basically have no idea what to do. When I assigned for them to write a song, they copied songs out of their textbooks. wow.
The boys seem to be better for Jessie now,which is good, although they are still ostracizing the girls like crazy. My group is still awesome, and tomorrow is basically just a fun day, where half of it will be spent creating characters and painting them, so no real worries there.
The other weird thing is that I am expected to get permission to work at a school where I have been told to work by my employer. Today I was told that I had to get daily signatures from the vice-principal to be allowed to work at the school. Let's review. I am being told and payed to work at your school. Now, I need permission to do so. I am being told this at the end of my second day, after it is too late to do it today. But I NEED to do it every day. Well, since the only coteacher at the school who speaks english is leaving today, it seems unlikely. I'm not going to chase down the VP with a dictionary and a form begging him for a signature to give me permission to do something that his superiors are paying me to do. I'm sorry, Homey don't play that.
Bottom line: Confucianism can kiss my ass. Take that chain of command.
So, camp is crazy.
It is going to sound horrible, but I was actually relieved to find out that Jessie was having trouble on her first day at the camp that I was at last week. I was so worried that I was just a bad teacher, and that the reason that the kids weren'tresponding was that I was just horrible at engaging them.
Turns out though, they're just dicks. They were just as bad for Jessie, or at least, that is how it sounded.
Jessie had other problems too. She showed up and found nothing working. Nothing was working at all. The printer would not work, the computer would not work, the internet would not work. It is super frustrating when you are asked to plan lessons and told you will have certain resources, and then they are not there.
Another huge obstacle is that Korean students are only motivated by marks. They are forced textbook learning, which they learn rote, and imagination is not encouraged or rewarded. So when we try to play games that involve being creative
Continued January 11, 2006:
they basically have no idea what to do. When I assigned for them to write a song, they copied songs out of their textbooks. wow.
The boys seem to be better for Jessie now,which is good, although they are still ostracizing the girls like crazy. My group is still awesome, and tomorrow is basically just a fun day, where half of it will be spent creating characters and painting them, so no real worries there.
The other weird thing is that I am expected to get permission to work at a school where I have been told to work by my employer. Today I was told that I had to get daily signatures from the vice-principal to be allowed to work at the school. Let's review. I am being told and payed to work at your school. Now, I need permission to do so. I am being told this at the end of my second day, after it is too late to do it today. But I NEED to do it every day. Well, since the only coteacher at the school who speaks english is leaving today, it seems unlikely. I'm not going to chase down the VP with a dictionary and a form begging him for a signature to give me permission to do something that his superiors are paying me to do. I'm sorry, Homey don't play that.
Bottom line: Confucianism can kiss my ass. Take that chain of command.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
BAD day
Wow, brutal. Just brutal.
There's this kid. I talked about him in the post 0f November 15th (More Pictures!!!), and said he was one of my favourites. Well, apparently, the point of camp is for my favourites to test the limits of what I will put up with. He just will not shut up! All the time, talking, punching the other kids (playfully), and just generally being a nuisance when I'm trying to talk, or trying to get the other kids to work. I took him out into the hall and told him that he was being very rude. I felt bad, he kept wincing, he clearly expected to get hit when a teacher took him into the hall.
There's another, who is one of my favourite grade twos from the boys' school. He is so loud, and always playfighting whenever I give the students time to do an activity. Anyways, I think that he is the son of the perverted guy from the parents' group who is always feeling up all of the moms, all of which cannot be the student's mom. ha! He's really creepy. Once at dinner, he actually said to Jessie "You are very... large" and gestures to his chest. Which was not exactly just an observation, it was really really creepy.
Which brings me to another point that is becoming frighteningly clear. I've already mentioned the guy who wouldn't work with the girls. But it's getting RIDICULOUS now. The boys are openly mean to the girls, callign them pigs, booing them when they present to the class. They are so mean! And the girls don't stand up for themselves, because that is just the way it is here. Apparenly, I am the only one who is even offended by it. The girls don't seem to mind, and the boys just do it because it is the way they were raised, and the way everyone does it here. Crap.
It's really brutal, and I wish I could explain why it pisses me off, but there's no way they would understand.
