It appears that Jae Bum is doing quite well for himself these days. I figured he'd be fine - leaving an idol group doesn't mean the end of one's career, certainly, and the kid has some promise. Looks like he'll be in a movie soon, if all goes well. It'll be one of those dancing dream things, so not generally my fav genre -- but if I get to see sweet moves and hear decent music, I'll take a looksie.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
park jae bum to appear in upcoming film
Hah! I know, this may be old hat to some of you who actually keep up with this stuff, but I happened to come across it by chance and thought I'd share.
Friday, May 28, 2010
on cooking
It has been a long time since I've really busted up a meal here in Korea. And by "busted up a meal," I mean, made something that actually has any artistic merit, ha. I'm still lacking the basic cooking supplies needed to make the things I want to make, so lately I've mainly done simple things - cooking to survive, really.
Tonight, though, I made Chinese style broccoli - the oyster sauce staple you get at Chinese restaurants. I was a little worried about how it'd be - it's been so long (months) since I've made it. But friends, let me tell you - I put that first piece in my mouth and my worries vanished. It was delicious. It was Chinese - or as close to Chinese cuisine as I've ever come, anyhow. Eating that broccoli made me remember how much I really, really like Chinese food, and made me a little sad that I've left my favorite Chinese cookbook back in the States.
I need to start cooking again, in earnest. I'm not sure where I'll start, or what I'll make. I've got a few ideas, though. I don't think I can do much this weekend - I need too many supplies that I will have trouble buying in my limited time -- unless ... Unless I force one of my outing companions to derail our adventure into a shopping district. I need better knives, a whetstone, a cutting board, a steaming rack ... Hmm, maybe a big spoon, ha. Perhaps some travel tupperware to take vittles on picnics -- it's my Dream to host picnics, friends. I love hosting gatherings and feeding people, but I have no space - cryfest. So, picnics it is - or will be, if I can get my act together before it gets to be hot-o-clock 24/7 and people don't want to be outside, hah. Get ready for a slew of cooking posts as I realign my brainwaves.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
current situation
I think this might be bad, people.
A bit worried, I'll admit it, but what's a girl to do?
If there's a war, get out, right? If there's not a war, but an economic crash or some sort or other? Hmm. Will I still have a job? If so, why not stick around? If I get fired, obviously, I'd head for the hills.
The won is dropping like whoa and I should have transferred cash before now. Oh well. I think I'll still transfer some even with the bad rate - I don't really see it getting a lot better in the near future, and maybe it will get a whole lot worse. Things to ponder.
A bit worried, I'll admit it, but what's a girl to do?
If there's a war, get out, right? If there's not a war, but an economic crash or some sort or other? Hmm. Will I still have a job? If so, why not stick around? If I get fired, obviously, I'd head for the hills.
The won is dropping like whoa and I should have transferred cash before now. Oh well. I think I'll still transfer some even with the bad rate - I don't really see it getting a lot better in the near future, and maybe it will get a whole lot worse. Things to ponder.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
korean pricing + staring at people
korean clothing pricing makes almost no sense.
some obvious junk is very cheap. yay.
some obvious junk is very expensive. boo.
imports - junk or nice - are usually expensive. boo, but whatever, understandable.
I would like to find *nice* clothing at *cheap* prices. There are stores that sell this sort of thing in the US. Do they exist here? I do not know. I have found moderately priced clothing of good quality in the smaller shops, so that's nice and all.
Hmm. I guess I need to be a more serious shopper. With all the crap that is around, I need to hone my skills, ha. Also need to set a clothing budget.
as far as staring at people goes, today was a good day, hah!
I had tons of fun catching the eyes of people who looked my way -- and while usually I turn away, this time I hesitated a couple of moments to size them up. Ridiculously amusing, friends. As long as you keep your face relatively disengaged, you can do this without issue and garner much enjoyment -- examples!
-- guys standing in front of me in some palace courtyard. young. looked at me, looked away, then looked back - i caught this second glance and held it. later (much later, like 10 minutes, haha) they asked to take a picture with me for a report. do i believe that? sure! whatevs, ha. cute fellas and i loved their English. It was so accent-free and easy to understand, albeit very simple. since i was chaperoned we couldn't talk much, alas.
-- guy walking with his girl in myeondong. he bumped into me a little, so i looked up -- and oddly, he looked back and at me, so our eyes met for a while. this is highly unusual in crowded areas. he was cute.
-- babies everywhere. i love looking right back at the munchkins, smiling when appropriate, ha.
-- random salespeople who put their English to work for my sake, ha. I guess I appreciate it. Most of the time it just makes me feel guilty for not buying things (perhaps the intended effect, ha.) Today, i was forced to stop for a photo op in front of the kkultare guys in insadong. one of them saw me slowing and said, quietly - cutely! - "welcome to korea - " haha -- i think he could tell that i wasn't really able to listen or come closer. he and his buddies smiled at me and my suffering, especially since i flashed them a "i am dying" look when my chaperones were distracted. freaking photo ops, i wanted to run away - there were so many, and i was embarrassed and tired of them.
some obvious junk is very cheap. yay.
some obvious junk is very expensive. boo.
imports - junk or nice - are usually expensive. boo, but whatever, understandable.
I would like to find *nice* clothing at *cheap* prices. There are stores that sell this sort of thing in the US. Do they exist here? I do not know. I have found moderately priced clothing of good quality in the smaller shops, so that's nice and all.
Hmm. I guess I need to be a more serious shopper. With all the crap that is around, I need to hone my skills, ha. Also need to set a clothing budget.
as far as staring at people goes, today was a good day, hah!
I had tons of fun catching the eyes of people who looked my way -- and while usually I turn away, this time I hesitated a couple of moments to size them up. Ridiculously amusing, friends. As long as you keep your face relatively disengaged, you can do this without issue and garner much enjoyment -- examples!
