가위 바위 보 - Rock, Paper, Scissors

This is something that people in the UK and the Western countries generally may play this occasiinally when they are kids or perhaps to settle something small, such as who goes first and what-not.  However in Korea it appears to be much more powerful.  Kids use it all the time here, if there's some sort of indecision it always comes down rock-paper-scissors.  The kids must use it at least 5 times every day if not many, many more times.  But it's not just them, the adults actually seem to use it and for more serious things than any body I know would.  They also re-inforce it's use in lessons, for instance I have had a lesson where one of my co-teachers has basically used rock, paper, scissors as a stand-alone game.  It was not even a game to do with the lesson, she just had the students play 가위 바위 보 to fill the time.

From the outside it may seem like nothing, but when you experience how often it is used, it just leaves you a little puzzled.

I went running!

I went running!  Me!  I have always been terrible at running, but I thought I'd give it another go recently because a friend of mine said that he looses an immesnse amount of weight by running, which would be good for me because I've put on a bit of weight, while subsisting in a miserable manner for a while.  Anway I thought I'd give it a go...but it did not go too well.

I set off at about 7, I went out along the back of Tongdosa, it was a nice view.  Lots of farm land, I was looked upon by various Koreans as an oddity, probably because I am white, running...outside (they only run in the gym) and not wearing the running gear (because all Koreans have sports clothes for sports).  I ran for a bit, slowed, then ran again and went on like that, but I rounded a corner and I took a breather, but then I heard a dog.  I looked around, but it was difficult to see because it was getting dark.  Then the dog came running out, it gave me a mighty suprise becuase it was a suprisingly big dog, some sort of mastif.  It came running forward, which was not something I expected, so I legged it, it did come to a stop though, it was just on an obscenely long chain. 

I kept running for a bit longer and found a 'sports centre' out in the middle of nowhere, it basically amounts to a astroturf pitch for football and tennis.  So I turned around and went back, this time as I went past the house with the dog, I just fucking pegged it.  Finally when I got home I realised that I had blisters on my feet, what!?  Then I realised, oh yeah that's because my shoes are falling apart.

I have gotten to the point with my clothing that it is starting to fall apart.  I could, I guess buy some more clothes while I'm here, but as a run low on clothes it will be easier to leave stuff here and transport less.  Also I really hate shopping.  So far, my shoes are falling apart - I should do something about that.  Trousers falling apart etc - meh.  Ah well.

Once I get some more shoes maybe I'll give running another go, but this time a different route.

Re-starting work

I started back at work this week after some time off for holiday.  It's a little bit odd and it has been rather annoying.  The first day I went back I discovered that my projector was missing, this meant that I could not use my computer with the kids, because I would have no way of sharing the information.  Basically it just makes my life that bit harder.  But to add to that the room next to mine was locked.  This is an issue because the printer I use is in that room.  I need visuals because I am teaching alone and most of the kids have little to no English.  So, locked, okay, get the key.  Well no, the room is locked and the key is missing and the only person I can ask about it speaks no English...great!

Well I was able to solve the locked room problem by finding a room next to that, which via conveluted means I can access and through that room I can get to the printer...great...  Anyway, the main reason that it's so weird at school at the moment is that the kids and the staff are still on holiday.  So basically I am teaching classes on my own and generally there is not even anyone I can go to if I have issues, thankfully the kids have been good up to now.

I did get my projector back though today, at the end of the day.  The teacher I suspected had taken it, had indeed done so.  I had sent him a text to no avail, but I got an English speaking teacher to help me out.  Ach well, at least I have it back now.

Since I had some issues with making my classes productive, I have at least dealt with the 6th grade for a little while.  I have decided that I will teach them how to make cookies.  It had been a plan of mine previously, but I had not decided when to do it.  So I have begun the lessons needed prior to the baking the cookies.  It could be messy, but it hopefully will be fun and it is pretty useful since I have them 4 times a week.  Also they seem to be pretty excited about the concept of baking in class.  I am planning to do a demo this Friday and then let them have a go on Tuesday, next week.  I am not sure whether I will bring my oven into school or whether I will just take the mix home and then return the cookies the next day.  I will have to see.

Hmm, well that's it really, I can get back to methods I am more familiar with and those that I am certain work at my school.  Not to say that other methods of teaching aren't good, but there are certain things that I have tried and they just don't work with the kids I have.  Mainly due to ability and interest.

Homesick?

I oddly became a little homesick today.  I have been pretty bored and rather fed up in the last month or two, but I have not really experienced homesickness.  However on the way to work this morning, I was sat on the bus and listening to some music I haven't heard in just over in about 7 months, which took me back to the very beginning of my experience out here.  Then as the bus moved past a sort of construction yard I saw some mundane pieces of scrap metal and for some odd reason it made me think of the UK.  Then feeling fell away rather quickly, but it was very odd.

