KLB - No Alarms and No Surprises



Going on a week now without a single hassle at work. That must be some kind of record. The kids are great. Then again, I never have problems with them. My D-class students sound like native speakers now that they can speak in present and past tense. I have a lot of fun with them.

Came home and relaxed a bit, then went to the health club and did a lengthy tricep work out and a load of situps. Back home, Julie had dinner on the table. She's on a health kick herself, so we had boiled regular and sweet potatoes, broccoli, olives and kimchi. I ate mine with a glass of vegetable juice then followed everything down with a strawberry protein shake. Mmm...feeling pretty damn good at the moment though I can feel a faint grumble in my stomach, like the subtle roar of distant thunder.

Julie's stretched out on the floor reading Walden, by Henry David Thoreau (Korean version). I read it in college and remember thinking at the time I wanted to quit school, quit my job at the furniture store and build a hut in the woods myself - spend my days fishing and living off the land. In fact all that kind of inspirational literature, American Romanticism, had a great effect on me. That's half of why I'm so idealistic and unwilling to conform to the common, present day American way of life. Half of why I ended up in Korea. I could never work for a company or a corporation. Never.

Now Walden is inspiring Julie. She's on this kick where she wants us to live a simple life in the middle of nowhere, someplace like in the movie, The Way Home. She keeps asking me if I know how to farm. No, but if we bring our cell phones, assuredly some kind of delivery guy can find our hut - hopefully pick up some beer on his way.

Seriously, she's gotten me interested again, so I've been going through a few of the sections online at this terrific site: (click here). Especially living in a city, with its immutable noise, illimitable concrete, perpetual air pollution, and the never-ending scramble, you sometimes wonder what all this modernity had gotten gotten us - why we made our lives this way, why most of us blindly accept the calculated destruction of our scenery and our air. Wouldn't it be nice to quit your job and give up your complicated existence and go live that simple life in the country, in a small hut in the quiet woods, like that old woman in The Way Home - who, by the way, really lived in that hut and chose to stay there after the movie despite her new found fame and fortune.

All this reminds me of one of my one favorite song lyrics:


A heart that's full up like a landfill,
a job that slowly kills you,
bruises that won't heal.

You look so tired-unhappy,
bring down the government,
they don't, they don't speak for us.

I'll take a quiet life,
a handshake of carbon monoxide,

with no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises,

Silent silence.

This is my final fit,
my final bellyache,

with no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises please.

Such a pretty house
and such a pretty garden.

No alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises please.

Anyway, something to think about. Walden will do that to you. If you're bored and unispired, check out that website.

Wait a minute, what's Julie doing now? She's put Walden down and is cracking up at Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Despite her love for a "simple life" she still loves TV. I'm going to snuggle beside her and read A Civil Action...an excellent read.

KLB - More Cute Kiddie Pics



I can't get enough of these pics. Here's my nephew sleeping, awww, and another shot of him and my niece on Easter. They all look like they're having a blast in that one, including my poor, exhausted sister.

KLB - The Apple


I brought home one of the CDs I use and ripped a couple of tracks so you can get an idea of what I'm teaching lately. These tracks are from Spot Light 4, which I use in B-class. The students generally like the stories and songs. Imagine a classroom full of cute Korean kids bobbing their heads merrily as they listen, repeat and sing.


The Apple.mp3 (Story)


The Apple.mp3 (Song)


Cathy cried today. The ever-kind vice principal gave her a new job. In addition to her highly detailed monthly plan write-ups (takes about 10 pages for each class), she now has to write up a full-page plan for each class every day. That means 20 pages of new lesson plans per week and, with the monthly plans, an unmanageable total of 120 pages/month. I feel sorry for her and for the tree that's cut down for that waste of paper. Keep in my mind she also has to write separate plans on different forms for the agency and you can see why she was crying and why she's quitting. At least she has a lot more time to work on things in class, now that she no longer roams around the room all day. I keep encouraging her to use the class time to get some work done.

The vice principal is just being an ass about everything. I can't imagine what it's like for a real Korean teacher at the school. Must be hell. Does he really need all that paper work? No, not at all. It's all pointless busy-work. Don't forget I also write up a brief daily plan for every class in English too. Our file folders are huge! Maybe if they get big enough I can use them to clonk him over the head with.

Well, Blogger was down almost all night and it's going on 2 a.m. I'm going to get some sleep...

KLB - Comments are Back



I had another great day at school. Hope this can last through the week. Sure is nice now that Cathy sits quietly in the back and doesn't do anything unless I ask her. She's actually spent her time making useful materials for me lately, including, lo and behold, a word search puzzle about classroom objects that kept C-class busy most of the period. Nice.

Back home, I got a pot of sam gae tang (whole chicken soup) simmering before heading over to the health club. So much for going in the morning. Lately I've been staying up late reading my new book, chatting to my family in NY or watching videos with Julie. Oh well, it hasn't been too bad going at night. It's still not very crowded then. A couple of other foreigners have joined. I met a Canadian guy named Alex who has been in Korea for 10 years. He teaches at a high school down the road. His job sounds pretty hard. Only five classes, but he has to be there from 8:00 - 4:30 and has over 40 kids in each class. He gets good pay, sure, but not that much more than me. He does get free housing, but they stuck him in some old, gloomy apartment that depresses him. Anyway, we're going to hang out and get some beers soon, I guess. It'd be nice to meet some people who live nearby.

The sam gae tang came out pretty good. I'm trying to eat low fat foods that are high in protein like chicken and boiled eggs (minus the yolk). Though I haven't been back at the gym long, I feel better already, more confident and more energy. It doesn't take long. I just hope I can keep it up.


Finally, I'd like to apologize to a lot of people who have sent e-mails that I've never responded to. I read them all, but I spend too much time online as it is to write everyone back, though I do reply to as many as I can. So, what the hell, I decided to turn the comments back on and see how it goes. At least if I can't reply to everyone, maybe some other readers can give some feedback - but then again, maybe not.

KLB - Michael and Sierra


My sister's sent me a bunch new pictures of my niece and nephew. She's getting the hang of using the new camera. I know this because in one picture she sent, I could see a bunch of photos she must have printed out and stuck to the refrigerator. That made me feel really good. Also, every time we "chat" now, she doesn't say anything. She logs on Yahoo messeger and just starts sending pics. No hello or nothing. Hmmph!


The photos make me homesick though. Look how cute little Michael is. I'm dying to see him in person. What a character. And the little girl, Sierra, looks exactly like my sister did as a kid. And apparently she's just as badly behaved, driving my poor sister nuts. My mother gets a kick out of this, of course. "Someday you're going to know how it feels," she would always say to her. She was right. Strange how things like that work out, isn't it? Karma, I guess. Little Michael, on the other hand, is turning out to be a quiet little doll, my sister said. Just like I was as a baby. Check him out:

KLB - Mixed Bag Monday



My feelings about Korea are deteriorating rapidly from Saturday night's binge of sentimentality. With foreigners locked away for fighting Koreans who go uncharged, to locked up sex workers burning to death, to thick, stagnant pollution filling the skies lately, it's quite depressing.

Police did not rule out the possibility that the deaths took place because they were locked inside.

Luckily I had a great day at school. Cathy didn't bother me once. She sat in the back day all doing her paper work and preparing materials. A dream come true. I should have flipped my lid ages ago.

