Owner: documentarist URL:http://documentarist.blogspot.com Join Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2007 02:05:13 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: my life as an esl teacher in south korea. culture shock to friends, to food, to school... lots of photos and updated daily. Site statistics:Click here
my favourite class 2007-03-28 12:03:00 i know i'm not supposed to like one student more than another, or one class
, or anything... but i think i've found my favourite class. there are two really smart boys who are eager to learn and eager to please - read: brown nosers. i don't have a problem with people who like to make a good impression - which is how i view 'suck ups'... especially since i am one! it's even better when you're on the receiving end. it makes me feel like everything isn't a waste after all.when there are so many kids that don't pay attention, don't study, don't speak english, don't learn, don't anything, it's a really great feeling to know that there is at least ONE in the class who DOES. when there are two it's even better. they compete against each other and push each other to do better, to be the best. i like to think that it motivates the others, and in this class there are a few who get moving because of it, but the majority are wet rags. but STILL, having any kids who are "into" the cla
korea in bloom... and a laryngoscopy 2007-03-30 04:40:00 as promised yesterday i took some pictures on my way to school this morning of the cherry blossom trees (i think that's what they are) that i walk by every day... they didn't look like this two days ago... i'm sure of it! and the photos don't really do them justice. i'll try to get out this afternoon or this weekend and get some better shots.it kind of reminds me of the trees covered in ice in winter... but it's not cold out!!!a close-up in one of the treesthis one branch caught my eye... the tree itself looks like it's waiting for death, but this one branch just won't give up! beautiful!Now on to more gross things. as you may or may not know, i've been sick off and on for the last two weeks (or more). for the last week my throat has been particularly sore, but just thought it was the yellow sand of china irritating it. this morning, however, i woke up at about 5am with the sorest throat i've had in ages and i could feel that it was swollen - much like in fall when i had tons
not so angelic... or maybe... 2007-03-29 12:10:00 well, the kids today weren't as angelic as i remembered them, but they were definitely better than school #1. it was a long day with five classes, but at least they aren't in a row - that's friday. BUT tomorrow i get a break! there is some science fair going on and the kids have to prepare for it, so there are no regular classes after second period. to make things even better, my weekend gets to start as soon as i'm done class!!! that's right! for the first time since arriving someone at my school is giving me a break and letting me leave early! yay! (i'll still keep my fingers crossed while i sleep tonight!)in other news, i'm still going to the gym six days a week. i've lost a total of 5.3 pounds in three weeks! did i mention that i joined weight watchers online? i don't think that i did, but having it out there makes me more accountable for it. as an online buddy of mine said, "they're only numbers and they only have the power of shame we give them." so, i'm not giving the
because i LOOOOOVE laryngitis SO much! 2007-04-02 11:47:00 i can't believe it.as you probably know i have laryngitis. i spent the weekend (for the most part) resting my voice and taking care of my throat. but today it was still bad, and the doctor told me on friday to go back today regardless... so i did. he said that it's looking a little better, but that i need to continue to rest my voice and take more medication until it's better. when i told him i'm a teacher and i can't rest my voice he looked worried. so did i. i was sure that the school doesn't really believe that i'm sick, they think i just have a sore throat and that i'm making a big deal about it. so i got the doctor to write me note. i figured this would at least legitimize my not being able to talk in class.well, of course not. this is korea where people get sick for three hours and then are better again. does no one in this country realize that my body is different from theirs? physiologically asians and caucasions have different reactions to different things, and i'm no
