No there aren't lots of people doing it here. As far as martial arts are concerned they just stick to the Korean ones. But as I have commented previously I do it wherever I can find space. Now, this has become more true of late. I have noticed that I may well be putting on some weight, I've been eating too much junk to try even out the lack of taste from some of the stuff I have to eat here. Now Korean food is generally not bland, in fact it's generally fiery hot, but I just can't take that, so I have to opt for the bland. Especially since they only have hot or not, there are not many simple flavours and herbs.
Anyway, I got off track there a bit. What I was getting at is that I am finding myself doing more kung fu, be it in the classroom between classes, in my school playground or the one in the town that I live, or even up at the temple. At the moment it's bloody freezing so I only spend maybe 10 mins at a time if I am outside, maybe that will change by the time the sun rolls around. I can practise that which I know, but I am starting to go off at tangents a bit...hmmm.
Anyway I also find myself teaching small amounts to the local kids that will just sit there watching me. It's pretty amazing, yesterday two kids had just gotten out of some class or another as I had begun. At first they pretended to play football, but quickly they gave up and just sat down and watched me. By the end they were trying to copy me.
I have considered learning some Tae Kwondo, since there is a place that teaches it in my town, but it appears to just be for kids and I also get the feelings that I would just compare it to Kung Fu as I once did when I tried it in the UK. Also I do not believe that the teacher will have any command over the English language. Anyway, we'll see about that. But I shall continue to do Kung Fu everywhere, I shall become 'that weird guy that does kung fu' or maybe just 'that weirdo'. But I have gotten over the staring, it used to be a problem, but as a teacher and a white guy that is different in this country, standing out is not an issue.
Well I guess I'll go off and be weird and do some Kung Fu.
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Sunday, 23 January 2011
Korea's theme
I don't know if this is the same for everyone else, but I have a tendency to over listen to music I like and often that means for certain amount of time before I move on I will probably listen to the same stuff over and over. Which means in my mind when I look back to what I was doing I can often attribute a band or album to a certain time in my life. For instance when I did work placement at school I listened to a double album from Crosby and Nash. When I lived in America I can attach Pendulum's second major album: In Silico. There are many other occasions I can do this, but what I wanted to get down to was that I have one for Korea, or if not the whole year at least the entry phase.
My band for the opening stages of my Korean adventure is Sonic Boom Six, they're a UK band local to Manchester and are not generally big. They're a cross between punk/ska and other variations of the more underground scene. Now I'm not trying to make any of you go out and listen to them and I'm also not one of those dicks that thinks they're better than you because they listen to obscure music. I just wanted to note that they are the band that I've been listening to of late. They especially good since their music can be loud and bouncy, bouncy is good for the bad days and the good and loud is useful to drown out the various disgusting and annoying sounds one is likely to run into fairly frequently here.
Well that's it really, also I suppose I would thank the band for their music if I ever met them because not only do i like it, but I have made use of it in this situation.
My band for the opening stages of my Korean adventure is Sonic Boom Six, they're a UK band local to Manchester and are not generally big. They're a cross between punk/ska and other variations of the more underground scene. Now I'm not trying to make any of you go out and listen to them and I'm also not one of those dicks that thinks they're better than you because they listen to obscure music. I just wanted to note that they are the band that I've been listening to of late. They especially good since their music can be loud and bouncy, bouncy is good for the bad days and the good and loud is useful to drown out the various disgusting and annoying sounds one is likely to run into fairly frequently here.
Well that's it really, also I suppose I would thank the band for their music if I ever met them because not only do i like it, but I have made use of it in this situation.
Ulsan
I went to Ulsan yesterday to see a friend I knew from the US. I took the bus to get there and had to change in Eonyang, it was the quickest and easiest way to get to Ulsan from Tongdosa, but I had never done the riute before, in all honesty it wasn't actually that hard and only took about an hour and a half plus it only cost about 2500 won in all.
Shortly after arriving at my friend's place my other mate joined us, the brit this is and we went out for a Korean version of ribs, not too bad in all, but I often find there is not quite enough, especially when I'm enjoying it. I also sampled some cognac from my friend's place and in return I let him have a swig of the 18 year old single malt glenfiddich I had with me, not much there though.
Then we went out to a westernish bar, not too bad there either, played some pool and some darts and let the night slip away. Not overly eventful but a pretty fun night in all.
Now today was interesting, not really good interesting, but the random stuff that I seem to come across in Korea. I had to find my way back home via bus. Now generally you'd think that wouldn't be too bad, because you just hop on at the bus depot and go on your merry way in the reverse of how I arrived. However that was not the case, my bus apparently does not make an appearance at the depot, so me and the other brit had a wander around the various buildings housing bus departure and had to go back and forth until we finally found the 'Tourist Information' section, where the woman spoke a fair amount of English and pointed me in the right direction.
Once I had parted ways with my mate I had to wait for about half an hour for my bus to arrive, but while I was waiting I did see two things that were a little strange for Korea. The first was a whole white family got off a bus, I mean it was a mum and a dad and four kids aging in range. I made the assumption that they must live in Korea, but I suppose it's possible they could be visiting, but I doubt it. We didn't interact it was just a sight I have not beheld while in Korea up until now. Then just shortly after that a rather portly man wandered past with his friends and he had a very bandy legged walk, close to a waddle in fact. This sort of fella would probably fairly common place in the West, but here in Korea, people are generally not fat and those that are, are generally proportionally fat, not this guy, he mainly had a stomach on him.
The bus ride took a bit to get back, but once off the first bus it was plain sailing.
So again this is not really an exciting post but it was my weekend and some of the stuff I saw was quite obscure for here, especially since I'm from such a small town. Night.
Shortly after arriving at my friend's place my other mate joined us, the brit this is and we went out for a Korean version of ribs, not too bad in all, but I often find there is not quite enough, especially when I'm enjoying it. I also sampled some cognac from my friend's place and in return I let him have a swig of the 18 year old single malt glenfiddich I had with me, not much there though.
Then we went out to a westernish bar, not too bad there either, played some pool and some darts and let the night slip away. Not overly eventful but a pretty fun night in all.
Now today was interesting, not really good interesting, but the random stuff that I seem to come across in Korea. I had to find my way back home via bus. Now generally you'd think that wouldn't be too bad, because you just hop on at the bus depot and go on your merry way in the reverse of how I arrived. However that was not the case, my bus apparently does not make an appearance at the depot, so me and the other brit had a wander around the various buildings housing bus departure and had to go back and forth until we finally found the 'Tourist Information' section, where the woman spoke a fair amount of English and pointed me in the right direction.
Once I had parted ways with my mate I had to wait for about half an hour for my bus to arrive, but while I was waiting I did see two things that were a little strange for Korea. The first was a whole white family got off a bus, I mean it was a mum and a dad and four kids aging in range. I made the assumption that they must live in Korea, but I suppose it's possible they could be visiting, but I doubt it. We didn't interact it was just a sight I have not beheld while in Korea up until now. Then just shortly after that a rather portly man wandered past with his friends and he had a very bandy legged walk, close to a waddle in fact. This sort of fella would probably fairly common place in the West, but here in Korea, people are generally not fat and those that are, are generally proportionally fat, not this guy, he mainly had a stomach on him.
The bus ride took a bit to get back, but once off the first bus it was plain sailing.
So again this is not really an exciting post but it was my weekend and some of the stuff I saw was quite obscure for here, especially since I'm from such a small town. Night.
Thursday, 20 January 2011
Rain
Just a quick one.
I am not sure it has rained all the time I have been here in Korea, if it has I have not witnessed it. I find that very strange, one because I am from England and it normally rains at least once a week and that's when we are having a dry spell, but secondly I am not that far from the coast. Of course it is winter now and it is bitingly cold, which means we did have one downfall of snow, yet no rain. So very strange, maybe this is what it is always like here, but I have to say I am starting to miss rain.
