KLB - From Good to Bad to Ugly


Today started great. I skipped off to work looking forward to teaching the kids. Then of course, no sooner did I arrive then Cathy started annoying me again. At 9:55 she started class.

"Cathy, I will start class today. I'm early. Just sit down."

She said OK, but then a moment later continued to start the class. "Take out your books! Hurry! Take out you pencils. Hurry. Hurry!!!"

Later, as I was teaching, she kept zipping around the room fixing the kids' postures and scolding the poor runts over every minor infraction. I asked her to sit down again, and she said "No, that's OK. I'm fine."

I looked at today's lesson in the new book and all it said was: "Page 25-26, story." On the page is a long story about "wants versus needs" that even my C class would not understand. The next page consists of questions that ask things like, and I'm not kidding, "What is the main idea of the passage?" This is what I'm supposed to teach to 6 and 7 year old Korean kids for 2 hours. Forget it. As usual I passed over the new book and went back to English Time, an appropriate book for teaching English to Korean kids, and phonics. I could already see Cathy getting nervous as I did this.

Then, once again, the agency boss popped in. Every other damn day somebody is coming in the room to watch me...the principal, a parent, the agency, it's ridiculous. Why not just put a camera in there and hook it up to the internet so everyone can watch?

It probably wouldn't bother - actually nothing would bother me if Cathy wasn't my assistant, to be honest.

After the ten minute break, Bonnie, the agency woman, took me aside. Rather than say anything like, "Wow, good job," or whatever (I mean, I had these kids dancing on their toes for her) she says, "Shawn. I have to talk to you. We are so behind."

"We?" I replied.

"Yes, this includes me and Cathy. We're all a team."

"You and Cathy are behind? I don't know what you mean."

"With the books we are so behind."

"No we're not. Can you be specific? Show me exactly where were behind."

"I know we're behind. I read the weekly reports and talk to Cathy."

So, Cathy also doubles as a spy and reports everything back to Connie about how I haven't been teaching the book enough and spend too much time on phonics (is that possible?) and English Time. I started to get pretty defensive and I couldn't hold back: "You come here at random times unannounced and you think you know everything that's going on. We're not behind. I can't always teach that book because it's too hard for the kids. However, I think we're doing a great job. These kids are so much better than back in September."

Sensing my anger, she immediately backed off and started to say, "Yes, yes, everything's fine don't worry, I'm not complaining." Then she goes on to say how she wants me to teach there all year because the school really likes me and nobody wants me to quit in March. As we were talking so long, Cathy was forced to teach. You think she could just do that? No. Five minutes later she taps Bonnie on the back and points at the clock, saying I have to go back to teaching! UGH! Bonnie agreed.

So then all that just put me in a pissed off mood in front of the kids. I couldn't even focus on what I was teaching. Meanwhile Cathy and Bonnie stood in the back watching me.

Isn't it right that too many chefs spoil the soup? I want them to just leave me alone and let me teach for crying out loud. I think I will have to quit in March after all - but for the wrong reasons!

KLB - Reader Mail



I've been getting a lot more mail than usual lately for some reason and have been having a hard time keeping up with replying. Sorry if I have been short with a few of you. Please know that I do read and appreciate everyone's email. I thought I would let you take a look at some recent mail:


1.
Dear Shawn,

I've already decided that I'm secretly in love with you. Your apparent love of Radiohead already means that you're a decent human being. Well, actually--I'm being highly dramatic b/c it's sometimes hilarious to do that (but only if people don't take you seriously). but, in any case--I someday dream about spanking your immensely cute bum. hahahaaa!

grain of salt, my friend.... grain of salt.

okay, so a few things. Firstly--you should log onto friendster.com and check out my profile under "Sumi." I don't want to continue enumerating things on my (most likely) irrelevant list of things I'd like to imagine that you would actually check out. So, these are in random order.... Yes, kimchi is highly addictive and yes--its chock full of lovely sodium. However, unless you have some sort of rare allergy or condition, it won't really effect you--save for the occasional pummeling to your bloated ddonk-bae by Julie (she rocks). You should check out "The Man Who Ate Everything" by Jeffery Steingarten. I'm a foodie at heart. I graduated from the French Culinary Institute in SoHo and worked at 'cesca for a few months on the upper west side. My passion for food is only slightly overshadowed by my love of writing and art and film. I'll be starting my program at the NY Film Academy in February. yay! =) Of course, nothing is really more powerful than a food craving--except when you want to spank someone. hard. with a truly professional-like flicker of the wrist. deft. quick. lovely. that might prove to be more urgent. I would also like for you to watch the movie, "Tampopo," by Juzo Itami. Simply Amazing. One of my most favorite movies. Its about his social commentary about the Japanese culture of food. food as sex, competition, sport, excess, family, power and control, class structure, taboo, etc., etc., etc. And yes, I own "The Way Home." bought it last year. It's a beautiful story--even more beautifully filmed and performed. glad to know that you could appreciate it for being more than, "that's cute."

alright, I can already see that you're starting to back away from this email--hands up--palms out...tiptoeing ever so slowly out the door. well--STOP! I know you want to read more. At least, let's pretend that you do.

I don't like all of the pictures of Korean girls draped over cars, dancing the hoochie-mama in the middle of the street in sweet, sunny moments of the day, and whatever else they do. It truly makes me feel the deepest pang in the heaviest part of my heart. unexplainable horror and sadness fill my emotions and I'm left profoundly disgusted. I can't help my pity. I don't want to pity them, but--understanding the superficiality of the Korean community supercedes my desperate attempts to dissuade these notions of radical feminist female-empowerment. I don't believe that these girls just don't have the same sort of strength that girls in the same type of profession might be able to attain here. They just don't have the guts and balls and, I'm sure, don't see the glory in possessing something powerful and special in their "femaleness." I can only hope that there are exceptions--that I'm totally wrong--that the sometimes-alienating, often-crude, coarse and harsh nature of Korean opinion will possibly change sometime soon. I try not to see these girls as weak. But, being born into even a Korean-American family, as a girl, with female genitalia, and all of the Korean (men's) connotations associated with that...it's extremely hard not to. Even so, my optimism persists through my dissonance. I'm SURE it's really not as bad as I'm perceiving it to be at the moment. I can recognize that Korean feminism has come a long way. But, not neeeearly enough to make me feel comfortable. Neither has their relationship to American GIs...but that's an entirely different chapter I don't want to get into right now. sad.

your friend don is cool as all hell. I know you already know this. but I had to give the man his due respect. the only way to do that was to mention it to you. he's a keeper. it's so nice to hear that there are still lots of decent people out there. I've been through a lot (but who hasn't?), and seen a lot for my time...but I can't help but remark on the good nature that kind people inherently possess. I'd like to think of myself as one of these people. At the same time, I think it somewhat odd and strange for me to make a donation to your cause...for the moment anyway. I'm not exactly sure what this correspondence will bring me, you understand, as it is my very first time writing you. I don't really have expectations. If anything, this email might just be a sounding board for me. Although, I hate the thought of using a stranger to do this. I hope you don't think that this is my intention. I hope you are not offended, but I doubt that your good nature would actually allow this. Even so, my constantly self-deprecating nature makes it necessary for me to apologize to you in advance.

