You can't eat soup with chopsticks!

The Dead Zone

2010-07-29T01:59:00.000-07:00

Everyday after school for the past 6 months or so I have been making the mistake of hanging out on my couch a little too long. My couch is a dead zone. As soon as I get on it I feel sleepy and next thing you know 2 hours have gone by without notice. I always try to fight it but in the end it wins every time. Never challenge a couch that is a dead zone you'll never win.

[Korean Music] - Supreme Team

2010-07-27T01:49:00.000-07:00

I love the Supreme Team... in the Korean music world everyone is doing a waterdown version of hiphop. There is a token rapper in every girl or boy group.
But they aren't really a hip-hop group.

Enter the Supreme Team. A really good k-hiphop group.

Here are 2 singles I like Supermagic and 나만 모르게 (Feat T aka Tasha, aka Yoon Mirae )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DLxTDbwmYE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NB7UDPxU5E

have a listen tell me what you think

The Homeplus Debacle

2010-07-27T01:40:00.000-07:00

I went to Homeplus today to pick up some stuff. Ran into a couple of girls that were snickering and pointing at me. Normally this sorta stuff doesn't get to me. But today right in the middle of produce I started yelling at the kids. I was so angry I couldn't even think in Korean so it all came out in English...

Right now I think I shouldn't have done it. But at the time it felt nice to finally yell at someone after a year of being silent.

The fast and the frenzied

2010-05-18T16:27:00.000-07:00

The fast and the frenzied

This is a LONG overdue post. I meant to post this back in November or something but everything got pushed back. Every time I tried to come up with something to write about this topic I came up with nothing concrete. So I’m just going to write a series of points. These points are observations I have made about driving and being a pedestrian in S. Korea.

a. It just might be impossible or rare to get hit by a car turning left in a major intersection. I can only speak about the major intersections in my area. I noticed that the way the traffic lights run, cars allowed to turn left don’t do it at the same time when pedestrians are walking. In Toronto drivers making a left have to look out for on-coming traffic and pedestrians that isn’t the case here in Korea. I suppose the concept is sort of like the “advance go” type arrows in busy intersections back home.

b. Street names aren’t that important like back in Toronto. Just say I wanted to meet a friend in Toronto some give place downtown. If I say “Meet me at Queen and Bathurst” they might say “Oh Queen and Bathurst where the Pizza Pizza is?” Using a location to confirm the place. In Korea people tend to map by location. I have been never been given directions that say “It’s at the intersection of ABC street”. I get A LOT of flyers for restaurants, stores and other such things; I don’t know where most of them are because the maps given are done by location. The map will show something like: BOOKSTORE, COFFEE SHOP, APARTMENT BUILDING, all labeled and the store in question will have a giant star where its located. The map is no help if you don’t know where those locations exist. Funny thing is restaurants and coffee shops move and change of often here it almost makes no sense to me to use such locations on a map.

c. Where’s my seat belt?! That is a question I have asked myself several times getting into cars in Korea. At first I thought it was only taxis in Korea but after many trips in my teacher’s car it much the same. In the front seat both passenger and driver have a seat belt but in the backseat…. NOTHING! Needless to say there has been several instances where I prayed to God for my safety. Furthermore, children aren’t buckled in like in Canada. In Canada until you reach the age of 12 or a certain amount of pounds you’re sitting in some kinda baby seat. In Korea I haven’t really seen people buckling their kids into safety seats. During Chusoek weekend I saw many kids with their head sticking out of sunroofs as the cars speed down the highway. I’ve also been in a car where a two year roamed around the backseat freely because he put up too much of a fight to seat in the baby seat.

d. Traffic lights, traffic signs, and, other traffic regulations are mere suggestions; guidelines if you will. Many occasions I have been in a car or seen a car make illegal turns, speeding while making turns, run red lights etc. This is part of the reason why I reach for my rosary while in the backseat of such a car. Motorbikes, scooters, mopeds, and other alike vehicles are frequent rule breakers. They run red lights all the time. One thing I absolutely hate is they drive on the side walks. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had tap into the Spiderman within me to get outta the way.

e. GOT GPS?! Most cars on the road in Korea have a GPS device. Most drivers are heavily dependent on their GPS to navigate the busy roads. The driver punches in the name of the location and the GPS gives step by step directions to the destination. The GPS also tells you when you a speeding, and it also shows a real time display map of the driver’s location. I think most models can play music and have television. I know in Ontario drivers cannot have tvs anywhere in their line of vision. Tvs are for the backseat people. Not the case in Korea. I have seen people driving with the tv on right in their face on the dashboard. WHAT THE HECK?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!!! Traffic signs not really obeyed, no seat belts for the backseat, and you have the nerve to be driving with a TV in your FACE?! What also makes me laugh about this is in the car they avoid using their cells or go hands free. But what does that matter if you are watching tv anyway?!

f. You would think with all that I have writing I might have witness many traffic accidents. Truth is I have seen about 2 in the year I have been here. It was pretty much the aftermath of the accident. Nothing that required the jaws of life of anything. This makes me wonder about all the regulations we have in Canada. Not a day goes by without a fatal accident some where on the street of T.O. I don’t really think any one system is better than the other. But coming from Canada where are so many regulations about driving S. Korea’s drivers seem a little insane.

Subway Capers 3 & 4

2010-05-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

This is also long overdue. This happened back in October… I think it was the same day I met the crazy train lady.

#3
I was on the train heading back home. The train car I was in was filled with people but there were still enough seats for people to not really have to sit beside anyone. I was sitting in a corner seat closest to the door. I like those seats the best since I only have to seat next to one other person.