smog or fog? (or that pesky yellow sand...) 2007-04-01 09:57:00 i wish i knew the answer. there were a lot more koreans wearing face masks today... something you see on a regular basis, but it seemed like almost everyone had one today. here is a 'before' picture from the roof of my building:and here is what it looks like today:i like to think that it's fog... but i can't be sure. maybe this is the asian dust finally raining down on us. these definitely aren't storm clouds as there is no rain, and doesn't feel like it will rain. it's actually quite warm out. kind of scary to think about what i'm breathing in...just had a call from a friend, and she says someone else told her it's the dust. and looking out my window i can see a buildup of it on the window... don't know how i'm going to manage to clean that off... i hope it rains! anyway, here are a couple more pics of my walk through the park today:the colour seems a little off because of the colour of the sky... but i didn't adjust it so that you could see it... anyway, guess i'll stay
it's only tuesday 2007-04-03 12:35:00 all day the one thought that continued to run through my head was that it is only tuesday. for some reason i felt like it was at least wednesday... but no... my first five class day of the week and it went on forever.my first two classes of the day were great - well-behaved, attentive, and smart. i had third period off and went for a little walk. fourth class was pretty bad. they kept pretending like they didn't know anything - i don't know if they just don't understand me, or if they just really don't know the answers, but we're doing some pretty basic stuff that other classes already had a great handle on. anyway, it wasn't the best... but it wasn't the worst.my lunch break was destroyed by a "meeting" of some group that i'm a member of just because of where i sit in the office. of course, no one speaks english, so the conversation was lost on me for over an hour. not to mention that i couldn't eat most of what was available at the restaurant. i managed to eat some fish and
ahh... the sounds of home... 2007-04-04 12:25:00 my last apartment in montreal was home to me for about seven years. for about four of those i lived next to a construction zone.the city was re-building a highway overpass across the street from me. the Decarie Expressway in Montreal, which, where i lived was below street level - kind of like a giant moat. they were re-doing the overpass that went across it on the corner of my street. it turned out beautifully, but the four years of construction all spring/summer/fall wasn't very fun.summer was the worst because you couldn't open the windows without hearing the trucks beeping, or the jack-hammers drilling... all through the night. that was the only time they could safely close the highway below without interrupting anyones' busy schedules - other than the people who were trying to sleep that is! thankfully (for me, not my room mates) i had an inner bedroom that didn't get ALL the noise.i remember one night my roomie actually called the number they had posted on the signs outside to
the hand... 2007-04-06 10:23:00 i can't beleive how much i wrote yesterday. with one hand typing is a real pain... so this will be short. the stitches don't look too bad. i think he could've put another one, but there are only four. my hand is swollen and aching. it hurts to move my forefinger and middle fingers. but i'll survive...as long as they cleaned it properly and i don't get gangrene or something! knock on wood. i bought some alcohol swabs and gauze to clean and dress it myself. so far so good. the pills they gave mee made me feel pretty loopy and tired all day which made for difficult teaching, thank god for nice co-teachers. anyway, this weekend seems like a wash because of the stupid hand... was supposed to go feed the sharks at the busan aquarium... but that won't happen now. i'll get there eventually, i hope. i was going to post a picture of the stitches, but i'll spare you... unless you want to see... let me know. have a good one.
a shout out 2007-04-06 10:01:00 just want to shout
out to an american in geoje for having an awesome blog... i get so many of my cool sidebar stuff from him! like my all new neo-earth map... lower down on the left... it shows where my visitors are from... might be a couple of days before much of anything shows up on it...thanks a million!