I love the photographer side of you. The sheer volume of food pictures is enough to get me off, but I also admire the observations that you make. your open cupboard. the beggar. the ajummas sitting on crates. your friends (eating or drinking things). the silkworms in the box on the back of the moped(retch!) your students and their crazy lessons and homework and artwork.

um. as a professional in the food industry...? buying meat off the TV makes me cringe. but then again, Koreans are obsessed with Spam. We Americans introduced Spam to Korea in the 50's when the war was starving everybody. Koreans are obsessed with salt. Koreans like excess fat in their meat. Koreans love "meat." Koreans have an addictive nature. I think that's why Spam is so much more popular in Korea than in other (mostly) Asian populations. The Hawaiians hold the trophy in Spam addiction. But then again, there are lots of Korean-Hawaiians. In any case--my mommy used to make me Spam and kimchi bokkeum-bap with fried eggs. mmmmmmm!!!!! yes, I'll savor raw Malpeque oysters swimming in a vodka "mignonette," served up in a martini glass and toast with a glass of lovely Chateau Margot...but oooohhHHH GOOOOOD!!! you must try this. lawdy, lawdy! Lawd, have mercy! Hallelujah. Amen. but then again, you probably know about both of these little tidbits I'm attempting to share with you.

mmmmmm.... nummy nummy num nums in my tummy tummy tum tums!! =) heeeeeee....!

eeeeewie. I just read your Nov. 21. ddong-chim is foul, vile, and should never be done or mentioned ever again. but in any case, I thought this to be directly correlated to my feelings on Korean mens' scewed mindset when it comes to women. now. no more. sssshhh!

the pictures of the terrible conditions of those computer game addicted boys were very painful. It's strange how Korean parents would ignore and dismiss that as either nothing or as "laziness," or being "bad," instead of a true cry for help. hm....

anyway, I want to have a drink with you at the ugly bar! I want to see what's inside. =) but, of course, I would need to take at least and hour and a half to doll myself up. yes, I'm that self-conscious and self-deprecating. am I'm such a girly-girl! in a very robust, healthy, sunny American sort of way. not in that waifish, ghostly white, "I'm too weak and slightly anemic" sort of strict Korean way. but in any case--my point is that I'd still be self-conscious...even at the Ugly Bar.

you should buy me a "Pama" Puma-rip off shirt. I would totally pee myself. okay--so there really wouldn't be damp denim involved b/c that's a horrible idea. but--it's freaking hilarious. halmunnee's are obsessed with black pama/Korean Gerry-curl. I don't get it.


okay. what-heifer! <---- That's the former valley girl in me. I was born and raised in Southern California LA/Orange County. I'm one of those rare Koreans that actually doesn't really like to live there. Except for Santa Cruz or San Francisco--Northern Cali.

in any case. the truth is you probably don't care, and probably won't read this. I must admit--I stopped reading after a while, but read off a decent chunk of your blog. I took my time in studying the pictures.

So, I just wanted to thank you. I enjoyed it. =)

Sincerely,

Sumi


2.
I've been reading your blog and it's so interesting. My latest 'obssession' is korea and your blog certainly keeps my appetite satisfied. :) I want to be an english teacher there but i'm not taking up educations...too bad. I'm taking up Communication Arts and i'm hoping to get a few units in education so maybe i could venture into teaching. I just think korea is soooo cool! :) i'm even self-studying the korean language. i can write and read (very slowly) korean writing but of course, i don't know what it all means. :) plese continue writing about korea okay? oh and i read that you've been to the philippines. i live there. :) it might not be the greatest country but gotta love what you have right? :) i'm a fan! :)


Love Lots,
Acel

3.
Hello Shawn and Julie,

As a semi-regular reader of your Korealife blog, I was
amazed to do a Google search today on "Malamute +
Seoul" and have your website come up.... so now I am
kicking myself that I was not a more regular reader...

Anyway, long story short, but still a long shot.... my
partner and I are Malamute lovers and would be more
than willing to take in any Malamute rescue
puppy/dog... so, if you are ever in a similar
situation, or know of someone who wants to "get rid"
of a suddenly-very-large-and-not-so-cute-and-fluffy
Malamute, please feel free to contact me and we will
happily take in a new family member. We have a good
house and small but reasonable yard here in Seoul, and
will be moving back to the more open space of
Australia in early 2006.

As I said, I realise that your September Malamute
encounter was probably a one-in-a-million chance
already, but hey... if there is a Malamute out there
in Seoul looking for a loving home, we want to know
about it!! We have already (in Australia) "rescued"
two Malamutes, both of which have sadly passed on
since (cancer, and snakebite). We have been holding
off getting another Mooty until we got back to
Australia, mainly because we figured that the city of
Seoul was not a place to raise a big dog BUT - if our
current place could still offer a Moot a more
comfortable existance, then we would love to have
another fluffy addition to the family.

Thank you for your time in reading this email - I
realise this must seem a bit excessive, given that you
have only posted a few cute photos on your site, and
almost six months ago at that... but anyway, if there
is even the slightest chance that a Malamute will find
a better home out of this email, it will be worth it.

I greatly enjoy reading the Korealife blog and will
certainly continue to check back even after our return
home - best wishes and, please, keep posting!

Kind regards,
Sian


4.
Hi there Shawn!

I'm guessing that you've heard this before, but thank you for posting
your life in Korea online. I've been looking to begin some sort of a
career in ESL in Asia for a while now and you have been a great
inspiration to me. I've just finished reading your entire online blog
today and am seriously considering ordering one of your books. Your
adventures(or is it misadventures?) have been enlightening,
educational and entertaining for me. Thank you for spending the time
that you do posting your life for the world to see. I mean that.

I'm currently in the process of finding my own teaching job in Korea.
As is the case with so many others(it seems), I've decided to start my
own blog. It's mainly for my family and friends to see what I'm
doing, but also to put my experiences on the internet for others to
possibly read in the same way that you have posted your life online
for others. If you're at all curious, the URL is
www.mrcheslock.blogspot.com. Of course, this e-mail isn't meant to
promote myself to you, but to thank you so much for what you have done
for me.


Thanks for all that you've done, whether you know it or not,


Blake


5.
Just a note to say I enjoy your blog. I'm thinking about teaching in
Korea and your site is invaluable. Whether I do or don't come to Korea,
though, KLB is a great way to learn about Korean culture.

Nelson
Skowhegan, ME

PS. Coincidentally, I went to school in Syracuse, so I know well the
upstate NY area that you mention occasionally.


6.
Dear Shawn:

Just finished reading your book, I loved it. I read it cover to cover in three days. It brought back a lot of great and not so great memories of my time in Korea.

Once again, great job and I look forward to the sequel!

Ian

My favorite quote from the entire book:

" I took a deep breath and a sip of the hot coffee. A whole world of mystery lay before me, and this was just the beginning. I couldn't remember the last time I felt so excited to face a new day."

A lot of the stuggles people have is that they don't do enough to inspire these types of feelings. They become trapped, bitter and angry at those around them. My mom can't understand why I like change so much...I should share this passage with her and then she'd know. Keep up the great work Shawn and thanks for making me feel good about my Korea experience all over again!

Ian


7. (This one is quite funny...)
Hello shawn Mathews,

The first thing I must say is thank you. I found your web page to be extremely informative! I'm planning on taking a trip to makati city. Possibly sometime in may. I will be travelling alone as you did. Except I will be meeting a girlfriend of mine that lives there. I only know her through communicating on the internet from a dating site called asianeuro.com. I am trying to be as careful as possible. So I have been learning as much about her and about where she lives as possible. If you could please, I would like to get your taxi drivers phone# and the # of any other nice taxi driver that you have used. Also if you have any safety tips for me it would be greatly appreciated. I origanally grew up in new york all my life , but now I live in the southern part of jersey. So I think I wouldn't feel to bad being in makati. It reminds me of a bad part of brooklyn were many times I was the only white guy in a 8 mile radius.

I'm curiuos to know, What was the name of the girl on the right in your picture that you were interested in. The reason I ask is because she has a striking resemblance to the girl that I am going to see in may. Also what freaked me out was the fact that the girl that I am speaking to also has a contract with a promoter in japan. And this promoter provides her with a visa and she has also mentioned to me that she has done group performance dancing there as well. Also, What type of enternaining job did this girl have over in japan?

Sincerely,
Shane carlson


8.
I stumbled upon your blog and thought it was very interesting... How long have you been in Korea? I always found the summer seasons there really irritating. Too hot, humid and full of mosquitoes, too. But it's good to know that you are having a good time there. I've heard from couple of friends who visited Japan that the students there do the weirdest things to teachers... like a thing called "Kachou" which is putting your fingers against each other and direct them into someone's anus... And it's also weird to see how many people seem to have weird/demented ideas towards foreigners... like "they smell like meat" (popular Japanese myth, I hear) or they are sex-crazed maniacs like you mentioned... one of the arguments I've even heard was that these "foreigners" have a differnet hormone altogether... Go figure... I don't know about those kids, but when I myself was there, I remember that lots of the kids had a pretty good impression about foreigners... They didn't have any of those weird ideas, haha. Well, wish you a happy new year in Korea, though it's very late... haha, it was fun reading your entries.

