korea in bloom... and a laryngoscopy

as promised yesterday i took some pictures on my way to school this morning of the cherry blossom trees (i think that's what they are) that i walk by every day... they didn't look like this two days ago... i'm sure of it! and the photos don't really do them justice. i'll try to get out this afternoon or this weekend and get some better shots.

it kind of reminds me of the trees covered in ice in winter... but it's not cold out!!!

a close-up in one of the trees

this one branch caught my eye... the tree itself looks like it's waiting for death, but this one branch just won't give up! beautiful!

Now on to more gross things. as you may or may not know, i've been sick off and on for the last two weeks (or more). for the last week my throat has been particularly sore, but just thought it was the yellow sand of china irritating it. this morning, however, i woke up at about 5am with the sorest throat i've had in ages and i could feel that it was swollen - much like in fall when i had tonsillitis. so, i figured i should go to the doctor. a friend of mine here has tonsillitis, which is highly contagious, and i thought i'd caught it from him.

i walked to school as usual, figuring i could do the two classes no problem, i'd just have to talk really quietly. when i got to class the kids in the back couldn't hear me so my co-teacher took over. the second class i spent resting in the "resting room"... the other co-teacher i work with told me not to bother coming to class that she could take care of everything.

so after school was over (thank god for the science thing that let me out early today) i walked to the ear-nose-throat guy i saw last fall. he speaks better english than any other doctor i've been to here and he's a specialist in what is wrong with me.

i didn't have to wait more than two minutes, (what a difference from canada) before being shown into the office. he looked down my throat with a light and told me that my pharynx looked fine, as did my tonsils. he wanted to get a good look at my larynx (deep down in your throat - it's your voicebox). so i had to lean forward, stick out my tongue and breathe through my mouth. he tried to stick this long pole with a light and camera on the end down my throat... i gagged. he stopped and tried again. i gagged. then he suggested spraying a local anasthetic to relax my throat. i said try one more time... so he did, and i gagged.

finally he sprayed my throat - which was actually really nice cause it lessened the pain - with anasthetic and i waited a bout five minutes. we went through the same procedure as before and he managed to get it down there. then he told me to make a high pitched squeel, well i tried, but all i could do was kind of groan! finally i gagged again and he stopped saying he'd gotten enough pictures to make a diagnosis.

he was really great. he showed me pictures of a healthy throat, a slightly infected throat, a really infected throat, and then the ones of me. this was really cool, cause how often do you get to see inside your own body? anyway, i could tell the second he pulled mine up that it was pretty bad - see for yourself:

see the dark red? that's supposed to be really light pink.

see the two sort of balls deep down there? those are the mucous membranes of my voicebox, you aren't really supposed to see them... they're totally inflamed. anyway, that's a little gross eh? sorry for the squeamish out there!

so, i have laryngitis. i'm not allowed to talk (or supposed to talk as little as possible) i have pills up the wazoo to take after every meal for the next three days... i don't feel sick really except that my throat hurts. i mean, i'm not excessively tired or achey, or anything else... so this really sucks! and of course, it's right in time for the weekend! what's a girl to do? anyway, hopefully it'll start feeling better and it won't ruin my weekend too much. guess i should carry a pen and notepad around with me!

not so angelic... or maybe...

well, the kids today weren't as angelic as i remembered them, but they were definitely better than school #1. it was a long day with five classes, but at least they aren't in a row - that's friday. BUT tomorrow i get a break! there is some science fair going on and the kids have to prepare for it, so there are no regular classes after second period. to make things even better, my weekend gets to start as soon as i'm done class!!! that's right! for the first time since arriving someone at my school is giving me a break and letting me leave early! yay! (i'll still keep my fingers crossed while i sleep tonight!)

in other news, i'm still going to the gym six days a week. i've lost a total of 5.3 pounds in three weeks! did i mention that i joined weight watchers online? i don't think that i did, but having it out there makes me more accountable for it. as an online buddy of mine said, "they're only numbers and they only have the power of shame we give them." so, i'm not giving them any! it's a positive life change that i'm making... no matter how i'm going about doing it. i'm proud of myself for wanting to change... it isn't easy, but if i can move to korea on my own and survive, then i can do anything! i know it works since i sort of followed the program a couple of years ago and lost about 20 pounds, which have never come back... but i got lazy with it. it became increasingly difficult for me to follow it while i was in school and i ended up just giving up. i learned a lot about health and nutrition during that time. those things are still with me, and that i used every day before and didn't gain anything, but now i'm ready to be a loser! (i know, i already am one!!! LOL haha... ;) but seriously, it's time for a change and when i go to thailand this summer i want to look incredible! and i will.