Their big assignment today was to write a song about their character. A love song, if they wanted bonus points. The boys all said that they could not write a love song about their characters, since they had drawn boys. I told them to imagine, but they couldn't hear me through all the homophobia. So I told them to write a love song from the viewpoint of their character ("You ARE the Buddha Thief!"). They didn't get it at all. They totally missed the point, and just wrote these really horrible love songs. They're really pretty funny, because they're half their own attempts to write, and half things that they remember from other songs.
Here's Team "Be Mango"'s contribution:
When I was young I saw the girl She was very pretty
Also, she looked like an angel
But she loved another boy.
So I despair Why don’t you know my love
I love you I love you I love you
I love you so much
Please take my love
I love, I love I love
She is cute, she is so pretty
Here's Team "Georgetown"'s opus:
There’s a lover
That is very beautiful
I’m dazzled with you (I love you)
Oh, twinkle my love, I can’t give up loving with you
I am always missing you
Oh, my lover’s money is good
I love you, please promise your love and hold my arms
And hug me lovely, gently, lovely softly
How gently is the rain that falls softly on the meadow
But high on the tree
Serenade the flower with your melody oh-ho
Everything bless my love
I’m very happy with you.
Here's the "Frilly Girls"'s work of art:
I want that you are happy
Because your smiling makes me happy
In your eyes are stars
So you’re very cute
I always think of you
I need your mind
I want you
I love you forever
But, why don’t you like me
Why? Why? Really, Why??
You have me forever.
I can't even fit music to the second one. Oh well, I figure that putting two of their songs to music will be good. One last day, and all I am doing is watching movies. "Listening Skills"! Really, I don't know what else to do, because all of the lessons I put a ton of effort into planning were ruined by two students who refused to shut up.
PS. I blame the Korean school system that says when not enough students volunteer for an english camp, they have to force other students to fill it up. Thank you! Why don't you just request only unenthusiastic students who don't want to be there?
There's this kid. I talked about him in the post 0f November 15th (More Pictures!!!), and said he was one of my favourites. Well, apparently, the point of camp is for my favourites to test the limits of what I will put up with. He just will not shut up! All the time, talking, punching the other kids (playfully), and just generally being a nuisance when I'm trying to talk, or trying to get the other kids to work. I took him out into the hall and told him that he was being very rude. I felt bad, he kept wincing, he clearly expected to get hit when a teacher took him into the hall.
There's another, who is one of my favourite grade twos from the boys' school. He is so loud, and always playfighting whenever I give the students time to do an activity. Anyways, I think that he is the son of the perverted guy from the parents' group who is always feeling up all of the moms, all of which cannot be the student's mom. ha! He's really creepy. Once at dinner, he actually said to Jessie "You are very... large" and gestures to his chest. Which was not exactly just an observation, it was really really creepy.
Which brings me to another point that is becoming frighteningly clear. I've already mentioned the guy who wouldn't work with the girls. But it's getting RIDICULOUS now. The boys are openly mean to the girls, callign them pigs, booing them when they present to the class. They are so mean! And the girls don't stand up for themselves, because that is just the way it is here. Apparenly, I am the only one who is even offended by it. The girls don't seem to mind, and the boys just do it because it is the way they were raised, and the way everyone does it here. Crap.
It's really brutal, and I wish I could explain why it pisses me off, but there's no way they would understand.
Their big assignment today was to write a song about their character. A love song, if they wanted bonus points. The boys all said that they could not write a love song about their characters, since they had drawn boys. I told them to imagine, but they couldn't hear me through all the homophobia. So I told them to write a love song from the viewpoint of their character ("You ARE the Buddha Thief!"). They didn't get it at all. They totally missed the point, and just wrote these really horrible love songs. They're really pretty funny, because they're half their own attempts to write, and half things that they remember from other songs.
Here's Team "Be Mango"'s contribution:
When I was young I saw the girl She was very pretty
Also, she looked like an angel
But she loved another boy.
So I despair Why don’t you know my love
I love you I love you I love you
I love you so much
Please take my love
I love, I love I love
She is cute, she is so pretty
Here's Team "Georgetown"'s opus:
There’s a lover
That is very beautiful
I’m dazzled with you (I love you)
Oh, twinkle my love, I can’t give up loving with you
I am always missing you
Oh, my lover’s money is good
I love you, please promise your love and hold my arms
And hug me lovely, gently, lovely softly
How gently is the rain that falls softly on the meadow
But high on the tree
Serenade the flower with your melody oh-ho
Everything bless my love
I’m very happy with you.