A man sat down right next to me he seemed to be reading a science text book. I thought what he did was odd since there were enough seats that he didn’t have to seat right next to me. I just shrugged it off and began to zone out. I think I might have been listening to music. I don’t remember.

After some time I began to feel some pressure on my leg; then sort of rubbing sensation. I looked over at my left leg and saw that my leg and the man’s leg were touching so I moved my leg away. After a while it happened again and again so I kept moving my leg away from the man until their wasn’t any space for me to retreat.

Thankfully my stop came up next and I jumped out of my seat readying myself to exit. As a routine I double check my seat just in case I left something behind. When I looked back the man was gone. He was sitting opposite aisle in a middle seat next to a different woman rubbing his leg against hers. Ew.

#4
I was on my way home from Sunday mass in Seodaemun. I thought there was going to be mass in English but that turned out to be a bust. So feeling tired and defeated I made my way home. I was waiting for the train on the platform. Out of no where a little girl came up to me and began to stare up at me. I think she was a 4th or 5th grade student.
I looked over at her and she said to me “ 예쁘세요” which means “you are pretty” in a nice polite form of the language. I suppose if my Korean was better at the time I would have said more to her that just thanks. When she said it she was holding my hand smiling at me. She called her mother over to where we were standing but her mother yelled for her to come over so she went.

I'm still here....

2010-05-18T16:23:00.000-07:00

It’s been a long time since I posted a blog. I suppose its because I don’t have the motivation to keep at it due the lack of comments. I have been told there are a number of creepers that read up on me but without comments it feels like I’m just writing this for myself yanno?

This isn’t to guilt trip anyone… there are many more reasons for my lack of posts. For on thing I became busy living life. Most days when I get home I have a snack. Have time for prayer, meditation, or some spiritual reading (reading the bible or about the saints). I make dinner and just lounge about complaining to myself how tired I am with folks back home.

Time management hasn’t always been my best skill. I tend to procrastinate quite a bit. Actually I think that is an understatement since I pretty much have it worked out to an art form… either that or some scientific method. I’m trying my best to get over that issue but ironically enough I have been told things like this take time.

Thirdly, I have been debating with myself on how “real” I should be on this blog. Considering this is the internet and whatever I post online leaves my full control as soon as I post it worries me a bit. I want to keep people updated and I want to provide information but, I don’t want to put too much out on the information highway. I think I’m going to start getting a little freer with the posts and stop worrying about form and function so much.

Lastly, I had to take a break from posting because some things were going on in my life here in S. Korea that I needed a while to digest. I will elaborate more about all the issues in another upcoming post.

Well that’s all for now. Look out for updates soon.

Update~~

2010-04-14T04:17:00.000-07:00

Hey all~

I keep thinking about something to write about on here. Finally when I do the writers block hits me and nothing really happens. Blargh >_>

Anyway... this past weekend I went to Myeong-dong Cathedral for mass. It was the first time I went there. I really like it there a lot it was the closest thing to home. It really helped me get over this current bout with home sickness. Easter time back home in Canada is a big family event so I was feeling a bit lonely without family to yell at and ignore. (LOL, I joke because I care).

After mass at Myeong-dong Cathedral I decided to walk around the Myeong-dong shopping area. I really have to say its one of my favourite places to shop in Seoul. Admittedly somethings are super expensive. For example H&M... I cannot believe I spent 98,000 won on clothes there >_< I don't know ... it just HAP-PEND (lol). I bought a blue/green tunic type top, a black tube top, a pair of earrings, bunch of bracelets and a white skirt (which I later returned... but I didnt end up getting my money back b/c it was a busy day and it process for a refund is too time consuming, so I got a giftcard. >_> )Then I got a long blue skirt and uniqco (sp?).

Later in the underground shopping area I bought a Clazziquai CD "Instant Pig" and in another place I bought a Big Bang CD "Remember vol. 2" (when I got home to put the tracks on my mp3 player I found out the CD although completely packaged as Remember vol. 2 the tracks on the disc are from Remember vol.1!!!! argghhh~~~ >_<* ... I wanted to listen to Seungri's track "strong baby" SO badly I love that song...oh well I think I will go back to that shop and try for exchange)

Okay that is all for now... I will try not to be too much of a stranger~

This just in... After giving my Big Bang CD a close listen all the tracks are from vol. 2 its just that the names of the tracks are from vol.1... so now I'm struggling to rename them all... >_> argh!

[6 months Review ] February

2010-03-10T06:57:00.000-08:00

February

Back to school! Well actually back to desk warming. At this point I reached the highest degree of desk warming; animate paper weight. Most days when I came to school there were no teachers in the building. If I happened to run into a teacher in the faulty room or the hallway they would be shocked. A few teachers suggested that I should go home. I wanted to take some of my vacation time and go to Japan for about 5 or 6 days. I know it would be a short trip but it would be better than desk warming. My request was denied since during that time there were going to be special teacher meetings I had to attend. Also Co.1 didn’t make it clear to my VP that I was planning to go to Japan rather she told him my Japanese friend was coming to Korea. >_> . Oh well I’m definitely going to Japan in the summer. Co. 1 told me the identity of Co.2. I was delighted to find out it was going to be the 1st grade teacher. (THANK THE LORD!) Co.2 and I get along really well. She’s closer in age to me than Co.1. She makes me feel more like a co-worker and professional rather than an “English Language Bar Wench”. Co.2 will be leaving for maternity leave in July which isn’t too bad since I’m only here until August. I’m not sure if they will get a teacher to fill in or not. But I will wait and see what happens. Anything is bound to happen since Korea is dynamic.