-- guys standing in front of me in some palace courtyard. young. looked at me, looked away, then looked back - i caught this second glance and held it. later (much later, like 10 minutes, haha) they asked to take a picture with me for a report. do i believe that? sure! whatevs, ha. cute fellas and i loved their English. It was so accent-free and easy to understand, albeit very simple. since i was chaperoned we couldn't talk much, alas.
-- guy walking with his girl in myeondong. he bumped into me a little, so i looked up -- and oddly, he looked back and at me, so our eyes met for a while. this is highly unusual in crowded areas. he was cute.
-- babies everywhere. i love looking right back at the munchkins, smiling when appropriate, ha.
-- random salespeople who put their English to work for my sake, ha. I guess I appreciate it. Most of the time it just makes me feel guilty for not buying things (perhaps the intended effect, ha.) Today, i was forced to stop for a photo op in front of the kkultare guys in insadong. one of them saw me slowing and said, quietly - cutely! - "welcome to korea - " haha -- i think he could tell that i wasn't really able to listen or come closer. he and his buddies smiled at me and my suffering, especially since i flashed them a "i am dying" look when my chaperones were distracted. freaking photo ops, i wanted to run away - there were so many, and i was embarrassed and tired of them.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
compliments
I'm still getting compliments and declarations of love from my students, though I'll admit that the frequency of such things has decreased since my arrival here. Ah well. I still do pretty well, though.
Today my one of my troublemakers decided to bring up the topic of marriage. This hasn't happened before, actually, which is a little surprising. When I say troublemakers, understand that I usually love these little hooligans - they just happen to make it hard for the rest of the class to focus, so I have to continually redirect their craziness towards productiveness. But back to the subject at hand. After bringing up the marriage idea they decided it would be good to figure out my thoughts on the matter. Here is an approximation of what went down -- with a bit of the back story that led to the marriage thing in the first place, ha.
Student 2: "Teacher, how old are you?" (a huge sentence coming from this guy)
Me: "Korean, 25, US - 23."
Student 2: "Korean."
Me: "25."
Student 2: "Oh! Old. Teacher, so old."
Me: "Yes. Very old. You, very young. You are young, I am old." (we're practicing adjectives)
Student 2: "Yes! Candy? Teacher old, me - young - candy?"
Me: No.
(pause of 20 seconds as I move around the table to look at their worksheets)
Student 1: "Teacher. Hot. You - teacher. Hot."
Me: "I'm hot? Well, thanks."
Student 1, gesturing across the table: "He's - marry?"
Me: "What?"
Student 1: "Marriage. You -"
Student 2: "You married?"
Me: "No, I'm not married."
Student 2: "When marry?"
Me: "I don't know. Not soon. I don't have a boyfriend."
Students 1 + 2: "Why? No boyfriend? Me boyfriend - no, him! Him. You marry --" (gesturing to a guy that has talked to me before - they probably know we have a closer relationship and were teasing him, ha)
At that point, I abandoned them, ha. I went to the next table over where the guys were calling each other garbage and ugly.
Student 3 talking about Student 4: "Teacher! His face, garbage. Ugly face."
Me: "No, that's not true. He has a good face."
Student 4: (punches student 3)
Student 3: "No, teacher! Ugly, ugly face."
Me: "He has a handsome face, not ugly. Handsome."
Student 4: (blushes like whoa, hahaha)
I left them and they continued teasing and punching each other throughout class - but at least they stopped when I caught their eye and gave them The Look, ha.
Today my one of my troublemakers decided to bring up the topic of marriage. This hasn't happened before, actually, which is a little surprising. When I say troublemakers, understand that I usually love these little hooligans - they just happen to make it hard for the rest of the class to focus, so I have to continually redirect their craziness towards productiveness. But back to the subject at hand. After bringing up the marriage idea they decided it would be good to figure out my thoughts on the matter. Here is an approximation of what went down -- with a bit of the back story that led to the marriage thing in the first place, ha.
Student 2: "Teacher, how old are you?" (a huge sentence coming from this guy)
Me: "Korean, 25, US - 23."
Student 2: "Korean."
Me: "25."
Student 2: "Oh! Old. Teacher, so old."
Me: "Yes. Very old. You, very young. You are young, I am old." (we're practicing adjectives)
Student 2: "Yes! Candy? Teacher old, me - young - candy?"
Me: No.
(pause of 20 seconds as I move around the table to look at their worksheets)
Student 1: "Teacher. Hot. You - teacher. Hot."
Me: "I'm hot? Well, thanks."
Student 1, gesturing across the table: "He's - marry?"
Me: "What?"
Student 1: "Marriage. You -"
Student 2: "You married?"
Me: "No, I'm not married."
Student 2: "When marry?"
Me: "I don't know. Not soon. I don't have a boyfriend."
Students 1 + 2: "Why? No boyfriend? Me boyfriend - no, him! Him. You marry --" (gesturing to a guy that has talked to me before - they probably know we have a closer relationship and were teasing him, ha)
At that point, I abandoned them, ha. I went to the next table over where the guys were calling each other garbage and ugly.
Student 3 talking about Student 4: "Teacher! His face, garbage. Ugly face."
Me: "No, that's not true. He has a good face."
Student 4: (punches student 3)
Student 3: "No, teacher! Ugly, ugly face."
Me: "He has a handsome face, not ugly. Handsome."
Student 4: (blushes like whoa, hahaha)
I left them and they continued teasing and punching each other throughout class - but at least they stopped when I caught their eye and gave them The Look, ha.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
new fav song - big bang - tell me goodbye
I have listened to this at least 20 times today. Intense. But - I like it?
Also - it is so much easier to sing along with Japanese than Korean. In my opinion.
Also - it is so much easier to sing along with Japanese than Korean. In my opinion.
talking to a teacher!!
let me just say -- virtually, here -- "Gasp!"
That is what I would say if it wouldn't creep my co-teacher out for me to talk to myself over here. But peeps! I am surprised! A fellow female teacher (not a co-teacher) is sending me nice messages on the school system! I am so impressed / happy, ha. The female teachers, especially, don't usually talk to me much. I want to be their friiiiiieennnnd. I am like some dumb dog, haha. But people -- networking -- friendship -- it's hugely important over here in Korea, especially. Not only that, it just feels nice, right? Right.