Sincerely,
Joseph

KLB - Still Alive


Sorry for a lack of updates lately. I crashed the new computer pretty badly after doing something stupid (installing drivers from a disk that was only needed for Windows 98). Then I just compounded the problem by forgetting how to boot in "safe mode" (pressing F8 during start-up) and deciding to reinstall Windows. Somehow, when I reinstalled Windows, the other copy of Windows was still there. Basically everything was screwed up, but I managed to get to the old files and back them up before doing another install. Now everything is back to normal, but it took a few days to get it that way.

In other computer related news, I bought an external DVD-RW drive in Yongsan. Actually it's an internal DVD-RW drive inside an external case. It's pretty nice. I've already burned a bunch of DVDs and Xbox games from bit torrent files. Man this is a great service: Torrent Spy. If you don't know what to do, you can start by installing this cool and easy to use client: Azureus. Of course, if you enjoy the DVDs and games you should buy them immediately. Being in Korea, it's nice to be able to download whole seasons TV shows like CSI from back home and watch them on the DVD player for free.

We don't actually have an Xbox yet, but we will be buying one in the near future. I'm still contemplating whether or not we should get one, because I know how much time will be wasted. However, I waste time on the computer every day anyway, so what's the difference. I'm dying to play Rocky Legends, the coolest boxing game ever and a few others like Tiger Woods 2005, Star Wars KOTOR2, just to name a couple of the ones I've burned. I hope they work. If not, I understand that in Yongsan, when you buy the Xbox and mod-chip, you can pay 3,000 won for each copied games they install on your machine.


I finished 3 of 4 weeks of the long schedule at work. It started getting stressful this week. Not because of the teaching, but because of you-know-who being so serious and trying to control everything as usual. Oh, well. Only one more week, and then we have a week off for vacation - Chinese New Year. Julie does too. We're going to stay in a rented house called a "pension" in the countryside and relax. No computer, no internet, no TV, no noise, no nothing for a change. Fresh air and barbecue. I will try to get a camera by then, but I'm not sure. Shopping for a camera is pain in the ass here and irksome when you know the same cameras are so much cheaper in the states. Ideally I'd like a camera that I can use to take photos and make short documentaties with - but I may just settle for a decent, small size digital and save for a video cam down the road.

After the vacation, I'll go back to 3 hours/day until March 10 when I have the option to quit. I may or may not quit depending on whether I can get a new assistant - one that makes copies and teaching materials, not roams around the room frowning and and monitoring every action. I'll be really sad to leave the kids. They are a great group.

Well, we're off the the cell phone store. I haven't been able to use my phone in over a week because I used up the credit and haven't had a chance to add more.

KLB - Lunch Blues


Coming off a pretty uneventful weekend. With this TV-out feature and wireless internet I've been pretty much watching movies whilst downloading new ones. As soon as I'm finished watching one, two more have finished downloading - and the vicious cycle continues. I've also been using Nero to back the ones I like up on disk, using the DVD encoder to make VCDs that will play back on our DVD player. You can even add your own custom menus, which is cool. Before starting Meet the Fockers, which I just burned for example, you see a picture kimchi in the background of the menu screen and chapter options. What a modern-day internet pirate I'm becoming! At least I won't be sued any time soon living in Korea I hope. I still think it's important to buy the movies or music that you really enjoy at least. Software, well - I'm sure I would never buy any software anyway, so I don't feel too badly about that.

Well, today started pretty badly but it turned out OK. I woke up on time, but for some reason it took me longer than usual to get out the door. When I was on the train, knowing I would be late, I got a message from Cathy that some Korean teacher from another program would be there at 10:00 to watch my classes all day. Great. I just love how at any given time, someone can come watch me, be it a parent, Bonnie from the agency, the principal (she comes in once a day!) and/or other teachers from other programs. I'm starting to get used to it though. It's not as bad I once thought.

In fact, it turned out I actually enjoyed showing off for this woman. I have all three long classes down to a science. I enjoy teaching them so much now that I lose track of time and have found myself teaching into break times without caring. The kids even moan and groan when it's time to stop. Even then, it's not much of a break for me. All the little girls swarm around my desk and ask me a zillion questions, or draw me on the board, or give me candy, etc. This is actually very weird for me. I have never had so much attention from kids at any hagwon. That I work in a public school, teach the same kids every day, and have such a good spirit while I teach, these things have made all the difference - though sometimes the constant attention drives me batty.

We've been getting along well, Cathy and I, as I've been saying - so much so that today I just laughed off her antics at lunch time. First of all, I asked her and the woman, Sun, who was watching me, if they wanted to eat lunch together. I didn't really want to (I like to relax quietly at lunchtime) but I thought I should ask. I think nobody understood me because they said yes, but then they kept sitting there. So I waited and then asked again. Cathy acted confused and said they had to stay there and talk. Another awkward moment of miscommunication before I hustled off.

I wandered around and ended up buying a sandwich from a bakery. It was relatively warm outside today so I sat down on a bench to eat. Well, Cathy and Sun had decided to eat out after all and had made their way to the restaurant where I usually eat. They were looking for me. When Cathy spotted me (the bench happened to be across from the restaurant) she came running outside saying I have to join them. "Hurry! It's too cold outside."

"No, no, I'm fine," I chirped. I really did just want to relax and eat alone and read the paper.

"No, you have to come in," she yelled from across the street.

"I'm fine, Cathy. It's no big deal. Enjoy your lunch! I bought a sandwich!"

"Shawn, no. You have to eat with us. Come here, please. We want."

"Um, Cathy, I have this sandwich. I'm fine."

"Please, Shawn, you have to come here." She was just unable to comprehend that I actually preferred to eat alone outside on a bench and maybe thought they had hurt my feelings - though trust me, they didn't.

"I'm fine, Cathy."

"Shawn! Come here, please! Don't do this."

Sigh. So, now I'm inside the restaurant with my thick, freshly made, egg-salad, ham-and-cheese sandwich, milk and newspaper, looking like an idiot to every Korean person inside the small place.

"Can I eat this here?" I said. It looked big and tasty and I was very hungry.

"Oh, no!" piped Cathy. It's cold out. You must to eat the hot food." (Koreans don't consider a sandwhich to be a meal, no matter how big and thick it is. That's why the Subway Sandwhich franchises usually do poorly in Korea).

"Well, I want the sandwhich, but OK, I guess. I looked at the menu and under intense pressure (everyone in the place seemed to be hanging on my order) I finally decided on kal gook su , a kind of tasty, piping hot Korean noodle soup which I had there before. As I waited, I realized it was already 12:15, and that lunch would end at 12:30. I also realized Cathy was eating just a 1,000 won (95 cent) roll of kimbap and nothing else.

"Cathy, you told me I can't eat my sandwich and I have to eat something hot, but you're eating kimbap."

"Yes," she said, not getting the connection. I think Sun did, as she kept chuckling. She was eating spicy tofu soup (sun dubu).

Again, I shrugged this off and chuckled myself. Well, the food didn't come out until 12:20, and it was boiling hot. I tried my best to eat quickly, but it was near impossible. You can see where this is going, right? Cathy starts chomping down the kimbap while checking the clock every 6 seconds. At 12:27 I had eaten about 1/3 of my food, but she and Sun had finished all of theirs. Like a punctual, mechanical robot, Cathy paid for the food and stood up and waited for me and Sun to do the same. Lunch time was over, to be sure. It was time to go teach again. Hut, two, three four. Sun followed suit immediately, of course. She's also Korean. I followed too, but much more reluctantly. What a waste of food! Also, I was damn hungry still. It takes a lot of energy to travel so far and teach all day. Argh I sighed as we left, wishing I had just been able to eat my egg sandwich in peace. The big, thick sandwich and milk went to waste.