The kids were fantastic, as usual. Class A is rapidly improving. They know all the classroom language and are masters of the letters A-I. That is, they know the letters and, more importantly, the sounds. For example if I say, "Internet," they can recognize the first letter is I. They can also write in lower and uppercase form - though some need more help with that. My other classes are also moving along. Class B and C can read pretty much any 3 or 4 letter words. Class D is learning all the verbs in the past tense. Today I reviewed 25 verbs and focused on five they will have to try and incorporate in their diaries for homework.

It looks like the pollution is dispersing a bit. I've had to clear my throat frequently the last few days and it feels dry and scratchy. I thought I was getting sick, but if it's a cold it hasn't progressed out of my throat at all yet.

Time to down my protein shake and head over to the health club. I was going to go this morning but my triceps and shoulders were killing me. They feel a bit better now. I'm going to stretch awhile and then do my chest again. I know, I know - when am I going to do legs? I hate working out my legs, to be truthful. Especially squats, though I don't mind that machine where you sit down and lift your legs. Maybe I'll do that one. See you soon.

KLB - Don't Fight


Another reason not to fight with Koreans:


Parents cut off from son in jail


No mention of the Korean party involved, but I'm assuming they went home that night scot free. After all, I'm sure it was all the foreigner's fault. He probably jumped the poor unsuspecting Koreans as they were innocently eating a bowl of noodles.

To put it simple, if you're in situation here that could lead to a fight, especially with a Korean, do yourself a favor and swallow your pride - avoid the fight if at all possible. It's not worth it.

My guess is this guy is fine and will be back with Mom and Dad soon. From what I've learned - I had a friend who went to jail briefly for another reason and gave me insider information - the usual sentence for fighting a Korean, not another foreigner (apparently that's OK), is 30 days and deportation. You get no access to any of your belongings - so goodbye computer and whatever else you've accumulated. You share a small cell with a number of Koreans and are allowed only a 7 minute visit once a week.

The worst part is that you have no access to the money you've saved here (can you imagine?) and have to file a petition to get it after deportation. In other words, good luck ever seeing that money again basically. Finally, you're not allowed back in Korea for 5 years - not that you'd want to come back after such an ordeal, I'm sure. Oh, and about lawyers. You can get one, but somebody has to pay the piper on your behalf. My friend's lawyer cost his parents $5,000 (and he had to pay them back). They can't change the sentencing and are pretty useless, he said. A total waste of money and a total nightmare.

Julie just pointed out how ironic the timing of this post is. "Where's your 'I love Korea blah blah, now?'" she said, waving her arms in the air. At least she's talking to me again. I bought her some coffee-milk (her favorite) and a package of facial masks.

KLB - Last Night


With nothing else to do on this fine Sunday afternoon, I went through and reread a few weeks worth of posts. Though I actually laughed a little at some of the things I talked about, I found myself cringing over every poorly worded sentence and typo. When I write a post, I usually write it at one time, then push "publish" and that's that. I probably should leave it for a bit and come back, do a spell check, re-read and fix mistakes and then, finally, publish. On the other hand, that isn't as spontaneous and authentic. I don't want every entry to sound like a well crafted piece of writing - at least that's what I keep telling myself. The truth is I'm just lazy.

Why am I not out enjoying the day? Because I have a hangover. The first one I've had since the last time I hung out with John. That's right - it's all his fault. He forced them down my throat, every shot. Well, he always buys me shots of something and I have a hard time refusing. I should have stuck to beer.

The night started well. Julie and I felt like idiots because all this time we've lived here, we had no idea that right across the street there's a bus stop for a bus that runs directly to Hongdae (the party capital of Korea) no stops. 20 minutes. Until last night, whenever we went there, we had to take the subway which, with the transfer in Sindorim, takes over an hour. Thats partly why we rarely went. Upon this new discovery, I felt particularly bad because my friend James, who couldn't make it last night, used to live right where the bus drops you off at Hongdae station. I probably would have hung out with him a lot more, whether to have a bite to eat, a few beers or practice at the band room there had I known about the bus.

Anyway, to get to the point, Julie is mad at me now because I acted stupid after all those shots of tequila - go figure. At 4:30 AM, I pleaded with everyone to go to a norae bang (karaoke room - they are open all night and are everywhere) and/or restaurant and I wouldn't shut up about how much I love Korea. You see, John's friend, who's from Hawaii of all places, says she doesn't like it here. It's ugly. In fact, she referred to Korea as a third world country and she's hated the trip and never plans to return.

Being from Hawaii probably makes most places in the world look ugly, but for some reason, this pissed me off. I hate when people don't like Korea. In my drunkenness, I took her remarks personally. I wanted to show her the fun side. Where else in the world can you feast on delicious strips of meat in a crowded restaurant (kalbi) then go sing your heart out at a bustling karaoke at 5:00 a.m.? I guess I went overboard. John was up for it, great guy that he is, but his sidekick wasn't. She doesn't like karaoke, of course, and she wasn't hungry.

Then my mouth flapped on about things it should have shut up about in the taxi home, nostalgic rambling about nights in Koje-do and, um, oops, my first Korean girlfriend and those first times she took me to norae bang and how much fun that was. To top if off, when we got home, as if I didn't make an ass of myself enough, I wanted to go shopping at Walmart for munchies. At 5:00 a.m. I drove Julie nuts, basically, and she won't talk to me now. It's a real bummer when one member of your drunken group is dead sober - especially when that member is your girlfriend. Aigooo!

That was the first night I went out in months. Now that I'm getting a bit older, it's lost a lot of it's appeal. It's still fun, sure - I like to hang out with friends and listen to good music - but I always end up overdoing it and feeling like crap the following day. I hate the way I feel right now. I want to enjoy the day, go to the health club, but my record is warped and won't play. I should feel better in a few hours though. I'd better go buy something nice for Julie. It's pretty lonesome out here in the dog house. At least I have DSL in here, though.

KLB - Waiting


It's early Saturday afternoon. I went to the health club already. I managed to get two muscle groups in: shoulders and triceps. I'm so happy about getting back in shape finally. It's the perfect time of year to do it.

Actually I have a paranoia about becoming too skinny again, as I was skin and bones until about 3 years ago when suddenly I put on a load of weight at a health club in Ulsan. Smartest thing I ever did was join a gym and drink protein shakes. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time to when I was in college and force my ass to hit the weights. I probably would have felt much better about myself. Maybe dated some Playboy models.

So, I was relieved when I weighed in recently at exactly 80 Kgs, about 175 pounds, which is a pretty good weight for my height, 180 cms, or 6 feet. My goal is to tone up that weight for the summer. I bought more protein mix too and am trying to cut out fatty foods, something that is pretty easy here since I mostly eat Korean food.

While I was at the health club, Julie went to the hair shop. She's been getting free treatments for the past week after they blotched up her perm and left her with dead, dry hair (she cried about this for 2 hours and didn't talk to me for a day because it was all my fault. I'm still not exactly sure why it was my fault, but eventually I accepted the blame and now we're happy again).

At this moment, we're waiting around for James to finish soccer and John to finish shopping with his Chinese female friend from Hawaii. The lot of us are going to meet up for a nice Korean dinner, probably kalbi, in Hongdae, then possibly go dancing later - but maybe not. James is on call for work and can't drink and John's friend is flying out tomorrow. Still, should have a good time. James will likely have his camera along, so you can check out his site for an update after the weekend.

In the meantime, if you haven't already - be sure to check out this month's Seoul Magazine:



That's me on the left, in case you're wondering. We we're supposed to make it look like a warm spring day, but I think we failed. James' hat is kind of a giveaway. I should have worn one too. It was blustery cold and very windy. We were freezing without our jackets on, and we were outside for several hours. By the way, that's my new computer there. They asked us to bring our laptops as a prop.