*Actually I tell a lie, I do remember it raining, it rained on my second day in Korea. So I have seen it here, but I still miss it.
I am not sure it has rained all the time I have been here in Korea, if it has I have not witnessed it. I find that very strange, one because I am from England and it normally rains at least once a week and that's when we are having a dry spell, but secondly I am not that far from the coast. Of course it is winter now and it is bitingly cold, which means we did have one downfall of snow, yet no rain. So very strange, maybe this is what it is always like here, but I have to say I am starting to miss rain.
*Actually I tell a lie, I do remember it raining, it rained on my second day in Korea. So I have seen it here, but I still miss it.
Today
This one will probably only make any sense to someone who has been following my journey VERY closely, or those that speak to me often.
But the troubles I have been having with a certain person came to a very bizarre head today.
I am utterly pissed off with the result. I tried to rectify that which had ocurred and bring the matter to a close, but it does not appear to have worked. The problematic element has disregarded my words and as such I think I shall issue a warning before taking my findings to a higher level.
...Yes this sounds pompous I know, it is also horribly coded and hugely ambiguous, but this is an open blog and as such there is no room for recognition.
I suggest if you have no idea what so ever what I'm talking about here, just ignore it and read some of my other random stuff.
But the troubles I have been having with a certain person came to a very bizarre head today.
I am utterly pissed off with the result. I tried to rectify that which had ocurred and bring the matter to a close, but it does not appear to have worked. The problematic element has disregarded my words and as such I think I shall issue a warning before taking my findings to a higher level.
...Yes this sounds pompous I know, it is also horribly coded and hugely ambiguous, but this is an open blog and as such there is no room for recognition.
I suggest if you have no idea what so ever what I'm talking about here, just ignore it and read some of my other random stuff.
Weekends
You know I was pondering the value of weekends this morning as I travelled to work. They have always been a time for fun and relaxation, but their value has fluctuated in my life so far.
As a child I knew the weekend meant no school, but that didn't bother me really because regardless of what I said I liked school, since all my friends were there. So the weekend at that time meant play time for me, but the value of a single weekend was very low.
Then when I became older, but still at school, let's say GCSE level, weekends started to take on but positive and negative connotations. I loved the time I got off to lounge around, but I hated the time I spent at my saturday job, it was just a further chore.
Then we move ahead a couple of years and I am doing my A levels, at this point weekends have lost some value, they still entail working at some saturday job and doing any homework, basically I just really liked the sleeping in, but also during A-level I had more time to myself during the days, so some of the value was lost.
Then there was uni, this is where weekends took a nose dive, they were very similar to every other day, except there was no occasional lecture getting in the way. So weekends simply melted into week days, leaving no obvious difference.
But finally where I am now, every weekend and every holiday, no matter how small has significant value. They are days I look forward to. I could comprehend why people liked holidays so much when I was younger, but not how valuable they can be. It is strange, I have not been a full time worker for all that long, but perhaps it is because of the challanges I face daily that I have so quickly stepped into the roles of the full time worker that I did not understand when I was younger.
Bah, I'm sure most of you will just think this to be a pointless ramble, but it is something that I noticed today during one of those rare quiet moments.
As a child I knew the weekend meant no school, but that didn't bother me really because regardless of what I said I liked school, since all my friends were there. So the weekend at that time meant play time for me, but the value of a single weekend was very low.
Then when I became older, but still at school, let's say GCSE level, weekends started to take on but positive and negative connotations. I loved the time I got off to lounge around, but I hated the time I spent at my saturday job, it was just a further chore.
Then we move ahead a couple of years and I am doing my A levels, at this point weekends have lost some value, they still entail working at some saturday job and doing any homework, basically I just really liked the sleeping in, but also during A-level I had more time to myself during the days, so some of the value was lost.
Then there was uni, this is where weekends took a nose dive, they were very similar to every other day, except there was no occasional lecture getting in the way. So weekends simply melted into week days, leaving no obvious difference.
But finally where I am now, every weekend and every holiday, no matter how small has significant value. They are days I look forward to. I could comprehend why people liked holidays so much when I was younger, but not how valuable they can be. It is strange, I have not been a full time worker for all that long, but perhaps it is because of the challanges I face daily that I have so quickly stepped into the roles of the full time worker that I did not understand when I was younger.
Bah, I'm sure most of you will just think this to be a pointless ramble, but it is something that I noticed today during one of those rare quiet moments.
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
The shit has hit the fan.
To any of you that know me, ask me directly, because I do not wish to disclose this particular story out in the open.
Otherwise, yesterday I made the concerted effort of making spaghetti bolognase, it was pretty good, lacking slightly in tomatoey goodness, since I had to peel and chop the tomatoes myself and I lacked any puree to heighten the flavour, but I did get a bunch of herbs from Busan at the weekend, so it was as close as it could be. And yes I did have actual spaghetti, not noodles. It was good and I could actually bothered to do that after work as well, I must be getting into the swing of things, at least mildly.
Also I have had the dates of when I can take my holiday confirmed and I will be able to get a full 2 week stretch, which will allow me to go off and visit New Zealand, if they'll have me. Also if I book through a Korean website, it won't cost quite as much, but I will need to negotiate an entirely Korean website. But if I get majorly stuck I will try and find some English speaking Koreans in my town willing to help out. Well we'll see, next step find out from the fam if they are free to take me in.
Also, this is a bit later since I didn't get to post this when I thought I was done, I met a random Korean just as I got off the bus today, he had some English at first and seemed to think we lived next to each other, which I don't think we do. But then he went off in Korean, he also told me that he was 90, which is pretty amazing. I mean he did look pretty old, but not ancient, he had only a few teeth left and was hunched over, but I think he was drunk too, which makes communication, just that bit harder. Anyway, nothing major when you live in Korea, just another of those passing random conversations.
Well I shall have to see how things play out in the next couple of days, it could even take a week, but lets see what happens. Right, strangely tired now, given the time, but I may as well go to bed, nothing stopping me.
Otherwise, yesterday I made the concerted effort of making spaghetti bolognase, it was pretty good, lacking slightly in tomatoey goodness, since I had to peel and chop the tomatoes myself and I lacked any puree to heighten the flavour, but I did get a bunch of herbs from Busan at the weekend, so it was as close as it could be. And yes I did have actual spaghetti, not noodles. It was good and I could actually bothered to do that after work as well, I must be getting into the swing of things, at least mildly.
Also I have had the dates of when I can take my holiday confirmed and I will be able to get a full 2 week stretch, which will allow me to go off and visit New Zealand, if they'll have me. Also if I book through a Korean website, it won't cost quite as much, but I will need to negotiate an entirely Korean website. But if I get majorly stuck I will try and find some English speaking Koreans in my town willing to help out. Well we'll see, next step find out from the fam if they are free to take me in.
Also, this is a bit later since I didn't get to post this when I thought I was done, I met a random Korean just as I got off the bus today, he had some English at first and seemed to think we lived next to each other, which I don't think we do. But then he went off in Korean, he also told me that he was 90, which is pretty amazing. I mean he did look pretty old, but not ancient, he had only a few teeth left and was hunched over, but I think he was drunk too, which makes communication, just that bit harder. Anyway, nothing major when you live in Korea, just another of those passing random conversations.
Well I shall have to see how things play out in the next couple of days, it could even take a week, but lets see what happens. Right, strangely tired now, given the time, but I may as well go to bed, nothing stopping me.