[6 months Review ] January

2010-03-10T06:56:00.000-08:00

January

The New Year was full of surprises. For most of the winter class schedule I spent it planning for the next semester. I was determined to hit the ground running and learn from all my mistakes to improve my lessons. I’m not going to lie there were some days where I couldn’t stay on task and did everything under the sun but work. My Co-teacher informed me that she was leaving the school. (In Korea every 4 years teachers change their schools) I was secretly hoping that the current 1st grade teacher that spoke excellent English was going to be my new Co. Co .1 (my first co-teacher) over time became hard to deal with on a day to day basis. She refused to co-teach with me, she didn’t explain information to me, did things last minute all the time, stiffed me with all the classes to teach, and, spoke to me in Korean most of the time not bothering to make the effort. My Korean isn’t all that great so I was always lost in translation. Co. 1 isn’t a horrible person she was quite helpful and taught me about daily life in Korea. It’s just that she would have been more helpful if she made more of an effort to understand me and speak with me.
I started to go clubbing every now and then with my friends. We went to a smaller club in our area. Most of the time Korean guys spent their time staring at me with expressions on their face like “ooooh a black girl”. One night before I was going to leave I ran into a guy who would take a “No” for answer. All in all he ended up getting my number. The fool ended up drunk dialling me 3 times in one night.
1st call
Me: Hello? (I answered thinking it was long distance, the family sometime forgets the time difference)
Mr. Grabby: HellooooOooo, Eveeeeeee~ I want to see…
Me: I’m sleeping…bye
Mr. Grabby: Huh? Sleep? Nooo… I want to see… please come to me…
Me: No.. Good bye
2nd call
Me: YA! I’m sleeping!
Mr. Grabby: I’m sorry… I can’t English…
Me: bye!
3rd Call
Me: HEY, YOU’RE DEAD! (said in Korean)
Mr. Grabby: *hangs up*

[6 months Review ] December

2010-03-10T06:54:00.000-08:00

December
I went to Namsan Tower with Jacob. I had such an awesome time with him. First we went to Namsan Tower and saw the place where all locks are on the fence. (Lots of couples come to this one area near the tower, write a message on a lock, attach it to the fence and throw the keys away to signify the promise they made to each other.) After Namsan it was off to the Hanok Village. Jacob and I played several of the old time games and wondered about the area together. Next it was off to Insadong but first it was short stop in a coffee shop to defrost a bit. In the coffee shop talked a bit… about what I can’t remember. I suppose that it was because I was making goo goo eyes at Jacob most of the time. Went we made it to Insadong I was approaching night time it was getting colder. Jacob shared his gloves with me. I wore one and he wore the other. The other ungloved hands we stuffed into our jackets. Eventually Jacob relinquished the other glove. We had dinner in Insandong. Jacob taught me how to text in Korean. It was something I wanted to learn since I got my phone but no one would show me. To say thank you I sent Jacob a message in Korean. Later he walked me to the subway station through Insadong we walked arm in arm close together (to keep warm). When it was time to part ways, Jacob offered his hand for a handshake. I shook his hand but he wouldn’t let go. “Umm, I’ve got to go…so you gotta let go of my hand…” I say. A smirk crosses Jacob’s face and he pulls me toward him. After I regain my balance we have a good laugh. Finally he lets me go and I leave.
As for school life things were slowing down. I didn’t teach much English classes at the middle school. My Co-Teacher was planning the winter class schedule since there were no winter camps at my school.

[6 months Review ] October & November

2010-03-10T06:52:00.000-08:00

October
The middle school situation kept getting worse. There was one day where I just broke down and cried when I had to go. “I don’t wanna go to schoooool” I cried into my pillow. At that moment I didn’t care how loud I was crying or who might hear me I just need to have a good cry. By the end of the month I started to get a handle on things. My lessons actually grabbed their attention for more than 5 minutes. (with or without the possibility of getting candy) Also some of my middle school students grew on me. The 3rd grade (gr.9) students quickly became my favourites enough they gave me the most trouble.
Health wise I was getting skinnier by the day since I couldn’t keep down Korean food. When it came to school lunches I could only eat soup and rice. Occasionally there was fruit served with the meals and on some special days there was “western” food served. For the longest time I could only keep down Western food. For some reason Korean food just didn’t agree with me. Most people I spoke to about it thought it was stress OR they just thought I didn’t like Korean food. That wasn’t it at all I like Korean food it was just that my stomach doesn’t like it. After a while I just decided to deal with it in my own way by avoiding eating things I wasn’t sure about. Turns out certain family members when that moved to Canada had similar issues. There were certain Canadian foods that just made them sick. So I guess its genetic.

November
Most people that I met through the EPIK orientation have forgotten about my existence. Since I spent most of my time sick I wasn’t going out much. Therefore there were many miss connections. But I did end up hanging out with a lot of Korean people. Lots of people approached me to do language exchange. My new laptop was running on Vista and it crashed. I went about a week without a computer and lots a lot of data. I never had it happen to me before. Thankfully Hi-Mart Boi came to the rescue and helped me about.

[6 months Review ] August & September

2010-03-10T06:48:00.000-08:00

I wrote a review for my 1st 6mos in Korea... its a long post so I broke it up into parts.