Now it gets better. Walking back to the school, Cathy started mumbling in Korean that we have to hurry. Sun and I kept walking a regular pace. Perhaps we would be 15-30 seconds late. Then suddenly Cathy burst into a sprint, leaving us behind. She ran all the way to the building and up to the classroom. I just chuckled again and shook my head. "She's so worried about the time," I said to Sun.

"Almost all Korean teachers are like that," she said. And I guess that's the point of the matter. She's just the way and I have to accept it or drive myself nuts letting it bother me.

Upstairs Cathy was panting and yelling, "Time to study," to the kids, half of which hadn't arrived yet.

Class B was plain awesome. Sun was taken aback by how excited the students were in class. It really is amazing. Almost every kid (especially the girls) wave their arms about wildly in the air no matter what I ask. They are doing so well. About ten minutes before the end of class, one of the girls' parents came in to watch too. She sat in the back and kept laughing out loud as I asked kids questions like, "Do monkies eat kimchi chigae?" (answer "No they don't. They eat bananas.") etc. After class the woman told me in pretty decent English that she was curious why her daughter loves my class so much and that now she knows why. Sun heard this too. I was glad she was there. Now I'm sure she will tell "Bonnie" from the agency all this at the meeting they had to go to later in the day.

Just waiting for Julie to get home now. I've prepapred our dinner: tuna ssam - (tuna, garlic, kimchi, rice, chili pepper sauces and fresh leaves). After we eat, we're going to watch Meet the Fockers and a Sex and the City Season 3 episode.

KLB - Saturday Morning


Either I'm getting old or my job schedule has really set in. I keep falling asleep at 12 or 1 on Friday night and popping out of bed at 8:00 in the morning. It would be great if this were the middle of spring or fall, but this is winter and it's damn cold out lately and there's not a lot to do. Julie has to get up too, as she has to go in for some meetings today at her job. So, looks like I'll be sitting here using the computer until afternoon.

I had a great week at work. Probably the best week I've ever had. In other words, I had "the passion," as Cathy might say. It's been surprisingly fun teaching phonics and conversation and the kids are making so much progress. Students who knew basically nothing before are now able to recognize sounds and spell words thanks to me skipping the stupid new textbooks and opting to teach mainly phonics. Cathy seems to have calmed down too. A lot of the parents have been calling up or stopping by to tell us how much their kids (mostly the little girls) like the class. Plus I've been giving the kids strategic homework assignments where they have to go home and tell their mothers what they learned today and/or practice a conversation with them. The parent then has to sign their notebooks. Brilliant.

Last night Julie and I couldn't stop laughing as we watched Team America, which I downloaded off E-donkey. Great movie. I had wanted to see it in the theater, but I think because of the N. Korean /Kim Jong-il satire, it won't be released in Korea. I couldn't wait any longer.

The TV-out function on the computer is great. I never could get into movies (besides porn) on the computer before, and forget it when there are two people watching. But what do you do when you want to see something that takes too long to come to Korea (and not all films make it here)? Well, now I simply search for the file, click, wait a few hours (sometimes a few days for something obscure) for the file to complete, then plug the computer into the TV. Presto! DVD quality new releases with Dolby surround sound. Nice!

KLB - The Corporation




The Corporation. It's a three hour documentary about the darkside of your every day "friendly" corporation. If you haven't seen it, you should. Why? Because you know we live in a world of sickening corporate madnes, where enough is never enough...and you know that's bad, but you're not exactly sure why. Now you will learn why. Hopefully you believe you can make the world a better place by educating yourself, that is if you're not to the point of steely cynicism. I donated a little to their site and to these people and I also bought the book. The money supports independent film making and also various grassroots organizations.

KLB - Three for Three


Three days down, three good days. Been a great week so far. The kids were much better today (no snow) and Cathy hasn't bothered me. In fact she's been unusually helpful lately. She put together a nice phonics booklet for the kids, which they do for homework and then we review together.

It's weird that I find myself looking forward to going to work when I had dreaded this schedule so much. I had no idea that I actually like teaching, much less in the morning - something I haven't done in 4 years. Also, I find it even stranger I like these long classes. It takes a long time to teach phonics, and you need to do it every day. Already my students are able to read simple words. Whereas before they all failed the phonics tests, now they pass with flying colors. Today I tested them on vowel sounds. Every kid scored 100. That made me feel good.

After yesterday's scolding, Class C was perfect today. I had them play "charades" using the question "what am I doing?" I can't believe how much they got into that. One kid went a little overboard. He came to the front of the room and squatted like he was taking a dump. "What am I doing?" he grunted. After the laughter died down, I answered "You're losing stars!" And I erased two stars from his team's square on the board - which drew more laughter except, of course, from his teammates. Even though the charade was funny, it's best to cut that behavior off before the other students think it's OK to be crude.

It's such a good feeling to enjoy your job. I never knew that feeling before. That's why, even though I teach the same kids every day for nearly two hours each class, the time flies by. I think all of the experience I've had teaching in Korea has culminated to this point. Finally I can use my experience in an environment that is conducive to teaching/ learning rather than to making money - though there's still a little of that drawback; the kids parents do pay for this program. Even so, I have an opportunity to teach kids English, rather than a desire to hand out word-search puzzles and fantasize about a better life. Plus the money is great.

It occurred to me today that I wish I had this schedule every month for the same pay. If they offered that at this school, I'd take it in a second. Unfortunately, I go back to just 3 hours/day next month for regular pay (which isn't too bad either, but this is a lot better). We'll see. My contract technically expires at the end of February, but my visa, sponsored by the school, runs another 6 months after that. If there are no problems (the English program that was there before us flopped within a month) the school will renew with the agency and I can stay on. I'm not sure if I will, but if the agency offers me a salary instead of an hourly wage, I just may. It's going to be hard to say goodbye to these good kids.

KLB - Boring Day Boring Post



Just an average day in Korea. The kids were fun, though a bit noisy today due to the snow falling out the window, but not too bad. One of the little girls' mothers brought me and Cathy a couple of nice sandwhiches from the bakery (they don't have delis in Korea). Another girl's mother wrote us a letter in Korean about how much her daughter enjoys the class. That was cute.

Three of the older boys in class C were kind of annoying today. Again, I think the snow was to blame for the extra excitement. I kept them after school and after a sound scolding (man, I'm old) I made them clean the classroom, sharpen pencils, erase the board, etc. That's a typical punishment in Korea. Tomorrow they should be back to normal.

Back home, I picked up the cables to connect the computer to the TV. To try it out, I watched Farenheit 9-11, which I downloaded off P-P. Amazing quality. Even the surround sound works perfectly. Then I watched the only other thing I have on the computer (until I download more movies) some old episodes of the Smurfs. The quality of those is pretty poor. I'm going to order the first two DVDs (yes, they've already released another one) from Australia tonight, actually. I can't wait any longer. I need to see the Smurfs and I need to see them in style.




[Update]: I just finished talking to my mother. She's a master of making me feel ashamed of myself. Apparently my sister is having a hard time finacially (she's a single mother now with 2 kids - 1 being a baby), and asked me to help her out because she, my sister, is too proud to ask. I would feel stupid ordering Smurf DVDs after hearing that, so I'm sending my sister a few hundred bucks instead and also ordering her a surprise digital camera. This may sound generous, but it's a selfish gift. I'm dying to instantly see pics of the kids.

Julie's about to get home. She just called and said she's starving so I'll order a Dominoes Pizza as a surprise. She loves that pizza! I'm too full from those sandwhiches the student's mother gave me, but maybe I'll eat a piece too. Anyway, see you tomorrow.