Sunday, 16 January 2011
Another weekend in Busan
I went into Busan again this saturday. I didn't do anything particularly significant. I met up with a friend and another guy and we went down to haeundai beach and took a wander around, it was bloody freezing, but it was still pretty nice, even though it is the winter. Later we went to the Wolfhound and had their variation of fish and chips, not too bad all round. This place is a western bar run by an Irish fella, so homish. The place had a few different beers, largers and an actual cider, so in all it was a nice change. I think I will go back at some time, but generally I prefer Korean places, I think realistically though it will be a welcome change every so often, once I have been a bit longer.
A couple of random things from yesterday. First of all I was in one of their huge supermarket/mal places called lotte (pronounced lott-e) and I came across what I assume should have been instant coffee, but instead had been translated as income coffee.
Secondly I was just waiting for my friend to arrive in one of the subway stations and a fella walked past making a sort of cukoo sound. Nothing massive, but something a bit weird, even for Korea.
By the end of the day I was taking the long journey back along the subway and onto the bus, but while I was on the subway I eneded up talking to this Korean guy next to me. It turns out he used to be an English Teacher at a middle school. I was a little suprised because although he could speak some Korean, he was not as well versed as I would have expected, but it turned out that he was 79, which really suprised me and he had not really spoken English since he retired. So I am guessing that it has probably been at least 15 years out of common use. Anyway I found out that he now runs a little motel, just as something to do. It was really good talking to him and I hope in the future I'll get the chance to have many more random conversations with Koreans.
I have been more Kimbap recently, it is not something that I have only just discovered, but I found it more valuable of late, it can be taken away and fairly easy to transport, it's pretty filling and it's also quite cheap. For those that don't know its, rice, some veg, egg, a type of radish and in some tuna, all wrapped up in seaweed. When I first saw it, I was dubious, but it's actually really good, so I'm sure I will be eating plenty of it in the future.
Today I have not really done all that much, I have just achieved the standard sort of Sunday stuff, preparing for work, washing my clothes, etc and relaxing, which is always welcome. One day out on the weekend, one day relaxing and then the week days at work. Looks like this will generally be my life for the next 11 months, but it's not all that bad really.
Right well that's that. I start just after school classes tomorrow, so I'll see how they play out and I'll have to talk to my Co-teacher about when I can take my holiday. I know I haven't been in the job long, but I can only take it at certain time and I would not want to miss it. Alright, in a bit.
A couple of random things from yesterday. First of all I was in one of their huge supermarket/mal places called lotte (pronounced lott-e) and I came across what I assume should have been instant coffee, but instead had been translated as income coffee.
By the end of the day I was taking the long journey back along the subway and onto the bus, but while I was on the subway I eneded up talking to this Korean guy next to me. It turns out he used to be an English Teacher at a middle school. I was a little suprised because although he could speak some Korean, he was not as well versed as I would have expected, but it turned out that he was 79, which really suprised me and he had not really spoken English since he retired. So I am guessing that it has probably been at least 15 years out of common use. Anyway I found out that he now runs a little motel, just as something to do. It was really good talking to him and I hope in the future I'll get the chance to have many more random conversations with Koreans.
I have been more Kimbap recently, it is not something that I have only just discovered, but I found it more valuable of late, it can be taken away and fairly easy to transport, it's pretty filling and it's also quite cheap. For those that don't know its, rice, some veg, egg, a type of radish and in some tuna, all wrapped up in seaweed. When I first saw it, I was dubious, but it's actually really good, so I'm sure I will be eating plenty of it in the future.
Today I have not really done all that much, I have just achieved the standard sort of Sunday stuff, preparing for work, washing my clothes, etc and relaxing, which is always welcome. One day out on the weekend, one day relaxing and then the week days at work. Looks like this will generally be my life for the next 11 months, but it's not all that bad really.
Right well that's that. I start just after school classes tomorrow, so I'll see how they play out and I'll have to talk to my Co-teacher about when I can take my holiday. I know I haven't been in the job long, but I can only take it at certain time and I would not want to miss it. Alright, in a bit.
Friday, 14 January 2011
End of Camp.
It's over it's finally over.
I finished the winter camp today, although in truth I sort of finished it yesterday, since yesterday was the last day of teaching the kids. In retrospect the camp was probably not all that hard, were it that I was an experienced teacher, but as I am and as I was I am such. Therefore the camp was probably a little much for me in reality. The problem was not that I was being given an insane number of hours, because I had the afternoons free. The problem was that I was expected to teach three different classes all with varying level and I had to come up with the lessons. I did have a curriculum, but I think that actually made things harder, yes it gave me subjects that I should teach, but that was it, no guidelines and no help, whichg is ultimately is what I needed. To make up for that I did not recieve help from the other teachers either... oh wait, no that just made things worse.
Well with that over I can get back to my kids at my school and see about maybe rasing their English levels or at least trying to make sure what little they have doesn't slip. One of the kids came in today, there was no class, but he didn't leave, so I just threw some stuff from the winter camp at him and showed him random stuff to keep him amused.
After school I headed home to my apartament, but rather than the standard sort of stuff I throw together I went and got some Kimbap (that's rice, veg and for this one tuna all wrapped up in seaweed) and settled in for the night.
Tomorrow I'm heading on down to Busan to meet up with friends again, this time I should be able to make it down on my own and I may stay over at some motel, so we can have a few drinks, since the buses stop running fairly early. Als there may be some sort of party down at the beach, so that may be worth checking out. Well that probably accounts for the last two days and what I'll be off doing on the morrow, so later all.
I finished the winter camp today, although in truth I sort of finished it yesterday, since yesterday was the last day of teaching the kids. In retrospect the camp was probably not all that hard, were it that I was an experienced teacher, but as I am and as I was I am such. Therefore the camp was probably a little much for me in reality. The problem was not that I was being given an insane number of hours, because I had the afternoons free. The problem was that I was expected to teach three different classes all with varying level and I had to come up with the lessons. I did have a curriculum, but I think that actually made things harder, yes it gave me subjects that I should teach, but that was it, no guidelines and no help, whichg is ultimately is what I needed. To make up for that I did not recieve help from the other teachers either... oh wait, no that just made things worse.
Well with that over I can get back to my kids at my school and see about maybe rasing their English levels or at least trying to make sure what little they have doesn't slip. One of the kids came in today, there was no class, but he didn't leave, so I just threw some stuff from the winter camp at him and showed him random stuff to keep him amused.
After school I headed home to my apartament, but rather than the standard sort of stuff I throw together I went and got some Kimbap (that's rice, veg and for this one tuna all wrapped up in seaweed) and settled in for the night.
Tomorrow I'm heading on down to Busan to meet up with friends again, this time I should be able to make it down on my own and I may stay over at some motel, so we can have a few drinks, since the buses stop running fairly early. Als there may be some sort of party down at the beach, so that may be worth checking out. Well that probably accounts for the last two days and what I'll be off doing on the morrow, so later all.
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Dodgeball?
Right well today I taught two different classes at the winter camp at the same level as normal and I was teaching Present Simple statements as well as yes/no questions. This lesson did not go down all that well. There was plenty for the kids to do and I had also planned to play 20 questions, but the kids just couldn't be arsed. Most just pretended to go to sleep and the few that participated did not quite have a good enough grasp of the English language to properly play the game. I just about held it together, but in reality it sucked, but hopefull I have got the meaning across to them...not really much I can do about it though if I haven't, not in this winter camp system anyway.
Well after the two classes today we had PE which just equated to really long games of dodge-ball and a lack of proper rules as well as a biased judge. Yes I know that when your team doesn't win you often throw around the 'biased' word, but honestly this women really was. Well anyway my team got anhilerated twice, but it's not really a surprise since they made the teams the classes, which meant one would be the slow kids. I really didn't mind leading the less able kids, but it meant without a mix they would clearly get thrashed...and they did. At first I was not so bothered since the kids were still having fun, but at the end of the day I found out that the winning class would get lots of stamps and these stamps will lead to the 'best' class getting pizza. I get the feeling that they'll all get some in reality, but given how many the winner got I think the teams were ridiculous. The winning class got 7 stamps and the losers - us, got 1. Which on the scheme of things is insane.