KLB - VIPs


Dinner turned out to be pretty fun. Julia's mother, let's call her Sally, insisted everyone get steak and the salad bar. The steak was the size of a hockey-puck, but good. The salad bar, on the other hand, was incredible - huge variety.

There was no mention of a private lesson. She simply wanted to tell me that she is amazed by how fast Julia is progressing. She realized it one day when Julia started reading a children's English story book out loud in a store. Then she noticed Julia's English diary (which I assigned) and, of course, she can read that too. She couldn't read anything before my class even though she studied English for the past three years. (This is why I think it's so important to teach phonics and why I do so even though it's not part of the program). So, the dinner was to thank me for doing a good job.

Before this, Cathy had spoiled the dinner a bit by telling me (once again) that she's still only sleeping a few hours every night because she has to do so much work for our class - which is the real reason she is quitting, she confessed. She's utterly exhausted.

Further to my chagrin, Bonnie told her yesterday that she is unhappy with our class again, which is bizarre since she just told me everything is fine. I don't know what the hell to believe. According to Bonnie, the school thinks our program is of poor quality - the asshole vice principal has complained about a bunch of little things again. He actually pointed out that I made a cross-out mark on one of my lesson plans instead of using white-out (which we don't have) or re-writing the whole page. What a dick.

The administration at this school is just amazing - they've never made us feel welcome, never say anything nice, can't make up their minds if we can use the copy/coffee machines, never even attempt to communicate with me with any friendly gesture whatsoever - and then complains about such meanlingless trivialities. Come on - as if they even read my lesson plans in English when Cathy types up a highly detailed Korean version for them.

Then, can you believe this, Bonnie pointed out the program before us had 70 students in three classes, but we only have 60 in four and she wants to know what we're doing wrong, Cathy and I. In other words, she's really not happy that we just got 20 new students. That's not enough. And of course the "problem" is not because of her awful planning for the past 3 months. It's all my fault. I think she doesn't want a part-time teacher, she wants a full-time master magician.

"Um, the program before ours failed," I pointed out. This is because the students didn't learn anything (which is completely obvious - my students knew nothing 6 months ago and I thought they must have never studied English before). Anyway, I just shrugged this off at the table, but now it's making me mad. So much conflicting information, so much BS. All I see is that I'm teaching kids English, the students are having fun and learning quickly and the parents are happy. Why does everyone else involved have to make it so miserable and complicated?

Even though I genuinely enjoy teaching these kids, put a lot of effort into making it fun for them, and have felt proud seeing the results, it's getting harder to rebound from such comments and harder not to take them personally. What's the point in trying so hard every day? I may as well revert to passing out word-search puzzles and twiddling my thumbs. Then they can really have something to complain about. I love these kids but that's becoming less and less motivation to stay.

KLB - A Fight and Some Good News


I lashed out at Cathy again today, the worst argument yet. I won't go into great detail but basically it culminated with me yelling things like, "Don't interrupt my class, don't try to teach my class, and never tell me what to do ever again! Just sit down while I'm teaching and do your paperwork and don't bother me!" Then, later: "Listen, this is a part time job. You don't have to take it so damn seriously. You don't have to work 10 hours a day. Use the class time to get your work done and then go home and relax for once. I'm tired of hearing that you sleep three hours at night. You don't need to be constantly worrying about every little thing. Come to work, do your work, go home and forget work until the next day, OK?"

I felt bad, but these things needed to be said. I let it go on too long. It actually paid off. She sat there the rest of the day quiet as a mouse. It was nice not seeing her roaming around, focused on me, interrupting to tell me I have to do something, that I should call on so and so, suggesting I spend less time on something and more on another, reminding me when to start class, when to finish, etc. I am completely confident in my teaching ability right now and I have total control of these kids and I know what I'm doing. All I wish she would do is make materials and do the Korean paperwork. Even is she sat there working on her university assignments would be fine with me.

In some regards I think she envies me and is frustrated by the fact that, despite my laid-back attitude and relaxed work ethic, I'm still a surprisingly effective teacher. After all, the kids love me. They hang all over me, vying for attention. They follow me through the halls and write me love letters and bring me candy and gifts. They draw "Shawn teacher" faces all over their notebooks. It's almost sickening the relationship I've developed with them. At the same time, they listen to me. I can say, "Attention!" and poof, silence as of the grave. They respect me. This must aggravate her to no end.

At the end of the day Cathy said to me, "I just can't angry with you because you're so nice to kids and so funny." Yes, I felt bad too. Once again, I know she's not a bad person and it's hard for me to stay mad. I tried not to back down this time, but, like a weakling, I ended up apologizing for yelling. Even so, hopefully she won't bother me for awhile.

I finally called Bonnie for the first time and told her what's going on. I'm glad I did. Get this: Cathy will be quitting next month anyway! I had no idea! She never said anything. Turns out she has to take some teacher's classes during the day to finish her MA degree. Bonnie also told me she knows Cathy over does it. She's told her before that it is my class and not to bother me. I'm not to worry, though, everything is fine. Everyone is very pleased with me, and she asked me to endure a little longer.

What good news! Thank God!

After school, the little girl's mother who is taking me to VIPS tomorrow, came in again to chat a bit. I found out she owns her own business, a trading company that supplies the food to restaurants such as, you guessed it: VIPS. She's planning to set up an office in New York within a couple of years. Cathy told me she's rich. I figured it already since her daughter, utterly adorable (she's one of my favorites despite being so spoiled) wears fashionable clothes and carries a brand new Samsung camera cell phone that must have cost $500. She's ten years old. Anyway, her mother wanted to verify the plans for tomorrow. After hearing how rich she was, I feel uncomfortable now. I wonder if she's planning to proposition me at dinner to teach Julia privately. If you don't know it, private teaching is illegal in Korea. Basically you're not allowed to earn money as a foreigner outside of the job that sponsors your visa. It's good money but to me it's not worth getting deported over.

Regardless, I figured I should bring a gift to dinner, so I went out and picked up a few things: a bottle of Chilean Red Wine for the mother and her husband and a bunch of things for Julia (as is she needs anything): crayons, stickers, a cute notebook and some colored pencils. Even if she's spoiled, she'll be happy. Her two little girlfriends, Sarah and Grace, will certainly be jealous too. All three of them sit out in the hall until I go home and then follow me to the bus stop every day. Maybe I'll split the gifts up for the three of them, since Cathy is also planning to get something for Julia.

KLB - Moving Along


I managed to get up early again and hit the health club. That's two days in a row. It's much better to work out in the morning. Hardly anyone is in the place, save a couple of older women on the treadmills. Also, it's just nice to get it out of the way, go to work and then come home finished with everything for the day. I used to hate going after work. I managed to do so for about 6 months in Nowhere-dong before giving up, but I never liked it much.

Julie's sick. She missed work today. It took about 5 phone calls back and forth with her school before she got the clear. It's never easy to call in sick here. They kept asking her if she could come a little later, as if a few hours of sleep is all anyone needs to get over the flu. Her voice is gone and she sounds pretty cute. After work, I stopped off near Homeplus and picked her up some piping hot juk, which translates as Korean traditional porridge. It's pretty much rice that's been cooked then boiled and vegetables added. Kind of thick and slimy, but very healthy. Koreans usually eat it when they are sick. Their equivalent of our chicken soup. It seems to have worked, that and the Tylenol. Her fever has come down and her voice is already returning.