In other news, to update with that last post - I didn't really call my student lame. I said, "You guys - I think you are funny, cool. But today - not funny. Not cool. Today you are being lame. This - no work? Lame."
He didn't care, of course, because he was too distracted with his own theatrics. Oh well.
That is what I would say if it wouldn't creep my co-teacher out for me to talk to myself over here. But peeps! I am surprised! A fellow female teacher (not a co-teacher) is sending me nice messages on the school system! I am so impressed / happy, ha. The female teachers, especially, don't usually talk to me much. I want to be their friiiiiieennnnd. I am like some dumb dog, haha. But people -- networking -- friendship -- it's hugely important over here in Korea, especially. Not only that, it just feels nice, right? Right.
In other news, to update with that last post - I didn't really call my student lame. I said, "You guys - I think you are funny, cool. But today - not funny. Not cool. Today you are being lame. This - no work? Lame."
He didn't care, of course, because he was too distracted with his own theatrics. Oh well.
Monday, May 17, 2010
speaking of lame!
GOODNESS. Lame reminds me - I called one of my students lame today, but I don't think he understood what I meant. I think there was a whole lot of misunderstanding going on, actually.
First of all, let me explain that the class he is in is tied for first place in my "Worst Behavior" class contest. There are actually only two classes now that give me trouble, thank heavens, so the competition isn't that big. But back to this class.
The kid that was misbehaving is the class leader - already a bad sign when your class leader is also class troublemaker, right? Yes. He's hilarious - some of the time. He's crazy - all of the time. Supposedly he really likes to dance. He tells me this, other students tell me this -- "Teacher! He's crazy. Korean psycho!" and then, shortly after that, "Teacher! He's dancing man!"
Today he and his cronies told me that they were on the dancing team. I could believe this - there are all sorts of teams and clubs over here. But then they all started laughing really hard - so now I doubt the validity of this claim. Maybe they just thought it really hilarious to say "dancing team" in English and they really are on one, or maybe they are making it all up. Who knows. Anyway, this kid was totally challenging me in class - at one point I told him, "Shh - " with my finger over my lips - he looked at me, nodded, and then kept talking! WHAT the -- kid! I corrected him, but I don't think any of it sunk in. Later on we had some bizarre 5 minute ... face off? conversational impasse? during which I tried to convince him to look at his paper and he insisted on staring intently into my eyes. I think this is pretty rude, especially given the cultural context, but he and his friends thought it was hilarious. Then I gave up with the work and asked him if he was bored, if class wasn't fun. He actually got a little serious for a minute - long enough to check the meaning of "boring" with his friend, after which he replied with "Oh, no, no teacher! Class -- funny." Great. Then - weirdest thing - he reached up to my back and pulled back on my t-shirt a little bit. What? There are only two logical reasons for that, in my mind. 1 - maybe he was pulling so my tag would be tucked in again, if it was exposed? I am not sure if it was or not. 2 - maybe it would make sense if I were flashing someone when I was bending over at his table. I wasn't quite at that angle (I checked later to be sure, ha), and even if they could see down my shirt, they'd just see my bra. (I apparently consider that not a big deal? Not when I am in the middle of trying to convince my students to do their work, I guess, ha.) And the student that touched my shirt wasn't at an angle to see anything anyway, even if the possibility presented itself. The one student that could have seen something was the only one at the table who made any semblance of participation, so I don't think that he was distracted by anything that I was or was not inadvertently displaying.
So. Dancing Man Leader Kid is not the only troublesome one in the class, but I do believe he influences the others. Even the higher level kids are a pain - they act like they are all that because they can do their worksheets well enough, but they disregard a lot of my verbal instructions. And then there are a few other low-level disrupters scattered throughout.
I am going to have to Do Something about this class. It makes me sad, a little. I really like them - as individuals, they are funny and good kids - good as in "good hearts," ha, not really "well behaved." But I'm bored with the shenanigans. If I get tough, they will also be sad for a while, ha, but it is for their own good. I think I'll go at things with a combination of rewards and punishments. So tedious, ha. Anyway, I'll keep you updated on what methods I pursue and how it turns out.
First of all, let me explain that the class he is in is tied for first place in my "Worst Behavior" class contest. There are actually only two classes now that give me trouble, thank heavens, so the competition isn't that big. But back to this class.
The kid that was misbehaving is the class leader - already a bad sign when your class leader is also class troublemaker, right? Yes. He's hilarious - some of the time. He's crazy - all of the time. Supposedly he really likes to dance. He tells me this, other students tell me this -- "Teacher! He's crazy. Korean psycho!" and then, shortly after that, "Teacher! He's dancing man!"
Today he and his cronies told me that they were on the dancing team. I could believe this - there are all sorts of teams and clubs over here. But then they all started laughing really hard - so now I doubt the validity of this claim. Maybe they just thought it really hilarious to say "dancing team" in English and they really are on one, or maybe they are making it all up. Who knows. Anyway, this kid was totally challenging me in class - at one point I told him, "Shh - " with my finger over my lips - he looked at me, nodded, and then kept talking! WHAT the -- kid! I corrected him, but I don't think any of it sunk in. Later on we had some bizarre 5 minute ... face off? conversational impasse? during which I tried to convince him to look at his paper and he insisted on staring intently into my eyes. I think this is pretty rude, especially given the cultural context, but he and his friends thought it was hilarious. Then I gave up with the work and asked him if he was bored, if class wasn't fun. He actually got a little serious for a minute - long enough to check the meaning of "boring" with his friend, after which he replied with "Oh, no, no teacher! Class -- funny." Great. Then - weirdest thing - he reached up to my back and pulled back on my t-shirt a little bit. What? There are only two logical reasons for that, in my mind. 1 - maybe he was pulling so my tag would be tucked in again, if it was exposed? I am not sure if it was or not. 2 - maybe it would make sense if I were flashing someone when I was bending over at his table. I wasn't quite at that angle (I checked later to be sure, ha), and even if they could see down my shirt, they'd just see my bra. (I apparently consider that not a big deal? Not when I am in the middle of trying to convince my students to do their work, I guess, ha.) And the student that touched my shirt wasn't at an angle to see anything anyway, even if the possibility presented itself. The one student that could have seen something was the only one at the table who made any semblance of participation, so I don't think that he was distracted by anything that I was or was not inadvertently displaying.