Here's the "Frilly Girls"'s work of art:
I want that you are happy
Because your smiling makes me happy
In your eyes are stars
So you’re very cute
I always think of you
I need your mind
I want you
I love you forever
But, why don’t you like me
Why? Why? Really, Why??
You have me forever.
I can't even fit music to the second one. Oh well, I figure that putting two of their songs to music will be good. One last day, and all I am doing is watching movies. "Listening Skills"! Really, I don't know what else to do, because all of the lessons I put a ton of effort into planning were ruined by two students who refused to shut up.
PS. I blame the Korean school system that says when not enough students volunteer for an english camp, they have to force other students to fill it up. Thank you! Why don't you just request only unenthusiastic students who don't want to be there?
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Androgynous?
I took this test (http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=9417365772332679709) that looks at how you fit into traditional gender roles.
In terms of my traditional role, I am apparently androgynous.
In terms of my traditional role, I am apparently androgynous.
That's pretty cool, I guess. I mean it's not as if...
Class update
Right now, the groups are split up around the room drawing their characters onto big pieces of poster paper.
The boys are drawing a ninja and a really ugly guy. It's going to be hilarious when they have to write a love song about them.
It's also nice, because for once everyone can be involved, even if their english is not so strong, because they have to draw, and people can still contribute, even if they can't say what they want the person to be in english.
I'll post some pictures later!
The boys are drawing a ninja and a really ugly guy. It's going to be hilarious when they have to write a love song about them.
It's also nice, because for once everyone can be involved, even if their english is not so strong, because they have to draw, and people can still contribute, even if they can't say what they want the person to be in english.
I'll post some pictures later!
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Please maintain a safe distance from the girls
So, there was an interesting point about camp that I forgot to mention.
There are 13 boys, and 3 girls.
I wanted to have three even groups of five, so I tried to split people up to make it happen. It looked like the best I would get was two groups of four and one group of five (some were absent the first day), by moving one boy onto the team with the girls. I asked for volunteers, and no-one was playing along.
So I picked a guy at random.
Big Mistake.
Apparently, just the idea of being on the same team as a the girls was too much for this guy to handle. It took him about two minutes to change desks, but I got the impression that it would have been a similar situation no matter who had been the one I had chosen. So I didn't feel too bad.
Then, the guy was sitting there, and his body language was directed so perfectly away from the girls that it was almost painful to see. It was pretty hilarious at the same time though. I eventually relented, and allowed the poor guy to leave the girls' team. I made him join the other guys' team though, to keep things as even as possible. Anyways, to illustrate, here's a little disgram of the guy's avoidance during class.
The red line indicates where the guy's whole body
was directed. His goal seemed to be to ensure that
above all else, his eyes shalt not fall on a female.
It was really horrible. The boys and girls do not mix at all. They're fifteen. They should be over this whole thing by now, but Korea is pretty segregated until dating starts, which must make for some pretty interesting first dates.
Anyways... it was pretty hilarious.
Korean Mind Tricks
I feel like I have been here for much longer than I actually have.
That's not to say that it feels like it's dragging or anything, just that Korea is playing a horrible trick on me.
You see, I'm used to a winter that lasts for months and months. In Korea, this is a much harsher winter than usual, and it is apparently ending already. It was six degrees above zero the past three or four days, most of the snow has melted, and it actually smells like spring.
I actually caught myself thinking back on the events of two months ago, and feeling like they were much farther back in time than they actually were.
"Man, that was like, last fall!"
Then, a mental punch to the kidneys for not being able to escape saying like, even when thinking. Then realizing, hey, that was very recent.
I'm looking forward to the month of transition in which I am totally comfortable, before Korea punches me in the throat with unbearable heat and humidity again.
Viva life!
That's not to say that it feels like it's dragging or anything, just that Korea is playing a horrible trick on me.
You see, I'm used to a winter that lasts for months and months. In Korea, this is a much harsher winter than usual, and it is apparently ending already. It was six degrees above zero the past three or four days, most of the snow has melted, and it actually smells like spring.
