Tous Les Jours

who thought i'd come to Korea and be at an advantage knowing French?!? well, i guess it isn't really an advantage, it's only one store - but i found bagels and philly cream cheese there... and not too expensive either! yay! i'll have a bagel for breakfast tomorrow... they aren't anything compared to Montreal bagels - those are my favourite - but they're sort of like New York Bagels, really like a cross between the two. anyhow, today must have been the day for french, because one of my students walked up to me and started speaking it to me! and it was very good - better than her english! (which isn't hard in these parts) she lived in France for one year and picked it up while she was there - good for her - if only she would do so well with her english...

i guess i haven't really written all that much about the teaching itself, have i? it's a lot harder than i thought it would be and also a lot easier than i thought it would be. many students just don't care - but that's like middle school anywhere i suppose. i mean, how interested was i in my french class in high school? not very. but i already had a very good base in it by then - these kids don't. they've never had a native english speaking teacher before so they're scared to talk to me. i'm sure they have a decent vocabulary and a basic understanding of the language but they just don't use it like they should. that's what i'm here for - getting them used to speaking english and making them want to speak it... easier said than done.

a bunch of my "team-teachers" (not sure why they're called that since they don't do anything in class) want me to follow the "middle school english" text book. which would be fine if it was a) accurate and b) interesting (to me and the students) which it isn't. it's full of errors "the fishes live in the ocean" and such. the worst part is that in every chapter there is a "talk and talk" section (my section) that has small dialogues for the kids to read, and half the time they aren't logical... i'll post an example tomorrow since i don't bring the text home with me. it really is boring too, and that's exactly what i don't need...

i need to get these kids interested and revved up to learn, and the book just doesn't cut it... they might as well have a korean teacher doing those lessons, especially since they have a CD with foreigners speaking that they can listen to... i'm trying to create more fun lessons, but it's an uphill battle with the other teachers who insist on using the book... i'll turn them around eventually - i hope.

a demain!

Shanshan - my first typhoon

unless you count the one on Monkland in Montreal... but that's a bar and this is a tropical cyclone. that's right, a real typhoon is heading almost straight for South Korea, it's just south of us now and should hit full on tonight. the wind outside is shaking my window covered balcony and the noise of the rattling is quite astonishing... i keep thinking that the windows are just going to blow in... but of course, this isn't THEIR first typhoon, and it's not like i'm right on the coast... just close to it.

so, what is a typhoon? according to discovery.com it's "a term for a hurricane occurring in the North Pacific or the China Sea." that's right, a hurricane... at least i live on the third floor of a building on a mountain - no flooding - but the winds are still a little scary. i hope my mom doesn't hear about it - she'll be flipping out. the image to the left is a satelite of the typhoon as of early this morning, it's a lot closer to Korea now... i hope you all can find Korea on that map (it's due north of the center of the storm). my city - gimhae - is just north of Busan which is on the southeastern most edge of the country, we're going to be hit hardest - well, second only to the island of jeju, but that's because it's an island. i just hope that the power doesn't go out - i'll die of boredom if that happens.

Korea is used to getting typhoons, this is the 13th this year. the next image is the typhoons' forecasted path - as you can see it has changed and is headed pretty much for japan (where people have already died from it - three of them, i think) but it gives you an idea of the speed of the wind - red circles = 50 knots (~92km) or more, the yellow circle = 30 knots of more - don't know if that's per minute/second or what... but i can assure you the wind is CRAZY. so pray for me while i sit in my apartment and listen to the winds, i know it seems kind of silly, it's just another storm... but i've never heard anything like this before... if you want to read a little more about my typhoon check out this article.

nothing says home like...