August
August was a hectic month. It was filled with many ups and downs I’m surprised I have made it this far. The 10 day EPIK orientation went by in a blur and my birthday celebration wasn’t what I expected. If some told me 5 years ago that I’d be celebrating my 25th birthday in S. Korea I wouldn’t have believed them. At the orientation one of the coordinators started and inside joke with a phrase from one of the “travel Korea’” campaigns. “Korea is dynamic” basically this means when “crazy”, “odd”, “confusing”, or “last minute things” happen to you in Korea it’s because” Korea is dynamic”.
September
School was in full swing and I was going through my culture shock. There were many moments where I day dreamed about packing my bags and running away in the middle of the night. You’d be surprised to know how many people have done that in the past. One day after a hard day of classes I fell into a deep sleep around 5pm. About 30 minutes later the sound of yelling and drums violently woke me up. I honestly thought it was the coming of the apocalypse. Completely disoriented I run around my apartment look out into the hallway then, run over the window. I’m scared and half expecting to see the four horsemen outside my window. Actually it was much worse it was about 10 Korean men marching in the streets with flags and drums. Even with the visual my heart is still beating like crazy and echoing in my ears. The sounds of drums and yelling fade until they make it around the block again. This continued every Friday until October. During this period “Korea is dynamic” became my mantra, though it didn’t help much. Being stared at and whispered about wasn’t as hard to deal with compared to the insanity of my middle school classes. At orientation I was relieved to find that I was assigned to an elementary school. Once I met my co-teacher I was informed that in addition to elementary school classes and would also be teaching at a middle school. Which I think was ridiculous. All the people that know that have two schools are placed at schools of the same level. For example two elementary schools, two middle schools, or two high schools. The co-teachers at the middle school did little to help me when it came to lesson planning. It caused me a lot of stress and headaches. Toward the end of the month Korean food started to make me sick. I wasn’t sure why and the doctors had not answers for me… so of course they assumed it must be stress or some mental defect.

Shop "til you drop~~

2010-02-27T08:04:00.000-08:00

I just got back home from an excellent shopping trip!

I went to Myeong-dong with some of my friends. Myeong-dong has to be my favourite shopping area in Seoul. There is a great number of stores all over American brands, Asian brands, even ones from Europe. Also you can get a lot of cost effective items.

Today was the grand opening of H&M in Seoul... I think it may be the only H&M in S.Korea. We wanted to go in but there was a MAJOR line to get in... as to be expected.

So we decided to busy ourselves with shopping else where. If anyone is a big fan of ZARA they will love Myeong-dong there are like 6 with a few meters of each other.
My friend Minerva was desperately looking for a new leather jacket. She spotted on at COEX Mall (which is also a great place to shop) weeks ago and was regretting not buying it. All in all she ended up buying one from Valleygirl. Valleygirl is our new fave place to shop... great selection and awesome prices.

I have been doing a lot of shopping lately... practically the entire month of February. I haven't really shopped much for clothing since I got here... just a shirt here, sweater there. I finally broke down and did some shopping finally.

Here is a list of the things a picked up

1 pair of dark blue skinny jeans
1 sweater dress
1 plaid cowboy shirt
1 racerback tank
2 t-shirts
1 tank dress

there are other things I bought too but I'm just listing the clothing....

I guess I'll end this here =)

[10 Random Things] # 2

2010-02-12T00:46:00.001-08:00

10. Whenever I change my hairstyle EVERYONE notices. This isn't so bad but the comments are something I can do without. Upon removing my extensions several teachers said to me: "...Oh haircut?!.." then I have the difficult choice of either explaining that I was wearing fake hair or lying and agreeing with them.

9. When taking the subway, walking toward an open seat doesn’t guarantee you the seat. So basically you snooze you lose. On many different occasions I have had my seat stolen. Having my seat stolen makes me angry >_<. But what makes me angrier is when I have my seat stolen by someone whom is on the train for just one stop. It makes no sense to me.

8. When commuting by subway one must calculate AAC time. AAC stands for Ahjumma, Ahjusshi, and Couples. Older people are everywhere in Korea, they live healthy and active lives but since they are older they move a little slow. This makes it a little hard to get through subway stations quickly. No don't feel too bad if you knock or bump them because these people will most likely knock you aside given the opportunity.

7. Couples are everywhere in Korea not just girl-boy, but boy-boy, and girl-girl. When I say boy-boy and girl-girl these relationships are hetro in Korea they aren't as homophobic. They are perfectly comfortable showing affection/having physical contact to a friend of the same sex which is pretty awesome. I think westerners are a little too uptight :P

6. These couples move at their own pace and pretty much are always in the way. Sometimes you just wanna punch them in the back of the head! *rwar*

5. TV is widely available on all cellphones… free of charge 

4. 7 out of 10 of my female middle school students have some form of a bowl cut. 9 of 10 have bangs. Bangs are VERY important.

3. “Manicure” refers to a bottle of nail polish… so I’m a little unsure of what I should ask for when going to a nail shop.

2. Meat on a stick is quite tasty and widely available … yummy

1. When Korean people see me on the street they see it as an opportunity to use English. As I walk down the road I hear “HELLO NICE TO MEET YOU” … “TODAY IS A NICE DAY” … “HELLO WHERE A YOU FROM…” etc , etc….

On the Bus with L'il H

2010-02-08T05:35:00.000-08:00

I have a few different ways I can travel to school the in mornings. I can take the bus, take the subway and walk, take a cab, or bus and subway it. Its usually the latter since the bus that takes me to the school directly is almost always late.

Anyway I was on the bus that goes directly goes to my school. Sometimes I see teachers on this bus but most of the time I see my students. One student in particular L'il H. This is kid is in my 5th grade class he has really good english and is always eager to talk to me. He was big man on campus when it came to english in his grade until a new kid transferred in from the states and took title from him.