on that note, have a good one! coming soon, korea in bloom! i looked up today for the first time in a while and noticed that the trees in gimhae are covered in flowers! i'll take some pics and post 'em soon!

my favourite class

i know i'm not supposed to like one student more than another, or one class, or anything... but i think i've found my favourite class. there are two really smart boys who are eager to learn and eager to please - read: brown nosers. i don't have a problem with people who like to make a good impression - which is how i view 'suck ups'... especially since i am one! it's even better when you're on the receiving end. it makes me feel like everything isn't a waste after all.

when there are so many kids that don't pay attention, don't study, don't speak english, don't learn, don't anything, it's a really great feeling to know that there is at least ONE in the class who DOES. when there are two it's even better. they compete against each other and push each other to do better, to be the best. i like to think that it motivates the others, and in this class there are a few who get moving because of it, but the majority are wet rags. but STILL, having any kids who are "into" the class is an incredible motivator for me.

so, ya, my favourite class... every wednesday, last period of the day... it's a nice end to my three day week at the one school... we'll see what happens at the new school in the next couple of days... last week they wer evirtual angels, but the tide can change in seconds... let's hope i have ten favourites to report!

a first.

i started punishing kids today. i need to set an example and i need to do it early. they are so often out of control. i thought that my revised sticker program would be a good incentive, but it's only doing so much.

the program: every class has five stickers at the start of each period. if they are not ready in their groups when i arrive, they lose a sticker. they continue to lose stickers throughout class for not obeying the rules, of which there is really only one: when i count down from three to zero it's time to be quiet. if they are not quiet at zero, they lose a sticker. i repeat the countdown until everyone is quiet... i've had a couple of classes actually lose three stickers in one countdown. (i counted three times before they were quiet on the fourth.) every month, the class with the most stickers wins prizes. at the end of the semester the class with the overall most stickers wins a party of some kind - pizza, cake, cookies, whatever we decide when the time comes.

i think it's pretty generous. i guess they have no sense of money yet and don't understand that it's all coming out of my pocket. anyway, the stickers can only go so far. for kids that just won't stop horsing around (god! did I just say that?!?!!? how old AM i?) i started punishing them. how? you might ask. i put them at the front of the room on their knees with their hands in the air over their heads. they stay like that for varying amounts of time depending on what they did wrong. i had two kids that wouldn't stop talking today so they were up there for a good twenty minutes (the rest of class). that's a long time to hold your hands above your head. if you don't believe me, try it sometime!

anyway, i had one kid today that kept sitting on his ass and continued to fool around - even while being punished in the above manner - so i pinched his ear. really hard. i've never been violent with a kid before, and i don't know if that is considered 'really violent' but i was surprised that i had it in me. i was just so frustrated and at my wits ends i didn't know what else to do. it shut him up and put him in his place.

compared to the korean teachers that's nothing, they'll smack them around with their "love sticks" - i can't bring myself to do anything nearly as harsh as that. but they need to learn that just because i'm a waegook, doesn't mean i deserve less respect in the class than the korean teachers. i hoped they learned their lessons and that the rest of the class did by example.

a day at the beach

yesterday was - as far as i'm concerned - the first day of summer in korea. yes! summer. technically it's spring, but it felt like the first summer day would if i were in montreal... of course summer in montreal only starts in about two months time... anyway, it was over twenty degrees and the sun was shining as only it can. it kind of made me think "if it's this hot in march, what's it going to feel like in july?!?" but it was a lovely day.

ahh... the sea...

we (Abbey, Kim, Emma, Andy, Kelsey, Nate and I) spent the day at haeundae beach in busan. the water was too cold for swimming, but there was no problem with dipping toes and hangin' out. my nose is a little pink today - no sunscreen or hat :( - i wasn't my "prepare" self... i just wasn't expecting it. anyway, no real harm done... i hope.

our little friend

we made a 'little' friend when we were hanging out by the water. she was adorable, except for when she threw a handful of wet sand in the air and hit kim straight on! (wonder where she got that idea?!?!)

sand flinging with our feet!

typical me...

and more typical me...