KLB - Sleepy


Just stopping in to say goodnight. Tomorrow's a new day. I'm looking forward to waking up early (what the hell is happening to me?) and greeting the day, listening to Japanese lessons on the way to work, eating breakfast in Singil Station, etc. I actually enjoy the long commute these days. My first class is full of the cutest little kids. Then I get to eat a nice healthy lunch at a small Korean restaurant nearby while reading the paper. Then it's my favorite class, Class B, full of the cute, energetic little girls who love English (because of me, I'm sure). After that, one more class with the older kids who can understand quite a bit more and therefore are a little more interesting. For example, today we had a conversation about wants vs. needs (they got it backwards - they said they NEED a Playstation 2 and that they only WANT food and shelter). Then it will be back home on the train and more Japanese (been reviewing the past 30 lessons before moving on to lesson 61). Back home, I'll eat a decent little dinner, relax, watch CNN then workout for a while (tomorrow is arm curls). After that it's the computer until Julie gets home.

KLB - Barbaric Teacher


I had a pretty good day today. Even though I didn't sleep much, I woke up early and felt fine. I zipped to work and was in a good mood and decided to take a positive approach to Cathy and teaching. Cathy seemed also in a good mood, though she had some things to say about the recent foreigner scandal. (Click the link to read the best and most recent information by the Marmot). Actually, I brought it up. I could almost see her thinking about it. I wanted to clear the air that I am not one of those crazy sex-addicted barbarians the Korean newspapers and netizens have been in an uproar about. She said she was shocked about the matter and "I didn't know about foreigners bad things before I read about that." Hey, come on! We're not all maniacal, sex-crazy freaks (or super lucky bastards, depending on your interpretation) like the guy in this pic:





I did the best I could to explain that not all foreigners are "bad" people (though God knows there are a lot of idiots here). I mean, take me for example. I'm pretty normal. I shave every day and dress decently. I don't have tattoos of Satan or tribal-rings in my nose. She does think I'm a good teacher all in all, despite our difference, because the kids adore me and are really happy, but I bet she's secretly wary of me now. And, just to be on the smart side, I will be keeping a safe physical distance from the children.

With that out of the way, the kids were great, as usual. Our new seating system is working wonders. If any of you teachers want to know a really effective way of managing your class try what we're doing. We have the kids in 4 groups. Each group has low level and high level students in it.

So, there are teams A, B, C, D. Each team gets a square on the whiteboard. When someone in the team does something good, such as answers a question right, or scores high on a test, they get a star (you draw them in the boxes). If they do something bad, such as come to class late, fail a test, or speak Korean, you subtract stars. This system puts effective pressure on the underachievers and/or trouble makers as the teams go crazy for stars. At the end of the day you count the stars for each group. Five (or however many you decided) equals one sticker for each kid in that group. The stickers are nothing more then small colored dots that they put on their sticker scoreboards. See this post. Eventually, when a student gets enough stickers, say thirty, he/she gets a small, inexpensive gift (such as a box of kids pencils or some crayons).

As a result, it's been a lot of fun for me to teach them lately as they are so excited about getting stickers. Also, their behavior is near perfect. Not that they were bad before, but now there is a real consequence to the "minus one point (now star)" routine - they're teammates will get angry and they won't get stickers.

Also, since the new book is terrible and Cathy now agrees, we don't really use it much and have been solely teaching phonics in class A and B and using the handy English Time 3 book in class C (sang a great song today about a kid who won't clean his bedroom). It's easy to make phonics fun for them now in these groups. If the learn the sounds and can read the words, their team gets a lot of stars...so they do they best to learn them and participate.

Well, I was about to go on writing but, I feel the tingle coming on. Within moments I will turn back into being an dirty, crazy, sex-addicted, barbaric foreigner for the rest of the evening. Rarrrrhhhh!

Speaking of that, I wonder if I got so many hits yesterday (nearly 3000) as a result of that scandal. I bet, since I was able to find the majority of the hits were coming from within Korea and a lot of people were searching the archives, that Koreans were checking foreigner blogs to see if they could dig up more fuel for the fire. Either that or people just wanted to see what I thought of the matter. I didn't realize it was such a big deal until the big discussion forum actually banned any threads about the matter and, more importantly, my favorite ajumma in Singil station gave me the cold shoulder today when I bought my usual sandwich.

As far as those checking up on my blog, I bet they were disappointed to see I'm just a (fairly) normal guy living a routine life and not writing about my sexual escapades...the hit count for today has returned to normal and nobody bought my book (maybe I should rename it Island of Foreigners Who Sleep With Korean Girls). All I can say is John was smart and lucky to pull the plug on his site when he did.

KLB - Smurfs on the Subway


La la lala la la, la lala la la. The smurfs are riding the train. Don't ask anyone me why. According to the short article, nobody has any idea.

[Update]: According to this page, the Smurfs are riding the subways in an effort to get people to read books during their commute. That is the coolest thing I've ever seen and a great idea. So many people sit on the train for an hour to work and stare into space.

It really is a great chance to read. I used to read the newspaper, but that wasn't very productful, so now I study Japanese on my headphones. It's amazing what you can accomplish with that time. I've done 60, 30 minute lessons in just about a month (sure wish Pimsleur made the series like this for Korean). Sure, some of you may think learning Japanese isn't very useful while living in Korea, but it's something unique and interesting to me - since, unlike Korean, I can actually pronounce it, and it's better than staring at commuters all that time.

KLB - Quick Stat Report


If anyone is curious about KLB stats:

Day Date PageLoads UniqueVisitors

Sunday 16th January 2005 2,878 2111
Saturday 15th January 2005 1,490 1075
Friday 14th January 2005 1,369 1056
Thursday 13th January 2005 1,512 946
Wednesday 12th January 2005 1,594 999
Tuesday 11th January 2005 1,604 1005
Monday 10th January 2005 1,334 981


Seem to have gotten a lot of hits today, 2,878. Unfortunately, the free service I use for tracking only reports the last 10 referrals, so I'm not sure where everyone's coming from.

The lowest number of hits for 2004 was 553 on Christmas.

KLB - Inconsequential BS


I felt somewhat better after lunch. It helps to write down how you feel. I kept telling myself on the way back to the classroom that I only have to do this for three more weeks, then it's back to the normal schedule for less than a month and that's that. I'll never have to work with her again.

As I've mentioned numerous times now, it's really a shame. Even with the long classes, teaching the kids is a lot of fun. This must be the first job in my life I've actually liked. Certainly the first teaching job. All the kids are wonderful - really - and we have a great relationship. I have no discipline problems. I have at least 10 adorable little girls that are in love with me. That's a lot considering at my past jobs hardly any of the kids even liked me that much. That was because the miserable systems made me a miserable teacher and therefore nowhere near as motivated and energetic as I am now.

I really enjoy teaching these kids and they genuinely enjoy my class. They have learned and are learning a lot. It's too bad all the other people involved take away from that. It's not just Cathy either. She's deeply Korean and has been thoroughly brainwashed into kissing everyone's ass, and that ass-kissing is expected of her. This way of life is so embedded in her consciousness that she literally can't comprehend not working hard. That is why such things as me being a few minutes late (and not rushing through the door full of apologies) or reading the paper during break-time (instead of preparing something) shocks her.

That reminds me. Yesterday, Sahan, a little girl who can't leave me alone and asks me a zillion questions everyday, gave me a box of peppero sticks (chocolate crackers). While the kids were taking a test, I ate one. I really thought nothing of this, actually. Cathy was standing next to me, at the whiteboard, watching the kids (I told you she never sits down). Somebody walked by and looked in the window and kept walking. Cathy flipped. "Oh, my God! So many people walking by our room and looking in here."

"What? Really? Who?"

"The guy from the computer room, another teacher, sometimes parents."

"Oh," I said, chomping down the peppero stick. "That's OK."

"So, we have to worry about that."

I looked at her curiously. "I really don't get it, Cathy. Why are we worrying?" (chomp chomp)

"So, we (and I'm sure she's only referring to me) can't looking at cell phone, reading the newspaper or eating."

Now, she's the only one who uses the phone during class - to call the parents. We have cake and snack parties once a month where all the kids eat junk food during class. And I never read the newspaper except on breaks. I don't even keep it on the desk anymore, just to appease her.

"Cathy, you worry too much."

"But we have to worry about that."