drama...drama...drama... 2007-04-05 12:30:00 no, i'm not leaving teaching for acting... there was a little drama
here this evening.i was making dinner - a yummy "mexican" stir-fry (chicken, peppers, onion, cilantro, lemon juice, pepper). i was going to put it on one of my three tortillas that i still have in my freezer with some salsa and avocado. mmmm.... yummy, right? of course!everything was done and i was prepping the avocado. 1. cut in half. 2. remove pit. this is where the drama comes in... you know how to remove the pit? stick a knife in it and pull it out of the half that it's stuck in, right? that's how i was taught anyway. so the problem was when the knife went straight through the avocado instead of into the pit... what was on the other side of the avocado? that's right, my hand.i saw it happen before i felt it. it actually took a couple of seconds to hit me. i'm not a squeamish person and i tend to remain quite calm during emergency situations; this was no exception. i quickly put my hand under running water and
just another drunk... 2007-04-08 03:20:00 the longer i'm here the more i realize that people are essentially the same everywhere. last night i was taking the bus to meet some friends. it was the number eight which never comes when you want/need it to, but last night it did.as soon as i got on i noticed a man standing right behind the bus driver. it appeared that he was yelling at someone - i assumed it was the lady sitting next to him, since she said something back to him. he was like one of those nutters you see on the bus/metro who are just yelling for no good reason. of course, i had no idea what he was saying, so he could have been making some kind of valid point about something... but then a woman sitting a little further back in the bus piped in and said something that sounded like she was really annoyed... probably a polite way of saying shut up (i know it was shut up cause i know that in korean). then i figured he was just yelling and not at the woman just at everyone.i could see the bus drivers frustration in the rea Read more:drunk
Easter Sunday at a Buddhist Temple 2007-04-09 12:15:00 well, darn it if i didn't go to church this easter! they may not have been celebrating easter but it was holy ground nonetheless! i was supposed to hike up the mountain with kiwi Dave (these are the dave's i know, i know, these are the dave's i know ;) ...) but i just wasn't up to the task. we were already up there when i realized i wouldn't make it to the top, so we went to Dongrim Temple
instead. there are actually three or four temples on Sineo Mountain (the one next to my house that i'm always going up). i went to dongrim once before but my batteries died when i got there so i didn't actually look around, but i had the opportunity to get a good look yesterday.125 steps to the landing, another thirty or so after that... gotta work to get to the temple!me and the giant bell. they have these at all temples.detail at the top of the bell. isn't the painting gorgeous?the giant Buddha at dongrimsa. (sa is korean for temple)part of a chandelier that i found in the back of the main Read more:Easter
, Sunday
, Buddhist
wise words 2007-04-10 11:42:00 i don't ever do this, but i'm posting a forward that i got from a friend. i really liked it and rather than send it on, i'm posting it here...**An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house." The old woman
just a matter of time... 2007-04-12 12:34:00 today was a pretty good day. it was sunny on my walk to work, and i remembered why i always tell myself to bring my camera everywhere and then promptly kicked myself for leaving it at home!!! oh well.third period was the national english listening test for the grade two's. so i was free... but i wasn't really. i teach five classes a day at school 3, my co-teacher agreed that it's a lot and we came up with a solution. (sorry if i've written about this before) one period in the day i have "off". what this means is that i visit a class that i don't normally teach, just to say hi and meet them. this is great for me because it's only about 20 minutes - and then i'm free - it's also great for the kids, because they all feel cheated that i'm not their teacher. i feel like a rock star again! (when i first arrived i was bombarded with "i love you" fifty thousand times a day, a round of applause and cheers every time i entered a class, and kids who were just crazy (like in the beatles v Read more:matter
the trip you don't want to make... 2007-04-11 12:06:00 one of my stitches has been consumed by my skin... that might be a problem when they take it out. stupid doctor.i guess i still haven't actually written about the hospital... according to one of my students korean hospitals are either "really good" or "really bad". i guess i ended up in one of the latter. oh well, lesson learned, right? but really, when it's a emergency do you have choice?the hospital was kind of dark inside when we got there. it wasn't even 7 PM so i'm not sure why it was so dark... the lights may have been turned off or simply insufficient, i'm not sure. i walked up to the counter and there was a young man. he didn't speak any english, so it's a good thing i had the korean man with me... even though he didn't speak english either. at least they could communicate together and the korean man knew what was wrong with me, so he explained. they wanted my passport, which i didn't think to bring, but he was relieved when i handed him my health card. (which isn't r