I actually caught myself thinking back on the events of two months ago, and feeling like they were much farther back in time than they actually were.
"Man, that was like, last fall!"
Then, a mental punch to the kidneys for not being able to escape saying like, even when thinking. Then realizing, hey, that was very recent.
I'm looking forward to the month of transition in which I am totally comfortable, before Korea punches me in the throat with unbearable heat and humidity again.
Viva life!
Camp, you are the greatest.
English camp is fun!
I really had no idea what to expect, because like most things here, we were really uninformed, and I wasn't sure what I was headed into.
The kids are the keeners from every class. They want to be there, and they participate (not consistently, but at least more than I am used to!
The first day, I did an intro slideshow about me and Canada, that lasted the whole first period, somehow. Then, they did introductions themselves, and this activity spilled into the third period. Thank God, because it turned out that the review I had planned for that period was too short, even with the first fifteen minutes gone! The last period was opposite swat (I say a word, they have to swat the picture of the opposite term on the board with a fly swatter), and the first day was declared a success!
Today, I reviewed describing people, looking at faces, bodies, and clothing (the actual describing of people is not important, it's just an easy and fun way to get them to make simple sentences). The last period was spent learning words to say other than fine in response to "How are you today?" (you may have noticed, it's my pet-peeve here). Then, charades! Day two = success.
Tomorrow, we will be discussing how describe people's personalities, ie, likes/dislikes, personality. Also, a review of how describe people's faces, bodies and clothing using a Harry Potter picture and a memory game. Then, the kids will work in their groups, named "Be Mango", "Georgetown" (one kid's nickname is Georgie) and the "Frilly Girls" (the girls couldn't decide on a name, so I gave them this as a joke, but I don't think they got it), and they will create a character. They will have to draw it, and describe everything about them, their looks and personality. I predict success.
Thursday will be a review of physical descriptions, then students will have to describe someone they admire. Then, we'll listen to "Short People" by Randy Newman, and finally, the students will have to write a pop love song about their character! I hope they make funny characters, so that their love song will be very funny.
On Friday, I'll play them their songs (I'll put their words to the melodies of other songs), and then we'll watch a movie.
Success!
I really had no idea what to expect, because like most things here, we were really uninformed, and I wasn't sure what I was headed into.
The kids are the keeners from every class. They want to be there, and they participate (not consistently, but at least more than I am used to!
The first day, I did an intro slideshow about me and Canada, that lasted the whole first period, somehow. Then, they did introductions themselves, and this activity spilled into the third period. Thank God, because it turned out that the review I had planned for that period was too short, even with the first fifteen minutes gone! The last period was opposite swat (I say a word, they have to swat the picture of the opposite term on the board with a fly swatter), and the first day was declared a success!
Today, I reviewed describing people, looking at faces, bodies, and clothing (the actual describing of people is not important, it's just an easy and fun way to get them to make simple sentences). The last period was spent learning words to say other than fine in response to "How are you today?" (you may have noticed, it's my pet-peeve here). Then, charades! Day two = success.
Tomorrow, we will be discussing how describe people's personalities, ie, likes/dislikes, personality. Also, a review of how describe people's faces, bodies and clothing using a Harry Potter picture and a memory game. Then, the kids will work in their groups, named "Be Mango", "Georgetown" (one kid's nickname is Georgie) and the "Frilly Girls" (the girls couldn't decide on a name, so I gave them this as a joke, but I don't think they got it), and they will create a character. They will have to draw it, and describe everything about them, their looks and personality. I predict success.
Thursday will be a review of physical descriptions, then students will have to describe someone they admire. Then, we'll listen to "Short People" by Randy Newman, and finally, the students will have to write a pop love song about their character! I hope they make funny characters, so that their love song will be very funny.
On Friday, I'll play them their songs (I'll put their words to the melodies of other songs), and then we'll watch a movie.
Success!
Monday, January 02, 2006
Awesomeness
I've decided that there is one awesome aspect of being here that I do not write about nearly enough.
The Ryus.
This is the family that Jessie and I go to see twice a week for help with our Korean. They are so nice, and they really try to help, even though it is difficult sometimes, because they don't have the greatest english!