I thought about it for a minute, still eating the peppero sticks - not smugly or arrogantly, just eating them like normal. They were very good, by the way. Thanks, Sahan! "OK, Cathy. I think I see what you mean. Whenever someone looks in the window, it looks like we're not doing anything, right?"

"It's make me worried."

"Well, Cathy. I'm sorry, but I'm just not worried about that at all. These kids speak English because of us and we're doing a good job."

"But we have to worry about others thinking. We can lose our jobs."

"What? We're going to get fired because I'm eating a peppero stick?"

"No, but if too many complaints about us."

"Wait a minute. Has somebody complained about us?"

"No."

"Then stop worrying about it."

So I realized that's part of why she's so diligent and busy. It's not because she genuinely cares about professionalism (if she did she might wear something besides jeans, a sweatshirt and those workboots she still wears). She's afraid of possibly looking bad to others and/or losing her job. That's awful, I think, for a teacher. Teachers should only have to worry about their students, not anyone/anything else.

As for me, I've never cared about getting fired (and amazingly I never have been) and I'm never going to worry about it either. If I lose my job, for me, that means I will have some time off to enjoy. When the time comes, if I run out of money, I will get another job. I have no fear of starving to death or living on the street. Let me quote Henry Miller:

"...it wasn't optimism, it was the deep realization that, even though the world was busy digging its grave, there was still time to enjoy life, to be merry, carefree, to work or not to work." (Quiet Days in Clichy)

I'm not about to teach for people who might be looking in the window, either. If a parent walks by at a less than idealistic time, that's just too bad. Go and complain to the principal. Well, guess what, I've been doing a terrific job teaching your kid how to speak English and it's a damn pity that you think otherwise because at some random time you popped your face in the window and there I was eating a cracker, God forbid.


Today I casually mentioned to Cathy that I need a new black marker. She scuttled out of the room and was back in 2 minutes huffing and panting, waving the marker in the air. After handing it to me, she leaned against the board to catch her breath.

"Why did you run?" I asked her.

(out of breath) "Because you need marker."

"Don't do that, Cathy. It makes me feel bad."

These are the kind of cultural differences that make these American-Korean team teaching programs usually end up a disaster. Take a closer look. Cathy thought that by hurrying, she was doing a good job and that she is expected to hurry. On the other hand, I felt uncomfortable and awkward that she hurried so fast. What am I supposed to say while she's gasping for air and handing me the marker? - "Wow, thanks for hurrying. You're so helpful." That just encourages the madness. But my reaction wasn't appropriate either. I simply confused her and made her feel bad, I'm sure.

Well, enough about this. It's Friday and time to put work out of my mind for the weekend.

KLB - Human Robot


I'm at work. It's break time. As I write, the human robot, known as Cathy, is inside the classroom working diligently. She never stops. She never relaxes. She is nuts.

At exactly 10:00 to the second, she started class today. Every day at 10:00 to the second, she calls attendance then makes the kids say, "Hello, Shawn Teacher, how are you?" At that point, she makes them be quiet and then walks away while telling me they are ready to study now. "Yes, I can see that Cathy," I say. And I want to go on to say, "Unfortunately, I'm not ready yet. I just traveled for 90 minutes to get here, can you just calm down and let me relax before I jump into teaching for two hours? Some of the kids aren't even here yet." Instead I just sigh and ignore her and an awkward silence fills the room as I fiddle and fumble to get ready.

Everything is exact with her. She times the 10 minute breaks on her watch. As soon as those ten minutes are up, she starts class again - whether I'm ready or not. Yesterday I ran off for lunch to a small restaurant. The restaurant was busy and it took awhile for my food to come out. I was exactly 2 minutes late coming back. Cathy had started the class and was standing there at the front board, the students dead quiet, waiting for me. When I came in she said, "OK, kids, Shawn teacher is here. Time to study." I hadn't even removed my jacket. I almost erupted, really, but somehow I calmed down. However, I told her from now on not to start class until I come back from lunch.

There would be no problem if she just relaxed a little and stopped worrying about everything. She's my assistant, but you wouldn't know it the way she tries to control everything, including me. Agh! Here she is now, with that angry look on her face, telling me it's time to teach. Ugh. More to come later.

I'm back. Now it's lunch time. I'm eating a sandwich, but I need to vent more. After the break, I reviewed today's phonics again and then we played team-bingo. Each of the four teams gets a bingo card with the letters on it. Then I say the sound and they put a chip on the appropriate letter. Great. Fun. It's Friday. Let's have fun and play this for the rest of the class (30 minutes), I thought. The kids were loving it, because they could rack up the plus points towards stickers with every bingo. It was a lot of fun.

Well, I was about to play the 3rd round when Cathy, lo and behold, interrupted me and said I have to teach the book now. I saw red. I took several deeps breaths, but I still couldn't hold back the rage. "Cathy, it's Friday. The kids have done very well this week and it's game time, OK." I mean, come on, these poor kids have to study English 2 hours a day during their winter vacation now and then rush off to hagwons and whatnot afterward.

"But you have to teach the book. When do you teach that?" She walked over and found the book syllabus on my desk. "See," she said and pointed.

(By the way, the new book is a joke - it's basically a bound collection of printed worksheets from the web with very little thought to continuity or ability levels of the kids, so I've been teaching what's important - phonics phonic phonics and more phonics instead).

Yes, there it is, page 75, conversation time. I sneer and turn to page 75 (while the students are watching this interaction) and see: "I'm hungry. Can I have a hamburger please?" For crying out loud, I didn't want to stop the game to teach that for 10 minutes - but I also didn't know what to say to her without exploding. So, I stopped the fun game, on Friday, after having studied almost two hours, and made the kids repeat that stupid bit of dialogue over and over and...

Well, lunch time is over. I'd better hurry back to Cathy's classroom, lest she get upset I'm late.

KLB - Apple

Had this come out just a few days earlier, I may have held off on buying the laptop. This is just a really cool deal. You can also plug it into a PC monitor.
Who knows, at that price I still may consider getting one down the road. I've always missed the iBook I used to have.

Julie has wanted a Mac for ages but always considered them too expensive (especially in Korea), but maybe now she will get one...hehe, and I can use it when she's not here!



I do know I will be finally buying an iPod! I had been waiting for them to come out with one for around $100 and they have. I mean, being able to store 4000 songs would be nice, or 2000, but to be honest I only listen to around 100 songs on a regular basis and have no need for that much storage. This deal is perfect. Hope it arrives in Korea soon.



By the way, you can visit the apple store in Korea here: Apple Korea. They have a store in Technomart and in Yongsan. I believe they also have one somewhere in the labrynth of the massive Coex shopping center.

KLB - Shocking Revelation


In case you haven't read my book, my mother and grandfather live together. My grandfather is quite the chef and takes a lot of pride in his "American style" cooking - usually some form of meat and potatoes. When I went home the last time (over a year and a half ago) he got a little offensive and possibly hurt when I talked about how much I love Korean food, and especially when I cooked it. My mother, however, openly enjoyed it - except for a few things.

Anyway, my mother casually mentioned that they came back "again" from the Korean store yesterday (there are two in downtown Syracuse, NY) with several bags of groceries. Apparently, they've been sneaking down there on a regular basis. This is the first time my mom told me but she's been eating Kimchi mandu (dumplings) a few times a week since I make them for her and that my grandfather regularly uses rice wine, vinegar-oyster sauce and sesame seed oil which he buys there.

As my Mom was telling me this over Yahoo messenger, I couldn't stop laughing. This is just part of what she said:

"I love the sauces. Some of them are completely in Korean. Not even sure what they are really...it's all gobbly-gook and what they tell you in the store - by the way, they are a friendy bunch there and know us by name now."

My grandfather then came on and tried to cover up saying my mother's been making him go there because SHE loves all that food. But then my mom came back on and said my grandfather loves going there and really chats it up with the Korean ajumma that runs the place - and that he eats all the food too. I'm still laughing here.