Well aside from the unfair standards, it was fun, but I became knackered since the native teachers couldn't be out and it was my job to protect my team, but that was near impossible. Also I hurt my hand, got one of my fingers bent back, ah well it's only my left, so I'll be fine.
After classes and dodge-ball was over with I went for some kimbap. It was really good actually, I'll have that again. However the constant irritant was there also. He is now attempting to befriend the other whiteys. I am getting to the point where I want to tell him to piss off. Because not only does his obvious stuff irritate me, but generally when you don't like someone you notice all the other stuff that with a friend you would ignore. For instance he has no manners regarding belching or farting, he sucks his teeth for like a quarter of an hour after eating and he cranks up his gospel in the car...Gah!
I guess I'll go do some prep now for tomorrow.
Well after the two classes today we had PE which just equated to really long games of dodge-ball and a lack of proper rules as well as a biased judge. Yes I know that when your team doesn't win you often throw around the 'biased' word, but honestly this women really was. Well anyway my team got anhilerated twice, but it's not really a surprise since they made the teams the classes, which meant one would be the slow kids. I really didn't mind leading the less able kids, but it meant without a mix they would clearly get thrashed...and they did. At first I was not so bothered since the kids were still having fun, but at the end of the day I found out that the winning class would get lots of stamps and these stamps will lead to the 'best' class getting pizza. I get the feeling that they'll all get some in reality, but given how many the winner got I think the teams were ridiculous. The winning class got 7 stamps and the losers - us, got 1. Which on the scheme of things is insane.
Well aside from the unfair standards, it was fun, but I became knackered since the native teachers couldn't be out and it was my job to protect my team, but that was near impossible. Also I hurt my hand, got one of my fingers bent back, ah well it's only my left, so I'll be fine.
After classes and dodge-ball was over with I went for some kimbap. It was really good actually, I'll have that again. However the constant irritant was there also. He is now attempting to befriend the other whiteys. I am getting to the point where I want to tell him to piss off. Because not only does his obvious stuff irritate me, but generally when you don't like someone you notice all the other stuff that with a friend you would ignore. For instance he has no manners regarding belching or farting, he sucks his teeth for like a quarter of an hour after eating and he cranks up his gospel in the car...Gah!
I guess I'll go do some prep now for tomorrow.
Monday, 10 January 2011
Not a major update
Monday and now Tuesday has mainly passed.
Yesterday was pretty good, I did the fairly bog standard fruit lesson to teach adjectives, the kids were not exactly very forthcoming with ideas, just greedy for the food. Overall the lesson did go down quite well and I was able to use the same lesson twice for two different classes. I also taught the difference between singular nouns and plurals to another class, but due to their level I was told not to bother teaching the rules. It feels wrong not teaching the kids how to use plurals and leave them just guessing wildly, but I assume I should follow the advice of others at this early stage at least.
Nothing much else happened yesterday, I worked towards finishing off my prep for today, but Mr A made sure he got in my way, by 'taking me out' for a meal at lunch time, which I paid for...I don't mind that but I was unable to enjoy it because it was so spicy. Also on the bus back from the winter camp he decided he should sit horribly close and invade my personal space. I have to say generally I am not affected by Korean's want to touch each other so much and me to some degree. But I do still have personal space I would rather you not step into unless I am going out with you or the like.
Well that's enough of that.
Today was not as good on the lesson front. My lessons generally fell apart or did not last long enough. However I did not fall apart as I have in the past. Instead I just threw in some games, sure they were not always directly related to the lesson, but hangman is still English related and it's better than total chaos.
After winter camp was quite good. I went to the local shop and picked up a bunch of chocolate, just brands I knew: twix, kit kat etc but they also have dove, which is like galaxy...ish, still not right but better than that Hershey's crap. I also had a pot noodle and that was that. It wasn't a great meal (and no I have not eaten all of the chocolate, I just bought it while it was there), but it was edible and that's what counts, plus it also meant I did not have to eat with Mr. A.
However I have just made a discovery, Mr A turned my fucking heating up. I keep it at about 22 degrees he's pumped it up to 30, why? It's not his room and I know how to use the heating system, if I wanted to boil to death I would have either cranked up the heat myself or put together a nice pot of water in which to cook myself. Fuck, he just gets more annoying.
Bah, I was going to end this just saying that things have not been eventful outside of the winter camp teaching today, but that's right royally pissed me off. Well at least i don't have to teach 4 hours at the winter camp tomorrow, there is a 2 hour slot for PE, where we'll be playing dodge ball with the kids. No doubt it will have weird American rules and the like, but it should still be good fun. Right well I may as well be off.
Later.
Yesterday was pretty good, I did the fairly bog standard fruit lesson to teach adjectives, the kids were not exactly very forthcoming with ideas, just greedy for the food. Overall the lesson did go down quite well and I was able to use the same lesson twice for two different classes. I also taught the difference between singular nouns and plurals to another class, but due to their level I was told not to bother teaching the rules. It feels wrong not teaching the kids how to use plurals and leave them just guessing wildly, but I assume I should follow the advice of others at this early stage at least.
Nothing much else happened yesterday, I worked towards finishing off my prep for today, but Mr A made sure he got in my way, by 'taking me out' for a meal at lunch time, which I paid for...I don't mind that but I was unable to enjoy it because it was so spicy. Also on the bus back from the winter camp he decided he should sit horribly close and invade my personal space. I have to say generally I am not affected by Korean's want to touch each other so much and me to some degree. But I do still have personal space I would rather you not step into unless I am going out with you or the like.
Well that's enough of that.
Today was not as good on the lesson front. My lessons generally fell apart or did not last long enough. However I did not fall apart as I have in the past. Instead I just threw in some games, sure they were not always directly related to the lesson, but hangman is still English related and it's better than total chaos.
After winter camp was quite good. I went to the local shop and picked up a bunch of chocolate, just brands I knew: twix, kit kat etc but they also have dove, which is like galaxy...ish, still not right but better than that Hershey's crap. I also had a pot noodle and that was that. It wasn't a great meal (and no I have not eaten all of the chocolate, I just bought it while it was there), but it was edible and that's what counts, plus it also meant I did not have to eat with Mr. A.
However I have just made a discovery, Mr A turned my fucking heating up. I keep it at about 22 degrees he's pumped it up to 30, why? It's not his room and I know how to use the heating system, if I wanted to boil to death I would have either cranked up the heat myself or put together a nice pot of water in which to cook myself. Fuck, he just gets more annoying.
Bah, I was going to end this just saying that things have not been eventful outside of the winter camp teaching today, but that's right royally pissed me off. Well at least i don't have to teach 4 hours at the winter camp tomorrow, there is a 2 hour slot for PE, where we'll be playing dodge ball with the kids. No doubt it will have weird American rules and the like, but it should still be good fun. Right well I may as well be off.
Later.
Saturday, 8 January 2011
Busan revisited.
I woke up this morning with a wee bit of a hangover, nothing major really, but I was pretty de-hydrated. However I was also running late. I needed to get up and go, so I packed my stuff together and got ready to skedaddle. Luckily just as I was about to leave one of my friends that lives in the same town as me turned up and as he was heading into Busan too, we wnet in together and he showed me where I needed to go and what buses/trains to get.
The ride into Busan wasn't too bad really, it only took about half an hour once we got going, of course the little hang over I had going wasn't so good. But by the time I made it into Busan everything was good. I parted ways with my friend at this point and joined up with my other friend that I was there to meet, I'll call him the Brit (as ever I am being rather coy about names of people just in case since this blog is open to all to read, although realistically I don't expect it to be read by anyone other than people I know, but others are welcome).