They feed us a lot. Too much sometimes. It's funny, we have learned a lot about the more traditional side of Korean life from them, and about other aspects of their culture. For example, they get a little miffed if Jessie eats a piece of apple before I do. They also can't believe that I cook, because Jessie should cook. I think they believe she is a horrible "wife".
One night, they didn't have any apples pre-peeled. They asked us to help... Jessie and I both reached for a knife, and Mrs Che (the mom) slapped my hand away. Then, she proceeded to laugh and mock Jessie's peeling techniques. I took over after that, and they mocked mine! It's crazy...
Mrs Che wants to give Jessie cooking lessons. I don't think that it would be possible for Jessie to be any less interested in anything. But she keeps telling her to come over during my piano lesson. Jessie hasn't gone yet...
Anyways, Jessie is away right now at camp. It's pretty funny. Koreans don't seem too big on public displays of affection, but the Ryus are SHOCKED that we don't hold hands in public (which we didn't do for a long time because of their apparent distaste for it). Also, they seem to have the impression that while Jessie is away, I lie on her side of the bed in the fetal position, rocking back and forth and crying. "You said you'd never leave me.... boohoohoo..."
Anyways, they keep inviting me over for dinner. It's really nice, but it's so awkward, because we eat, and then I don't know if it's okay to leave, and they just sit around without talking to me. It's still nice though, because it's free food. Also, they know which sauces should be put on which dish.
Last week, when I was talking about all the things I was going to do (because I had no classes on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday), they assumed that it was because Jessie was away. It's was pretty funny, we made a lot of soju-related jokes, and I taught them the English saying "While the cat's away, the mice will play!". They thought that was pretty hilarious.
They really are very nice, and I felt that they deserved a mention. They are a constant reminder that behind all the craziness, cultural barriers, and apparent rudeness, the majority of Koreans are really nice, and really really welcoming people. They make it nice to be here.
The Ryus.
This is the family that Jessie and I go to see twice a week for help with our Korean. They are so nice, and they really try to help, even though it is difficult sometimes, because they don't have the greatest english!
They feed us a lot. Too much sometimes. It's funny, we have learned a lot about the more traditional side of Korean life from them, and about other aspects of their culture. For example, they get a little miffed if Jessie eats a piece of apple before I do. They also can't believe that I cook, because Jessie should cook. I think they believe she is a horrible "wife".
One night, they didn't have any apples pre-peeled. They asked us to help... Jessie and I both reached for a knife, and Mrs Che (the mom) slapped my hand away. Then, she proceeded to laugh and mock Jessie's peeling techniques. I took over after that, and they mocked mine! It's crazy...
Mrs Che wants to give Jessie cooking lessons. I don't think that it would be possible for Jessie to be any less interested in anything. But she keeps telling her to come over during my piano lesson. Jessie hasn't gone yet...
Anyways, Jessie is away right now at camp. It's pretty funny. Koreans don't seem too big on public displays of affection, but the Ryus are SHOCKED that we don't hold hands in public (which we didn't do for a long time because of their apparent distaste for it). Also, they seem to have the impression that while Jessie is away, I lie on her side of the bed in the fetal position, rocking back and forth and crying. "You said you'd never leave me.... boohoohoo..."
Anyways, they keep inviting me over for dinner. It's really nice, but it's so awkward, because we eat, and then I don't know if it's okay to leave, and they just sit around without talking to me. It's still nice though, because it's free food. Also, they know which sauces should be put on which dish.
Last week, when I was talking about all the things I was going to do (because I had no classes on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday), they assumed that it was because Jessie was away. It's was pretty funny, we made a lot of soju-related jokes, and I taught them the English saying "While the cat's away, the mice will play!". They thought that was pretty hilarious.
They really are very nice, and I felt that they deserved a mention. They are a constant reminder that behind all the craziness, cultural barriers, and apparent rudeness, the majority of Koreans are really nice, and really really welcoming people. They make it nice to be here.
VACATION!!!!!!!!!!
So, vacation pretty much rocks so far. I went to Seoul last week, and it was great. I stayed with Cameron, a friend from Queen's. It's been too long since I have had overly intelligent conversations about music (needlessly wordy, really) and way too long since I have been to a decent pub.