This morning Lil H gets on the bus and he sees me and smiles and sits beside me. He starts telling me about his vacation (which really wasn't a vacation since he spent most of the time studying).
Usually when he talks to me he has something he wants to show off.. this time it was his clothes. He was wearing an all brand new outfit.

Lil H : Teacher, teacher... like my clothes?
Me: (smiles) yea
Lil H: Teacher this is my new style
Me: Really?
Lil H: Mine is hip-hop style.. I like hip hop style
Me: (hahahahahaha) nice

Perhaps this is one of those "you had to be there moments" but nevertheless it still was super cute and funny.... man I love that kid

[Korean Music] 2pm

2010-02-01T04:18:00.000-08:00

There are two boy bands that I constantly listen to... 1tym and Big Bang. But as of recent I have been sucked in to the realm that is 2PM. 2PM is probably one of the most popular boybands in S.Korea.

The first song I heard I think was "I Hate You" then after that is was "Again and Again"

2PM was originally a 7 man group. Now they are down to six because someone did some digging on the former leader Jaebum. What they found was that Jaebum had written some very insulting myspace journal entries about his time in Korea. Jaebum is from the states and his parents are korean. So living and working in Korea he had to deal with a lot and he decided to vent it on myspace. Long story short he left the group though many fans, the record label, and his bandmates want him to come back. I hope he returns... he was a nice piece of eye candy. any way here is one of there recent singles "Heartbeat" I admit I didn't like it at first because the beat sounded so odd but sure enough it grew on me. So much so that I recently purchased the CD

Sorry, Sorry...

2010-01-31T05:54:00.000-08:00

I keep neglecting this blog. I know there are several people want to know what has been going on with me. Its been almost 6mos and there this almost nothing on here.

I'm just posting this short note to let everyone know that I'm over my laziness and will be making best effort to post something on at least a weekly basis. There are several things that have happened over the last month that I'll be writing about and they are sure to amuse you.

I'm going to end my message here... I've only had about 2 and 1/2 hrs of sleep and need to go sleep before I collapse.

More Middle school Mayhem...

2009-12-18T00:28:00.000-08:00

Okay so things have gotten a bit better at my middle school.

I complained about the way things were going and people listened. Although I think they missed the mark on where the issue truly lies... The end result was that I no longer have to teach 3 classes on Mondays at my middle school. Which is great more time to watch dramas online. *ahem* I mean lesson plan. hahaha

I have to admit I'm developing a love/hate relationship with my third grade students at my middle school. They don't pay attention, talk in class, and most of the time just sleep... but there are some that work hard and participate that make the class worth while.

Some students even come into my office and talk. They don't have all the vocab to say what they want which makes for interesting conversations. One student for about the past month has been coming into my office and asking me about kpop. "Do you know T-ara?" "Do you know Kara?" etc... On one occasion he started to do the dance from the "Mister" music video. So its been a weekly event having him come into my office to dance for me. The dancing isn't all that great but I think he just wants to make me laugh. Dancerboi really makes my day.

Today in class I was doing a lesson on "What do you want?" and they were to practice saying things they want. Well Dancerboi says to me "I want you" . I have to admit I was caught off guard there since the way it was said didn't seem like a joke. I suppose if I spoke Korean, wasn't his teacher, and, was ten years younger something could possibly happen but in this reality... no dice!

For a few weeks now the head teacher has been coming into my office and telling me classes are canceled so I can "take a rest" so I do nothing but twiddle my thumbs waiting to go home. I have been tempted on several occasions to play ninja a leave early.. maybe one day I will... sssshhhhh

I'M ALIIIIIVEEEEEEEE

2009-12-13T06:47:00.000-08:00

Okay guys... sorry for not keeping up on the blogging. I have several posts I want to make but for some reason whenever I got ready to write something I got distracted.

Anyway this is just a quick little update.

Teaching has been going fine. Life has been a little hectic because I have been going out a lot lately. Most people here just want to hit a bar or club... but I prefer to roam the streets of Seoul. Insadong is AMAZING~

I have been meeting a lot of great new people and reconnecting with old friends so I haven't been feeling that lonely.

Well I'll end this here... I hope to post up some new entries in a few days~

[10 Random Things] #1

2009-11-08T21:33:00.000-08:00

okay I haven't had time to post in a while so when I'm short on time I'll post "10 random things"

10. Most of the department store/supermarkets are referred to as “marts”. Example “E-Mart, Lotte Mart, Grand Mart….etc” . Actually found a place called “BS Mart” … that’s an unfortunate name >_>… Unless they market themselves like; “BS Mart… good food low prices and NO BS!”
9. Middle school and High school girls don’t fear the cold. These girls are hardcore wearing their uniform pencil skirts to school every morning. Personally if it was me I would wear pants to school then change later. I really don’t know how they do it.
8. Middle and High school students always seem to have their uniform on. It’s like they never take the thing off. When I was in High school my uniform was the first thing to go once the bell rang. Even 11pm at night you can see kids still in uniform.
7. Middle and High school students are always in some sort of a school. Most of them don’t finish classes until 11:30pm at night. I don’t know how they survive especially when have to wake up early the next day.
6. Samsung, LG and Lotte seem to rule the country. I’m pretty sure these companies employ more than half the populous. I’m pretty sure I work for Samsung but don’t even know it.
5. 42% of Koreans admit to never making contact with a foreigner before.
4. Traffic signals are mere suggestions and are to be taken lightly.
3. Most of the coffee shops here are nothing like Tim Horton’s or Coffee Time. Coffee shops here are cafés. These places are more akin to Starbucks. Prices can be pretty steep the cheapest thing on the menu are between 3,800 ~ 4,000won ($4~ish CDN) and that just for the small size.
2. Koreans like their skin care products. There are several store chains that supply skin care products. My favourites so far are Skin Food, The Face Shop, and, Tony Moly,
1. When they say don’t feed the bears.. man, you’d better not feed the bears!. LOL No one gets my Simpsons references here… There are other native English teachers that I know but some don’t watch the show or if they do they may not know exactly what I’m talking about. TT_TT I miss you Kik!