all in all it was a really relaxing day that was most necessary. it was just so nice to feel the sun on my skin and the sand on my toes... *sigh... i think we'll end up spending a lot of time at the beach this summer... i hope so anyway! thanks for a great day guys! (and for twisting my rubber arm to get me there.)

late again...

well, there go any plans i might have had for the weekend. i was planning a trip to teongyeong with kat, chris, and angela but decided earlier this week that i wasn't feeling up to it. good thing i cancelled before. i didn't get paid again.

i spoke to the guy from the provincial office of education and he told me that there is a new supervisor in gimhae. she forgot to pay us. when i asked what would happen if i forgot to go to school, he told me i would be fired. but this woman is allowed to forget to pay me. WTF??!?!?! this is the third, maybe fourth (i'll have to check) time that this has happened now. every time i tell them the same thing - you must pay me on time, i have a contract and you are breaking it. they don't ever seem to get the message. i'm so angry right now and there is nothing i can do. nothing.

anyway, i told the guy that if i wasn't paid by monday at four that i was going to the labour board. i guess i can do my research over the weekend since i have nothing else to do now. i can always take money from my canadian accounts, if i feel like paying upwards of 20$ in fees, which i don't. why should i have to pay for their mistake? it's the same thing every time, and they just never have an answer for that one. the crazy part is that it's such a simple thing to do. i don't know why they can't just set it up to pay me every month. you can go to any bank machine in korea and transfer money to another korean account, so why can't they just do that? Answer: it's the end of the week and now there isn't time. it's always one story after another. how can the koreans expect to continue to attract foreigners to their schools if the ability to pay on time is ignored. i've said it before and i'll say it again, anyone who wants to teach in korea, don't come to the gimhae public school system.

162 days til i can say goodbye to this crap.

i made it

i didn't think i'd make it through today - feeling the way i have been - but it was ok. i just took things slowly and one minute at a time and by the end of it i wasn't about to fall over. don't know if it was the tylenol cold or the strange, nasty-tasting liquid the school nurse gave me, but something worked. i was tired, oh-so-tired, but i made it through. they let me leave as soon as school was over (ie. and hour early) which was nice.

i made a new friend at school today too - mr kim. we went for a walk at lunch time. his english is definitely lacking, but it was nice to have some company on my lunchtime walk. i like to get away from school for a just a little during lunch. leave the screaming and the stomping and the "hello teacher"'s behind... i wasn't feeling great, but i needed to get away from it all... maybe that's how i made it through! either way, it was all right. now i just have to do it again tomorrow... and every week for the next 17 weeks... i can do it... i can do it... i can...

in other news, i've booked my flight to thailand to meet up with ranya in august. i can't wait to see her. it's been almost three years. in case you don't know she's my best friend and was my roommate for about four years. she's like the sister i never had. we were symbiotically connected for a while...that's only dissipated since she moved to greece. i just can't wait to see her and spend some good quality time... these meetings between us don't happen very often and who knows the next time we'll see eachother... but i digress.

i've been going a little nuts on google earth checking out all the beaches and other sites that we can go to. we're going to find one of those little bungalows (like in bridget jones' 2) and camp out there for a couple of days. we also want to go pet the tigers in the north, go on an elephant trek, check out some temples, go hiking... there's just so much to see and do... and so little time...

...whimper...

i went to school today. i didn't go in yesterday because i just couldn't get up. exhausted, weary, and still slightly congested with a low grade headache that just lingers. i could have gone back to the doctor, but korean doctors never seem to beleive that there's anything wrong with me. so, i went to school. it was a long day. i told all of my classes that i was sick and wasn't feeling well, so please be on your best behaviour today, and most of them were. if they started acting up i just sighed really loudly, closed my eyes, rubbed my forehead, and waited for them to settle down on their own. it worked for the most part. a couple of time my co-teacher had to get them to quiet down, especially since there is no way i can raise my voice at present.

i'm just worried about tomorrow. five classes. i know to some of you it doesn't sound like much, but it is when there are forty students in each one of them. 40x5=200 students to control. it's not easy at the best of times, but when you feel like crap it's a million times worse. so, i'm not going out for 'mini weekend' tonight... but hopefully i'll be feeling well enough to do a little socializing on the actual weekend as i'm missing my friends and just being out with other waegooks... oh to speak english to an english speaker... sorry this is such a lame post.