I had a typical day at work. Cathy pissed me off again, but it's the same old story so I won't mention it anymore. Everything is great with the kids. Damn good kids, I can't say it enough. Got two new ones again today, which is starting to worry me. It's up to 15 in each class now. That may not sound much to an American or Korean teacher, but for a foreigner teaching Korean kids, that's a lot of students. Still, I like all the kids except one, and even he's coming around already. I've never had a job where I've adored all the kids like this. Even the boys are growing on me more and more.

The books have really helped lately. Unfortunately I'm only allowed to use them twice a week according to our new syllabus. I have to teach a "theme" unit once a week again - ugh! Another day is supposed to be for story books, but we only have story books for one class - typical. Then Friday is "game and activity" day - which is fine. I asked Cathy if she could get together some kind of game guide. In my opinion, that would be better than her roaming around the room all day and bothering me. I keep telling her to sit down but she never does.

I know a handful of games that work well with kids. As a matter of fact I came up with a good one today. I called it, "I Made You Laugh!" First you split the kids into two groups, A and B. The two teams stand facing each other. Group A then tries to make any of the group B kids laugh. If they succeed, they yell, "I made you laugh!" and earn a point. Then B teams tries to make A laugh.

I like playing games and doing fun things with the kids, of course. Usually things like that game just pop in my head as I'm teaching and I do them. I love the spontaneity. I hate having to follow some pre-made time-table that really doesn't benefit the kids at all. So much wasted paper. I wish I could just do a variety things every day, say 15 minutes of phonics, 15 using the books/story books, 10 writing in the workbooks or notebooks, and the last few minutes some kind of activity worksheet or game. That's better than doing a different thing each day. For example, now I can't use my books again until next Tuesday, meaning the kids will probably forget what they've learned and I'll have to review - basically teach the same lesson all over - before moving on. Oh well, at least this way these precious books will last awhile. I don't want to have to try to get new ones again.

I guess that's it for today. I'm going to take care of Julie - tuck her in and make sure she's asleep before turning on the Xbox. Hah, just kidding. She's already asleep. Slept about 15 hours today. I'll probably read. I just finished Sex and the City, the book, which was better than I thought it would be. Now I'm starting A Civil Action.

KLB - A Smurfy Day



As per usual, it's an up and down cycle here. Today was fantastic, and after a brief hiatus, I can give the thumbs-up sign to teach in Korea again. So get re-packing!

Let's start with the morning. The health club has actually reopened after all - at least the weights/machines room. The new Yoga/dance room and jim jil bang (multi faceted sauna) - all of which Julie is waiting on - won't be finished until next week. Anyway, I got up early and worked out, a solid arm routine which felt very good. Then, after a relaxing shower, I skipped off to work in a great mood. I love spring.

At second glance, the new books aren't nearly as bad as I thought. My first impression, of course, had been tainted by the crap Cathy mentioned upon giving them to me. They are actually pretty good. I used them for the first time today and the kids like them too. The included CDs and workbooks, which we didn't get until today, are especially good.

Now imagine this: the kids (for the most part) are in the right level classes and they have books. Wow - guess what? I'm a good teacher again! "You had the passion," Cathy pointed out after school. "Today I'm so happy."

"Well, when things are organized and we have books, it's amazing what a teacher can do."

It's true. I started each of the first three classes with phonics then used the books for the last 20 minutes of class. It was one of those days when I really enjoyed being a teacher. Because I was in such a good mood, the kids were happy and responsive. I had them rolling in laughter one minute and shouting "Me! Me! Me!" the next with every question.

We also got a couple of new students this week. That makes 23 new kids. Most of them are adorable little girls too. I swear I have a fan club throughout the school. Lately a lot of mothers keep stopping in to check the class out too, which is also cute in a way. Yesterday one of my favorite girls' mothers came in, decked out in designer clothes, a load of makeup and strong perfume. She comes in often and speaks English rather well. "Whats up?" she always says. She invited me to dinner with her family this Friday at VIPs (TGIF kind of place). I politely said no a few times but she was persistent and, so, I eventually accepted. Unfortunately Cathy overheard this, said she envied me in Korean, and then the mother (somewhat reluctantly I noticed) invited her too. Yay!

Well, time to chow down a couple of turkey subs I picked up from Subway on the way home for me and Julie. Mmm. Then it's time to watch The Smurfs DVD Volume 3, which just came in the mail. I also pre-ordered volumes 4 and 5 which are set for release the same day later in April. You should order your copies today, as international shipping is only a few dollars. Also, you never know if they'll ever be released around the world. Now may be your only chance to get them. In fact, looks like volumes 1 and 2 are already sold out.

They take between 1 and 2 weeks to arrive (got mine in a week). Keep in mind the prices are in AU dollars too, which means they are even cheaper than you think (around $15 USD). They are region 4, but you should be able to play them on your computer if you have DVD Region Free software, or on your home player by using one of the easy codes to make it region free: Check here... (For example, all Julie and I had to do is open our DVD player drawer and hit 9999 on the remote to choose "region 0"...






I sure love this series. I have 18 smurfy episodes now. They all have Gargamel in them too, the funniest cartoon villain ever created.

Bonus screenshots of Gargamel in action taken with PowerDvd:

KLB - Everyone Should Have a Blog


I tell you, every time I vent about my job on my site, I get off the internet and I feel so much better. The blog is like having a therapist. Believe me, when you live in Korea you wish you had a therapist sometimes. That's why so many people go out and vent together. It's not that they hate it here - though some do and they should just go home - but they need a means to get it off their chests and out of their systems.

It's a conflicting existence in this country. So much to appreciate and enjoy - so much to curse and complain about. I just prefer to do my complaining online and relax and have a good time afterward - but that's just me. That's pretty much my personality though. I'll fly off the handle over something then when I'm threw, I get over it - usually 15 minutes later. Women, on the other hand - and I won't mention any names - whoa, can they ever hold a grudge!

Of course, I forsee more difficulties and frustration at my job and I don't think I'll be able to make it through until August - but who knows. The problem is that almost every teaching job here is a pain in the ass in one way or another so there's no great alternative. I guess if I'm going to be miserable, however, I may as well do it "full time" and get a salary and housing money along with it. And I'd never have to see Cathy again in my life. That will be almost as great a day as when the job in Nowhere-dong ended and I said goodbye to Windy. Like Windy, Cathy is not a bad person and I'd probably like her if I didn't have to work with her, just as I liked Windy outside of teaching her at the hagwon.

I'm seriously considering putting in my notice and taking a brief trip overseas, say for a week. I want to visit my friend who lives in Beijing anyway. I'm not sure Julie will be able to handle not seeing me use the computer and playing video games for that long though. Maybe I'll leave a cardboard cutout of myself wearing sweatpants and holding an Xbox controller. She'll never know I'm gone!

Well, it's Saturday morning. I guess I should do my best to get out there and enjoy the weekend. Looks bright and sunny. Spring is coming. I'm going to take Julie to lunch - maybe some don cass - and check out some cameras or something. Have a great weekend!

KLB - I Spoke too Soon Again


I hate my job. I've been trying to convince myself it's not so bad, but it's going straight downhill again. I'm a fool for not quitting when I had the chance. Fuck.

It started today at 2:00 when I asked Cathy, "Are we definitely getting books on Monday?"

"We can talk about this later. Right now it's 2:00 and you have to start class."

"Yeah, well, I'd be happy to start class on time if we had a book, Cathy."

"I see. Can you take attendance now?"

I looked at my cell phone. 1:59. "Cathy, it's not 2:00 o'clock. We don't have to start class exactly on time like robots, you know." As usual, more than half the kids hadn't arrived yet either.

