Early last week we were invited to go to a sleepover/group excursion on Friday night. It was going to be at a building that Mrs. Oh (the director/owner of Jayeon) owns and uses for English camps. Throughout the week it was extremely difficult to come by details regarding this trip. I was told it's either on the west coast or the east coast of Korea, and that we might go to the beach (despite the cold?). It was going to take between 2 and 4 hours to get there. I asked around about who was going to be going? Was it just Bojeong (where I teach) teachers? Are the Korean teachers coming? What are we going to do once we get there? I received various conflicting answers backed by various degrees of confidence.
So on Friday morning I packed an overnight bag and Friday after school we headed for the bus that was going to be taking us there. I quickly realized that this was going to be a larger scale affair than I had imagined. All of the Korean staff was coming. And people from all three of the schools (Bojeong, Jukjeon, and Suji) were coming. So that was pretty exciting.
It ended up taking about 2 hours and when we got there I was informed that we were on the West coast of Korea somewhere in the general vicinity of Boryeong (where the huge mud festival takes place). It was a really cool place - we were actually out in the country and free from light pollution so we could see a lot of stars. And the air just had a nice crispness to it. The building was really big and nice too. Mrs. Oh has a house right next to the building. She uses it as a sort of summer/lake house thing apparently. It was this monstrous boxy modern looking thing. I'm not sure how I felt about it, but it looked like it cost a lot of money. The point is - these Jayeon schools are making Mrs. Oh a nice amount of money.
So there are a bunch of "bedrooms" for us to choose from. I use the quotes because there isn't any furniture. I mean, they are really nice - each suite has two bedrooms and a living area with a dining room table and four chairs and a kitchen. But there are no couches, no beds. Oh well. My plan at this point was to get drunk enough that I didn't mind sleeping on the floor. Little did I know what the rest of the night had in store...
We were all gathered in a big gymnasium type room with a stage in front. Once we were all in there I started to really appreciate how many people were there. There were maybe around 15 foreign teachers (not all of them came), and then there were about 4 times as many Korean teachers. So we start getting spoken to by one of the Korean teachers, and she starts doing some introductions. It's really weird listening to people speak to a group of people in a different language. I was sitting by a bi-lingual foreign teacher and he was telling me bits of what they were saying. Basically the point of this night was for everyone to have a lot of fun and to get to know all of the other teachers. Since the new year was just starting there are a lot of new teachers so they want everyone to be friends.
The atmosphere in the gym quickly started getting ridiculous. People were coming up to the front and introducing themselves and all of the Korean girls would start doing claps and chants and cheering them on. It seemed like a competition was developing to see which of the three schools could be loudest. So, most of the Korean teachers are probably somewhere in their 20's, but you get a bunch of them on an overnight trip and they all kind of started acting 15. They were all wearing the orange and yellow pajama uniforms (you might have seen some of the kids wearing them in earlier pictures). Oh yeah, and the only guys on this entire trip are me, three other foreign teachers and Mr. Shin (Mrs. Oh's husband). So it's starting to sound like cheerleading camp or something to that effect in this room.
So that was kind of crazy. But then the craziness got cranked up like eleventy billion notches. They had a karaoke machine and the gym was quickly transformed into our own little noraebang. Apparently different groups of girls had all choreographed their own little dances to various songs. And they just let loose. I kept looking over at Mrs. Oh and Mr. Shin and at the principals to see how they were taking this, but they were all just smiling and having a blast. While one group of girls would be performing, all the others would be on their knees huddled around the stage waving their arms and basically losing their shit like they're watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show or something...
Meanwhile the other foreign teachers and I are just sitting around slack-jawed in amazement. Words cannot adequately describe the scene - it was kind of surreal. It was around 11pm by this point and we all quickly agreed that it was much too late for us to have not started drinking yet. I really have to give it up to the Koreans though. They definitely know how to have fun and party. It was really fun to see all of those Korean teachers up there having fun. All day at school they walk around in their all black business outfits and they're always busy and hard at work. It was cool to see them let loose. Same with Mr. Shin - he drives us to school every morning and I don't think I had ever seen him smile in my life. But now he was laughing and clapping and he even sang a song.