sorry

i've been neglecting this blog for the last couple of days. not because i've been so busy doing interesting things, but quite the opposite. i haven't been feeling well since last week (see previous post) and i just had no energy all weekend and a low grade head ache until this morning. no amount of advil liqui-gel migraine (from canada) would make it go away. i'm still not feeling great. last night i couldn't sleep because because i was having trouble breathing and my chest was pounding... i got to school this morning and it was no better so Jo brought me to the doctor who said that my chest sounded fine... my heart was normal, and my blood pressure ok. he was under the impression that i was having a panic attack or something. they wanted to give me some kind of IV drip, buut i said no. i don't like needles because i have really small veins and they always miss and it hurts like hell. they talked me into taking an injection of something they called a "stabilizer" ... whatever the hell that is (i think it was a tranquilizer of some kind), anyway, she missed my vein the first try, then she tried on my wrist, which was worse and she finally got it in at my elbow. within seconds i was out like a light. dead asleep. i slept at the doctors for like an hour then woke up and felt not myself at all... i was floating... anyway, they only let me leave when they made sure i wasn't driving. i took the bus home and passed out again for another two hours. my wrist has a huge bump and a bruise where she tried to inject me and my arm doesn't look much better... i'm still tired (it's almost 6pm now) and my chest is kind of sore, but i'm feeling better than i did this morning. hopefully a good nights' sleep tonight will make everything better... trying to stay positive...

in happier news i did have one benefit from staying home on saturday night - i got to spend the night on the phone (skype) with ranya. we're planning our trip to thailand. we've both found flights that we can afford and that arrive/depart at almost the same time. i'm really excited. we're starting to plan our itinerary, though we're going to make a loose one full of things we want to do and then we're going to play it by ear... more on that when i have it...

what a way to celebrate my 200th post

i came home from work early today. i've been feeling like i'm coming down with something for a few days, but chalked it up to having to use my "loud voice" at school so much. but today i felt like i had a fever, my throat was aching, my ears were ringing and sore, and i was exhausted. so i came home at lunch, after napping through fourth period.

when i got home i felt sort of ok, but i went straight to bed anyway. i napped for a few hours and now i feel really disoriented and groggy... lethargic and off-balance... i don't have a fever, my throat isn't really sore now, and my ears are okay, if only a little sensitive. i'm not sure what's wrong with me. maybe i have allergies? i'm not sure. i only started getting seasonal allergies a couple of years ago and every year i forget about them...but maybe they're back? i wish i had some allegra so i could take it and see if it helps... oh well.

while i was napping this afternoon i had the craziest dream.

i was living in the same apartment in gimhae. everyone was going out to this new bar that was only a couple of blocks away from my house. which was awesome. when i got there there were all these foreigners i didn't actually know, but they all knew me. we sat down and then out of nowhere this buffet appeared across the room so we all went to it. my dad was sitting in the corner (as he was the owner) and he was taking plates of meat from people to barbecue. after a while i realized i didn't have my purse anymore and thought i'd just run home to get it.

as i was leaving the bar all these people i knew in high school were walking in the door. so they dragged me back inside. some of them were people i never want/ed to see again. it was so strange because the biggest ass of high school was there, he had grey hair and he was being so nice to me. a little while later i realized that i still didn't have my purse so i went to leave again and when i did all these people from my old work (at the bank) walked in. i barely recognized them at first, but then was hugging them amazed that they were in korea. i told them i was just running home and i'd be right back.

when i was walking down the stairs to the outside more people i know from orientation in august showed up. i told them i'd only be a few minutes. i finally got outside and i saw this woman debi and said, hey why don't you come check out my apartment with me? but she couldn't cause she was sitting with this other woman from orientation who had been kicked in the head by a ten-year-old coming out of taekwondo. as i walked away i saw the kid was still kicking the air frantically in her direction.

when i got to my street (it was night, but i checked the time -in my dream- and it was 10:39PM) it was all under construction, right in front of my building (which was on the wrong side of the street). i found a man (maybe a foreman) to ask if i could get to my apartment. he spoke perfect english, and said okay but was really annoyed that he'd have to take me there (half a block). as soon as we headed to my building all the street lights and the lights the workers were using were cut off and i couldn't see a thing. the foreman brought me to the door of building, but when i walked in i realized it was the wrong one.