The plan was to check out the markets in Nampo-dong first. It took us a little while to get to where we wanted to be, firstly because it was all the way across town and secondly because we have a tendancy to get lost. We did arrive in the end though and it took us a little time to get to where we wanted to be. Once there we came across the fish market and it was huge. At first we just saw lots and lots of dried and gutted fish, just stacks of them, but later we came across the live ones. At first it was amazing, but it didn't take too long before I found it groteque and wanted to leave. It's not that I will stop eating fish, it's just that I do not agree with the manner in which they are kept before they are sold.
Once away from the fish market we wandered through some of the other markets for a time, but there was nothing that we really wanted to buy, so we just moved on. Also it was getting on in the day, so we went elsewhere. We went over to another station, a transfer station, because we were planning to go to haeundai beach. I have heard it's a good place to visit for food and drink, but it was too early in the day for either and we had no inclination to travel all that way. So instead we agreed to get some dinner if we could find anything we wanted and then go our separate ways to return home.
The food wasn't too bad, actually I would go as far as to say it was good. I also picked up a really expensive pack of English tea and only 20 tea bags at that. Now I'm not a tea drinker, but I do like to have one now and again, so I'd rather drink that than the standard stuff you can get in Korea. I suppose in reality we didn't do anything of any real note, but we got to check out more of the city and catch up. Also we played a little game of 'cock'. Those of you that read this that are from my highschool will know this game. The principal is to start saying the word quietly and progressively get louder and louder until you are shouting. Yes, I realise this is not exactly a mature game, however when you are generally being ignored by everyone you see, it is pretty amusing. So Brit and myself played out in a part of Busan, we got a few looks as we got reall loud, but generally it didn't matter because all that they saw were to mad whiteys saying incoherent words.
We parted ways just after having had our meal, but shortly after our split I came across a group of students promoting the education of CPR, at first I assumed that since I was a whitey they would just let me pass since I don't speak Korean, however they waved me over. The three girls that dealt with me had some English between them and so we had some fun, them trying to teach me and me trying to learn best I could. It didn't last long, but it was a good side-track to my return home.
The ride home, both by train and bus was pretty uneventful, but I got back alright and I got to get back to reading my book, which I have not done for almost a month. Also with the journey a success it now means I know how to get into Busan and how to get back again. So far it's been a pretty busy, eventful and fun weekend. I am however looking forward to having a nice long sleep tonight and speaking to some family and friends tomorrow.
* Side note - I will add some photos to this later, but I'll have to get them from Brit first.
The ride into Busan wasn't too bad really, it only took about half an hour once we got going, of course the little hang over I had going wasn't so good. But by the time I made it into Busan everything was good. I parted ways with my friend at this point and joined up with my other friend that I was there to meet, I'll call him the Brit (as ever I am being rather coy about names of people just in case since this blog is open to all to read, although realistically I don't expect it to be read by anyone other than people I know, but others are welcome).
The plan was to check out the markets in Nampo-dong first. It took us a little while to get to where we wanted to be, firstly because it was all the way across town and secondly because we have a tendancy to get lost. We did arrive in the end though and it took us a little time to get to where we wanted to be. Once there we came across the fish market and it was huge. At first we just saw lots and lots of dried and gutted fish, just stacks of them, but later we came across the live ones. At first it was amazing, but it didn't take too long before I found it groteque and wanted to leave. It's not that I will stop eating fish, it's just that I do not agree with the manner in which they are kept before they are sold.
Once away from the fish market we wandered through some of the other markets for a time, but there was nothing that we really wanted to buy, so we just moved on. Also it was getting on in the day, so we went elsewhere. We went over to another station, a transfer station, because we were planning to go to haeundai beach. I have heard it's a good place to visit for food and drink, but it was too early in the day for either and we had no inclination to travel all that way. So instead we agreed to get some dinner if we could find anything we wanted and then go our separate ways to return home.
The food wasn't too bad, actually I would go as far as to say it was good. I also picked up a really expensive pack of English tea and only 20 tea bags at that. Now I'm not a tea drinker, but I do like to have one now and again, so I'd rather drink that than the standard stuff you can get in Korea. I suppose in reality we didn't do anything of any real note, but we got to check out more of the city and catch up. Also we played a little game of 'cock'. Those of you that read this that are from my highschool will know this game. The principal is to start saying the word quietly and progressively get louder and louder until you are shouting. Yes, I realise this is not exactly a mature game, however when you are generally being ignored by everyone you see, it is pretty amusing. So Brit and myself played out in a part of Busan, we got a few looks as we got reall loud, but generally it didn't matter because all that they saw were to mad whiteys saying incoherent words.
We parted ways just after having had our meal, but shortly after our split I came across a group of students promoting the education of CPR, at first I assumed that since I was a whitey they would just let me pass since I don't speak Korean, however they waved me over. The three girls that dealt with me had some English between them and so we had some fun, them trying to teach me and me trying to learn best I could. It didn't last long, but it was a good side-track to my return home.
The ride home, both by train and bus was pretty uneventful, but I got back alright and I got to get back to reading my book, which I have not done for almost a month. Also with the journey a success it now means I know how to get into Busan and how to get back again. So far it's been a pretty busy, eventful and fun weekend. I am however looking forward to having a nice long sleep tonight and speaking to some family and friends tomorrow.
* Side note - I will add some photos to this later, but I'll have to get them from Brit first.
End of the first week of Winter Camp.
I had a strange day yesterday and it was in two parts. The first part of the day was at my winter camp, it was not a difficult day by any means, I had no classes that I had to teach, so I had some time to prep instead. During the day I was generally very cold due to the school's inability to properly heat rooms and Korean's general incapacity to close doors. However, I did get a chance to talk with some of the people running the camp, which was good. In all the day didn't turn out too badly.
The second part of the day was somewhat crazier. I went out with a couple of the guys we went over a hill, but not too far away in the dark to get some food. It was pretty good food actually, but the road was near deadly. Buses and cars just barrelling down the road to a bunch of on coming whiteys. After the meal, we headed on back to Tongdosa and headed to our usual bar for a barrell or two.
The first thing we noticed while there was that there was a monk in the bar, often enough you'll see monks in the town, since there is a large temple on the hill just above the town. However this monk was somewhat different from the norm. First of all he was in a bar and secondly he was drunk. The guy attempted to talk to us a few times. Now and again he would burst into song and then he'd go back to his massive drink. When he saw some christians on TV he jumped up and started shouting until the barkeep turned the TV off. When he was finally done he upped and started begging for money from around the bar, before finally taking his leave.
After that a guy came in with his friends for a drink, a guy that one of my friends kn ew randomly. This guy was a Korean and had little English, but we had a few drinks with him and I thought we were done, since I wanted to get home and have a nice sleep since I was going to Busan the next day...but that's not how things worked out. Instead he grabbed us by the hand and dragged us off to his house, there was no getting out of this. We went back to his place and he brought out the stuff he makes. Some of it was really good and other stuff, not so. But the guy decided that we must take a present each. One guy had already recieved his gift prior to this occasion, but yesterday the other guy got a scroll and I recieved a piece of art, it's actually pretty good. It's of a mountain spirit, I think I may get it framed, not sure yet.
So, we were not there long, just long enough to recieve our gifts and for his wife to get pissed off and of course long enough for us to have a strange broken English and Korean conversation. All in all a pretty good day.
The second part of the day was somewhat crazier. I went out with a couple of the guys we went over a hill, but not too far away in the dark to get some food. It was pretty good food actually, but the road was near deadly. Buses and cars just barrelling down the road to a bunch of on coming whiteys. After the meal, we headed on back to Tongdosa and headed to our usual bar for a barrell or two.