rain, rain, go away... 2007-04-13 11:53:00 when i woke this morning i knew it was stormy. the sunlight usually streams in and wakes me up - sometimes a full hour before i have get up... grr.. but today i only woke up four minutes before my alarm, which is set for the latest possible time that i can get up without being late for work.before leaving i looked out the window. sure enough, it was overcast, but it wasn't really raining. i grabbed my umbrella and headed out. i started thinking how great it was that i have these fancy hiking shoes made with gortex *guaranteed to keep you dry - or so they say. i figured this was the best way to see if it's true... a fifteen minute power walk in the rain. as i was walking the rain started getting heavier until finally there were just massive drops of it. i couldn't believe the size, i've never seen anything like it before. is this a glimpse of what is to come in the "rainy season"?anyway, there was thunder and lightning and the whole deal along with the fat raindrops... but with my a
goodbyes in ulsan 2007-04-15 12:26:00 went to ulsan yesterday to visit with kat and say goodbye to chris. he's leaving korea on thursday to begin a new adventure with the peace corps. i met chris in september while i was visiting kat. we were at the local WA bar having a beer. i felt a presence next to me, looked up and there was chris. he looked like a deer caught in the headlights - we were the first foreigners he'd seen in two weeks! i knew that feeling... so i asked him if he'd like to sit down... the rest as they say...the night we met chris... so happy to see other waegooks!!!so, last night was the big "leaving party" in hogye, ulsan. i took the bus there in the afternoon - standing room only, so i sat for a lot of the trip on the front step of the bus!me on the floor of the bus.the crazy part is that one of the teachers from school 2 was sitting in the front seat! so i had someone to talk to for the hour and a half long journey. when we got to ulsan, he drove me to kats house too, so i didn't have to take the bu
let's take a walk 2007-04-17 12:03:00 so i've told you before that i've started going for a walk on my lunch break. today i (finally) remembered my camera so we can take a walk together!this is the wall below the playground when you leave my school. the kids aren't allowed to leave school grounds, but when a ball goes over the fence one of them has to run down here. there are always trucks parked here - i assume their drivers are eating lunch at one of the restaurants across the street. we turn left at the end of the wall.these are the bottom steps of the climb up to gimhae college. you'll get a better view of that soon.this is the school (fourth floor) from up the steps. i caught a kid climbing on the fence here last week... looked like he was going to jump the four storeys down to the field. but i made him go back to school...when we get to the top we turn right towards the college. it amazes me that they have any students! with a hike up like this... the nearest bus stop is still an eight minute walk from school...
thieves 2007-04-16 12:36:00 somebody STOLE my umbrella at school today. f*!%ing kids!!!! i mean, WTF? it was in my 'shoe box' which means that someone opened the door (which has my name on it) and took it out. i didn't leave it lying around, it was IN my shoe box... what's next? my shoes? no one at school seemed to think it was a very big deal. but i do. i just bought it. not to mention that this means there are thiefs at our school... you'd think someone would be at least slightly concerned about that. but, no! it's just the waegooks umbrella. i bet if a korean teacher had something stolen they'd be searching every kids house. argh. just pisses me off.i have been offered the opportunity to teach extra classes at another middle school for ten weeks. it'll be two classes on monday afternoon from 3:30 to 5:15. they're going to pay me very well for it, so that makes me happy. though it will be a lot of work - four days with five classes!!! and i'm already complaining about having three! but it's only ten Read more:thieves
yup, i joined... 2007-04-18 12:15:00 i feel like the newby in a cult. i finally joined facebook. all these people have been going on about it for ages... i kept saying there was no way i was going to join yet another personal profile messenger type thing... they eat up your time and you end up not having a life... but the last straw was today... and so, i'm out there - again - in cyberspace. i never use my "myspace" and figured that maybe the same would end up happening with facebook, but it's a much better program.i'm really liking it so far and have found lots of old friends that i haven't talked to in years. i'm even part of a group for my elementary school!!! anyway, i'm working on getting lots of photos up there... i love that i can upload directly from my iPhoto program... awesome! and it's so much faster than so many album sites out there... now i just need to get everyone i know to join! argh! see? i've been sucked in!!! and you! yes, you. you know who you are... it's all your fault!***in other news, this