KLB - Wireless


I bought the Averatec laptop computer I wanted but no camera yet. I may hold off on that for a bit. I really didn't expect to sell the Minolta so quickly, to be truthful. Then again, I didn't think I'd sell the computer that quickly either. However, the deals were fair and I have an advantage that I can advertise on my website.

The computer is pretty nice for the money. I'd take a picture of it but I have no camera, heh. I won't bore everyone about it anyway, but I will say that it has built in wireless. Now I can hang out at Starbucks across the street and look like a hip, post modern foreign intellectual (or just another pretentious schmuck). OK - here it is exactly for those who may be wondering. You can figure out the specs even if you can't read Korean. The only difference is we had the memory doubled.





We called our internet provider, KT, today and the guy came with the wireless modem. This service, called Nespot, costs the same ($30/month) as the regular DSL service and the speed is just as fast. I can't believe it really. The internet service in Korea is nothing short of amazing.

I felt kind of bad for the KT guy. He was having a bit of trouble with something and the English Windows version was making it more difficult. Also, Julie was at work and so he struggled (unnecessarily) to explain how to use the set-up. Actually, it was kind of ridiculous:

"This is power button," he said. (on computer)

"Um, really? I see."

"Computer on, light here."

"Great."

"Wireless internet button...um, uh, mmm, uh, push! - push on."

(how much more obvious can you get - the button clearly says wireless on/off)

"Computer boot now. Internet start. Password saved. Auto connect." (at this point it didn't connect because of the problem I mentioned he had. He spent the next 15 minutes mumbling to himself before figuring out. Then we went through all of the above conversation starting with "power button" again).

Anyway, it's not rocket science. I start the computer and poof, I'm connected wirelessly to the internet. Still, I thanked him for trying so hard to speak English for me.

This week started pretty well at the school. It's taking a bit of getting used to teaching for 100 minutes/class, but so far so good. Luckily I have mastered the art of teaching effectively by teaching slowly - so I can make limited resources last a long time. When I first started teaching in Korea I had no idea what I was doing and would nervously zip through 4-5 pages of a book in one class. The kids learned nothing that way, of course, and the book didn't last long enough. Now I can make even just one page last several days by employing a variety of teaching techniques with the material. Also, I've decided to start from scratch with the first two classes by teaching phonics so that everyone can read, not just 60-70% of them. I have mostly the same kids too, minus a handful and plus some new ones. The news kids are pretty good...not too bright but quiet anyway.

Cathy had to watch another class at another school on her day off last week. Though she was annoyed about that, she did come back with a few good ideas. As you know, I had been dreading working with her so long everyday, and conflict is bound to arise, but it really would be a lot harder without her there with the long classes. Her preseence does keep some of the kids, especially the younger ones, in line. I don't think I could control Class A for 2 hours by myself. She's even been teaching a bit, to my surprise - mostly games. She is really good at teaching games, to be truthful - though it helps that she can explain the directions in Korean, which she has been doing despite her nervousness. As long as she can help out a bit like that the month should go well. In any case, no matter how hard it may be, it's definitely worth the money for one month. It's like working a regular full time job but for twice the pay.

KLB - Sunday


I sold the camera last night as advertised to Willie G. Me John and Julie met him at Yongsan Station and we had dinner together. Yongsan Station is really nice. I should have taken some pics of it before selling the camera. There are a lot of unique foreign style restaurants there including Vietnamese and Thai.

Anyway, by the time we ate, the electronics stores were closed, so I didn't have a chance to shop - but it doesn't matter. The notebook computer I'm going to buy later today is available at the computer shop across the street from our building and also at Walmart. Same with the camera I've been looking at. We thought they both would be cheaper at Yongsan, but we checked there before and suprisingly the computer is the same and the camera is actually more expensive even with Julie's relentless pleads for a discount at several shops. So, we may as well buy them nearby in case we have a problem...

Well, we're off to the CGV theater in Hyundai Department store to see National Treasure. I should be online later tonight with at least the new laptop. See you then.

KLB - Deja-Dinner


This PC bang near my home is actually pretty nice. I guess it should be considering it's name: Luxury PC Bang. It has lightening fast computers with LCD screens, Windows XP (which means I can upload pictures by simply plugging in my card reader) a smoke free section (though it's still smoky) and free coffee. There's also a time-out lounge, which cracks me up. There's a sofa and a table where you can take a break and have food delivered (there's a guy eating Kimchi Chigae there now) while you watch movies on the giant flatscreen TV. Not only is the place that nice, it's also only 1,000 won (95 cents) an hour. All the other places around here stink, literally, and they're charging more. Anyway, I'll try to take a few pictures the next time I come. I remembered to bring the memory card and reader this time, but not the camera.

So, here are some pictures. I call them deja-dinner photos because I've eaten these meals recently and also posted pictures of them too. Why am I posting them again? Because there's just not a lot of new stuff going on these days. Also, I want to make people feel hungry.



I made spaghetti for Julie again. That's the usual bottle of wine that I cook with and like to put in the photos to romaticize them...3,000 won ($2.85) at Walmart.



Shh, don't tell Julie. She doesn't get home from work until 10PM nowadays and I have to eat without her. I hadn't been able to stop thinking about that dinner we had on Christmas Eve, so I cooked it up again (minus the shrimp at least.)



Julie really missed out. I felt guilty stuffing my face with all of this wonderful food without her. Also, in order to hide the evidence I had to eat everything including all that broccoli. In case you don't know it, broccoli is a famous fart food. So is milk, and I had a tall glass of it. Poor Julie...not only did she miss out on this great dinner, but she also had to endure an agonizing night of endless, unpleasant flatulence.



One of the great parts about living in Korea is that I rarely eat fast food anymore. When I lived in America, I ate burgers and fries and tacos and everything else on a daily basis. In Korea, you can still eat like that if you want. But there is an ever-abundant availability of cheap and healthy food. This is tuna kimbap. I bought this at the little bun shik jeom that opened in our building. The ajumma there loves me and Julie and she always loads up our food. It's hard to tell in the photo just how big and thick she made this for me but I was stuffed after I ate it. Price: 2,500 won ($2.25). Where else can you eat something that good, healthy and filling so cheap?


To be honest, I was shocked after watching Super Size Me, the documentary about the guy who eats at McDonald's three meals a day for a month. Julie was even more shocked. You should have seen her face when she saw how big some Americans are and how big all the food is (though I heard that McDonald's stopped super sizing food shortly after this documentary). And living here so long, I sometimes forget myself about those things until I go home for a visit and find myself stupified by all the fat people. Thanks in part to westernization, Asian people are also getting bigger. But thankfully the staple meal is rice and vegetables and the percentage of obesity is still very low. It makes me sad to see the endless McDonald's commercials on TV here and how they market to children. My advice (and I know you're dying for advice from me) is to stop eating fast food period. Especially for those of you in Korea - there's just no need for it. It really is just like eating garbage.

In other news, I received 5 more orders for my book yesterday and am about to go to the post office again. Whoo hoo! Thanks everyone.

KLB - Asian Blog Awards


Well, according to the host, voting has closed in the Asian Blog Awards. You can still vote, but the polls ended along with the last second of 2004 (HK time).

The system seemed more fair this year than in 2003 when non-English blogs were on the lists (I came in second to one) and when votes were only tracked using cookies, not IP address and could easily be manipulated. Though it appears I crushed the competition into rubble this year for Best Korean Blog, I will hold off on the celebration party (free beer and hot women for everyone - losers not included) until the official results are posted, but I would like to say thanks to everyone who voted for me.

I should point out that the main point of the awards isn't just to rub winning in the faces of all the pathetic losers (as much as it should be) as it is to give recognition to interesting blogs from this part of the world. I've found a few new ones myself because of it.

You can check Simon's World for the official results which should be posted within the next few days. In the meantime, I would like to personally thank Simon himself for taking the time to host the awards and congratulate him for taking the much deserved top spot for Best Designed Blog.

KLB - Stefan


John and I caught up over a pitcher of beer and anjou (different kinds of food you order with beer). He kept telling me not to worry about the subway train. "My friend left here at 12:30 last week and got home no problem." I left at a little after 11 and sure enough, when I got to Sindorim Station to transfer to line 1, I had missed the last train. Thanks, John!