The first thing we noticed while there was that there was a monk in the bar, often enough you'll see monks in the town, since there is a large temple on the hill just above the town. However this monk was somewhat different from the norm. First of all he was in a bar and secondly he was drunk. The guy attempted to talk to us a few times. Now and again he would burst into song and then he'd go back to his massive drink. When he saw some christians on TV he jumped up and started shouting until the barkeep turned the TV off. When he was finally done he upped and started begging for money from around the bar, before finally taking his leave.
After that a guy came in with his friends for a drink, a guy that one of my friends kn ew randomly. This guy was a Korean and had little English, but we had a few drinks with him and I thought we were done, since I wanted to get home and have a nice sleep since I was going to Busan the next day...but that's not how things worked out. Instead he grabbed us by the hand and dragged us off to his house, there was no getting out of this. We went back to his place and he brought out the stuff he makes. Some of it was really good and other stuff, not so. But the guy decided that we must take a present each. One guy had already recieved his gift prior to this occasion, but yesterday the other guy got a scroll and I recieved a piece of art, it's actually pretty good. It's of a mountain spirit, I think I may get it framed, not sure yet.
So, we were not there long, just long enough to recieve our gifts and for his wife to get pissed off and of course long enough for us to have a strange broken English and Korean conversation. All in all a pretty good day.
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Look to the positive & food.
I am pretty pissed about some stuff right now, but since anyone can view this I have decided to vent it to friends instead. So I'll just cover some of the better things of today and tomorrow.
The prep I did last night paid off, however the kids still ran through my material like it took me no time to put it together. So next week I am thinking I need to prep a bit more each day just in case, if I don't use it then, then I CAN use it later. Anyway I got home from work today feeling really low and tired.
Tomorrow I will not be teaching any classes so I will have to oppotunity to get plenty of prep done for next week so that I can go out this weekend and see a friend. Also it will be good to see some of the others do some work for a change.
I bought some stuff from a Korean bakery, there are certain stores that are basically a chain, but they are nothing like anything you would be used to. For those in the UK, they are certainly nothing like a Greggs, they have never heard of savory pastry here and those in the US, their bakeries here are probably closer to yours, except the ones in Korea sell bastardised items of what you may expect. For instance I picked up some doughnuts today, but rather than having jam/jelly in them they have red bean in them. By the way red bean, is well, basically just beans that are red and they are lightly sugared. Koreans love red bean, but I can't abide them, the thing is that it's not bad per se, but it's just a huge let down, whever I find them in what I think I know I am eating I just feel hugely let down and become bored with it.
I find it very strange that the Koreans completely fail with sweet foods. I know that this is a different culture and that they generally like savoury goods and that they eat their large meals several times a day everyday. However when it comes to deserts they just take something that the Americans do quite well and make a Korean version which gernerally makes it pretty crappy. Now this is not to say that they don't have their own stuff, it's just that I have as yet not found anything.
Again I find that ice cream here in Korea is pretty good, they do it quite well considering the fact that the milk over here has a strange for of eggy smell to it. However one should be careful when picking out a flavour, if you are pretty certain what you have picked up, you will likely be wrong. For instance I was looking through the various flavours and for the most part I could not find anything I knew, I was looking for chocolate, vanilla or strawberry, you know just the bog standards. However none were available so I delved in and I cam across what I assumed must be mint. You see green and you see what look like mint leaves and so you assume mint. However that was a big mistake. Instead I got...green tea. Green fucking tea as an Ice cream. LET DOWN!
That's the thing here nothing is really bad, it's just that a lot of things are either not that good or they are just a major let down on what you expect. I think the first thing I need to learn is not to have any sort of expectations. Again I want to make it clear that although there is indeed a lot of stuff that isn't good and isn't bad either there is also that small percentage of food that is good (all of this of course is just my opinion). The problem at the moment of listing good foods I have found in Korea is that I have no idea what to call them, or else if I do know the names I have no idea how to spell it.
Right well I guess this is a real mis-mash of different things. Well I guess if you have been following my blog so far you'll know it goes a bit like this anyway, a stream of conciousness and random stuff chucked in. Righty o I'll be off now, I may well have stuff to talk about tomorrow and if not I'm going into Busan this weekend, so that's certain to kick up something worthy of writing about. So if you have enjoyed my continual blog thus far stay tuned for further updates.
The prep I did last night paid off, however the kids still ran through my material like it took me no time to put it together. So next week I am thinking I need to prep a bit more each day just in case, if I don't use it then, then I CAN use it later. Anyway I got home from work today feeling really low and tired.
Tomorrow I will not be teaching any classes so I will have to oppotunity to get plenty of prep done for next week so that I can go out this weekend and see a friend. Also it will be good to see some of the others do some work for a change.
I bought some stuff from a Korean bakery, there are certain stores that are basically a chain, but they are nothing like anything you would be used to. For those in the UK, they are certainly nothing like a Greggs, they have never heard of savory pastry here and those in the US, their bakeries here are probably closer to yours, except the ones in Korea sell bastardised items of what you may expect. For instance I picked up some doughnuts today, but rather than having jam/jelly in them they have red bean in them. By the way red bean, is well, basically just beans that are red and they are lightly sugared. Koreans love red bean, but I can't abide them, the thing is that it's not bad per se, but it's just a huge let down, whever I find them in what I think I know I am eating I just feel hugely let down and become bored with it.
I find it very strange that the Koreans completely fail with sweet foods. I know that this is a different culture and that they generally like savoury goods and that they eat their large meals several times a day everyday. However when it comes to deserts they just take something that the Americans do quite well and make a Korean version which gernerally makes it pretty crappy. Now this is not to say that they don't have their own stuff, it's just that I have as yet not found anything.
Again I find that ice cream here in Korea is pretty good, they do it quite well considering the fact that the milk over here has a strange for of eggy smell to it. However one should be careful when picking out a flavour, if you are pretty certain what you have picked up, you will likely be wrong. For instance I was looking through the various flavours and for the most part I could not find anything I knew, I was looking for chocolate, vanilla or strawberry, you know just the bog standards. However none were available so I delved in and I cam across what I assumed must be mint. You see green and you see what look like mint leaves and so you assume mint. However that was a big mistake. Instead I got...green tea. Green fucking tea as an Ice cream. LET DOWN!
That's the thing here nothing is really bad, it's just that a lot of things are either not that good or they are just a major let down on what you expect. I think the first thing I need to learn is not to have any sort of expectations. Again I want to make it clear that although there is indeed a lot of stuff that isn't good and isn't bad either there is also that small percentage of food that is good (all of this of course is just my opinion). The problem at the moment of listing good foods I have found in Korea is that I have no idea what to call them, or else if I do know the names I have no idea how to spell it.
Right well I guess this is a real mis-mash of different things. Well I guess if you have been following my blog so far you'll know it goes a bit like this anyway, a stream of conciousness and random stuff chucked in. Righty o I'll be off now, I may well have stuff to talk about tomorrow and if not I'm going into Busan this weekend, so that's certain to kick up something worthy of writing about. So if you have enjoyed my continual blog thus far stay tuned for further updates.
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
Ahhhh, I should really learn fuck off in Korean.
Fucking hell, you fucker.
So today I had a fairly good morning. I had plenty of prep for my first 3 lessons, so I was feeling really good. And the first two lessons went down a storm. However in the third lesson one of the teachers running the camp came in and changed up my lesson, she did help it to be more fun for the kids, but we went through so much stuff that by the fourth lesson with the same kids I was out of games and activities and had to scramble around for something to do. In the end I was left with just playing hangman, man that lesson sucked so bad.
So at the end of the winter camp today, I was looking to get back to my classroom and do a ton of prep so I would not get caught out tomorrow. But no, that did not happen, instead it was decided by Mr A (has no bearing on any real names, but shall serve in place of the person) that we would be going into Busan to get me a phone. Now yes, I did want a mobile phone and it something that will be really useful, but I can see no good reason to drive for almost an hour to get a phone when there is a shop 5 mins from where I live. But since I required a Korean's help, I could do nothing but agree.