[Korean Music] G Dragon

2009-10-28T02:28:00.000-07:00

Okay I have to admit I was a little put of by G Dragon in the beginning. When I first heard the song "Heartbreaker" I thought it was the Korean remix of Flo Rida "Right Round". There are a lot of people that are calling plagiarism on GD but there isn't anything official saying that he did. In any case Flo Rida sampled that song from someone else.

Anyway, as I have been listening to more tracks on GD's album I'm really liking the sound. The really play well off each other and seem to tell a story. I think GD put A LOT of thought into the production of the album.

When I get the chance I think I'm going to get the album. Have a listen to these tracks. :) Lemme know what you think.

Put Food In Me

2009-10-28T02:00:00.000-07:00

Within the first few days of being in S.Korea I knew Koreans were crazy about food. On just about every street corner there are restaurants that serve just about every kind of food in the Korean cuisine repertoire. There is Kimbap (sushi), fried & bbq chicken, kalbi (ribs), etc etc

Most of the food places serve meals that are for at least two people. Back home I could wonder into just about any restaurant and be able to order something small for myself. But in this country food is an experience that you share with other people.

Today at school I didn't eat lunch. The Main Co-teacher was so up in arms about it I thought she was going to call in National Security or something. The music teacher also asked me why I didn't eat at lunch. I gave them both the same answer. "I wasn't hungry". No matter how many times I said it, The Main Co-teacher kept trying to feed me. Even when I do eat she STILL tries to feed me. "You didn't eat much at lunch, eat more.." "Oh you are getting skinny, eat this.."

I find people try to feed me a lot here. My co-workers, students, people at church etc.. They don't even ask if I will like it or not. They just give me the food and expect that I will eat it. In the time that I have been here I have eaten things that I wouldn't even touch with a 10 ft clown pole. I suppose its a humbling experience that I can learn from but... a part of me just wants to say "EEEEWWWW YUCKY!" :P

Getting back to the reason why I didn't eat lunch. Today I took one look at the lunch and decided I wasn't going to eat it. It didn't look appealing at all. I really want to opt out of eating the lunch provided by the school. I have to pay 50, 000 won/month ($48 CDN) for lunch for 4 days. Lately I haven't eaten much of what they provide so I was thinking of bringing my own food. Apparently if I do that people will lose face and all heck will break loose. Until I figure something I will just pretend to eat.

Middle School Mayhem

2009-10-26T09:33:00.000-07:00

The entire week she has been dreading Friday. For most people Friday is a day of joy because they become emancipated from the onerous duties of work and can enjoy time off. Not for this English teacher. This English teacher doesn’t get filled with the same feelings of joy and optimism rather she is filled with dread and despondency.

Why do you ask? Three simple words. Middle school Classes. Yes, middle school. This English teacher has to teach in two separate schools. Teaching a two schools isn’t so bad for most English teachers just means more running around and more names to remember. For this English teacher it’s a little bit of suffering twice a week for several hours.

Office space: a small corner desk. (Where she might consider pitching a tent in order to avoid the tidal wave of children that come in only talk to the other teachers.) A computer that constantly looses the internet connection and doesn’t hook up to the giant printer beside her. On special days she gets locked outside her office. 

1-1, 1-2, & 1-3: not so bad this English teacher thinks. They are still fresh faced and still innocent from elementary school therefore haven’t been fully corrupted as of yet.

2-1, 2-2, & 2-3: There are good days and bad days. Mostly there are frustrating days because the co-teacher for this class is an absentee co-teacher. Pretty much nowhere to be found outside or inside of class. Co-teacher of Grade 2 provides no materials very little support. This English teacher thinks the co teacher is avoiding her.
3-1 & 3-2: here any class that the English teacher can walk away from is considered a good class. These classes have bullies, fist fights and all that other stuff teachers cry about at night.

So anyway to explain what happened today….
The English teacher woke up extra early to finish up a lesson on “Hobbies” she thought the students might like. In class 2-1 students didn’t take to the group work as well as they could. They just kept talking, talking, and talking when it was time to listen to the other groups. No matter how times she said to BE QUIET. The students did their own thing. Girls fussed with their bangs and stared at themselves in their mirrors. The boys punched and stabbed each other with pens. The co-teacher half paid attention to the lesson, the other half was spent beating the students and offering some English -> Korean translation. This continued until the English teacher couldn’t take anymore. “YO!!” The English teacher yelled. The students and co-teacher jumped and all were surprised. For you see this is the first time the English teacher had ever raised her voice. Class continued and finished without incident

Class 2-3, The English teacher had sometime to calm down a bit. She arrived to class early and set up her laptop (there are no computers in any of the classrooms). She began her lesson. The students go into groups and she presented the day’s topic. Again the students did everything but the actual task set before them. One student constantly just talking and goofing off since the beginning of the class was driving the English teacher crazy. The English teacher basically said to the student “If you don’t like English class then leave. I don’t care that you don’t understand what I’m saying. Just leave” and of course she has no clue what the English teacher just said. The English teacher tried to continue on with the lesson. The students continued on doing their own thing. So the English teacher lost it. “YOOOO!! WHAT THE HELL MAN?!... I can’t take this anymore week after week it’s the same crap! I’m sick of it! I’m DONE!... I don’t care if you can’t understand me I’m pissed!” The English teacher used every bit of her remaining self-control to stop herself from storming out of the class and out of the school entirely. The English teacher composed herself and handed out an article then told her students to read quietly. The class worked on the assignment and was completely silent.