In fact, we quickly realized that EVERYONE was singing. Except for us. One of the teachers told us that it would be really rude if we didn't sing. So all of the foreign teachers got up on stage and kind of danced and clapped while one of the girls sang Dancing Queen. It was kind of fun - it was hard to consider it embarrassing because the Koreans were so supportive and happy to see us up there.
After that we ran off and broke in to our booze supply. By the time we came back dinner was beginning to be served. They had a bunch of little foot high tables set up and big plates of noodles, kimchi, pork, lettuce, sauces, etc. set up and it all looked delicious. And now the Koreans started drinking in earnest. We had a bunch of these little 6oz paper cups and they are all pouring them for each other and pounding them. It's very entertaining to see our 40 something year old ajumma principal pound some beer and then upend the cup over her head to prove it's empty. I finished off my poju that I brought and then moved on the the mekju(?) - beer and soju.
So it's getting pretty wild in there and the noraebang is getting more lively by the minute. I am constantly amazed by the Koreans ability to immediately synchronize their dance moves. I joined the other foreign teachers for "Africa" by Toto (a favorite of the South Africans of course) and "Bohemian Rhapsody". After awhile the noraebang kind of let up and we all went upstairs to play drinking games. Then some of the Korean teachers came in and challenged us to some Jenga. Let me tell you I haven't played Jenga in a long while (I'm not sure I had even discovered alcohol at that point), and drunk Jenga is rough, but I managed to hold my own. Those Korean girls are Jenga wizards though.
After awhile Mrs. Oh told all of the Korean girls to go to bed, and then some of them snuck back over to drink some more with us - so now it is totally feeling like some kind of high school field trip. And some of the Korean girls are really drunk which is just hilarious to me. I'm pretty sure I promised a few of them I would give them English lessons in exchange for Korean lessons, so we'll see if that actually happens.
The night wore on and pretty soon it was just me and one other teacher talking really really drunkly about life and philosophy and what-not. You know the type of stuff you talk about when the sun is coming up and you've been drinking heavily. I went to bed a little before 7. Apparently some people tried to wake me up at 8 to go on a bus tour of the area and I didn't even move. I woke up around 11 and was a bit foggy about where exactly I was. Turns out most of the teachers didn't go on the bus tour and the ones who did really wished they hadn't. I was glad to find out I wasn't the only one nursing a massive hangover. Soju is seriously evil the next morning. So we all scarfed Tylenols like Skittles and then sat down for lunch, which was actually really good and nourishing. Normally I can't take Korean food when I have a slightly unstable stomach, but they had this rice dumpling soup that hit the spot.
So I slept the whole bus ride home and we were back by around 2:30 Saturday afternoon. It was a really great time. I think it's really nice of Mrs. Oh to organize stuff like that because not only did I get to know a lot of the Korean teachers a lot better, it was a good time to bond with the other foreign teachers too. It was just a nice little moral boosting thing for the troops.
In other news... my washing machine is now fixed, so that is really nice. I've watched all the episodes of Californication now, and I really enjoyed it. It's basically like what would happen to the characters of a Bret Easton Ellis book 15 years later after they've started a family and stuff. It's also got the same kind of tenderness amidst a backdrop of morally depraved revelry that his books had. Even though the characters are drug abusing sex fiends, they're good people - and what choice do they have? They live in LA! That kind of seems to be the message. Recently my two favorite bands have been Glasvegas and Foals. I've been getting over my historical aversion to British bands, and these are two great examples of UK bands that I really like. Glasvegas kind of has this simple, but big sound. They're an indie stadium rock band like The Killers, or someone like that. Their song "Geraldine" is stuck in my head constantly. Foals are bit hard to explain. They're really groove and beat oriented. Their guitars sound like Minus the Bear - they're very light and very fast. They've also kind of got a dance punk sound. Anyway I can listen to it on repeat for hours and never get bored.
Tomorrow we start with the new kindy schedule. I'm excited to see what my kids are gonna be like. I'm really happy with my afternoon schedule, so hopefully the mornings are just as good.
Also, I can't forget to say happy birthday to Brett and Josh... as I write this it is Saturday night back in Chicago so I'm sure there is a celebration taking place right this moment and I really wish I could be taking part.