we went next door to the right building and i started walking up the stairs, which were covered in this lush red carpet. there were two foreign guys stapling plastic to them to cover them from the dust of the construction going on inside the building (hey when they're doing the street, why no do inside too?). since i'd never seen them before i tried talking to them, but they only talked in riddles and i had no idea what they were saying. so i moved on. i got all the way to the fourth floor when i realized i live on the third, but my apartment wasn't there. the numbers skipped over 301. so i went back down, thinking that all this construction might have caused a second stairwell to be built. it took me a while to find another stairwell and it was just freshly painted (white) - i know cause i got some on my black fleece jacket.

the stairs were really narrow but i finally got to my apartment. when i got in the door i saw that the size had doubled! i had TWO rooms and all kinds of new furniture, but it had all just been thrown in and the place was a mess. i started frantically searching for my purse (since the foreman was waiting to take me back through the construction zone). after all, it had already taken me forever just to find the apartment! i coldn't find it anywhere, so right before leaving i checked in the least likely place - the fridge. it wasn't my fridge, it was much smaller, and after opening it, i could get it to close again. the door kept jamming, but there was nothing to jam it on. i woke up while trying to close it.

am i crazy? what a dream! i don't usually remember my 'regular' dreams in such detail, so i had to write it down. hope it wasn't too long for you all. what do you 'spose it means?

happy 200th post to me! it took almost exactly one year... but i wasn't really posting last summer... have a good weekend!

really! am i that boring?

still nothing really cool to report. i went out for a drink last night at the bng, but nothing worth writing home about hapened.

school was long, but okay... i think separating boys and girls makes a world of difference.

i brought my lunch to school today and all the koreans looked at me like i was nuts. they kept saying "diet-y?" and i kept saying "yes". they don't understand that for me to eat three pounds of rice everyday is crazy!

the computer at school sucked even harder today than usual. i couldn't manage to get the internet workign properly, it was so slow that my email took about ten minutes to load. what is this dial-up? AND in a country that is supposed to have the highest rate of high speed internet in the world! ha! i think not!

anyway, that was that. i've lost four pounds this week so i guess the "diet-y" is working... going to the gym everyday probably doesn't hurt either. catch you all on the flip-side!

happy white day!

(or yet another concentrated marketing day in korea)

white day is exactly one month after valentines day. guys are supposed to give candy to the women who gave them chocolate on valentines. rumour has it that this was all started by a marshmallow company in the '60's... "marshmallow day" became white day sometime since then. sorry this is so vague... but it's not easy to get info on these things...

the kids were all hopped up on sugar all day, girls were crying left and right, and i got offerred some candy from other teachers - without knowing why for half the day... why doesn't anyone tell me these things??? anyway, it was a good day overall... met some new classes (finally met all of them!) and took a nice walk at lunch. i'm off to have a beer with the waegooks at B'n'G... haven't been out in what feels like forever!

anyway, happy white day!

no new news

just another day today... went for lunch with the other english teachers at my school. it was all right. they all looked at me like i was crazy when i told them i didn't want any rice. whatever.

there's a girl at my school - grade three, i think - and her english is incredible. i don't know how her accent is so good, she's never had a foreign teacher before, and i'm not even teaching her anymore. just wanted to throw some kudos out to her... yun-hee... maybe she'll get some good karma (or something) in return...

i've realized that i'm not the problem at my school... the kids are all just crazy. maybe it's the raging hormones...

can't wait to go out and see some waegooks tomorrow... i haven't seen a foreigner or had a beer in over a week and a half!!!

good vibes to you all!

vanity at the gym

i was at the gym today (again... since i'm there everyday...) and i was using that sit-down thigh machine... you know, the one where you have your legs spread wide and you have to bring them together... sorry for the visuals on that one... had to be explained though. anyway, i'm sitting there, listening to my ipod, minding my own business (like i always* do) and this woman comes up to me and starts babbling on in korean.

"i'm sorry, i don't speak korean," i say.
"shorts," she replies, "small," and she started to poke at my shorts.

i was in a pretty odd position and my shorts were riding up my thigh a little, but they aren't too small. they're the same ones that i pick up at the gym everyday. i can't read the signs, so i always take a pair from the pile where i got them the first day. anyway, i tried to 'shrug' her off by pretending i didn't know what she was talking about, but she wouldn't let up. even when i started doing my next set she was standing there in my way.

finally i said "well if i don't care then you shouldn't" - not that she could understand what i was saying... but i needed to say it. in all honesty, they might be a tad tight, but not so much that it is offensive... not like all the korean men with their speedos! but just try being a little bigger in a society where size zero is the norm... then tell me how easy it is to find clothes! the woman wasn't even wearing the gym clothe, she had her own fancy and expensive track suit.