So. Dancing Man Leader Kid is not the only troublesome one in the class, but I do believe he influences the others. Even the higher level kids are a pain - they act like they are all that because they can do their worksheets well enough, but they disregard a lot of my verbal instructions. And then there are a few other low-level disrupters scattered throughout.
I am going to have to Do Something about this class. It makes me sad, a little. I really like them - as individuals, they are funny and good kids - good as in "good hearts," ha, not really "well behaved." But I'm bored with the shenanigans. If I get tough, they will also be sad for a while, ha, but it is for their own good. I think I'll go at things with a combination of rewards and punishments. So tedious, ha. Anyway, I'll keep you updated on what methods I pursue and how it turns out.
grocery boy, the weekend, etc.
Had a good but busy weekend - wish I could catch up on sleep, but I don't think that is going to happen until ... Thursday night? Yikes.
Anyway, pushing that depressing thought aside, ha - I did get to see Grocery Boy today. I felt pretty enough to make an appearance, ha - and I needed soda. Didn't see him outside of the store, but after a minute of aisle browsing, I saw him at the back. Avoided him since his back was turned and he was busy ... but figured that he would say hi to me when I was buying my soda a little later, ha, since that would put me on a parallel with him. Annnd he did, of course. A big hi, a ridiculously gorgeous smile. I said hi back, asked him how he was doing. He paused a moment, I inwardly blanched thinking, "Crap. He doesn't know that phrase?" but after a second he replied with, "I'm fine. Thank you." The real "I'm fine" and "Thank you" - not the usual stuff my students run together, haha. So I said, "Oh, I'm happy to hear that," smiled, nodded, and turned back towards my Pepsi selection because -- well -- I didn't know what else to say? If he had wanted to, he could have kept talking. But he was busy with some sort of stocking and there were a couple other staff people working with him as well. So no more talk.
Gosh, he's cute, ha. Some of my friends don't think that there are a lot of attractive guys here in Korea - I totally beg to differ. Cute guys all over the place. Not that that means much, ha, but it's fun to look, I guess.
I went shopping this weekend, thank heavens. But I only bought two things. LAME. I need more clothes. I need to make myself buy more clothes. The only way that I can envision myself doing this is if I go out this weekend -- but with the holiday, things might be packed. A little worried about that. But almost more worried about not having warm weather clothing when things get hot here, ha. Maybe I can find a spare hour or two to at least grab some items from the nearby shops on Thursday afternoon? I'll hope ... Also, I need pink shoes. I think a dirty pink would be a lot of fun - something vintage-y to go with random girly items, ha.
Anyway, pushing that depressing thought aside, ha - I did get to see Grocery Boy today. I felt pretty enough to make an appearance, ha - and I needed soda. Didn't see him outside of the store, but after a minute of aisle browsing, I saw him at the back. Avoided him since his back was turned and he was busy ... but figured that he would say hi to me when I was buying my soda a little later, ha, since that would put me on a parallel with him. Annnd he did, of course. A big hi, a ridiculously gorgeous smile. I said hi back, asked him how he was doing. He paused a moment, I inwardly blanched thinking, "Crap. He doesn't know that phrase?" but after a second he replied with, "I'm fine. Thank you." The real "I'm fine" and "Thank you" - not the usual stuff my students run together, haha. So I said, "Oh, I'm happy to hear that," smiled, nodded, and turned back towards my Pepsi selection because -- well -- I didn't know what else to say? If he had wanted to, he could have kept talking. But he was busy with some sort of stocking and there were a couple other staff people working with him as well. So no more talk.
Gosh, he's cute, ha. Some of my friends don't think that there are a lot of attractive guys here in Korea - I totally beg to differ. Cute guys all over the place. Not that that means much, ha, but it's fun to look, I guess.
I went shopping this weekend, thank heavens. But I only bought two things. LAME. I need more clothes. I need to make myself buy more clothes. The only way that I can envision myself doing this is if I go out this weekend -- but with the holiday, things might be packed. A little worried about that. But almost more worried about not having warm weather clothing when things get hot here, ha. Maybe I can find a spare hour or two to at least grab some items from the nearby shops on Thursday afternoon? I'll hope ... Also, I need pink shoes. I think a dirty pink would be a lot of fun - something vintage-y to go with random girly items, ha.
Friday, May 14, 2010
presents and teacher's day preview
i freaking love presents
i don't care what i get, but getting stuff (and giving stuff!) is great!
today was not teacher's day! tomorrow is teacher's day. today is friday. but i think that many schools try to play down teacher's day on the actual day because of bribery complaints. honestly, i don't think that will do anything in regards to bribery issues, but whatevs. since i don't come in on saturdays anyway, i doubt i will miss much. anyway! point: today was teacher's day preview activity day? i guess?
We got together out by the athletic field and ate all sorts of food - as per usual, ha. Considering that we had only finished lunch an hour or two earlier, I was impressed by the quantity and quality of the stuff that was laid out for us. Our consumption was occasionally interrupted by activities. At one point we went on a "treasure hunt" for little slips of paper. I didn't find any. Another teacher found two, though, and he gave one to me - cue aww-fest, haha. This paper translated into a pack of shampoo. Later, the same teacher gave me some soap, the principal gave me toothpaste, and then I got some candy from a nice lady who shared her prize. A nicely wrapped towel was delivered to me during school. Thank heavens it was only a towel and not something delicate - the method of delivery fitted the deliver, ha - the kid is rough and likes to slam things to scare me. I just find it annoying, really - but anyway, he slammed the package down on my desk. I really should get on him for being disrespectful - I am in to the whole "respect your teacher" thing.
all right! this was a fractured post, but i have things to do and less than two hours of time left. waaaaa
i don't care what i get, but getting stuff (and giving stuff!) is great!
today was not teacher's day! tomorrow is teacher's day. today is friday. but i think that many schools try to play down teacher's day on the actual day because of bribery complaints. honestly, i don't think that will do anything in regards to bribery issues, but whatevs. since i don't come in on saturdays anyway, i doubt i will miss much. anyway! point: today was teacher's day preview activity day? i guess?