PIZZA AND BEER!!!

that's right, i finally caved and went to the local Mr. Pizza... then to the store for a nice Heineken. it was fabulous... it really made me feel at home.
the pizza was all right, nothing like the pizza prima near my old house, but okay. the sauce is a bit ketchupy but no less so than domino's, since i don't speak korean i didn't really know what kind i was getting, i just pointed at a picture and this is what i got:

it had some kind of ham, bacon, onion, and green peppers... at least there were no mushrooms!

what would korean pizza be without a side dish? *in case you don't know Koreans LOVE their side dishes... and with pizza, it's pickles!


a little strange for me, but they're pretty good... nothing like a dill pickle (which i love) but more like gherkin pickle, kind of sweet.

and since this is korea, they have a slogan. most places do and they're usually along the lines of "okay for you" or "happy good time!" but mr. pizza went a different way with "made for women" - not sure what being a woman and pizza have to do with eachother... but it's kind of funny nonetheless.


my first foray into the world of foreign food turned out all right, i have yet to see a mcdonalds (outside of the airport) and am fine with that, there really aren't very many "western" restaurants around here... i think i saw a pizza hut about a 15 minute walk from my house... i'll let you know if i get there. i must admit, i'm feeling a little guilty about the pizza, but i just needed a taste of home...

We have the INTERNET!!!

well, i've finally got the internet hooked up in my apartment. not the wonderful world of wirelessness that i thought it would be... seems that the Koreans don't like the Apple computer very much... even though we all know it's a better OS... i'm sure they'll catch on eventually... anyway, after waiting for about four hours - they said some time between 10 am and noon - he showed up at 2:15. i don't really care about waiting for so long, since now i can keep my blog up to date! anyway, no wireless available for my mac, so i'm stuck on an ADSL line... literally, the guy gave me a 20 foot long cable so that i can move around the apartment with my computer! ha! at least i can sit out on my balcony and use the net if i so choose! too many wires aside, i love this! finally!

for those of you who have computers and aren't afraid to use 'em, please check out SKYPE - we can talk (like on the phone) over our computers for free - so long as we're both on at the same time, it's like MSN but with voices... what a concept. it'll make life cheaper for me in the long run as i can call any phone in the world from my computer for very low rates... but if we connect on skype together then it's free. so if you wanna talk to me please download it, it's really really really easy to do just go to SKYPE and follow the instructions... i'm thinking of getting an actualy skype phone number where people can call me (like a regular phone) regardless of whether or not they have the internet... but i am still undecided since i don't know how much it will cost me to get a cell phone here yet - but it is more convenient than a home phone and probably costs about the same thing. i checked into home phone service and there is a $60 non-refundable installation fee (seems a bit expensive to me) and then it's only like $7 a month, but no calls included... and long distance with Korean Telecom is exorbitant.... so i'm really thinking about the skype... but first i need to find out about cell phones.

that's one of the things about moving to a new country - figuring out all of the daily regular things, like internet, phone, bus passes (still not there) where to go grocery shopping and all of those glorious "chores" but i suppose it makes for an interesting life. the KT guy who came to install my internet didn't speak english so we had to communicate using sign language and the little english he remembered from his middle school days! mostly "okay", "no" and "wait"... but it all worked out in the end.... and since a post just wouldn't be right without at least one photo, here is the mess of wires!


see you on skype!

Gimhae - home sweet home

So, i guess it's a bout time that i write a little something on the city that i'm living in - i'm really sorry i haven't been posting regularly, but i jsut don't have time at school, and i don't have the internet at home yet... today i have no classes because there is some big exam that all the students are taking in their english classes... so i'm free - sort of - i still have to sit here and look busy for the whole day! i thought i was going to get my alien registration card today - and i might be - but i've just been told that i'll have to go get it myself - all the way in Ulsan. i have no idea how to get there, or what to do when i do get there, i can only hope that they speak english. i'm a little upset with my co-teacher for telling me that he would take me and then turning around and telling me to go on my own - i would have gone last week if that were the case... then i'd have my card already. everything in my life is on hold until i get this card, so hopefully they'll give it to me right away. anyway, enough ranting, i'm finally able to post something a little longer than a sentence or two and all i can do is complain!!! for those of you who know me, you'll take this as a good sign! i hope!