eventually she went away... but come on! it's none of your business what i look like at the gym. this is really just another example of the vanity that exists here.

i finally caved...

and bought a toaster oven.

i know it seems silly with less than six months left here, but it just makes life so much easier... my apartment doesn't have an oven, since it doesn't have a regular stove. i only have a two spot gas range... so, no oven... but now i am the proud owner of this:
and at only 26,000W (~30$cad) it was a steal! just try to find one that cheap in canada!!! anyway, i figure i can sell it when i leave... and if no one wants it then it'll be a nice gift to one of my co-teachers.

can you tell i had a boring weekend? the highlight is a small kitchen appliance. i spent my weekend in solitary relaxation... i just didn't feel like going out to the bar and getting home at 5am... maybe next weekend...

the longest day

today was very long and very tiring. i had four classes in a row in the morning, an hour for lunch and then another class of robust and loud 15-year-old girls. they are great because they pay attention better than the boys, but they're also a lot louder and a lot crazier. they like to scream and when they talk it's always a couple of decibels above normal. oh well. it was still a good day, though i've no idea how i actually got through it... and i'm going to have to do it every friday for the next twenty weeks. argh. guess this means an end to my friday night parties!

i did manage to make it to the gym anyway... though i was so tired there were a couple of times where i thought i was going to pull one of those "flying off the treadmill" scenes. but it was ok. i'm not going out tonight for a few reasons, one of them being that i'm just knackered. the other is that none of my favourite people will be out. seems like everyone is off doing their own thing... and i don't feel like making the trek out just to sit there and be bored... so i'm staying in on a friday night for the first time in months. tomorrow is a big night out in busan for a friends birthday, so i might do that... but i'm still on the fence on that one too... we'll see.

anyway, sorry for the boring post... please keep coming! if i can manage to write in this state of exhaustion, you can manage to read it! right?!?!! have a great weekend everyone!

thoughts on a new school

today was my first day of teaching at my new school. there are some very big differences between the two. at some point early in the day i wondered what my life would have been like for the last six months had i originally been assigned to this school. i'm still not in a position to really know that, nor will i ever be, it's still interesting to note the many variances (albeit sometimes small) between the two schools.

first. as soon as i arrived my co-teacher met me at the gate. she had some things that she needed to tell me, and i think that she was there because it was her 'day' to stand guard in the morning (there are always teachers greeting the students as they arrive in the morning)... but it was still nice to have a familiar face first thing.

second. the principal invited me for a morning coffee. the p-man at my other school never even says hello to me - even if i say it to him. the new P has actually made a weekly coffee date with me... thursdays at 3:30. he also invited me to go to a buddhist temple with him so i could learn more about his religion.

third. when i was seen cleaning my keyboard (which obviously had never exposed to any kind of cleaning product, even a light dusting, in it's ten-year service) a teacher came by and offered to just get me a new one, which he did.

fourth. the classes are split between girls and boys. even numbered classes for girls and odd numbered classes for boys. you would think that teaching an entire class of 15-year-old boys would be darn near impossible, and keeping in mind it was the first one, it was actually easier than teaching a mixed group. ditto for the girls classes. they were just all so excited to see me, but the dynamic is so different and it just works. ALL middles schools should do this.

fifth. the teachers bathroom has lights, soap, paper towel, and is actually clean. though there is no western toilet (anywhere that i've been able to find) the squatters are okay...

sixth. about ten teachers asked me if i had had lunch. they wanted to make sure that i ate... no one ever asks me to go for lunch with them at the other school. i was also offered coffee throughout the day by numerous teachers.

seventh. i have to pay for the cafeteria lunch. i've been lucky with this so far and have never paid for lunch at my other school... the one kindness of the VP.

eighth. my 'team teachers' actually helped during class with more than just translation. i spent the day making teams in each class and having them pick out team names and individual english nicknames... the two teachers that i work with both printed out a list of english names to help the students choose... i hadn't even thought of it! how silly of me... but i was just going around and thinking up names on my own, duh! a printout! wow!

i think i'll stop there for now... i'm sure there will be more to come. don't get me wrong, it isn't all roses, i have five lessons a day, which is really pushing it, but it was okay. the students seemed receptive, the teachers very kind, ditto with the VP and the P. all in all it was a long but very gratifying day.

