Not an interesting post this time. I am sick and don't feeling like writing much. I've spent the weekend in bed watching "The Wire", Fox News, and the occasional Korean channel. While waiting for English football to start (around 1:30am) I was flipping through the channels and came across the gem at the bottom of this post. My goal now is to find where this happens and go immediately to watch. One of my big regrets is not seeing it in America (yet!!!), though I have been to a monster truck show! Sorry for the bad quality, I was using my new camera and haven't figured out how to make it look nice yet. They really do make contact, I can't believe I watched it for an hour (and missed most of the soccer game).

"Cricket...Cricket..."

I am currently sitting in the teachers’ office completely alone getting high off of gas fumes. All the teachers are some sort of workshop and since it's in some language I don't quite have the grasp of yet, I decided to skip it. While the teachers are out students are refilling all the heaters with what looked like gasoline (and smells like!)

I had a very boring birthday last week. I didn't even remember it was that special day until I was halfway to school. When I got there I found a cake on my desk and a few of the teachers gathered around and sang a pretty bad version of "Happy Birthday" with rhythm losing clapping the whole time. Everybody was really nice so it wasn't too bad. The cake was made from new potatoes. After school I went to TGIFridays to have a $14 hamburger then headed home to cry in my pillow. A friend did give me a book on learning Korean; I don't think I'll be getting to deep into that one.

Went to Pra...let's start over...Went to Seoul this weekend to buy a camera and see some good (and my only) friends. We had fun and got full on food and booze (and received a $25 discount because the waiter liked my toosh!)

The camera...Seoul has a special area of the city just packed with electronics. Anything you want you can find it and usually damn cheap (in Korean standards that means USA price +10-20%) I went shopping around in regular stores and saw the camera I wanted for an obscene amount of money. Went to the electronics mart and it was almost 50% of that!

I took the slow train there and back, so 11 hours in travel time for less than 24 hours of Seoul time. Well worth it!

My pick me up

I am reading a good book about a teacher's experiences throughout his career and made me think of my brief stint in the realm of public schools. Overall it was a good time and I learned a hellofalot about myself that needed changing. I have gotten much more relaxed over small matters like talking in class or other minor infractions of my laws but still have a long way to go.

I still keep in contact with a couple of my original students from Mart, TX and they say I wasn't all that bad but they could just be lying. I did have a couple of students that I had a tough time with though. We were always going back and for at each other (usually for some nitpicky thing or other) and I thought they hated me. Then one day for an English assignment the students had to right about who is important in their lives. The English teacher (there where 60 or so students and 3 teachers shared them) told me only one student wrote about a teacher and that it was my enemy number 1! I read this when I need to have a smile. This is what the student wrote (spelling errors are the students.)

You can trust MR Smith he is very good at being a friend He keep secret's and very funny he is very special when I'm around him I feel like I can tell him anything that's making me mad or sad he really helps me with my problems that's why he sow special he is like the other MR Smith but younger he is very smart. MR Smith is like My Friend but he is older he is really good with kids but I know one other thing he wont have know kids of his own. Everyone thinks Miss. truss is more then MRS. Smith Friend I wonder what MRs. Smith looked when he was nine years old that would be funny.He's funny that's why he is really special but I think Mrs. Smith first Job he was a clown cause he make kid's laugh and he wear them big brown Clown shoe's and every time you see him he is in a good mood or have a smile on his face and he is a great teach teacher.

To answer your question, no, Miss Truss was NOT more than my friend.

Grrrrr Rabbit!

Okay, Korea bitching time!

I am exhausted. The past 2 nights I was woken up by some idiot ringing my doorbell throughout the night. I spent last night awake waiting for the shit to do it again and everytime I heard footsteps I'd go to the door to pounce on his/her ass. Of course they didn't come back, but I'll be ready tonight. It's strange, they ring mine, run upstairs and ring someone else, run downstairs and rings mine again, then they run away.

I think they have a problem with somebody but are not sure which apartment is the right one. I don't think Koreans know how to read numbers. I always get people trying to key into my room or just try opening the door! I am glad that I have it locked all the time. One idiot kept knocking and ringing the doorbell and trying to open the door while I was trying to get out of bed and get a bit dressed before I opened it. As soon as he saw me he said sorry and took off to only comeback a few minutes later doing the same thing! What the hell?!

After tonight I am going to take the batteries out of the doorbell, the only person that rings it is the pizza guy.

Another thing to bitch about, Koreans can't seem to walk up and down steps without stomping their feet as had as they can. I can hear people go from the top floor all the way to the bottom and seem to just walk up and down nonstop. Pick a floor and stay on it!! Oh, and stop slamming your doors at 3 in the morning!

Okay, I'm done for now.

Tact

I never know if I write stuff or not. I think about it but don't remember if I actually do it, so if this is a repeat, sorry.

I have never been known to have much in the way of tact. My way with the English language and my easy at putting my foot in my mouth is infamous. But here in Korea, I pale in comparison to their tactlessness.

My co-teacher will come up to me and introduce a student, "This is Kong, the students call him "Horse" because he looks like one, isn't he ugly?", or "This one is called "Pig" because he's so fat. Isn't he fat?!" I am not sure how I am supposed to answer these. I try to be diplomatic and say how handsome they look or how athletic. My co-teacher had another teacher tell her she looked like a hospital patient because she didn't wear any makeup. I think it's because she has a huge head. I was told that I have monkey legs because they are hairy. I am just wondering how they reacted to my brother who is many times hairier than me.

Another Korean was teasing me about how we think of our pets as part of the family. You should see the way they treat their pets here (when they aren't eating them)! Most are little tiny things that they dress up in outfits and dye their ears and tails blue and pink. Maybe they just like to humiliate them before throwing them in the oven.

We did an exercise this past week where I would give them a situation and they tell me what they would do, for example; if you were Georgey Bushy, what would you do? I had to teach commit suicide to every class. I also asked what they would do if they were invisible, after that I had to tell them the difference between women's restroom and women's shower room (like in a spa). Thank g-d they aren't Japanese, who knows what perverted answers I might have gotten.

On the other hand

I may have seemed like I was bashing America on the last post. I wasn't trying to, I was just pointing out some of the differences. This past week made me a bit homesick. I was turned onto a way to watch tv from the internet and was able to watch SportsCenter for the first time in years. I also got to watch the OSU-Illini game this morning (woke up at 5:30 to watch it).

I do miss my friends and family and expect to see you all within the next year. Not sure if/when I may be moving back to my motherland, but I do look forword to a visit. I can't wait to try my dad's cheese dip again, and have meatloaf, go to the barn, and maybe find a way to have a few Ninfaritas.

Ok, enough of that... I had a day and a half off last week and decided to visit the Busan Aquarium. It was more of a chance for me to realize I can't take pictures than anything else. It was pretty small but looked nice and it got me out of my flat. It's located right on a beach, so I was able to walk through some pretty cold water for a few seconds...

Hmmmm...Can't do it anymore (well, at least today). My mind is empty and the juices aren't flowing. I'll pick this up again tomorrow, maybe I'll even bitch some!