As I was standing there on the platform scratching my head and cursing under my breath, a Korean guy, perhaps in his late 30s, told me in English, "The train is finished. No more train. We're out of luck." Then he asked me where I was going. It turns out he was also going to Songnae and that he even lives not too far from me.

This is one of the things I hate about having been raised in America. When this man suggested we'd get a cab together, my gut reaction was that he was either a homicidal maniac or a desperately lonely gay man yearning for tenderness, or both. Fortunately, after having lived in Korea for so long, I knew this was not entirely impossible but very unlikely. That he was wearing a suit and lugging a laptop helped too.

Knowing that taking a cab would be expensive, and that the last-train taxi vultures would swarm me as easy prey the second I walked outside, I agreed. Having a Korean man to negotiate would be helpful.

Well, the relentless vultures tried to swindle him too, saying that it would be 20,000 won (almost $20) for us both - a ripoff. As it turned out, the man (OK - later I found out his name was Stefan, so I can stop calling him "the man" now) was able to track down information about a bus that was still operating to our area. We got to the bus stop just in time to catch the last one, too. There was only one seat left and Stefan insisted I'd sit there.

Along the way to Songnae, I found out Stefan travels overseas often for his business. He studied Africanistics in Germany for two years (why? - I have no clue and even he himself didn't know for sure) and he can speak German. He listed off a bunch of countries he's visited and some memories of each one. My favorite was when he was in Greece and kept getting confused by yes and no head gestures which are the opposite of ours (shaking the head up and down means no in Greece) and he ended up in an argument with a waiter. I related the story of how I had to rewrite all the grduation awards yesterday because I wrote the kids names in red. Ho ho haha hee!

So, we finally arrived at Songnae Station and he hailed us a taxi for the rest of the trip. He had the driver drop me off at Walmart and refused to accept money before I departed. He gave me his business card, which has the name Stefan Park on it, Stefan being the name a friend of his gave him in Germany, and suggested we go out and get drunk soon.

This is one of the many things I like about living in Korea. Instead of fearing for my safety when approached by a stranger at night, (Americans usually don't trust anyone beyond small talk - and for good reason) I let down my guard and I made a friendl, interesting acquaintance. It's amazing how friendly and helpful Koreans can be at times. This man helped out a complete stranger for no other reason than to be kind and perhaps practice his English a bit. And he refused to take any money, of course - they never will let you pay, at least after a first meeting. All in all it was one of those very nice experiences that happen every once in awhile. Unfortunately, when I got out of the taxi, a different Korean guy was staggering drunk on the pavement ans hawking goobers.

Well, my hour online is up. I'm going outside to meet Julie at the bus stop. Last night I bought a copy of Supersize Me on DVD, the documentary about the guy who eats all his meals at McDonald's for 30 days. We'll probably watch that.

KLB - #$%@


I just wrote a long post about how nice it is not to waste my time using the computer at home anymore and about my day at work and how I ended up at this PC bang in Gangnam waiting for John to finish work. The post was great - and lenghthy. I was proud that I got everything done so quickly. Then, when I clicked on the "publish" button, Internet Explorer crashed and I lost it all.

I'll try to see how much I can retype before John shows up here.

Basically I was back to complaining about Cathy again. I'll just skip that, even though it was kind of funny, and go right to the part about the little girl who has a crush on me. Actually, my entire Class B, which is 90% girls, has a thing for me...maybe even the boys too. That class is full of the cutest kids. I wish every class could be like that. They are dead quiet but always raise their hands eagerly and speak very well. They seem to really love the class. I can't remember if I mentioned this before - how when Julie came to work with me one day, the girls were standoffish to her and downright rude - they refused to even say hi to her when I asked them to. It was sweet.

Today, another mother came in and told Cathy how much Maria likes me. That she always runs home after school and keeps talking about how funny I am and kind and handsome (she's the smartest kid in the class). Anyway, what I was saying was it surprised me how much that made me feel good. I know it's silly, but when I hear these things I feel warm and mushy. Looking back, all the teachers I had a crush on were the ones I really enjoyed learning from...and also the ones that had big boobs (that doesn't count Mr. B, my 8th grade Biology teacher).

Well, John's here. I guess I won't have time to get into how Cathy made me re-write all these stupid, corny, photocopied b/w "graduation awards" because I used a red pen to write the kids names (in Korea this is a no-no, something I totally forgot about. If you write a name in red, it means the person is marked to die). I pretty much forgave her for everything she's ever annoyed me about when she was telling me what Maria's mom said.

KLB - PC Bang


Well, I'm back in a PC room for the first time in about a year. Upon walking into the place I realized why I hate this. Dark, dreary, smoky, noisy. It's like using a computer at a bar but without the drinks. At least the internet is lightening quick.

As I said, I sold the computer. We met the buyer in Yongsan yesterday. He came by train from another city. It was kind fo an ironic meeting point, because right after I sold it to him, Julie and went looking at computers in the massive new electronics building connected to the station. I don't know how to describe that place to people who have never been in Korea. Just imagine the biggest electronics store you know of, say Best Buy, and then multiply that by 25. It's about the size of a Walmart, ewxcept it has 8 floors and is jam packed with the latest electronic goodies, specifically large flat screen TVs, cameras, mp3 players and 3 floors full of computers. And that's just the new building. Then there's the even larger older building next door, and several other smaller ones nearby and all the small shops around town.

It sounds great, but I don't enjoy shopping there. That's because all the sales people, especially if it's a slow day, surround you the moment you stop to look at anything. They do that pretty much everywhere in Korea, but especially in Yongsan. You'll be looking at notebook computers and a guy selling cameras will yell for your attention. Also, does anyone else find it strange that so many of those shops are selling the exact same things? There must be 100 places to buy the same Samsung LCD screens or notebook computers. That seems to be par for the course in Korea though. You will walk down the street and see 10 street vendors selling the exact same food right next to each other.

Anyway, I've decided to hold off on getting a new computer for the time being. I kind of like the idea of not being able to use the computer/internet at whim. Basically, I am a computer addict. I wake up and turn on the computer. I sometimes am late leaving for work because I lose track of time online. As soon as I come home from work, I get back on the computer. I sing songs in the shower about surfing the net.

We'll see how long this lasts but today I came home and simply relaxed. I watched the news (awful stories about that Tsunami) for awhile, made dinner for myself (Julie works until 9:30 these days) then studied Japanese and exercised (push-ups). Then I went for a walk and now I'm stopping here for an hour to do my computer things. I'll meet Julie when I leave here and we'll do a bit of shopping then I plan to read a book before going to bed. Then it's up again at dawn to meditate and write poetry and paint happy pictures of trees and birds. You know, maybe I should buy a computer again.

KLB - Food


A couple of small restaurants opened in the lobby of our building over the past few months. They're both really good. I'll have to get a picture of the sam gyeop sal/kimchi chigae place. Here's what we ordered from the other place, which is a bun shik jeom (meaning something like simple food restaurant).



It's a giant pork cutlet and rice, a fresh roll of kim bap, u-dong and some a few small side dishes including kimchi. All this, plenty for two people for a total of 6,000 won ($5.50) delivered piping hot to our door by the owner. Great!



Julie had a craving for spaghetti, so I'm in the process of making the sauce now. I usually start with a jar of sauce, then add in some stewed tomatos, a fresh tomato, garlic and the usual seasoning. There are some big chunks of mushroom in there, but they will boil down.

KLB - Happy New Year!


Happy New Year everybody! And what better way to celebrate the new year than by watching the Rambo Trilogy on DVD.














In other news, I sold my computer today. Not sure exactly when I will be getting a new one, so I will be using the computer at the PC rooms and at work in the interim.

I removed the "Cathy poll" as somebody with no life was manipulating the results all day by deleting cookies and voting repeatedly. Oh well...seems most people don't really care what I write about as long as it's something. Hopefully, though, I will have more exciting things to talk about in the new year.