dawn

nothing terribly interesting to report... sorry. but i do have to keep writing every day (though sometimes i take the weekends off...) so here i am. i found another interesting korean product at the local store today. it was right on the counter near the cash register so i asked if i could take a picture of it. the 'store lady' looked at me like i was nuts! but not too much more than usual... so i guess it's the kind of thing that is expected of me... here it is:

Dawn Hangover Solution

i'll let you know if/when i have the chance to buy some and try it... i should have just bought it today and kept it around for the occasion, since you never really know when you're going to need it, and usually by that point you're too hungover to walk to the store! oh well, maybe i'll pick it up tomorrow. i really love the picture of the typical korean man on it too... hilarious!!!

just one of those funny korean things that i thought i'd share... hopefully there'll be something more interesting to post soon! hang in there!

back to school part two

since i am now teaching at two schools, i had my second first day of school yesterday. it wasn't anything particularly interesting since there were no classes... it was more or less a repeat of friday but in a different location. at least i have a computer there and so had something to do.

today, however, was my first day of teaching in the new school year. i was worried because i didn't sleep well last night and was really tired this morning. i also have five classes on tuesday so i knew it was going to be a rough day... it didn't turn out so bad.

the kids seemed receptive and nice. i think that most of them had a foreign teacher at their elementary school, so they weren't as big-eyed as the kids last year. for the most part they were all good during the class which was just a little intro... run down the rules of the class - "when teacher is talking, you are not" - "raise your hand if you want to say something" - "respect is the most important thing in the class" - etc... then we went over my new and improved sticker program.

each class has a 'sticker board'. every month the class with the most stickers will win prizes. these could be candy, pens, workbooks, ... to be decided by the winning class (and approved by me!)... at the end of the semester (before summer vacation) the class with the most overall stickers will win a party - pizza, hamburgers, whatever they want. they can get stickers by participating in class, paying attention, trying their hardest, and always being good.

then i put them in groups of six that will be their teams for the year. they had to choose a team captain and a team name. some of the names they came up with: star, gold, happy, peace, angelina jolie, fun time, action, begin, brand, UFO... you get the point. it's so funny...and cute. tomorrow i'll try to remember to bring home some of the english nicknames they've chosen... they're even better!

so, all in all, not a bad return to school. the day passed rather quickly, and aside from the VP hassling me about the useless "english only zone" things went really well. more on that another time...

just have to quickly say thank you to my 3000th visitor... not sure who you are... but yay!!!! that's 3000 visitors since november 16th. hope you all keep coming back!

starface and sfunz

sorry no posts for the last couple of days, i went to busan on the weekend. i met up with kat, jess (her sister who was visiting from canada), kevin (a friend from orientation who lives up north), and chris... along with a bunch of gimhaens.

we went to kebapistan for dinner and then it was on to haeundae to go to starface - a bar i've been hearing about for weeks but hadn't made it to yet. you pay 15,000W (~17$cad) for an open bar. not bad. their gin and tonics were really nice. they had a pool table, but it wasn't as readily available as the one at fuzzy navel, so i didn't get to play at all. they had a live jazz band too, which was really cool... it's been so long... reminded me of the good old days at luba lounge in montreal.

the band at starface

after the band finsihed playing the music was 'do it yourself'. which i thought was awesome. they just had a computer with winamp and a huge playlist and anyone could play whatever they wanted. that reminded me of house parties with ranya.

DIY DJing...ah, the memories...

we (me, kat, jess, chris, and kevin) left starface around 2am and headed to the noraebang. we sang for about 2 hours and then went back to the motel that we were staying at - the sfunz.

our motel - the sfunz!!!

there are tons of hotels and motels in haeundae beach - it's the biggest beach in korea, so it's a popular holiday destination. we just liked the name! not to mention that it was only 40,000W (~45$cad) for a room, and split between us (three in one, two in the other) it was next to nothing. the rooms were decent and it had a great location.

girls room - already messy after five minutes!

bathrobes included.

a massive king size bed.

it was a good night... i can't say as much for the bus ride home on sunday... i didn't want to move... my stomach was being super loopy and after only about five or six hours of sleep i was in no mood to be taking the subway and bus for an hour and a half... so i got an intercity bus from down the street of out motel... straight to gimhae... so happy i remembered that it exists.