Later dudes!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Annyeong Haseyo
Hi everyone, I've got a little free time at work this morning, so I thought I'd check in. Haven't been writing as much because I feel like I haven't really been doing as much. Or maybe it's just that I'm doing the exact same things that I've been doing the entire time I've been here, and they don't seem as interesting anymore.
So things have been a bit crazy at work lately. We are beginning the new school year apparently (I don't know why they chose March, but it seems like a lot of English schools do the same). So all of the classes are different, and a bunch of teachers are getting moved around. No one really knows what's going on, it's pretty much been madness. My friend Hollis is now teaching at our Jukjeon school. He started there this Monday, and didn't find out until last Friday. I found out on Monday that I would be teaching themes from now on instead of phonics. So I had about 1 hour to prepare for my first theme class ever. Luckily the kindies don't start until next week, so we've had the mornings to do some preparing.
I think I'm really going to enjoy teaching themes. It's a bit less dry than phonics. I started with the "4 Seasons" theme, but there are some pretty fun ones coming up in the future. I can't wait for the Sports theme and the Music theme, I think those will be the best. Also, every theme has this big packet of materials already prepared for it, so my lesson planning and class preparation are going to be a lot easier.
Every MWF I have my "Free Talking" class again. You might remember that I was teaching this awhile back, but it ended after about 4 classes. Now I have 7 students and I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with them. On Monday I thought we would just chat about whatever and we would kind of get to know each other, but they were kind of bratty. I'd ask them what they want to talk about - "Nothing". What do you like to do? "Sleep". What do you like to do with your friends? "Speak in Korean". (One of the girls actually said that. Clever, that one.) So I'm going to have to come up with actual topics for us to discuss.
I still don't know what my kindy schedule is going to be. Probably won't find out until Monday morning 15 minutes before we have to teach. Good times! These first few classes you spend a lot of time just learning their names though. We play this name game where you slap your knees, clap your hands, left hand snap, right hand snap over and over and over to a 1-2-3-4 beat. On the 4th beat I say my name, then on the next 4th beat I say a kid's name. Then they say their name and then someone else's name. And it keeps going around, if the kid screws up they're out. The pads of my middle fingers are sore from snapping so much - I didn't even know that could happen.
I still don't have my alien registration card, which is starting to get really frustrating. I can't get a phone without it, and I'm starting to encounter a lot of situations where I'd like a phone. I was supposed to get it last week, and we did get a package from immigration, but it had my paperwork and my passport, but no alien card. Apparently since I am contracted to be working in Incheon and I'm living in Suji they rejected it. So we have to fill out the paperwork again. My principal just made me sign in a couple of places and said she would fill out the rest. Hopefully she gets it right this time. She said I'll get it in about 2 weeks. And my washing machine is hopefully going to get fixed tomorrow morning (the repairman is coming at 9am). Hopefully it's an easy fix.
There is a kid getting trained this week at our school and he is living in the villa with us. He brought his Xbox 360, so we played some college football last night. He was telling me how he had played in all kinds of Madden tournaments and was ranked pretty high on Xbox Live, so I knew what I was getting into, but it was fun nonetheless. He's from Alabama and a big Auburn fan, so it was #16 Auburn vs. #18 Illinois. I probably should have picked Florida or OSU to give myself a bit more of a chance, but I had to represent. He jumped out 14-0, but I came back and it was 14-14 at half. He pulled away though at the end - final score 35-21. Anyway, it was a lot of fun playing video games again. And I got to do some tests and figure out what was wrong with my 360. The box is fine, but I apparently fried the power source when I plugged it in. I'm still not sure why, because I had it plugged into a voltage converter. But I have some ideas, and once I get a new power source I should be able to get it up and running.
I haven't been doing a whole lot on the weekends lately. This last weekend we went to Exit on Friday night and it was weird because a lot of the people I'm used to seeing there weren't there. And there were a ton of people there who had only been in Korea for a couple days or 1 week. Since a lot of schools are starting their new year, this is a big time for new teachers to come. On Saturday night we celebrated Hollis's birthday. We went to TGIFridays for dinner. I got fajitas, and they were good, but it was really expensive. I guess people will over pay for their food in order to get the American experience.