So anyway I got my phone today, it's not special and there is no internet access and it is generally in Korean, but the the amount I have to pay sucks ass. I had to spend 100,000 won just for the fucking phone and then 13,000 a month just to have a phone, plus whatever I actully spend on calls, fucking stupid bastards. Fuck that shit.
Anyway, I was fucking pissed with that, especially since Mr A had told me that his friend would hook me up, he did not. Anyway, it took another fucking age to get home again. Once home I thought I could finally get some prep done and then just go to sleep, but fuck no.
Mr A decided that he would order some food to my home. I was not into it, but I could not just tell him to bugger off, maybe I should have though. In the mean time he rooted through my fucking stuff farted all over the place and pissed in my bathroom without closing the door. I had to reign him in, but it just pissed me off so much. After he wolfed his food down he took to MY bed, fucking hell, the worst guest ever. I remember I used to be like that to some degree when I was a kid and I guess I am like that with really close friends, but this guy...I barely know him, it SUCKS!
Ahhh, fuck, fuck, fuck. I am so pissed off. Gah, gotta do prep now and then go to sleep.
So today I had a fairly good morning. I had plenty of prep for my first 3 lessons, so I was feeling really good. And the first two lessons went down a storm. However in the third lesson one of the teachers running the camp came in and changed up my lesson, she did help it to be more fun for the kids, but we went through so much stuff that by the fourth lesson with the same kids I was out of games and activities and had to scramble around for something to do. In the end I was left with just playing hangman, man that lesson sucked so bad.
So at the end of the winter camp today, I was looking to get back to my classroom and do a ton of prep so I would not get caught out tomorrow. But no, that did not happen, instead it was decided by Mr A (has no bearing on any real names, but shall serve in place of the person) that we would be going into Busan to get me a phone. Now yes, I did want a mobile phone and it something that will be really useful, but I can see no good reason to drive for almost an hour to get a phone when there is a shop 5 mins from where I live. But since I required a Korean's help, I could do nothing but agree.
So anyway I got my phone today, it's not special and there is no internet access and it is generally in Korean, but the the amount I have to pay sucks ass. I had to spend 100,000 won just for the fucking phone and then 13,000 a month just to have a phone, plus whatever I actully spend on calls, fucking stupid bastards. Fuck that shit.
Anyway, I was fucking pissed with that, especially since Mr A had told me that his friend would hook me up, he did not. Anyway, it took another fucking age to get home again. Once home I thought I could finally get some prep done and then just go to sleep, but fuck no.
Mr A decided that he would order some food to my home. I was not into it, but I could not just tell him to bugger off, maybe I should have though. In the mean time he rooted through my fucking stuff farted all over the place and pissed in my bathroom without closing the door. I had to reign him in, but it just pissed me off so much. After he wolfed his food down he took to MY bed, fucking hell, the worst guest ever. I remember I used to be like that to some degree when I was a kid and I guess I am like that with really close friends, but this guy...I barely know him, it SUCKS!
Ahhh, fuck, fuck, fuck. I am so pissed off. Gah, gotta do prep now and then go to sleep.
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Winter Camp Day 2
So today was the second day of the camp, it was not the best day, I have to say. I should have known early on. I had chosen to go in a little early in order get some prep done before classes, however once I arrived at school I realised I had left my sandals at home and I knew without them I could look forward to squashing my large feet into the rather small school sandals. So I made the choice to dash home and pick them up. I got them, however I returned to school in time to realise that I didn't have time to prep and another thing I realised was that I am a little out of shape.
With such a naff start to the day I was floundering throughout the day. I did my best and one or two of the lessons did work out and unfortunately the only time that I was given a chance to do some prep, I was told that I would be given one of my lessons off because the schedule had changed. So I was happy, my afternoon would not suck so bad...Oh but wait, 5 mins into the class I was told that was in fact expected to teach. How fucking ridiculous, I was not just unprepared for the lesson, but now I was totally out of wack.
Once the morning was over it was off back to my school as usual. No afternoon classes, so I took this time to do some prep for the lessons tomorrow. I was not able to cover everything, because the bastards have me teaching the most, I have to do 27 classes over 2 weeks and the other teachers (including Americans) only have 11! But hopefully what I have done will help, especially since I can recycle some of it because two of the classes are the same level.
But aside from classes and prep I got a chance to do some Kung-Fu in my lunch break, I know this doesn't seem like all that much, but I really like to do a bit fairly frequently if I get the chance. Unfortuneately there is no room in my accommodation, so I must resort to using whatever school I'm at. I had the teachers of my school gawping at me today. I don't really notice any more, especially since if I want to do any I have to do it in an open public space due to the need to maneuver. Maybe I'll practise at the winter camp if I get in early enough, it would be good if I could do some before work, but I'm lazy in the morning, so we'll see.
On the way back I doscovered something today, when you've had a bit of a lousy day the scenery on the way back home is still breathtaking. The mountains in the distance are pretty amazing. I can see how on a warm night a few cool beers on the roof of my building just staring at the scenery could pretty perfect.
Night all.
With such a naff start to the day I was floundering throughout the day. I did my best and one or two of the lessons did work out and unfortunately the only time that I was given a chance to do some prep, I was told that I would be given one of my lessons off because the schedule had changed. So I was happy, my afternoon would not suck so bad...Oh but wait, 5 mins into the class I was told that was in fact expected to teach. How fucking ridiculous, I was not just unprepared for the lesson, but now I was totally out of wack.
Once the morning was over it was off back to my school as usual. No afternoon classes, so I took this time to do some prep for the lessons tomorrow. I was not able to cover everything, because the bastards have me teaching the most, I have to do 27 classes over 2 weeks and the other teachers (including Americans) only have 11! But hopefully what I have done will help, especially since I can recycle some of it because two of the classes are the same level.
But aside from classes and prep I got a chance to do some Kung-Fu in my lunch break, I know this doesn't seem like all that much, but I really like to do a bit fairly frequently if I get the chance. Unfortuneately there is no room in my accommodation, so I must resort to using whatever school I'm at. I had the teachers of my school gawping at me today. I don't really notice any more, especially since if I want to do any I have to do it in an open public space due to the need to maneuver. Maybe I'll practise at the winter camp if I get in early enough, it would be good if I could do some before work, but I'm lazy in the morning, so we'll see.
On the way back I doscovered something today, when you've had a bit of a lousy day the scenery on the way back home is still breathtaking. The mountains in the distance are pretty amazing. I can see how on a warm night a few cool beers on the roof of my building just staring at the scenery could pretty perfect.
Night all.
Sunday, 2 January 2011
Masks
Yep I realise that this is my second post for today, but it something that has been nagging at me for a while.
Here in Korea it's a common sight to see people with face masks on. Now in the west I know that we see Asian countries in the news with these face masks on and as far as I was concerned when I lived in the UK it was to keep the germs away. However it turns out that here in Korea that is not the case. The masks are worn to keep their faces warm. At first this just didn't click with me. I thought, what, masks, but, why? Then as the cooler months set in I realised how useful they could be, especially since if you wear glasses it's difficult to cover your nose and mouth with a scarf without steaming up your glasses.
However they still haven't sorted everything, even with their masks they still leave their ears completely uncovered and for me that can be far worse than a cold nose. Of course a hood and a mask may be the answer to this problem, but there are two issues. One, people just don't do it and no I'm not going to attempt to engage them in a conversation about it when I can barely cope with the day to day stuff. The second problem is that if you were to wear a mask and a hood you would constantly look like you were going to mug someone.
I personally have gone down the scarf across the face and hood look. Yes I look like some sort of criminal, but I am the white guy so everyone in town already knows who I am, what I do and where I live, so to be honest it's not a big deal.