On the way to Seoul, in Naju station, I met an old man who had fought in the Korean war and then served with the Americans afterwards. His english was really good, and he was quite funny. His grandson was with him, and he went to Yeongam Boys' High School. His english was not so good, but it was nice to have someone to pass the wait for the train with.
The first night, I had a few hours to kill by myself. I was studying the subway map in the bus station, literally ready to pick a destination based on how coo the name sounded. Seriously. You’d be surprised what you will find.
Some guy came up beside me, and asked me where I wanted to go. I said I didn’t know, and asked him to recommend somewhere. He said I should check out Namsan tower, “a very tall building”. I went to the subway stop he recommended, but went against his advice of getting a cab. I found a sign that said “NamSan Park” and pointed right. I went to the next right corner, and found no more signs, so I backtracked. It turned out that the turn was a staircase between two buildings. I got up there, and found that there was another street level four flights above street level. I don’t know how that was even possible, but when I looked to my left between buildings, I saw little neighbourhoods about fifty feet below me, even though if you looked straight, it looked like any other level downtown street!
I finally found the park, and climbed about halfway up NamSan, which I should have known would be a mountain (san means mountain). The tower came into view about midway up, and looked like the love child of the CN tower and a Christmas Tree. Here’s a picture:
All-in all, it was a good night. I finally met up with Cam, had some dumplings, and then met his roommates and chatted until we finally gave in to exhaustion.
His roommates seemed nice. They all work at a Hakwon together. They get paid a little more than I do, but they get much less vacation (10 days, no choice, versus my 25 that I choose, plus no classes during the school breaks, which is when Hakwons have more classes). I was relieved that Jessie and I had not taken the original Hakwon position we had looked into. It sucks to get up early, but we have a great apartment, sympathetic employers (in spite of the complaining) and a lot more freedom than Hakwon employees.
The next day we ate ethnic foods for lunch and dinner. It was so nice to have a variety of food. The food here is always the same, so schwarma for lunch and Nepalese for dinner was a really nice break.
In the afternoon, we went to Jongmyo temple, and it was great. It was eerie, because you would be in Seoul, with car noises, people yelling, loud city background noises, and then suddenly, you went through this gate, and it was silent. Nothing but the sounds of your feet crunching on the gravel paths, and birds chirping. It was very nice, and not busy (a Thursday afternoon), and very very tranquil.
We went to three really cool pubs that night.
The first was about the size of a trailer. You walked in, and the door almost hit the DJ stand. There was a wall of CDs, and a guy just standing there smoking, and putting on his favourites. He was the owner, as well as the whole staff. Easy job, considering there was no service. You just walked to the back and grabbed your own beers out of the fridge while he threw on his favourite tracks. There were little slips of paper to jot down requests, or you could just doodle, and then tack it up on the walls.
The second was this really chilled-out living room. Except, instead of a couch, it had several tables that you sat at on the floor. We had a glass of wine, decided it wasn't really what we were after, and moved on.
The third was this awesome little lounge called "Liquid". They played loungey jazzy electronic music ("bossa", according to Cam) and it was basically the coolest place I have ever been. The music was great, the atmospehere was very relaxed, and the drinks were unusual/awesome.
I got back on Friday, and Jessie had just gotten back from her camp at Nam-Yang. We were both a little worried that the teachers at the workshops would be really unmotivated (in the style of Jessie's usual workshops), but Jessie says that they are in fact really fun and involved in what is going on. So, we both had a lot of fun. Jessie kept saying that she felt like she was a don, I guess camp seemed a lot like how I had described the activities I used to do.
On the way to Seoul, in Naju station, I met an old man who had fought in the Korean war and then served with the Americans afterwards. His english was really good, and he was quite funny. His grandson was with him, and he went to Yeongam Boys' High School. His english was not so good, but it was nice to have someone to pass the wait for the train with.
The first night, I had a few hours to kill by myself. I was studying the subway map in the bus station, literally ready to pick a destination based on how coo the name sounded. Seriously. You’d be surprised what you will find.