Hi-Mart Boi

2009-10-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

The laptop I have which I affectionately refer to as “Lappy” is about 5 years old. Coming to Korea I was worried that my Lappy would fail me in its old age. Some people think that 5 years old isn’t that old for a laptop. But for an Acer it’s practically ancient in my opinion. I was half expecting Indiana Jones to kick down my door and swipe it from me.

I went to E-Mart to check out their selection (E-Mart is a kind of like Walmart) . I couldn’t find anything in my price range (Free ~ 1.1 million won/*$1000CND) that I liked. Also most of the laptops at E-Mart ran on XP which only had Korean as the language option. I was told that with Vista I could change the Korean to English. Finding that out was great but then I realized I would have to do it all on my own. I know a lot about computers but I lack the confidence in completing a task like that. Then I thought about all work I would have to do loading all the drivers needed. Suddenly I wished that my bro was there to figure it all out for me.
I wasn’t sure where I should go to find a laptop so; I decided to ask the Main Co-teacher (Main Co). The Main Co said to try Hi-Mart(Hi-Mart is kinda like a Best Buy or Future Shop). That afternoon I went to Hi-Mart determined to find a laptop I could call my own.

Upon arriving at the store I was greeted by several employees they all beckoned for the one person in the store that could speak the best English. I was quickly ushered into the laptop display area. I busied myself with studying the selection.
Suddenly there he was Hi-Mart Boi. “Do you speak Korean?” He asked with a smile.
“A little” I say nervously avoiding eye-contact. Gees why was I so nervous all of a sudden. I’m just buying a laptop. I look at Hi-Mart Boi. He has pierced ears, wearing glasses, short spiky hair, approximately 5’8” and a muscular/athletic build.
We talked about laptops for a while. But we got sidetracked as the usual questions about me got asked.

How long have you been here? Why Korea? Where do you live? Where do you teach? Do have any Korean friends? Etc etc.

After I told him I wasn’t going to get anything at that moment. I needed to think about it for a while and all that. What I really wanted to do was check it out on the internet and see what other people have said about the laptop before I get it.
I went home researched the product and decided if I couldn’t stop thinking about the laptop then I would get it. It was on sale and the price was the lowest I had ever seen so knew I needed to make up my mind soon if I wanted to get it.
Later that evening I went to the store Hi-Mart Boi was there ready to close the deal. I was keen on buying it but I had a few more questions about the computer. I told him that can’t read Korean and needed the operation system to be in English. He assured me that it could be done. Then I asked about Microsoft office. I needed to have an English version of that program for my school work.

“Oh sure, I can get that for you” Hi-Mart Boi said “I can set everything up for you.”
I was happy to hear that. Customer service in this country really goes above and beyond. Later I was seated at a table and all the information was written up for the purchase. Hi-Mart Boi brought me something to drink. Looking down more at the paper than at me he said “How old are you?”. At this point he had my ARC (Alien Register Card) so I thought that is was a dumb question when my information was clearly on there. I told my age. Then he said “Oh I’m 28”. He pulled out a business card then wrote on it quickly. “If you need anything or have any problems you can call me.” He looked so shy completely avoiding my gaze. I gave him my number too.
About 2 days later my new lappy was ready. We didn’t have much time to talk in the store since it was busy. When I got home I discovered that Hi-mart Boi fully updated my computer, changed all he could into English, install Microsoft Office, and as an added bonus put a whole bunch of Korean music on my computer.
So for the next week we text messaged each other like mad. At one point Hi-Mart Boi came over to see me at my place with Starbucks coffee. Unfortunately for him I wasn’t at home at the time. That same night he called me and made plans to meet up on the weekend for dinner and a movie.

Later in the week I text him to confirm the details about the upcoming outing. Nothing. I sent a few more texts thinking that my phone was acting up again and nothing was going through. Still nothing. I’m not sure what happened but I think I’m being ignored. I’m curious to know why he isn’t talking to me anymore. Jokingly I keep telling O-Mocha that he real girlfriend must have found him out. Or that another ebony goddess walked into Hi-Mart. But whatever the reason he isn’t talking to me anymore.

So one last thing… The Main Co-teacher told me that I should pick up some last few things for my apartment. She said to go to Hi-Mart to get the prices of the items and the school will give me a gift card so I can pick them up.
Go to Hi-Mart?

I was in a slight panic. The last thing I needed was to see Hi-Mart Boi and have a super awkward moment.
Later that week I went to Hi-Mart. I kept praying the entire time that I wouldn’t see or be seen by Hi-Mart Boi. I managed to get in and out of the store in record time. The only thing that sidetracked me was an awesome poster of TOP from Big Bang. I figured if I was spotted I might get a text or call from Hi-Mart Boi, but nothing happened. So I’m safe until I go back into the store.