Well that may have been another mundane rant from me, but you all know what you signed up for by reading my blog. Onward.
Here in Korea it's a common sight to see people with face masks on. Now in the west I know that we see Asian countries in the news with these face masks on and as far as I was concerned when I lived in the UK it was to keep the germs away. However it turns out that here in Korea that is not the case. The masks are worn to keep their faces warm. At first this just didn't click with me. I thought, what, masks, but, why? Then as the cooler months set in I realised how useful they could be, especially since if you wear glasses it's difficult to cover your nose and mouth with a scarf without steaming up your glasses.
However they still haven't sorted everything, even with their masks they still leave their ears completely uncovered and for me that can be far worse than a cold nose. Of course a hood and a mask may be the answer to this problem, but there are two issues. One, people just don't do it and no I'm not going to attempt to engage them in a conversation about it when I can barely cope with the day to day stuff. The second problem is that if you were to wear a mask and a hood you would constantly look like you were going to mug someone.
I personally have gone down the scarf across the face and hood look. Yes I look like some sort of criminal, but I am the white guy so everyone in town already knows who I am, what I do and where I live, so to be honest it's not a big deal.
Well that may have been another mundane rant from me, but you all know what you signed up for by reading my blog. Onward.
Winter Camp
I started winter camp today, although realistically nothing much happened. I introduced myself to a bunch of students and they had nothing to ask me, as usual. Then they did a bit of writing about themselves, which was also very little since I was in with the lower ability kids today. All in all it wasn't too bad a day really. I start tomorrow for real.
Now I'm the new guy, I've only been in the country for just over 3 weeks and looking at the schedule it's pretty unfair and surely not taking advantage of the fact that there are two other native English speaking teachers participating. I have four classes each day, while the others are averaging 2 a day. It seems a little unfair. Now I do understand why they are doing it, it is because I have no afternoon classes and the others do, but from my perspective of having turned up at their school and been given unfamiliar material and having most of the work dumped on me, well it just feels wrong.
Well I have no control over the issues, so I should just prepare best I can, but there is one obvious flaw, which is that I have been booked in to teach two classes at the same time, duh. Well I hope that will get sorted, or I'll just pick the one I want to teach and dump the other on them as they have on me.
Well aside from those moans I have at least been given a book as guide for this camp, so at least I don't have to prep everything like I do in the after school classes I teach at my own school.
Also today I returned to my own school in the afternoon as I shall be doing everyday, so that I can prep for the next AND because I want to get paid only to find a bunch of students had turned up to take a lesson with me that I was not scheduled to run. Well I took the class anyway, I didn't do a proper lesson because I had nothing prepared AND because they were vastly varying in age, so I just played with them a bit until their parents came for them.
So aside from school I also found the bank yesterday, that's useful because my wallet it running pretty dry of the initial money I took with me. I didn't withdraw anything, but I wanted to know where it was and whether I could actually use it, which I can and it's got an English option. :) So anyway it was interesting to find out that I am a millionaire over here in Korea, although that's seriously not difficult, I would propose all but the homeless are millionaires. Therefore after the intial "wow I have more than a million" it was closely followed by, "oh, yeah, but that's bugger all comparatively."
Aye well that's that. If anything of any real interest occurs at Winter Camp I'll be sure to let y'all know. Bye.
Now I'm the new guy, I've only been in the country for just over 3 weeks and looking at the schedule it's pretty unfair and surely not taking advantage of the fact that there are two other native English speaking teachers participating. I have four classes each day, while the others are averaging 2 a day. It seems a little unfair. Now I do understand why they are doing it, it is because I have no afternoon classes and the others do, but from my perspective of having turned up at their school and been given unfamiliar material and having most of the work dumped on me, well it just feels wrong.
Well I have no control over the issues, so I should just prepare best I can, but there is one obvious flaw, which is that I have been booked in to teach two classes at the same time, duh. Well I hope that will get sorted, or I'll just pick the one I want to teach and dump the other on them as they have on me.
Well aside from those moans I have at least been given a book as guide for this camp, so at least I don't have to prep everything like I do in the after school classes I teach at my own school.
Also today I returned to my own school in the afternoon as I shall be doing everyday, so that I can prep for the next AND because I want to get paid only to find a bunch of students had turned up to take a lesson with me that I was not scheduled to run. Well I took the class anyway, I didn't do a proper lesson because I had nothing prepared AND because they were vastly varying in age, so I just played with them a bit until their parents came for them.
So aside from school I also found the bank yesterday, that's useful because my wallet it running pretty dry of the initial money I took with me. I didn't withdraw anything, but I wanted to know where it was and whether I could actually use it, which I can and it's got an English option. :) So anyway it was interesting to find out that I am a millionaire over here in Korea, although that's seriously not difficult, I would propose all but the homeless are millionaires. Therefore after the intial "wow I have more than a million" it was closely followed by, "oh, yeah, but that's bugger all comparatively."
Aye well that's that. If anything of any real interest occurs at Winter Camp I'll be sure to let y'all know. Bye.
Saturday, 1 January 2011
Land
Korea is a land full of mountains/hills and nothing is built upon them, be that out of respect for the mountain spirit as someone once argued or perhaps because it is too difficult, I really don't know. However by not building on these hills two major things become apparent very early on.
One, you are never very far from the countryside or so to speak. Even in Korea's biggest cities nature has not been driven away from the hills. Busan for instance is a very scattered city, it is spread out because their are hills all over the area that the city has grown out of and so the city has developed in the valleys. As far as I am concerned I like it, sure it make travelling from A to B a little more difficult, but that's what tunnels are for. I like the fact that even when you are in the heart of the city you can look out on both a natural view in the distance and the urban scene closer by.
Two every scrap of flat land is precious. Korea seems to be growing some sort of crop on every last bit of spare flat land. The first time I saw this was when I was flying over Korea on my flight from Seoul to Busan. It is an amazing thing to see for a Brit since our government actually pays some of our farmers not to produce crops (can't be arsed to get into that, if you are interested, look it up yourself). This actually extends to a little scrap of land just across from the building I live in. It's probably about as big as a garden shed, but even so someone is growing something. I've no idea what, but since I pass it every day maybe I'll find out at some point.
I understand the economic reasons for this, but I suppose it's just very strange as far as I am concerned not just because of the farmer thing in Britain, but also because we Brits, at least like our gardens for grass and flowering plants and the occasional tree of some sort. Very few of us produce any veg any more. So yeah as far as I am concerned very interesting and different.
One, you are never very far from the countryside or so to speak. Even in Korea's biggest cities nature has not been driven away from the hills. Busan for instance is a very scattered city, it is spread out because their are hills all over the area that the city has grown out of and so the city has developed in the valleys. As far as I am concerned I like it, sure it make travelling from A to B a little more difficult, but that's what tunnels are for. I like the fact that even when you are in the heart of the city you can look out on both a natural view in the distance and the urban scene closer by.
Two every scrap of flat land is precious. Korea seems to be growing some sort of crop on every last bit of spare flat land. The first time I saw this was when I was flying over Korea on my flight from Seoul to Busan. It is an amazing thing to see for a Brit since our government actually pays some of our farmers not to produce crops (can't be arsed to get into that, if you are interested, look it up yourself). This actually extends to a little scrap of land just across from the building I live in. It's probably about as big as a garden shed, but even so someone is growing something. I've no idea what, but since I pass it every day maybe I'll find out at some point.
I understand the economic reasons for this, but I suppose it's just very strange as far as I am concerned not just because of the farmer thing in Britain, but also because we Brits, at least like our gardens for grass and flowering plants and the occasional tree of some sort. Very few of us produce any veg any more. So yeah as far as I am concerned very interesting and different.
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