Anyway, that's the same BS I deal with everyday. Now back to the topic: books. Get a load of this. After class, to my surprise, Cathy came to my desk with copies of the teachers' books for three of the four classes. Well, great, I thought. Finally! Before handing them to me, however, she struggled (and she should have just said nothing) to explain how she got them. "You have to know Bonnie is so busy these days. I'm suffer from the stress. The other teachers [she means the other teachers' assistants] yelled at me about my ask for books for you."

"What? Who yelled? What are you talking about? You said we're getting books on Monday. I didn't ask for them."

"Because I know you want using book. If you have a book you teaching better and easier. I think so. So I ask Bonnie many times and the other teachers scolded me."

"The other teachers don't have books?"

"These days, nobody use books. Except you now."

"What? Are you kidding? What do the other teachers do every day?"

"Phonics and activities and games. I think that's good. They spend the time making good plans. But you need book, I know."

Imagine me as I sat there listening to this frustrating, insulting spiel. I've spent the last 3 months basically with no real book, teaching phonics and games and activities - and doing a great job of it I might add seeing as we got 21 new kids to sign up - all the while looking forward to finally getting some real books. The nerve of me!

Then, get this. Cathy went on to suggest that I actually call Bonnie and thank her for the books. "She's kind, I think. She's so busy but she came here today to give these to me. You are lucky. I had to come here 11:00 because of you need books."

A few months ago I may have bit my lip and shrugged this off, but these days I find myself snapping quickly and half-yelling at her. "First of all," I started, "I don't understand what you're telling me. It sounds like I'm making some big problem around here because I want a book to teach with. What kind of English program doesn't supply kids with any books? That's ridiculous! And you're the one who told me we're getting new books on Monday. I didn't know that was a problem for you. I don't get it! Why did the other teachers yell at you?"

"I asked Bonnie about the books many times. They told me Bonnie's so busy and I shouldn't ask for books. I didn't know that before."

"You know what, Cathy. I don't care that Bonnie is busy. This is her program and her job. She has to supply me with books. That's common sense. I'm tired of teaching class with no materials. We couldn't even use the damn copy machine until this week. Why do I have to thank her for giving me books? She should call and thank me for teaching with no materials." [I realize I should be telling this to Bonnie - hell, I should have called her during class time and reamed her out and then stormed out of the building into a fiery sunset].

"You should to make the curriculum and materials, the other teachers said."

"I don't care what they say. I am a part-time teacher. They are full-time. They get a salary. They get paid to go in and make games and materials. We don't. I've been doing the best I can with no books and pulling it off. You think it's OK to work for free and that's fine. You do what you want. But I'm not going to make activities, games and materials in my free time. I might if I didn't waste 3 hours a day travelling back and forth, but that's the way it is. I don't think wanting a book is an outrageous request is it? Forget it, I don't want to talk about it anymore. All I know is I have new books finally and that's good."

Seriously, she should have just given me the books and said nothing about it. To make matters worse, the books are inane. I'm not making this up. It's as if Bonnie picked the worst possible ones just to spite me. I wish to hell I had my camera to show you. Just picture full size pages with one item on each page such as a classroom object. A full page. A picture of a pencil. 50 minutes.

I tried to shrug the frustration off again, but on the way home I felt very depressed. What am I doing with my life? I love living here, but I hate teaching here. What can I do? What are my options? If only money grew on soju bottles...sigh. I found myself getting annoyed easily on the train, too. People kept bumping into me and pushing me out of the way. A group of older women, whom at one time I may have considered charming and sociable, were chattering obnoxiously loud and I almost told them to shut up. Later, on the Songnae bus, I nearly fell as the driver slammed on the breaks and wailed the horn. Finally, I passed by the health-club and it looks like the untimely remodelling will never be finished by Monday.

Lately I've decided I'm going to stop recommending people try teaching in this country. Don't come here. Don't even think about it. Read my book, the three of you who bought it, but only focus on the worst parts of my experience. That's the way it really is. There's no Island of Fantasy - so keep dreaming. Don't let it take you four years to make the realization.

Even when you love teaching the kids, as I do at my school - they are the main reason I stayed - there's so much stupid BS that ruins the experience. It's good money, sure, but it's not worth it. Not at all. Though not for everybody, living in Korea is a lot of fun. no doubt about it - especially if you have a lots of friends or a girlfriend - but teaching in Korea is an utterly horrendous ordeal. Every job I've had here has been a nightmare, now that I think about it. Even the easiest of schedules/jobs bring about the worst of stress. I think I need a break - and soon. For now, time to crack open a beer. Phew.

KLB - New Class


Well, I got my new class today. It has 12 students in it. There's something about starting a new class with new kids that is inspiring. You can totally take charge and lay the groundwork for a smoothe class. I set the tone today by introducing classroom language: stand up, sit down, raise your hand, stop and listen, take out your pencil, etc. They went from running all about the room at the beginning of class to being virtual puppets of mine by the end. We finished with a fun game of Simon Says. Tomorrow I will start phonics. The rest of the new kids have been dispursed throughout the other levels. It was actually a very good day, despite having no books. I think I can manage until the end of the week anyway. Maybe I'm just in a good mood, but it dawned on me after school that I just made $110 teaching from 1-4:50 with three ten minute breaks. When you think of all the people working their fingers to the bones for a few dollars a day, I have to consider myself a lucky person. Sometimes I lose site of that and bitch and moan about the BS, but deep down I do know I'm fortunate.

Cathy, on the other hand...once again she informed me today that she slept just two hours last night. I asked why - a big mistake.

"I was at the office until 2:00 AM."

"What? Why?" [don't ask questions Shawn]

"First I had meeting. Then I had to call the parents, then do the paper work and organize and..."

I've stopped feeling any pity for her, not that I felt much to begin with. I still think she enjoys being a martyr and that she could stand up for herself if she wanted. After living with Julie so long, this "I have to do like this - I'm Korean" crap doesn't cut it with me. Learn how to be confident - or at least efficient. Why does she work 12 hours/day for a job that pays her for 3? That doesn't call for pity, admiration or respect. It's just stupid. I mean come on, she has more education than I do. She's just a few classes away from her MA degree in English Education. Assuredly she could do better. Then again, I guess she will be doing better once she gets the degree. No. I know her - she will always suffer at work no matter what job it is.

Tonight I stopped off at the grocery store downstairs in Hyundai Department Store. I wish I had my camera so I could snap some pics of the delicious meal I picked up for Julie and I: some fusion noodles and rice dish and 2 giant stuffed mandu dumplings. She should be pleasantly surprised when she comes through the door in a few minutes.

In other news, I finally beat Ninja Gaiden the other night and plan on taking a break from the Xbox - maybe. I don't have much to do these days actually. I'm not sure if I mentioned this or not, but I joined a health club. I worked out for less than two weeks, busting my butt, and then they closed down without warning for remodelling. They have been closed for nearly three weeks. So nice of them to have told me that when I signed up. And it's not because they can't speak English either - Julie was with me. Anyway, they will finally be reopening on Monday and I'm pretty sure my three month membership will renew at that time. It makes me mad though because I could have had a month under my belt by now. Now it's like starting for the first time again.

Well, Julie is just about here so I'm going to get things ready for dinner. See you soon.

KLB - Seoul Magazine Interview


I forgot to follow up about the interview/photo shoot with Seoul Magazine. You can get a brief feel of what it was like here at James' site. It wasn't a lot of fun due mostly to the whipping cold, but not too bad and we all walked away with box sets of 7 Korean DVDs (photo should go here if I had a camera). A really nice set, actually.