picture posting insanity... 2007-04-19 11:38:00 and another walk...as promised... since the weather was beautiful today i took pics on my lunchtime walk. i won't narrate like i did the other day but rather just let you imagine. the walk today took me about an hour - so i'm only posting a tenth of the pics that i took - 110 in all... enjoy!the front entrance of school #2.the wall blocking in the school and the pedestrian path next to it.the "big" street i have to cross on my walk... i go up the little alley across the street.another pedestrian street. the funny looking wall is a "kindergarten" or as we call it, daycare.a pretty park.a typical korean house. (though most koreans live in apartments... and this house is probably divided.)a funky front gate.one of the roads i walk down. the mountain is to the left.a neighbourhood garden... i'm sure in a month this will be full of veggies!koreans LOVE recycling and will go through the garbage to pick stuff out... i was surprised when this man looked at me and thought he might get angry Read more:insanity
i am losing my face! 2007-04-22 11:07:00 for the last month and a half i have been working on losing weight. this is a lifestyle change more than a diet, and it's working. i have lost just over twelve pounds - which is a healthy rate. but more than losing that i have apparently "lost my face" - this according to a bunch of various koreans.the first time i heard this was back when i first arrived in korea. i wasn't well. i wasn't eating and i guess i was probably a little depressed, so i lost a couple of pounds. one day i walked into school and one of the teachers who sat across from me said, "you have lost your face." i didn't get it at first and she had to try and explain that it looked like i had lost some weight. that was an interesting conversation! i didn't quite believe her, but then my pants were too loose. i started to gain back what i had lost (unhealthily ?is that a word?) so decided to give getting healthy and thin a real shot... so now that i've been at it for six weeks, it's nice to hear that i've lost my
another day, another school 2007-04-23 11:50:00 started my "after school" class today at a new school - we'll call it school #3. there are some problems with the contract that need to be sorted out, so i haven't signed one yet... maybe i shouldn't have taught the class... but whatever...i don't like the class room they've got me in. it's cold and there is this HUGE desk that i have to stand in front of. i don't like being 'seperated' from the kids desks... it's like having a giant barrier between us... anyway, they're little monsters just like every other school/class that i teach.it took twenty minutes to take attendance! the co-ordinator of the program worked really hard to write all their names in english letters for me to read, but it would have been easier in korean. the pronunciation was all off and half the kids didn't know when i was saying their name because i was saying it wrong. i asked them for the class list in korean for next time. i'll be helping them choose english nicknames anyway, so it won't really m
it's happenin' 2007-04-27 10:35:00 i'm going to japan next week for two days!!! i know it's only two days, but still, i'm going to JAPAN!!! when is the next time i'm ever going to be able to hop over for the weekend? probably never... so i might as well take advantage. i picked up my ferry tickets today - it's a three-hour ride from busan to fukuoka - and i also booked my hostel - Khaosan Fukuoka International Hostel... i know it won't have enough time to do all the things i would like to, but i'll try my best!i also made my trip to immigration to fix up the re-entry on my visa and amazingly there were no problems. i was in and out. since i was in busan i figured i might as well check out the nampo-dong area (one subway station over) since i had never really been there before. it was a really cool area with lots of shopping and street vendors. it seems like an area where you can get anything...from dried squid... to kimbap and other street food...to neck ties...and don't forget the "feminism fashion" !!! this w
to the doctor we go again... 2007-04-26 15:30:00 went to the doctors today since i've been feeling like crap for the past five days. my chest has been tight, my nose running like a race horse, and i was having trouble breathing. turns out that the asian dust has affected me more than thought... at least that's what the doc said. i have mild asthma and allergies to the air - that's why i feel like crap all the time.so he prescribed me an inhaler and some pills (not sure what those are). i looked up the inhaler online before using it and it seems ok. the same thing i'd get if this were happening back home. so yay! ummm...ya. anyway, the good news is that i'll hopefully be feeling better soon... the bad news is that i really am allergic to korea... just like that very first doctor told me in september! i'll either have to limit the amount of time i spend outside or get one of those face masks like the locals... think i'll feel pretty stupid wearing one, but if it's going to help... then it might just be the only option. i am cer