After that we took a 20 minute bus ride to a city called Suwon. Suwon has over a million people and is closer than Seoul, so I imagine that we will go over there a fair amount. We went to some club and it was your typical club experience. The people I went out with were a lot of fun, but eventually I got bored with the loudness and dancing and left before everyone else did. Which was at about 5:00. So I got a cab back to Suji and made him stop at the McDonalds on the way home so I could get an Egg McMuffin.
SPEAKING OF CAB RIDES. I had a wild one the weekend before last on the way back from Samsung Plaza. It was about 3:30am and I got in and told him "Suji Middle School" in flawless Korean. And he starts jibber-jabbering in Korean and holding up money. I was a bit confused, but I reached in my pockets to see how much I had left - 7000 won, which is about $4.50 or so these days. I had never taken a cab home from Samsung Plaza before, but I was figuring this should be enough to at least get me close to home. (It turns out I was right, the next day I asked some friends and they said it should be about 7 or 8000). Anyway, he starts shaking his head and holding up 10,000 won notes. I just figured I was underestimating the distance, and I didn't really care at that point so I held up my card. He took me to a GS25 (there is a GS25 on almost every corner in Korea) and I got some cash. So then I get back in and he holds up two 10,000 won notes. At this point I'm thinking, this guy is totally trying to rip me off. So I start pointing at the meter, but he doesn't want to use the meter. At this point I just really don't care so I give him 20,000 won, and then swipe a 5000 note out of his hand. So then he starts yelling for me to give it back and I just kept saying "NO - YOU BAD MAN!" He thought that was pretty funny, and I did too, so he gave up. And that is how we agreed on 15,000 won - like gentlemen. So the mood was pretty light in the cab now, because we were laughing at me calling him a bad man - and I suppose it didn't hurt that I had been drinking for about 7 hours. I made him crank up the music and we started heading home. He started asking me the 5 English questions he had memorized and we were making some friendly conversation when all of a sudden he starts slowing down. We're on a three lane highway and cars are going about 60-70mph. Now he's slowing WAY down. And now we're stopped. And he puts his flashers on. I'm not really sure what to say so I just say "What? What? What?" over and over again. He starts looking out the back window, so I start looking out the back window too. Cars are frantically merging out of our lane. He waits for a break in the traffic and floors it in reverse. So now we are flying backwards at about 20mph down the highway. Luckily it's pretty flat, and not too congested, so cars are able to see our flashers and reverse lights in time to get over. Finally I realize what he's doing. He missed his exit. So we went backwards for about 150 yards so he could take the exit he wanted. Ridiculous. But I got home safe. Honestly it's a lot more scary in the retelling. At the time I thought it was pretty cool and we were celebrating and laughing once he got off of the highway.
I'm now completely caught up on LOST and waiting for new episodes really sucks. I think I can honestly say that it is my favorite television drama ever. I'm watching Californication right now, but there aren't very many episodes so I'll probably be done with that by the weekend. I'm also currently watching a few animes completely in order so I can finally figure what the hell is actually going on in them. Right now I'm going through Cowboy Bebop and The Big O. Next is probably Ghost in the Shell. As for movies, I've watched the following recently: Doubt, Barton Fink, The Wrestler, The Reader. The other thing I've been finding really fun lately is listening to Beethoven. It started with me looking for the Moonlight Sonata (walking down a dark street listening to that first movement is so intense), and it turned into me downloading all of his symphonies and a bunch of his piano sonatas. It's really interesting how similar Beethoven is to some of my favorite crazy chaotic experimental hardcore bands. The technicality and changes of pace remind me of listening to The Fall of Troy or The Number 12 Looks Like You. Good stuff. It's also made me search out other good classical music. I'm also enjoying Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich who are both Russian guys who make really dramatic intense music.
Ok that's it for now. Honestly things have been somewhat uneventful for the last couple of weeks. I'm actually finding quite a bit of enjoyment in being a bit secluded. It's fun getting lost in tv shows and movies. I've been able to read a lot more too. I'm currently reading "Water For Elephants", which is ok. I'm about halfway through and a lot of people have recommended it, so I'm assuming the second half is pretty interesting. When I'm not in the mood for fiction I've been reading either "Godel, Escher, Bach" (for when I want to think) or "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" (for when I want to laugh). I'm sure eventually I'll get bored and break out of my shell a bit. Probably when the warm weather comes around.