Some guy came up beside me, and asked me where I wanted to go. I said I didn’t know, and asked him to recommend somewhere. He said I should check out Namsan tower, “a very tall building”. I went to the subway stop he recommended, but went against his advice of getting a cab. I found a sign that said “NamSan Park” and pointed right. I went to the next right corner, and found no more signs, so I backtracked. It turned out that the turn was a staircase between two buildings. I got up there, and found that there was another street level four flights above street level. I don’t know how that was even possible, but when I looked to my left between buildings, I saw little neighbourhoods about fifty feet below me, even though if you looked straight, it looked like any other level downtown street!
I finally found the park, and climbed about halfway up NamSan, which I should have known would be a mountain (san means mountain). The tower came into view about midway up, and looked like the love child of the CN tower and a Christmas Tree. Here’s a picture:
All-in all, it was a good night. I finally met up with Cam, had some dumplings, and then met his roommates and chatted until we finally gave in to exhaustion.
His roommates seemed nice. They all work at a Hakwon together. They get paid a little more than I do, but they get much less vacation (10 days, no choice, versus my 25 that I choose, plus no classes during the school breaks, which is when Hakwons have more classes). I was relieved that Jessie and I had not taken the original Hakwon position we had looked into. It sucks to get up early, but we have a great apartment, sympathetic employers (in spite of the complaining) and a lot more freedom than Hakwon employees.
The next day we ate ethnic foods for lunch and dinner. It was so nice to have a variety of food. The food here is always the same, so schwarma for lunch and Nepalese for dinner was a really nice break.
In the afternoon, we went to Jongmyo temple, and it was great. It was eerie, because you would be in Seoul, with car noises, people yelling, loud city background noises, and then suddenly, you went through this gate, and it was silent. Nothing but the sounds of your feet crunching on the gravel paths, and birds chirping. It was very nice, and not busy (a Thursday afternoon), and very very tranquil.
We went to three really cool pubs that night.
The first was about the size of a trailer. You walked in, and the door almost hit the DJ stand. There was a wall of CDs, and a guy just standing there smoking, and putting on his favourites. He was the owner, as well as the whole staff. Easy job, considering there was no service. You just walked to the back and grabbed your own beers out of the fridge while he threw on his favourite tracks. There were little slips of paper to jot down requests, or you could just doodle, and then tack it up on the walls.
The second was this really chilled-out living room. Except, instead of a couch, it had several tables that you sat at on the floor. We had a glass of wine, decided it wasn't really what we were after, and moved on.
The third was this awesome little lounge called "Liquid". They played loungey jazzy electronic music ("bossa", according to Cam) and it was basically the coolest place I have ever been. The music was great, the atmospehere was very relaxed, and the drinks were unusual/awesome.
I got back on Friday, and Jessie had just gotten back from her camp at Nam-Yang. We were both a little worried that the teachers at the workshops would be really unmotivated (in the style of Jessie's usual workshops), but Jessie says that they are in fact really fun and involved in what is going on. So, we both had a lot of fun. Jessie kept saying that she felt like she was a don, I guess camp seemed a lot like how I had described the activities I used to do.
VACATION PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is Namdaemun. Nam means south, mun means door. This is the south-facing gate from the old city wall. It is beautifully lit-up at night, and the market nearby was very busy and interesting. 
I could not resist taking a picture of this bar. It is Pavarotti themed, and called "PaBARotti".
This is Namsan tower, from about two thirds away up Nam mountain in Seoul. It was a huge green space just in the middle of Seoul. Very neat.
I could not resist taking a picture of this bar. It is Pavarotti themed, and called "PaBARotti".
This is Namsan tower, from about two thirds away up Nam mountain in Seoul. It was a huge green space just in the middle of Seoul. Very neat.This is one of the many temple buildings in Jongmyo temple/cemetary. They kept the remains of the kings here, and even had special stone urns in which they have kept their placentas. Weird!
This is Cam in Jongmyo temple.
ANother building in Jongmyo. Cool tree.
After our little pub crawl, we took the subway home. It was so full, that I lost my balance at one point, and did not fall. Here's a shot I got of the many people on board.
This is Cam in Jongmyo temple.ANother building in Jongmyo. Cool tree.
After our little pub crawl, we took the subway home. It was so full, that I lost my balance at one point, and did not fall. Here's a shot I got of the many people on board.
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