so the city of gimhae - i can't tell you much since everything that has any kind of information is in Korean... but it has a population of about 350,000. here is the view from my apartment:





















as you can see the city is surrounded by mountains, but it's like that all over Korea. they like to keep their nature close by, and since Korea is so small geographically they tend to build up instead of out. here's a view of the city from my school:


my school, Young-Eun, is at the top of a hill (i'll have buns of steel by the end of the year from walking up all the hills around here!!!) so it isn't easy to get a good picture of it, but i tried:



it's a nice school with lots of good kids, but teaching is a lot harder than i ever thought it would be. it's really quite tiring, but reqarding - at least i hope it will be - some of the students are really attentive and others like to just fool around, i guess it's like any school... the difference is that more of them pay attention than would in NA. and they respect their teachers quite a lot more... all in all, it's an all right gig. i'm like a rock star - they scream my name out the windows when they see me coming... i don't know how long it will last for, but i'll use it to my advantage until it wears off.

stay tuned for a post on "the trek to ulsan for the alien card" ... coming soon!

the Korean Folk Village

So on the last day of orientation at EPIK we were all taken to the Korean Folk Village. This is a working traditional village where people actually live in the way that Koreans did for ages. of course, it's super touristy - shops selling junk, food vendors etc... but there are also real rice paddy's, vegetable gardens, basket weavers, paper makers, and many more traditional workers... i don't really know what to say about it - it was a while ago now, but it was beautiful and i took tons of pictures. here are a few...

















who says you can't nice nice photos on a crappy point and shoot digicam? sure, they'd be A LOT nicer had they been taken with a "real" camera... but they're not that bad... hope you like 'em. :)

World Premiere

This is totally an aside from my regular posts about Korea... my good friend is premiering his first documentary - Once a Nazi. i saw it before i left Montreal, and it is really fantastic - so everyone please check it out!



for more info: Bunbury Films

here i am!

well, i'm finally getting settled in my new home. i have been placed in Young-Eun Middle School in Gimhae, which is near Busan in the southern province of Gyeongsangnam-do. i have been set up in a newly renovated studio apartment - new fridge, gas range, wsahing machine, microwave, toaster, rice cooker, electric tea kettle, wardrobe, bed, tv, table and chairs... well, you get the idea. everything is new. there are no bugs, and it's clean. what more could one ask for? i was missing gas and, therefore, hot water for a few days, but everything has been sorted out, and it's starting to feel more homey.

today i'm off to Busan to apply for my alien registration card - that will allow me to get a telephone and the internet (at home) which i am looking forward to, since this PC at school just doesn't cut it for this Mac user! besides which, this version of windows is in Korean. for some reason blogger is also all in Korean, so it'll be nice to be able to use my own computer and really understand what i'm doing.

so i teach four classes a day - except tuesday and thursday when i also teach the teachers (five classes). so far it's gone quite well, i think. i'm not really sure, since i don't get any kind of feedback from anyone. the vice-principle comes to a few of my classes a day and stands at the back watching me, i'm not sure why since he doesn't understand English at all... maybe just to get a feel of my classroom technique? which, of course, is nil. lol... i'm hoping that some of my "team-teachers" will be open to new teaching methods - i would like to make class fun and interesting for my students... i think some of them will be into it, and others not so much.

anyway, this is not a very interesting post - no pictures - but i just wanted to put something out there, let everyone know that i am alive and well, and will post something more interesting soon.

keep watching for my post on the "Korean Village" - a working traditional village that i visited last week...

we're off to see the...

wizard? not really. tomorrow i leave KNUE for my province and will find out where i'm living and what age groups i'm teaching - pray that i don't get stuck in a little mountain village... anyway, i'm not sure how long it'll take me to get the net up and working, so if you don't hear from me for a while, don't worry... i'll post about the field trip that we took today - to the Korean Folk Village - as soon as possible. i took about 170 photos there, so it should be a good one. until then... :)

drink up your sweat!

yes, "pocari sweat" - i'd like to know what a pocari is... but no one can tell me. someone gave me a cup of this without telling me what it was and because it looks like water i took a sip - big mistake. it tastes kind of like sweat, but without the saltiness. just thought it was kind of funny...