We got together out by the athletic field and ate all sorts of food - as per usual, ha. Considering that we had only finished lunch an hour or two earlier, I was impressed by the quantity and quality of the stuff that was laid out for us. Our consumption was occasionally interrupted by activities. At one point we went on a "treasure hunt" for little slips of paper. I didn't find any. Another teacher found two, though, and he gave one to me - cue aww-fest, haha. This paper translated into a pack of shampoo. Later, the same teacher gave me some soap, the principal gave me toothpaste, and then I got some candy from a nice lady who shared her prize. A nicely wrapped towel was delivered to me during school. Thank heavens it was only a towel and not something delicate - the method of delivery fitted the deliver, ha - the kid is rough and likes to slam things to scare me. I just find it annoying, really - but anyway, he slammed the package down on my desk. I really should get on him for being disrespectful - I am in to the whole "respect your teacher" thing.
all right! this was a fractured post, but i have things to do and less than two hours of time left. waaaaa
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
blood in the halls
So when I went down to pick up my "prints" from the office downstairs (down four flights of stairs. Mannnn...) I happened upon a splotch of blood. That led to another spot, and then another -- and basically, it appears as if someone bled their way down two flights of stairs, through the main lobby, and to the nurse's office. Yipes. Recently, too - it's all bright red. I told my co-teacher in hopes that she'd call someone to get it cleaned up, but all she said was, "Oh my god." No accompanying action. If anyone visits our school today, I hope they somehow miss that mess.
i don't understand, students
Wah! I get so sad when my students come and find me (almost always when I am alone, ha - they must fear my co-teacher) to ask me questions, and I can't understand what they want. They are being brave and trying really hard, but ... things just don't make sense. : ( I hope that this whole "learning Korean" thing helps with these sorts of issues.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
grocery boy sighting! (from afar)
Friends!
It has been weeks -- weeks! -- since I last talked with Grocery Boy. What gives, you ask?
Well!
There are a number of things that were going on. I was out of town, I looked ugly, I crossed the street a different way, we had school holidays, he didn't appear when I walked past his workplace, etc. While four out of five of the reasons make sense, the remaining "I look ugly!" excuse needs to change, haha. I don't look ugly every day, but if it's been a particularly tough day or if I was lazy in the outfit making department that morning, then I feel kind of ugly. Too ugly to talk to Cute Grocery Boy, haha. Also, that meeting requires mental energy. Even if I feel pretty, if I also feel tired than I'm less inclined to chat with Grocery Boy.
Today my last class was a little rough, so that downed my mental cheer. In addition to that, I was leaving the school a little late. If I took the alternate no-crossing-in-front-of-Grocery-Boy's-workplace route, I had a better chance of catching my bus and saving myself twenty minutes of standing time. With those thoughts on my mind, I went with the alternate route and missed out on the Grocery Boy Chat opportunity.
Today, though, as I walked on the opposite side of the street, I looked over to see if I could spot him doing anything outside. He was there! Pink shirt. He was unloading a truck - standing up in the open bed and handing things down to someone else on the ground. Grocery Boy! If I had passed that way, we would have said hello to each other. But I chose the other path. Ah well! We'll try again some other time.
To prepare for that, I need to lessen my "ugly" days, haha. This will increase my chances of actually talking to him because I won't intentionally avoid him if I don't feel ugly/tired.
The Pretty Plan:
- Sleep! This is vital.
- Plan Awesome Lessons! Lately they have been good, so yay for that.
- Discipline the Horror class! They really aren't horrors, but comparatively speaking, they are my worst kids. If they do well, my day is much brighter. I need to find more effective ways to manage these munchkins.
- Exercise! I need to get brave and join a gym. I'm afraid to try it - I've never been a gym member before, though I have worked out in gyms, just not as a regular member. I also dread speaking in English/Korean to actually get the membership.
-Buy New Clothes! I am still way short on the spring and summer wardrobe. I need to shop a lot more. Think I'll go to Myeongdong and Apgujeong to stock up on clothing. I'm going to have to mentally prepare myself to Spend Some Money, haha. I haven't bought a new wardrobe in a while, so my brain isn't really prepared for cost, I don't think, but I need to get used to it, ha.
So! There you have it. Essential steps - in no particular order - to feeling better about my appearance.
woo
It has been weeks -- weeks! -- since I last talked with Grocery Boy. What gives, you ask?
Well!
There are a number of things that were going on. I was out of town, I looked ugly, I crossed the street a different way, we had school holidays, he didn't appear when I walked past his workplace, etc. While four out of five of the reasons make sense, the remaining "I look ugly!" excuse needs to change, haha. I don't look ugly every day, but if it's been a particularly tough day or if I was lazy in the outfit making department that morning, then I feel kind of ugly. Too ugly to talk to Cute Grocery Boy, haha. Also, that meeting requires mental energy. Even if I feel pretty, if I also feel tired than I'm less inclined to chat with Grocery Boy.
Today my last class was a little rough, so that downed my mental cheer. In addition to that, I was leaving the school a little late. If I took the alternate no-crossing-in-front-of-Grocery-Boy's-workplace route, I had a better chance of catching my bus and saving myself twenty minutes of standing time. With those thoughts on my mind, I went with the alternate route and missed out on the Grocery Boy Chat opportunity.
Today, though, as I walked on the opposite side of the street, I looked over to see if I could spot him doing anything outside. He was there! Pink shirt. He was unloading a truck - standing up in the open bed and handing things down to someone else on the ground. Grocery Boy! If I had passed that way, we would have said hello to each other. But I chose the other path. Ah well! We'll try again some other time.