Chicken Korma

Success! I have succeeded.  It has taken me quite a while to source decent cuts of meat in Korea...well specifically in my town.  However yesterday I succeeded, I found I could buy frozen chicken breasts and for a pretty good price too.  Then today I ventured up to Eonyang and sourced as many of the spices as I could to make a curry.  I had been shown the shop by a friend recently.  I was able to get a hold of coconut milk, curry powder and Tumeric, which means I was missing corriander, but it's pretty good regardless.  I also got a ton of cheap vegtables from the market.  Then I returned home and set about making my curry.  I looked at recipies on the internet, but I found them to be far too complicated, given what I had and I have no means of measuring the items I have, so I just made it up. 

1 Onion
2 chicken breasts
1 can of coconut milk
some tumeric, curry powder, paprika, salt, pepper. (not sure of the amounts, just enough to make it look right and for it to taste right).
a dash of chili powder
a dash of olive oil (all I had at hand)

And that's it, other than the rice to go with it.  I wish I could have gotten some naan, that would have been amazing.  But anyway it worked out pretty well, I just need to play with the spices a bit more next time to try and get it a little closer.

I also made some soup today, much easier to make:

1 onion
1 big potato
3 sticks ofspring onions
2 small vegtable stock cubes
water to cover it.

Then boil to mush and stick it in the blender.  Add more water as necessary.

Well didn't mean to start out as a cooking post, but hey there you go, they're both good recipes, taste good and are fairly healthy, well the second one certainly is, the first, maybe less so if eaten often.

Kimchi

After doing my daily Kung-fu (that I started this holiday) I was really hungry, also I hadn't eaten today, so I went to have a big meal.  I had bulgogi in a sort of water dish, it's something I know I like, but its made for 2 people, so I always make sure I'm pretty much starving before I go.  Now the meal was really good, as I knew it would be and it came with some great side dishes, but it also came with several versions of Kimchi.  Anybody who knows me here would probably attest to the fact that I just won't eat Kimchi.  Yes it can be a little too spicy for me at times depending upon the type, but my main reasoning is that I think it just tastes awful.

I was finishing off my large meal, or at least as much as I could eat and I sat back for a bit to regain my composure.  I saw a fly that had been buzzing around the room, it had attempted to settle on several dishes and I had shooed it away, however it had chosen to land on one of the Kimchi side dishes and I really didn't care.  SO as my stomach settled a little I watch the fly take it's time to scout out the bowl.  It located some of the Kimchi, then backed off quickly.  Again it got closer to the Kimchi and actually tried it this time, but again it was driven back by what I can only assume is the taste.  After a third time it gave up.  The result I am choosing to take from this observation is that if a creature that will basically eat anything, including shit doesn't like Kimchi, that's reason enough not to eat it.

Half of the Whiterys

With another person having left my town today and one other being on Holiday there are currently only two white guys residing in my town and I am one of them.  Normally I should represent one 5th of the whitey population of Tongdosa, but at this moments in time I am half of the whitey population.  It's really quite odd.

Nightmares

It's been a long time since I had a nightmare that truely scared me.  I had two last night, the first one broke the streak.  It was a rather odd dream to begin with.  I was in some sort of galleon or brig like ship, fleeing from a larger force.  We among the ship I was upon had been handed oars to make a more expedient flight.  However there were members people on the ship that deemed themselves too officious for such work and refused to help.  Me/My character stood and confronted one of the people at the end of a rapier.  During our fight another was wounded.  He took a slash across the arm.  The fight came to an end with the second man drawing his weapon upon me.  I remember in the dream I was confident I could defeat them both, but I did not want to kill them, I just wanted them to take up the oars.  So I yielded hoping they would see good sense.  But the second man, the wounded man, took up my rapier that had become bent in the fight and attempted to jam it up my nose and into my brain.  I fought hard for a few long hard second before my body went numb and although I could still feel my body fighting I had no control and I was losing the battle.  I was grasped suddenly by true terror.  The I awoke breathing heavily and sweating.  It took me a little while to shake it from my concious and my body to calm down.

The second nightmare was not so frightening.  But enough to wake me and for me to remember in fairly vivid detail after waking.  It begun rather mundanely.  For some reason or another I had left some bedsheets behind at my highschool and one of the administrators picked them up for me and would hold them at her house.  I was fairly certain where she lived and made my way over.  When I arrived I found that it was not the house I had thought it was, in fact she was it was the house my grandma used to own.  Worse, she no longer lived there and the house was instead inhabited by one of her psychotic sons.  What ensued, certaibly was not fun.The guy brought out his rather disgusting girlfriend and together they berated their friends and more or less beat the crap out of them.  For some reason I stuck by, I was adamant to find out about the sheets for some unknown reason.  As one may suspect it ended by me having th crap beaten out of me.  Later in the dream I went to the police at the urging of my parents.  The dream melts away from  me now.  I am not sure of the conclusion, but it did not awake me in the same violent manner as the first.

All in all a really crappy night.