not so cool school 2007-04-25 12:59:00 you have to read the previous post "is it friday already" for this to have full impact... so go do that.now, isn't school #2 so cool? i swear that thirty seconds after posting that my co-teacher from school #2 called. i shouldn't have answered. keep in mind it's 8PM here... turns out that the principal decided today that i should actually go to school and sit around and do nothing all day!!! WTF??!?!?! my co-teacher told him there is nothing for me to do, that the computer doesn't even work, and that i'd already been told not to come in, but NO, he insisted that i have to be there. so i told her that i'm taking a sick day - which is no lie, i am sick... and that i'm going to the doctor tomorrow... which i was planning on doing anyway... along with going to the bank etc...i told her to make sure that i don't have to go in next week when everyone else in the entire school will be away on a field trip... since that's when i'm supposed to be going to japan. fuckers. i'm so pisse
is it friday already??!? 2007-04-25 12:42:00 it sure feels like it! i don't have to go to work until monday!!! plenty of time for me to get over whatever new korean disease has taken over my body! i hope anyway...why don't i have to work? is there a national holiday? perhaps a "ped" day as we used to call them in high school? nope. school #2 is just really awesome. tomorrow is the last day of mid-term exams and being the wonderful people they are, have told me that i don't need to bother coming in since there is nothing for me to do. if only school #1 would do the same... i have three days of sitting around next week during their mid-terms. if both schools were cool, then i'd have eleven days off!!! i could have gone somewhere really cool with that much time... but alas, my school ain't cool... (ok, sorry so cheesy...)anyway, that accounts for thursday, what about friday? saturday is school #2's "birthday" - yes, schools have birthdays too! (ok, maybe only in korea, but with the way they count birthdays here, i'm not surpr
Popping Penguins 2007-04-24 09:41:00 YAY! got to school this morning and was informed that my popcorn machine FINALLY arrived. my co-teacher had actually called to cancel the order because it was taking so long... and i was certain i'd never get it! but it came!!!! YAY!!! it's the cutest thing ever... and in true korean style it's shaped like a penguin!!! (of all things!)in all it's penguin gloryfirst pops!it's fast and efficient!anyone who knows me knows how much i LOVE popcorn... i can't live without it. i've been eating the microwave kind for years, but they don't have any light or fat free here in korea... i've gotten so used to light and butter free that i can't really stand the stuff anymore, so this is the perfect solution! i can put whatever i like on it! (usually kernels flavour powder, but i'm all out and waiting for more to arrive from canada... hint... hint... ;~) anyway, just so happy... at least one good thing happened today. Read more:Popping
, Penguins
happy may day 2007-05-01 11:03:00 four months to go! i know that sounds pessimistic, but i know it's going to fly by just as quickly as the last eight have. today was labour day in korea, as it was in many countries around the world. being canadian, i have always celebrated labour day on the first monday in september and until today didn't know that it's may 1st in almost every other country in the world (barring the US). however, since i am not a "labourer" i didn't get the day off. that was the weird part for me, since in canada it's a day for everyone, not just "labourers". oh well... it was a pretty chill day anyway...the students are all taking their mid-term exams so there isn't anything for me to do. which is nice because it meant that i spent the morning sleeping in the "rest room" at school and then was allowed to leave at lunch time. so i guess i got my labour day after all! it's just so weird that i still have to go in, even if i spend the whole time sleeping. why not just let me do that at home? anyw
the Bonghwang-dong 2007-04-29 12:17:00 no, i'm not writing about dirty things... this post is about the area in gimhae known as bonghwang-dong (dong being akin to 'hood). this is a historically significant area that has recently been renovated to increase it's importance. basically gimhae has been home to people since the bronze age and this particular area housed the ruling class of the Geumgwan Gaya period. it is also the site of the first archeological excavation in korea (in 1920).really it's a nifty little park now. i'd never visited it though it's been in the back of my mind since fall. i pass by it all the time and today i was walking by and decided to finally check it out.a map of the whole area. i basically walked around the whole thing in about 30 minutes.at the front entrance (bottom left of the map) there is a big field where kids play and families picnic. to the right of the field there's a little 'lake' (more of a dirty pond...) which is sort of neat because it has a traditional boat sitting in the mi
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