To prepare for that, I need to lessen my "ugly" days, haha. This will increase my chances of actually talking to him because I won't intentionally avoid him if I don't feel ugly/tired.
The Pretty Plan:
- Sleep! This is vital.
- Plan Awesome Lessons! Lately they have been good, so yay for that.
- Discipline the Horror class! They really aren't horrors, but comparatively speaking, they are my worst kids. If they do well, my day is much brighter. I need to find more effective ways to manage these munchkins.
- Exercise! I need to get brave and join a gym. I'm afraid to try it - I've never been a gym member before, though I have worked out in gyms, just not as a regular member. I also dread speaking in English/Korean to actually get the membership.
-Buy New Clothes! I am still way short on the spring and summer wardrobe. I need to shop a lot more. Think I'll go to Myeongdong and Apgujeong to stock up on clothing. I'm going to have to mentally prepare myself to Spend Some Money, haha. I haven't bought a new wardrobe in a while, so my brain isn't really prepared for cost, I don't think, but I need to get used to it, ha.
So! There you have it. Essential steps - in no particular order - to feeling better about my appearance.
woo
reading affects my life
First off, the part that has to do with Korea --
I'm eating a "glutinous rice doughnut" with red bean filling. It's basically a bun of some sort with paste inside. It's delicious. Puffy, chewy, sweet -- and very oily. I'm not positive, but I'm guessing this sucker was deep fried. Regardless, eating these things makes my lips really shiny and greasy, ha.
Now for the part that relates to reading --
I read a book in fourth grade about some sort of indigenous arctic/alaskan people that really enjoyed eating fat. They were out there in the cold, food was hard to get -- but when they finally got it, they really appreciated the "rich fat." Ever since reading that book, I've had more of an appreciation for fat. This doesn't apply to everything - I still can't swallow really fatty bacon, ha - but it does make me appreciate grease, for some reason. Kind of ew, I know.
One of my favorite authors relates a story about a man that he heard of when he was young. The man's family was poor, but in order to keep up appearances, the man smeared grease on the faces of his children so that it would appear that they'd eaten lots of fatty meat. I think that's awesome! Keeping up appearances to that extent is perhaps silly, but I like the mental image of some old man rubbing grease on his kids' faces. Just kind of amusing/endearing/sad, I guess.
So! There you go. Two reasons why I'm not put off by my lips being covered in fried bun oil.
Monday, May 10, 2010
monday conclusion
Classes were fun! Even my rough ones weren't all that terrible today. True - they didn't participate 100%. But they were way more into things than they have been in the past, and, thank heavens, they are really starting to respond to me as a teacher. I can tell that they're adjusting to my methods. This is great, and really exciting for the rest of the year! (Teacher's Enthusiasm ahoy, haha.)
My favorite classes were, as usual, ridiculously great - as in, ridiculously hilarious, and despite tons of protest that they were tired and didn't want to do any work, they actually were quite gung-ho with the activities of the day. Sweet.
I still have my way tired, way low level classes to go this week, so I know this feeling of satisfaction that I have at the moment won't last. But that's okay! I'm good with taking what I can get, ha.
Also, why do I feel so good? I don't get it. I slept two hours but I'm working more efficiently than I often do -- future lesson planning has been smooth during my spots of free time. Cool. (Tomorrow I'll crash, hah.)
My favorite classes were, as usual, ridiculously great - as in, ridiculously hilarious, and despite tons of protest that they were tired and didn't want to do any work, they actually were quite gung-ho with the activities of the day. Sweet.
I still have my way tired, way low level classes to go this week, so I know this feeling of satisfaction that I have at the moment won't last. But that's okay! I'm good with taking what I can get, ha.
Also, why do I feel so good? I don't get it. I slept two hours but I'm working more efficiently than I often do -- future lesson planning has been smooth during my spots of free time. Cool. (Tomorrow I'll crash, hah.)
monday predictions
I have a good feeling about today. This is totally unwarranted: I didn't sleep a lot last night, and Mondays are always my "let's see how this lesson goes!" day, which means that this morning I will figure out how well my material meshes with my students' abilities. This shouldn't be a big guessing game, ha, and the next two weeks won't be since this lesson will determine the pace and complexity of the month's plans. This pilot, though - it could be rough, haha. I think it will be way easy for my kids today and hard for the kids that I teach during the rest of the week. For some reason my smartest classes are all on Mondays.
--written this morning around 8:00am, published around 4:30pm
--written this morning around 8:00am, published around 4:30pm
Sunday, May 9, 2010
skype!
someone in my apartment building is getting a skype call! (they must have the volume turned up to WHOA because i can hear the little "someone is calling you!" tone pretty easily down here, ha.)
this makes me so happy, haha. I like to know that somewhere, someone in this building is most likely talking to someone far away. I hear that there are at least five other foreigners in this building! i have met two. do you think this is a foreigner to foreigner call? or is a korean gabbing it up with someone in distant lands?
i will never know!
this makes me so happy, haha. I like to know that somewhere, someone in this building is most likely talking to someone far away. I hear that there are at least five other foreigners in this building! i have met two. do you think this is a foreigner to foreigner call? or is a korean gabbing it up with someone in distant lands?
i will never know!
my poor chicken ...
Friends! I have to throw away beautiful food! The victims: pork, chicken, maybe ice cream. The pork had been frozen improperly, so maybe it's not such a loss. But the chicken! A mega-pack of chicken breasts, recently purchased and meant for tonight's dinner ... Maybe my $12 ice cream will also have to be discarded unless it refreezes miraculously well.
Seriously, I think there are few things that get me as depressed as lost food, haha.
My fridge cut off at some point within the last 24 hours. Darn. It was 60 degrees in there when I opened it this evening, and that's not safe for meat in my book. I wish I could cook it. Some parts of me would like to take the risk, but I know I'd just feel sick with dread while consuming it, ha, and then there's the threat of actual sickness later on.