Questions, privacy, and stuff

2009-10-13T03:16:00.000-07:00

Okay... ever since I came to this country random people have been stopping me on the street and asking me question. Where are you from? Are you American? Where do you live? What are you doing in Korea? It’s like everyone wants to know my business. I know, I know they are curious and interested in me since I stick out like a white guy competing in the 100m dash. But seriously the game of 20 questions is starting to get to me, especially when I just want to roam the streets in peace.

I teach at two different schools, one Elementary and one Middle school. The elementary school is my main school. The people have been very welcoming and very supportive of me. They have made me feel as though I am truly a member of staff. But with that comes a whole bunch of things I can't seem to comprehend. Here are a two:

Monthly meetings - These meetings are held once a month with the entire staff present. The principal makes a long winded speech about something maybe it’s about education maybe it’s about what happened on Glee last night. Either way I don’t know since it’s all in Korean. My co-teacher assumed that I don’t have to be there but the head teacher insisted I be there. For what reason? I have no clue. Honestly speaking these meeting are a complete waste of my time. I can’t understand what’s going on, I can’t contribute, and, I’m not really a member of staff. I have been to the staff dinners which aren’t so bad since it’s mostly about enjoying the company of the other staff members rather than official school business.

My business is public domain – I’m pretty sure all the teachers in my school know where I live, my phone number, and my email. They know about the times that I have been sick and that I had to go to the hospital for a special exam. I took a sick day for that exam. Upon my return to school I was told by my co-teacher that I had to report back to both the vice principal and principal how the exam went. I was confused by this since I didn’t really think my medical information was any of their business. If it was the case that I had to take off more time or something then I would have felt compelled to say something to them. I suppose if I was in Canada and this happened I would have just gone into work as usual and not say anything unless I asked. Later in the day I found out that the rest of the female staff knew about my hospital visit. It’s hard trying to get used to this because I like my privacy.

Well that is all for now… Next entry: Hi-Mart Boi

Korean Music

2009-10-10T05:26:00.000-07:00

Long before I came to Korea I was listening to Korean music regularly. Thanks to my friend O-mocha I was introduced to H.O.T, 1tym, Jinusean, Wheesung, Lexy, Se7en, and many more artists. Eventually I ventured out on my own and discovered a lot different musical talents myself. But I found with Korean music it was either "pop" or "ballad", I like both types but not all the time yanno?

In any case before I came out to Korea I was listening to DBSK, Rain, Wondergirls, Big Bang, 2ne1, and lots of older stuff, I still love 1tym! 1tym will always have a special place in my heart, I loved the flow of their rap and when they switch it up on an R&B track its still awesome. I think I kept listening to them because I didn't know of any other Korean rap artists.

Problem solved! Hi-Mart Boi (which will be discussed in another entry) Loaded up my new laptop with nice selection of music. Some tracks that have been tormenting me for weeks. I'd hear the songs in stores and other places but didn't know the titles nor artists.
Long story short there are a few K-rap tracks Hi-Mart Boi put on for me. So now I've got a lot of Drunken Tiger, Tasha, and, Outsider. I really like Outsider.

Here is a commercial that Outsider did some time ago. He lists like 40 countries... "England.. America... etc"

[Subway Capers] #1

2009-10-08T05:31:00.000-07:00

I was on the subway going home. I wasn't expecting much to happen. The usual stares maybe some pointing but that was pretty much all I was expecting. Boy was I wrong.

Toward the end of my trip there was this lady that kept starting at me. We made eye contact... big mistake... she moves in ToT.

The lady started to grab my hands then say something in Korean about Africa.. and something about love.. then more stuff about Africa. I think I got the word "beautiful" in there once or twice. But she keeps speaking in a quiet voice so I have to lean in a bit. She keeps touching my hands... squeezing my fingers tighter and tighter... from the things she's saying in Korean I can gather that she wants me to go some where with her.. and one point the finger squeezing stops... it becomes forearm and wrist squeeze... the out of nowhere chest pats that slowly descend a little to close to "the girls"

I shift uncomfortably looking for help but everyone is avoiding my gaze... blast you people! The lady says some more stuff about "Ye-su Ku-ris-to". Then I realize that she's trying to get me to come to some church with her. I try to tell her I'm Catholic and won't be going with her to some "alleluia" church. But she doesn't understand. She reaches into her wallet and hands me 10,000 won ($10~ish CDN). I try to refuse. SEVERAL times. But then take it not wanting her to lose face by causing a bigger scene. (I suppose that was payment for the fondling)

My stop comes and I want to get the heck outta there! It so happens its her stop as well... dang! So the entire walk up the stairs she holds my hand (and also patting and rubbing my back). I suppose I could have tried to leave her. But she was an older lady she'd prolly tumble down the stairs.

We swipe our passes to get out of the subway. She insists that I come with her. I say no.

I bolt outta there checking over my shoulder the entire walk home...

I think I will call her Crazy Train Lady, until I come up with a better nickname...

First Blog~! w00t

2009-10-08T05:02:00.000-07:00

Hello people!
Thank you so much for stopping by! This blog is going to be dedicated to the documentation of my time in South Korea.

Here is a little information about me. I'm female, I come from Toronto, Canada (GO Raptors, lol ), and my background is West African. So you can imagine the attention that I get living day to day in S.Korea. Several times in a day I can be stared at, gawked at, pointed at, whispered about, have my braids pulled and examined, have my skin touched, and still much much more...

But don't worry it isn't all bad.

I'm going to try to do my best to keep this update. Also anything I post with [Insert Title Here] is a part of a series whether it be tips or on going musings.

And lastly, anyone that knows me in real life is strongly urged to use my online names when you comment on my page. Please don't use my real name because I won't be using yours when I post mmmm 'kay :P