You will see, depending on what they publish, the difference between first and third place bloggers. For example, Question 1:



"Are you a kind of celebrity in the cyber world among expatriates in Seoul?"


James:

Not a chance. [struggles desperately to recall some recognition, then:]
I occasionally meet people in bars around town who've seen this site- the conversation normally goes like this-

Bloke:"Aren't you that guy?"
Me: "It wasn't me, I was at home playing cards the entire time, you can ask anyone"
Bloke: "'Getting Lost in Seoul.com' or something right?"
Me: "Oh the website, yeah that's me- do you read it?"
Bloke: "Not really, I just look at the photos."
Me: "Oh right, so do you like..."
Bloke: "Is that Sam girl here?"
Me: *sigh*

Shawn:

"Well, it's not as bad as it was a few years ago, but I still can't walk down the street without someone shouting, 'Holy Jesus! There's that Korea Life Blog guy!' Same in Japan."

KLB - The Roller Coaster of Work


OK, here you have it: yesterday, a Monday of all days, was officially the last day of our program's semester. In case you haven't been following, the school's new semester started a week and a half ago. The change in the students' school schedules seriously affected my classes. Everything has been in disarray - mixed levels, no books, students showing up 10, 20, 30 minutes late.

On Friday Cathy informed we would be having a party Monday (today) and not studying. Thank God, I thought.

So I skipped in today in high spirits, expecting a relaxing, playful day with the kids. Wrong. Cathy had prepared a small party for the end of each class and told me I had to teach until then. Great.

At exactly 2:00, when only 2 out of 6 kids had shown up, she began her, "Shawn, please take attendance," routine. [She's switched from taking it herself to telling me to do it since Connie told her it's my class and my job]. As you can imagine, this pissed me off. However, I kept my cool by telling myself things will be on track soon. I ended up reviewing for tomorrow's level test for 40 minutes.

Then again at 3:00 Cathy told me again to start the next class. This time, however, only 4 of 17 kids had arrived yet. I told Cathy we could wait a bit and to stop worrying. We have no books or materials anyway.

"No, Shawn. It's time for study," she said again. "Play a game or do something."

This time I just ignored her. I was so pissed off at her acting like she's my boss. Just to spite her, I opened the English Time book, stared at the pages and ignored her. She stood in the back, watching me like a police officer. I had all I could do to keep from blowing my top. A bit later, she took her phone and snuck out of the room. While she was gone, the students started arriving and so I started class by reviewing for the level test. Then Cathy came back and interrupted me, saying Bonnie was on the phone for me. Now picture all the kids watching me take the phone and staring as Bonnie tells me this:

"The vice principal just called me and said you are late starting class and reading a book. Actually a parent complained about it."

"Are you kidding?"

"No, are you reading a book? What's going on there?"

"Listen, I'm standing in front of the kids and trying to start class. Can this wait until after school?"

"Well, not really. This is an emergency."

"Is Cathy the vice principal? I know she just called you - I saw her!" I started getting loud and turning red. The kids were dead quiet watching me. Looking back I should have taken the phone into the hall but it was all such a shock at the time I was dumbfounded. As I got angry, Bonnie started to back down and told me not to worry and sorry to bother me, everything is fine, etc. Wtf? How ridiculous. I hung up with her and started yelling at Cathy. "What, am I stupid? What is your damn problem?"

"What? I didn't do anything wrong. She called me and said there was a problem and she wanted to talk to you."

"Whatever. If there's a problem, don't hand me the phone in front of the students. Tell her to call me after class next time."

I didn't talk to her for the rest of the day. In fact, I felt so pissed off I couldn't even teach. I just let the kids do whatever until Cathy finally started the party. Way to ruin a great day.

That was yesterday. Today things calmed down a bit because of "level testing." Can you believe this? Our program has just gotten a whopping 21 new students. Apparently I must be doing something right as a teacher, but you wouldn't know it the way everyone acts.

If you noticed, I enclosed "level testing" in quotes because all of the new students have already been assigned to a level. I got the new attendance list before the tests even began.

"Then why are we doing a level test today, Cathy?"

"We have to know what the students levels are."

"But you already planned the classes."

"Bonnie want us to do like this."

In other words, today was all a big waste of time as usual. I sat there all day doing level tests with kids who have already been placed in levels. There was a bright side though, if you can call this a bright side. Almost all of the new kids know absolutely nothing. Sounds bad, but it occurred to me that all my students had been like that at one time. I had forgotten what that was like. It was kind of funny when I was interviewing them. The new kids would stare at me blankly as I asked simple questions while my students whipped off phonics, read small passages, and answered a variety of questions with complete sentences. Yet the only feedback I get for my work is "are you reading a book and not starting class on time?"

To add insult to injury, at the end of class Cathy told me we won't be getting any books until next week. So I have 4 classes of 15 kids each to deal with and no books. I'm starting to wish I quit when I had the chance. Ugh. Teaching in Korea really sucks sometimes.

KLB - I Spoke too Soon


Had a blowout with Cathy at work yesterday. I don't have time to write about it now. I just got the computer up and running and updated, etc. Yesterday it wouldn't boot up right and this computer doesn't boot into safemode the usual way. So I brought it over to the shop where I bought the computer to ask how you do it - bad mistake. They said "no problem" and told me they would fix it and to come back in a little while. Great, I thought, Unfortunately what they really meant was, "No problem, we'll reinstall Windows for you." Everything was gone. Oh well. I didn't have much on it really. Everything is on the Xbox or on DVD disks. So the computer is pretty much back to where I had it before. They did a bunch of tests too, I guess, and said everything is fine with the disk. At least that's something.

So stay tuned until later to hear about what happened at work. At least then you'll get the story and the follow up as well.

KLB - First Shot


Well, it took a few days but my sister finally figured out how to use the camera (she had been using the disposable kind) and send pictures to me. Here is the first shot I got and the first time I've seen my nephew, Michael, who is named after my father. I must say he is adorable. My sister is completely excited with her new camera and I'm happy for her. It also makes me miss having one of my own. If I don't order one from the states, maybe I'll have to break down and get one from Walmart or something.

KLB - Friday...Finally


Finally it's Friday and the weekend is here. Too bad the weather turned cold again. Not a lot to report on, really - as you can already tell by my reference to the weather. I'm waiting for Julie to come home so we can go out and eat some kalbi or sam gyeop sal or something. We may or may not go out afterward. I don't want to have a hangover tomorrow when I go to have my photos taken for Seoul Magazine. I look horrible enough as it is in pictures (but super handsome and cool in real life, of course).

Speaking of photos, my sister got her camera today, or I should say last night. Only I can do something so stupid as to have it sent to her previous address, which Amazon.com had kept on file from when I ordered her some books and toys for her kids. The UPS tracking said it had been delivered yesterday, exactly on her birthday...which would have been perfect, doh. I just realized what happened today when we were trying to figure out where it was. She didn't know what I got her either. I had told her to be on the look out for a gift in the mail, but kept downplaying what it was. But when I realized what happened I had to tell her. So, at 10PM her time, she trekked all the way across town to her old house. Sure enough the package was sitting right there on her old doorstep (apparently you don't have to sign for UPS ground packages anymore?), outside right by the sidewalk. Anyone could have taken it, but luckily nobody did. Turns out nobody is living in the house yet. Once she figures out how to use it, hopefully I can get some photos of my niece and nephew and shots from around exciting Watertown, NY. Won't that be a treat!

Well, I've been sitting and staring at the screen for the last 10 minutes trying to figure out what else to write about. Work has been pretty ordinary. I kind of miss the days when I'd come home heated and worked up over something, but everything seems to have mellowed out since I said I'd quit. Nobody bothers me lately. Cathy seems to have really calmed down finally. Who knows what's to come, but for now it's been nice.