I'm a bit peeved at the fridge, though. What gives with the random cut-offs? It has done this before, but those times I thought I triggered the problem by using appliances. But I didn't do anything this time. Maybe I need to have the wiring checked. Also, speaking of wiring, how in the world can this be a Korean apartment without an electrical outlet available for a rice cooker?! Gads, people. You would think that in a country where "rice" is considered the basis of all meals the apartments would be set up to cook it. I can cook it on the stove, sure. But I don't think that many people in Seoul do that anymore, and this apartment isn't ancient.
Honestly, I just want the outlet for an oven. But a rice cooker would be nice too. Maybe someday.
AH my chicken. I had such hopes. We were going to have fun tonight! Butter! Garlic! Maybe rosemary! I hadn't really decided yet, but I'm sure our future together would have been brilliant. RIP.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
on being cheap
I think that when one is hosting cheapness is poor form and in many cases rude. I'm not saying that a host should go out and spend hundreds of dollars to prepare for a guest or care for a guest once that person arrives, but guests should be made to feel welcome, and yes, sometimes that requires some spending.
My Rules of Hospitality:
The Rule of Family + Guest
If you invite someone (just one person) to join your family for an outing or a meal, you as the hostess should be comfortable with paying for things that come up. Say, for instance, that a family invites someone to join them at an amusement park. If this someone is a young single adult (wow, just like me! but, ha, this situation is mostly hypothetical) then I think it would be polite to offer to pay for everything, actually. Sure, I would pay for myself in the end, but I would think a family that invited me out and didn't offer to pay would be kind of stingy. I appreciate the battle of good will here, ha. That, and doesn't everyone sort of hope that someday their child will be taken in in the same sort of way? It's general friendliness to act as family to someone who is away from their own. But say I pay for my ticket - the host family should, if we all go for ice cream or something, still offer to pay for my ice cream. It's a pittance, basically, and it shows so much friendliness.
Now, it's all right if a host family in this sort of amusement park scenario doesn't pay for the ticket or the ice cream. Those are things that aren't offensive to overlook and were anticipated by the guest. But say that the mom of the family decides that everyone needs to see a special sideshow, and it's going to cost three dollars a person. She makes her husband pay for their family, and then tells you, "Oh, it's a great opportunity. And it's just three dollars, not so much." In this sort of spot you, as the guest, have to pay to go to something you might not even like. You can't not go because that would cause discomfort, and to not pay would be rude and put pressure on the host family. It's just three dollars, as she said, so she's right - it's not that much. But instead of making it seem like a simple thing, that three dollars actually makes it a bigger deal - if it's so cheap, why exclude one person from the whole by asking her to pay for herself?
Note to Readers: These opinions only apply to the Family + 1 Guest scenario. Everything is different if it's two peers, or two guest, etc. So just take this as one set of opinions for one set of circumstances.
My Rules of Hospitality:
The Rule of Family + Guest
If you invite someone (just one person) to join your family for an outing or a meal, you as the hostess should be comfortable with paying for things that come up. Say, for instance, that a family invites someone to join them at an amusement park. If this someone is a young single adult (wow, just like me! but, ha, this situation is mostly hypothetical) then I think it would be polite to offer to pay for everything, actually. Sure, I would pay for myself in the end, but I would think a family that invited me out and didn't offer to pay would be kind of stingy. I appreciate the battle of good will here, ha. That, and doesn't everyone sort of hope that someday their child will be taken in in the same sort of way? It's general friendliness to act as family to someone who is away from their own. But say I pay for my ticket - the host family should, if we all go for ice cream or something, still offer to pay for my ice cream. It's a pittance, basically, and it shows so much friendliness.
Now, it's all right if a host family in this sort of amusement park scenario doesn't pay for the ticket or the ice cream. Those are things that aren't offensive to overlook and were anticipated by the guest. But say that the mom of the family decides that everyone needs to see a special sideshow, and it's going to cost three dollars a person. She makes her husband pay for their family, and then tells you, "Oh, it's a great opportunity. And it's just three dollars, not so much." In this sort of spot you, as the guest, have to pay to go to something you might not even like. You can't not go because that would cause discomfort, and to not pay would be rude and put pressure on the host family. It's just three dollars, as she said, so she's right - it's not that much. But instead of making it seem like a simple thing, that three dollars actually makes it a bigger deal - if it's so cheap, why exclude one person from the whole by asking her to pay for herself?
Note to Readers: These opinions only apply to the Family + 1 Guest scenario. Everything is different if it's two peers, or two guest, etc. So just take this as one set of opinions for one set of circumstances.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
i'm not cheap
I may be a lot of things, friends, but cheap isn't one of them. I don't mind being thrifty or sticking to a budget - handling money responsibly and being able to save is great.
But being cheap bothers me. I am so tired, but I really want to talk about this. Can you wait until tomorrow or Saturday or Sunday for a real update? I don't really know my weekend plan yet.
For starters, though -
Cheap people make weird hosts.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
the hurt locker
-- a fractured response to the film The Hurt Locker (Bigelow, 2008)
Now, the whole pulling parts out of a kid thing, that was original - I liked how that brought the more human aspect of James back to the surface, how his comrades were confused by his change to humane behavior (humane = not blowing the kid up, but dismantling the bomb and bringing back his body.)
I think the movie, as a whole, was just far too predictable. I don't think any of the deaths in that film were surprising. Do they need to be surprising to be effective? No, I suppose not. But then the range of their efficacy is limited when it's so obvious that they aren't going to be around for long, that they're just "pawns in the game of war." I've heard that before. Does that mean it shouldn't be said? No. But it means you're going to have to say it in a better way if you want us to spend our time watching your movie.
I did think that James and Sanborn had pretty strong characters - they are the ones that asked the sensitive questions. What's it mean for a soldier to ride another, for a black man to be in that position with a white man? What is the film's commentary on power and the justification of its use, both on the field and off? I'm asking the race question because it's pretty darn obvious that it's meant to be asked.
Edit: I guess my blog has a theme, and this doesn't technically fit. What if I say that I saw this movie last week - here in South Korea? There you go - all groovy now, right? Right.