it was a great weekend... i always have a good time when kat is involved... and it was even better because i got goodies from canada... caramilk, smarties, salt and vinegar pringles, starburst, cuticle oil, advil, nytol, minty aero... and on... it's great... enough junk food to get me through the next six months! thanks jess!

back to school

today was the first day of the school year in korea. i also started at my new middle school. i'll be there on thursdays and fridays. i met my co-teacher down the street from my house and we drove the five blocks to the school since she didn't want me showing up all on my own on the first day.

things were pretty hectic when we got there. it seemed like they weren't expecting me since my desk was covered in junk and hadn't been dusted in five years. there was also no computer or stationary type stuff for me. they've known for weeks that i'd be arriving today, so i don't understand why they weren't ready for it.

after about an hour i was shuffled off to the broadcasting room with the other 15 new teachers. we were being paraded in front of the camera in a live broadcast to all the classrooms in the school. i was the only one who got to say a few words. i had to do the same thing when i started at my other school, so i was expecting it. plus having been in broadcasting i'm confortable in front of the camera, so it was no problem.

my VP and principal both speak more english than the ones at my other school, which is a bonus. they both seemed very nice, but they are still sticklers for the rules. i brought donuts for all the teachers, so i'm on everyones' good side.

after a couple of hours of sitting at a desk with no computer, books, or anything i asked if i could go home early since i had no classes and nothing to do. i wanted to get working on some more lesson plans since i still have to make another ten or so... but they said no. i had to sit and stare at the dirty desk for a full eight and a half hours! less the hour we went out for lunch. it was so ridiculous... even at my old school they would have done something for me, either let me leave or hook me up with a computer, but no... i just sat there. i didn't even have a book to read! it made the day longer and more boring than it should have been.

i was so bored that i went to a class with my co-teacher that i won't even be teaching at all. this brought me to the discovery that the classes are separated by sex - all girls and all boys in each class. that will definitely make life interesting in the classroom. i usually use the girls to get the boys to settle down, so losing the mix is going to be tough. hopefully it'll all work out.

the good thing is that my co-teacher is really nice, and all the other teachers i met seem nice too... there's even one teacher that got transferred from my other school... she's not an english teacher and she doesn't speak english, but it was nice to have a familiar face among the crowd. i also know a couple of the kids from winter camp. it was a good day. it'll be nice, i think, to split the week in two - monday, tuesday, wednesday at one school and thursday, friday at the other, it might just be the best part of the whole deal... hopefully it'll make the week pass faster. now i'm off for the weekend... out tonight in gimhae and tomorrow meeting up with kat and her sister in busan... will write as soon as i can!

Samil

(or korean independence movement day)

today was a national holiday. all that really means for us waegooks is that we get a day off work, but i was curious to know why we got to party until the wee hours of the morn... so i looked into it.

on march 1, 1919, the korean independence movement began. 'samil' which translates literally to three one (month/day) was inspired by then US president Woodrow Wilson's 14 point proclamation and the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. he declared and end to colonial rule in countries that were ruled by the victors of WW1. many koreans, under japanese rule, thought they too would be released from their oppressors.

with Wilson's proclamation in mind, korea sent a delegation to the conference in February 1919, but they were refused the right to vote. there was a secret pact between the US, Japan, and France to exclude Korea and Indochina from the treaty. this, obviously, did not sit well with the koreans who thought they would be gaining their independence. so, on march 1, students and christians from around the country led the samil anti-japanese march.

women protesting the japanese colonial rule of korea.

a declaration of independence was read throughout the country:

“Today marks the declaration of Korean independence. There will be peaceful demonstrations all over Korea. If our meetings are orderly and peaceful, we shall receive the help of President Wilson and the great powers at Versailles, and Korea will be a free nation.”

nearly two million people joined the march in thousands of villages across Korea. a peaceful protest took place, with christians singing hymns, and students chanting 'independence'.

the christian leaders were crucified.

the protests were brought to a brutal end by the japanese who fired into the nonviolent crowds. some of the christian organizers were crucified, school children were beheaded, and churches were burned down. korean history counts over 7,500 people killed, 15,000 injured, and upwards of 45,000 arrested. (the japanese numbers are much lower.)

many koreans were brutally murdered by the japanese.

as a side note - some say that the samil was (partly) triggered by the death of King Kojong, who was beleived to have been poisoned by the japanese for trying to send a secret message to the paris conference. march 1, was the day of mourning for his death.

*information and pictures courtesy of Lee Wha Rang. click the link for more on samil.