Talk to you later!
So things have been a bit crazy at work lately. We are beginning the new school year apparently (I don't know why they chose March, but it seems like a lot of English schools do the same). So all of the classes are different, and a bunch of teachers are getting moved around. No one really knows what's going on, it's pretty much been madness. My friend Hollis is now teaching at our Jukjeon school. He started there this Monday, and didn't find out until last Friday. I found out on Monday that I would be teaching themes from now on instead of phonics. So I had about 1 hour to prepare for my first theme class ever. Luckily the kindies don't start until next week, so we've had the mornings to do some preparing.
I think I'm really going to enjoy teaching themes. It's a bit less dry than phonics. I started with the "4 Seasons" theme, but there are some pretty fun ones coming up in the future. I can't wait for the Sports theme and the Music theme, I think those will be the best. Also, every theme has this big packet of materials already prepared for it, so my lesson planning and class preparation are going to be a lot easier.
Every MWF I have my "Free Talking" class again. You might remember that I was teaching this awhile back, but it ended after about 4 classes. Now I have 7 students and I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with them. On Monday I thought we would just chat about whatever and we would kind of get to know each other, but they were kind of bratty. I'd ask them what they want to talk about - "Nothing". What do you like to do? "Sleep". What do you like to do with your friends? "Speak in Korean". (One of the girls actually said that. Clever, that one.) So I'm going to have to come up with actual topics for us to discuss.
I still don't know what my kindy schedule is going to be. Probably won't find out until Monday morning 15 minutes before we have to teach. Good times! These first few classes you spend a lot of time just learning their names though. We play this name game where you slap your knees, clap your hands, left hand snap, right hand snap over and over and over to a 1-2-3-4 beat. On the 4th beat I say my name, then on the next 4th beat I say a kid's name. Then they say their name and then someone else's name. And it keeps going around, if the kid screws up they're out. The pads of my middle fingers are sore from snapping so much - I didn't even know that could happen.
I still don't have my alien registration card, which is starting to get really frustrating. I can't get a phone without it, and I'm starting to encounter a lot of situations where I'd like a phone. I was supposed to get it last week, and we did get a package from immigration, but it had my paperwork and my passport, but no alien card. Apparently since I am contracted to be working in Incheon and I'm living in Suji they rejected it. So we have to fill out the paperwork again. My principal just made me sign in a couple of places and said she would fill out the rest. Hopefully she gets it right this time. She said I'll get it in about 2 weeks. And my washing machine is hopefully going to get fixed tomorrow morning (the repairman is coming at 9am). Hopefully it's an easy fix.
There is a kid getting trained this week at our school and he is living in the villa with us. He brought his Xbox 360, so we played some college football last night. He was telling me how he had played in all kinds of Madden tournaments and was ranked pretty high on Xbox Live, so I knew what I was getting into, but it was fun nonetheless. He's from Alabama and a big Auburn fan, so it was #16 Auburn vs. #18 Illinois. I probably should have picked Florida or OSU to give myself a bit more of a chance, but I had to represent. He jumped out 14-0, but I came back and it was 14-14 at half. He pulled away though at the end - final score 35-21. Anyway, it was a lot of fun playing video games again. And I got to do some tests and figure out what was wrong with my 360. The box is fine, but I apparently fried the power source when I plugged it in. I'm still not sure why, because I had it plugged into a voltage converter. But I have some ideas, and once I get a new power source I should be able to get it up and running.
I haven't been doing a whole lot on the weekends lately. This last weekend we went to Exit on Friday night and it was weird because a lot of the people I'm used to seeing there weren't there. And there were a ton of people there who had only been in Korea for a couple days or 1 week. Since a lot of schools are starting their new year, this is a big time for new teachers to come. On Saturday night we celebrated Hollis's birthday. We went to TGIFridays for dinner. I got fajitas, and they were good, but it was really expensive. I guess people will over pay for their food in order to get the American experience.