The kids are as cute as ever - especially those little girls. I feel like a rock star the way they follow me around. Damn cute. I hate to say it, but when I have kids - I'll be somewhat disappointed if I don't have a girl. Maybe it runs in my family. My father was always closer to my sister than me, except when it came to sports and fishing. My mother ways preferred me over my sister, and with good reason. My sister was a handful growing up compared to me - and my father was at work most of the time so he didn't get that part of her. I was always very shy and quiet.

Anyway, I'm kind of looking forward to the new class I have starting next Wendesday. At that time the kids will be in the appropriate levels again and we're getting real books again finally too. I've ignored the new "books" all I can and stretched the English Time books as far as they will go. That's not such a bad thing, though. I've learned it's better to use one book for a very long time. They know all the material inside and out and probably won't forget what they've learned as they would if I hurried through the series. It still amazes me how much they have retained. Of course the most important thing I've taught has been phonics. It's a nice feeling when your students can read because of you. I never thought I'd care about something like that, but I do. All this talk about loving kids and being a good teacher - yikes! What's happening to me suddenly? I guess I'm growing up. Well, time to get off the computer and play some Xbox games. Gonna watch The Smurfs DVDs later too. Whoo hoo!

KLB - Three Witnesses


Today I went into work to find three women standing in the back of the room. They're from another program and watched my classes. I just love how almost every week someone or other comes in to watch me all day. However, it's getting so that I'm so used to this that it barely bothers me anymore. I just smiled and introduced myself then went about the usual teaching routine. I didn't even cringe when Cathy started taking pictures of me.

Afterward the women told me how handsome I am and how kind I am to the kids - so it wasn't so bad. I'm going to get an ego working at this school.

Good news on one front: I emailed Bonnie and she called and said I don't have to write the report cards again. She didn't know we just did them two weeks ago, because - guess why? Cathy didn't bother to tell her. I guess when Bonnie had told her we should write them, Cathy simply agreed without mentioning that we just did them two weeks ago. Bonnie thanked me for telling her.

Julie and I had a nice dinner at TGIF tonight. We go there about once every three or four months, I guess. And every time we leave there I think about how I could have eaten big meals like that on a regular basis when I lived in New York. The food seems so big and we felt completely stuffed. She's about ready to fall asleep now and I'm about ready to flip on the Xbox.

Oh, I forgot to mention that a couple of us bloggers will be doing an interview for Seoul Magazine this weekend. According to Julie, who handled the phone call, we will be getting our photos taken somewhere on Saturday and will be featured on the cover of the next issue. I know one of the other guys is this year's third place winner for best Korea blog, Mr. Swiss James, over at Lost Bowls. I'm pretty sure that, according to traditon, the third place winner is required to buy dinner and lots of beer for the first place winner and his girlfriend and then put on hanbok and bow three times before handing over the prizes (digital camera and mp3 player). I'm not sure if he's aware of that yet though. Somebody better tell him quickly.

KLB - The Excuses Continue


I've gone through phases before where I don't update the blog regularly, but the difference is I'm feeling less and less guilty about it these days. To be honest, I just don't have all that much to say. Nothing really interesting that I can write about has been going on. However, I do forecast things will pick up soon now that spring just about here - as long as I get a camera soon, that is. Or if I change jobs.

The job is going fairly well. The principal must have felt guilty because she told Cathy yesterday we can use the coffee machine and copy machine too again. I don't know, though. It's nice of her, but I haven't rushed downstairs to the office yet.

One thing pissed me off today. I just filled out 50 report cards less than 2 weeks ago, so when Cathy handy me a new stack to fill out again today, I was, of course, less than thrilled. Apparently Bonnie wants me to do 50 more for the end of the semester. I told Cathy that I'm not doing them because nothing has changed in the past 2 weeks and I'd just be writing the same comments again. As you can imagine, Cathy panicked and said I have to do them because Bonnie said so. I'll call Bonnie tomorrow and personally tell her to forget it. Maybe I'll wait until Friday, since Thursday is payday.

As you can see, there's not a lot to report on. Keep checking in though because at any given moment you may stop in to find the update of a lifetime.

KLB - Shame on Shawn


I got several e-mails today criticizing me for my recent posts about piracy (as well as several more wondering what sites/software I'm using) including one from a guy who highly detailed how my downloading The Simpsons hurts the little guys that make the show. The little guys include the company that animates the show here in South Korea, he noted.

I guess he didn't take into account the possibility that, despite being fond of the cartoon, I'd never buy a whole season on DVD. I'm just not that big of a fan. If I was, I really would buy them because I'd want the real thing. For me, especially living in Korea it's nice that I am able to see some episodes for free though - since I don't get them on TV through Skylife. Anyway, I think some people have me confused with the people creating the problem and the pirates that profit from their evil-doing.

Some other people e-mailed me wondering what happened with the coffee-set I got. One Korean guy even strongly urged me against doing it!

I decided not to give the gift set, actually. I realized I would be doing it for the wrong reason. If I really did feel badly and wanted make it up to them, it would be fine. But I'd just be doing it to make them feel guilty and that's no better than the petty way they've treated me/Cathy.

Speaking of Cathy, she had to go to her weekly meeting at the agency again yesterday and was there until 12 a.m. again. Then she had to go to the school today early in the morning for a meeting with the principal. She puts in 40 hours a week for a job that pays her three hours/day. She also has to go in next week for the level-testing and won't be paid, she told me. "I have to work two days for free," she said. I'm not sure whether I pity her because she has to work so hard for nothing, or because she is to weak to protest against it. After all, doesn't her acceptance just perpetuate the problem and make it easier for her to be taken advantage of even more?

I know Julie wouldn't put up with that. She didn't at her last job - when her boss started shady practices, she simply quit. Now she's at a school that is so much better, by the way. This school pays her for extra work and pays her on time. She's really happy now. Had she put up with the way her previous boss was treating her, she'd still be stuck there with the others miserable teachers.

Again, I don't know how to respond to her when she tells me things like this. All I could say was, "You work so hard. I don't know how you do it."

It's really annoying, but not hard to believe. Bonnie, without guilt or shame, exploits Cathy's blind, uncomplaining, Confusianistic devotion to authority, and she does so at every opportunity. It's no wonder many Koreans resent foreigners here. If I were Cathy, I'd probably hate me. We're guests in the country yet are often given better opportunities than they are. Bosses resent us too, because unlike someone like Cathy, we don't put up with being shafted on things like being overworked and underpaid. Julie is a rarity, I guess, because she has had a lot of western influence (too much Oprah!). Too bad every place can't be as fair to both sides as is the case at Julie's school, though. Everyone is treated fairly there, she says. The pay is high and on time, and she always gets paid for extra duties. That makes her happy and she really works hard and enjoys her job now. That's the way it should be.

In other news, I bought a digital camera - nope, not for me, for my sister. Her birthday is next week. As I said, I can't believe how cheap they are getting in America. I got her this model here: Kodak digital Camera as well as a 128 MB storage card, extra batteries and a charger. I wish I could be there to see the look on her face when she checks the mail. I also can't wait to finally see new pictures of my niece and my new nephew! That's a pretty sweet little camera for the money. I wish I could get deals like that here. I guess I could just order something and have it shipped here, but then with shipping and the import tax, what would be the point? I'm still not sure exactrly what I want anyway - no surprise. It took me a year to decide to buy an Xbox. Someone offered to help me get a camera for a good price from one of the army bases. I'll have to follow up with him sometime soon.