Edit: I guess my blog has a theme, and this doesn't technically fit. What if I say that I saw this movie last week - here in South Korea? There you go - all groovy now, right? Right.
it's a national holiday! time to ... sleep?
I've been pretty busy lately. Actually, I have been out every day/night for a week -- except for today! This morning I woke up at 8:00am, but thought, "Heck, 8:00am is not late! I need to sleep until it is late." So then I slept for another hour or two, and am currently just extending my laziness by lying in bed, reading others' blogs, and pondering my future. Not the distant future - just the short term, "What will I do today?" future.
Since it's a national holiday I feel like everything will be really busy. That doesn't change the fact that I still need to get things done today, and aside from these "chores," I have four social activity options. We'll see what happens. In the meantime, how about some pics?
People picnicking in the park at Namsan -- egads, picnics all over the place! It was perfect picnic weather. I'd like to do this too, but my favorite picnic staples might be hard to make over here. I'll have to Quest it Up in order to get all of the ingredients. Or I could make Korean picnics. We'll see.
The evident tenderness between parents and their children here is so beautiful. I think this dad was feeding his daughter something, but maybe he was just wiping something off her face, haha - I can't remember at this point.
Haha.
Since it's a national holiday I feel like everything will be really busy. That doesn't change the fact that I still need to get things done today, and aside from these "chores," I have four social activity options. We'll see what happens. In the meantime, how about some pics?
Monday, May 3, 2010
i love eating in korea
Last night I went out to dinner with mah homies. We had Korean BBQ, if you want to call it that. Basically, a lot of meat cooked on a wire grill over beautiful wood charcoal.
The three of us shared one order of samgyeopsal (thick uncured bacon, basically), one order of galbi (beef), and one order of galmaegisal (delicious dark pork.) I have no idea if I romanized any of that correctly and I'm not going to look it up right now either, ha, but that is how it sounds to me. You grill the meat yourself and wrap it in delicious lettuce or sesame leaves - or both. The sesame isn't really sesame - it's called "wild sesame," or kkaenip or perilla. I think I ate this wild sesame (or a variant of it) when I was a child - I picked it from wild plants in my yard, and, uh, ate it straight. I know that was probably dumb, but at the time it really smelled good and I was a curious young person. Anyway. You put the meat in a leaf and then add some of the condiments on the table to your meat-leaf. When you are satisfied, you wrap it up into a tiny package and stuff it in your face! So good! My favorite combination might be wild sesame leaf + galmaegisal + bean paste + green onions + pickled radish + mushroom + grilled garlic. Yum!
Aside from the meat and meat condiments there were several other items of note on our table. We all got our own soups - they were refilled when we were running low. We also got our own (refillable) cabbage salads. Then there were the regular sides - kimchi and seaweed, I think. I'll go ahead and list all of the meat condiments for your edification, ha: bean paste, oil and salt, greens and onion salad, seasoned scallions, pickled radish, garlic ... and well, I guess you can count the mushrooms that came with the meat as condiments as well.
All of this and some accompanying beverages ran us just about 37000 won. That's about $33 USD for soup, salad, sides, beverages, and a ton of meat. How cool is that? Very cool!
Anyhoo, I've done this before, but my friends are new to Korea, so they hadn't experienced it all yet. It was fun but a little intimidating to be the "Korean specialist" in the group since I was the only one that knows any Korean, and I don't know much at all, really. But we got through things all right.
The three of us shared one order of samgyeopsal (thick uncured bacon, basically), one order of galbi (beef), and one order of galmaegisal (delicious dark pork.) I have no idea if I romanized any of that correctly and I'm not going to look it up right now either, ha, but that is how it sounds to me. You grill the meat yourself and wrap it in delicious lettuce or sesame leaves - or both. The sesame isn't really sesame - it's called "wild sesame," or kkaenip or perilla. I think I ate this wild sesame (or a variant of it) when I was a child - I picked it from wild plants in my yard, and, uh, ate it straight. I know that was probably dumb, but at the time it really smelled good and I was a curious young person. Anyway. You put the meat in a leaf and then add some of the condiments on the table to your meat-leaf. When you are satisfied, you wrap it up into a tiny package and stuff it in your face! So good! My favorite combination might be wild sesame leaf + galmaegisal + bean paste + green onions + pickled radish + mushroom + grilled garlic. Yum!
Aside from the meat and meat condiments there were several other items of note on our table. We all got our own soups - they were refilled when we were running low. We also got our own (refillable) cabbage salads. Then there were the regular sides - kimchi and seaweed, I think. I'll go ahead and list all of the meat condiments for your edification, ha: bean paste, oil and salt, greens and onion salad, seasoned scallions, pickled radish, garlic ... and well, I guess you can count the mushrooms that came with the meat as condiments as well.
All of this and some accompanying beverages ran us just about 37000 won. That's about $33 USD for soup, salad, sides, beverages, and a ton of meat. How cool is that? Very cool!
Anyhoo, I've done this before, but my friends are new to Korea, so they hadn't experienced it all yet. It was fun but a little intimidating to be the "Korean specialist" in the group since I was the only one that knows any Korean, and I don't know much at all, really. But we got through things all right.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
i'm mostly busy
I've been out every night and/or day since Tuesday. My throat hates me, my feet hate me. I don't know if my kids have exams tomorrow or not -- I think some of them do. I'm confused on the subject. It definitely says "Exam" on the calendar, but I don't know if it's for all grades and classes. Either I'll get to school and find out that I have to teach all of my classes, some of my classes, or none of my classes. If I'm teaching anything, it will be 100% gametastic, so at least that's settled already. I'm trying new games. I'm a little bit worried about that. Also worried that my students will be so dead from their tests that they won't even want to play a game. In which case, ha, we will watch a DVD. Poor kids.
Now I need to make sure the lesson for the week after this one is all set. I'm trying new stuff for that week as well -- eeeeeh, trying new things just makes me nervous! But hey, if it fails, I'll just change it up for the next day. No biggie, right? ... Haha.
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