After that we took a 20 minute bus ride to a city called Suwon. Suwon has over a million people and is closer than Seoul, so I imagine that we will go over there a fair amount. We went to some club and it was your typical club experience. The people I went out with were a lot of fun, but eventually I got bored with the loudness and dancing and left before everyone else did. Which was at about 5:00. So I got a cab back to Suji and made him stop at the McDonalds on the way home so I could get an Egg McMuffin.
SPEAKING OF CAB RIDES. I had a wild one the weekend before last on the way back from Samsung Plaza. It was about 3:30am and I got in and told him "Suji Middle School" in flawless Korean. And he starts jibber-jabbering in Korean and holding up money. I was a bit confused, but I reached in my pockets to see how much I had left - 7000 won, which is about $4.50 or so these days. I had never taken a cab home from Samsung Plaza before, but I was figuring this should be enough to at least get me close to home. (It turns out I was right, the next day I asked some friends and they said it should be about 7 or 8000). Anyway, he starts shaking his head and holding up 10,000 won notes. I just figured I was underestimating the distance, and I didn't really care at that point so I held up my card. He took me to a GS25 (there is a GS25 on almost every corner in Korea) and I got some cash. So then I get back in and he holds up two 10,000 won notes. At this point I'm thinking, this guy is totally trying to rip me off. So I start pointing at the meter, but he doesn't want to use the meter. At this point I just really don't care so I give him 20,000 won, and then swipe a 5000 note out of his hand. So then he starts yelling for me to give it back and I just kept saying "NO - YOU BAD MAN!" He thought that was pretty funny, and I did too, so he gave up. And that is how we agreed on 15,000 won - like gentlemen. So the mood was pretty light in the cab now, because we were laughing at me calling him a bad man - and I suppose it didn't hurt that I had been drinking for about 7 hours. I made him crank up the music and we started heading home. He started asking me the 5 English questions he had memorized and we were making some friendly conversation when all of a sudden he starts slowing down. We're on a three lane highway and cars are going about 60-70mph. Now he's slowing WAY down. And now we're stopped. And he puts his flashers on. I'm not really sure what to say so I just say "What? What? What?" over and over again. He starts looking out the back window, so I start looking out the back window too. Cars are frantically merging out of our lane. He waits for a break in the traffic and floors it in reverse. So now we are flying backwards at about 20mph down the highway. Luckily it's pretty flat, and not too congested, so cars are able to see our flashers and reverse lights in time to get over. Finally I realize what he's doing. He missed his exit. So we went backwards for about 150 yards so he could take the exit he wanted. Ridiculous. But I got home safe. Honestly it's a lot more scary in the retelling. At the time I thought it was pretty cool and we were celebrating and laughing once he got off of the highway.
I'm now completely caught up on LOST and waiting for new episodes really sucks. I think I can honestly say that it is my favorite television drama ever. I'm watching Californication right now, but there aren't very many episodes so I'll probably be done with that by the weekend. I'm also currently watching a few animes completely in order so I can finally figure what the hell is actually going on in them. Right now I'm going through Cowboy Bebop and The Big O. Next is probably Ghost in the Shell. As for movies, I've watched the following recently: Doubt, Barton Fink, The Wrestler, The Reader. The other thing I've been finding really fun lately is listening to Beethoven. It started with me looking for the Moonlight Sonata (walking down a dark street listening to that first movement is so intense), and it turned into me downloading all of his symphonies and a bunch of his piano sonatas. It's really interesting how similar Beethoven is to some of my favorite crazy chaotic experimental hardcore bands. The technicality and changes of pace remind me of listening to The Fall of Troy or The Number 12 Looks Like You. Good stuff. It's also made me search out other good classical music. I'm also enjoying Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich who are both Russian guys who make really dramatic intense music.
Ok that's it for now. Honestly things have been somewhat uneventful for the last couple of weeks. I'm actually finding quite a bit of enjoyment in being a bit secluded. It's fun getting lost in tv shows and movies. I've been able to read a lot more too. I'm currently reading "Water For Elephants", which is ok. I'm about halfway through and a lot of people have recommended it, so I'm assuming the second half is pretty interesting. When I'm not in the mood for fiction I've been reading either "Godel, Escher, Bach" (for when I want to think) or "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" (for when I want to laugh). I'm sure eventually I'll get bored and break out of my shell a bit. Probably when the warm weather comes around.
Talk to you later!
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