KLB - More Piracy to You


In other news, I realize what the problem was with the Ninja Gaiden disk. It turns out the bootleggers cut out some of the Japanese movie scenes so the data could be fit on a standard DVD-R disk. I had switched the langauge to Japanese, and therefore when the movie clip was about to play after I beat the level, the gamed failed. I guess that's what you get when you don't pay for what you play - but so far that's the only problem I've had, and it's not much of a problem at that since I just downloaded the game again (I have no will power). The problem would have been avoided had I bothered to read the info file that clearly tells you this.

Speaking of that, really - how much longer will piracy last online? Either that or how much longer before some change happens in the media world as a result of this?

For example, before I went to work today, I started to download The Simpsons Season 3 from a torrent off Torrentreactor.net. Less than 6 hours later when I came home, it had finished. In other words, in that short time I downloaded 24Simpsons episodes that look and sound perfect. A quick transfer to the Xbox, and I can watch them through the TV as if they were on DVD. Not only that, but every season in avaialable. Actually, it seems like every movie, show, video game and software that you could ever want, new or old, is readily available on P2P. I tell you, once more and more people finally convert to DSL in America, the industry is going to have to change...hopefully by making their products cheaper.

There's already a multitude of arguments going around for and against piracy. Yes, it's bad, sure. To start with, though, I guess I share the general poor guy's opinion that all record/movie companies are plain evil and greedy and I am happy I can download things for free. Of course there's more to it than that. To be honest, it's kind of like a cheap thrill. Like most others, I try to justify it by saying I'd never buy what I download anyway. Usually that's true, though assuredly there are a few things I might have bought - such as Ninja Gaiden. But I honestly do purchase my favorites. As a matter of fact, I got the best things I ever ordered: The Smurfs Volume 1 and 2 on DVD from Australia a few weeks back. (In case you're wondering, Volume 3 is being released next week.)

I do want to say that I think pirated goods are beneficial to poor people in developing countries. Think about these poor guys who bust their asses at tortuous jobs for peanuts. It makes me glad to know that if they want they can pick up a movie/music CD for less than a dollar on the street. God bless them. It's just plain wrong that they would have to spend $25 to own a movie. For them, there really is not a chance in hell they would/could pay such a price.

Well, that about does it for this topic again. It's time for me to watch The Simpsons...doh!

KLB - The Joys of Teaching


The joys of teaching continued today. In a great stroke of planning, our program's semester doesn't change until the week after next but the school's semester changed today. Therefore the students' schedules have changed and in turn all my classes are mixed up. I didn't find this out until the beginning of class today either.

So I have level A students in my B class and B level kids in my C class and general chaos and confusion. My first class has just 5 kids now (down from 12) and the next two have nearly 20 in each. Of course, and this is no surprise, the kids who changed up a level have no new books and they won't be getting any. Several of these students are quitting at the end of our program's semester for various reasons - so they have no incentive to do anything except stare vacantly into space. On the other hand, a bunch of new students will be replacing them and and I guess I'll have a new class too, as I said before.

Basically I'm stuck in limbo between the school's change and ours and I have to wing it until our semester changes and we do level tests next week. It's not going to be easy, though. I didn't know what the hell to do today about the poor kids thrown into advanced levels with no books or comprehension of what's going on in the class. Argh! As a teacher, winging it is not easy in such circumstances.

Today actually stirred up some bad memories. Most of these problems occur on a regular basis in poorly run hagwons. I certainly don't miss that experience and can deal with this for a week until things get back on track. It just never fails to amaze me how stupid some of these education programs can be here and, among a mountain of other things, how much focus is put on trivial things like meticulously detailed paperwork and not enough on effective education of the kids.

KLB - No Coffee for You!


Yesterday (Korean Independence from Japan Day) was the first time in ages I didn't touch the computer or Xbox (except to watch a movie off the harddrive). All I did was hang out with Julie. It turns out she had been getting fed up with my new obsession. Apparently my sitting hours unend transfixed in front of the TV smashing a controller and muttering incoherently wasn't as much fun for her as for me - go figure. It's OK though because I had already flung Ninja Gaiden out the window a few days back. I'm not kidding. That is one of the hardest games I've ever played. I was on the second to last chapter and just after an impossible battle (in which I died 100 times) I finally beat the level boss. As I was cheering, the screen went blank and an error message popped up that the disk was dirty. Well, that dirty disk is probably still soaring somewhere over the Korean landscape as I write.

That's the thing I don't understand about games. They make you incredibly frustrated yet you keep playing them. I guess it's just like any other addiction. I'm not downloading Ninja Gaiden again right now, I swear. I'm not going outside to look for the disk either.

Today I went off to work in a good mood that lasted through the first class. Then as I was about to get my usual paper-cup of coffee from the school's office, I was told by Cathy we are no longer allowed to drink the school's coffee.

"What? Why not?"

"The principal told me today."

"Yeah, but what's the reason?"

"Because we don't pay for that."

"Well, that's no problem. I'll be happy to pay."

"No, we can't pay either."

"Why not?"

"She said it's not our right to use the coffee machine."

"Are you kidding? That's ridiculous."

[To understand this reaction, you have to know that the "coffee machine" is an old, usually broken, portable paper-cup/coffee dispensing machine like the ones that charge 100-300 won (10 - 30 cents) per cup in restaurants.]

Though Cathy thought nothing of this, it made me feel very awkward and embarrassed. For the past month I've been going down to the office once/day. For one, I enjoyed the coffee - but that wasn't the main point. I thought of it as a chance to be sociable, a good excuse to pop my face in and say hello to the principal and other teachers every day. I thought they appreciated that. I had no idea that behind their smiles they were secretly annoyed that the foreign guy was drinking their coffee.

To top it off, this situation got worse. Cathy saw my face turn red and thought I was angry because I couldn't drink coffee. In a frustrating display of madness, she zipped about and dug up a package of instant coffee mix and a paper cup. At that point I didn't even want coffee anymore. And so the whole thing put me in a bad mood. Yes, sometimes I'm sensitive - but this (and other things) makes me realize once again that we're outsiders and not a real part of the school. As I said, it's not just the coffee. Many things like this have come up in the past. For example, we can't use the copy machine anymore. Can you imagine being a teacher with no access to a copy machine. Well, if I want anything copied I'm supposed to tell Cathy. Of course I never do because she would have to (on her own time) trek to the agency's office in Gangnam (about an hour away) to make them. I also never said anything about this and tried to understand the school might be on a tight budget.

But then it gets petty.

Last week our pencil sharpener broke. Once the extra pencils couldn't be used anymore, I asked Cathy where I could sharpen them. In fact, I wondered why she hadn't sharpened them herself already. "We can't use the school's pencil sharpener," she said meekly. That time I must have turned red too because the next day I was embarrassed to find she went out and bought a pencil sharpener with her own money (which led to another awkward moment where I wasn't sure if I should offer to pay for it). She said that Bonnie doesn't want to pay for things like that either. I already knew that though. Basically if we don't buy it, we don't get it. I buy the pencils and erasers because if I don't, half of my A class students would be unable to write.

I really don't get this pettiness of the principal/school. They just renewed the contract with Bonnie and obviously they and the parents want us there, so what's with the cold shoulder treatment these days?

So this is my plan. I bought a nice coffee gift set from Walmart and a card. I'm going to write this in English and Korean: "I'm very sorry for drinking the school coffee. Please accept this gift and my apology." I'll sign it: "The Foreign Teacher" and put it in the office. That's going to be funny.