I have a blog?!

So I haven't posted in few days. I expect it was laziness.

Yesterday (Wednesday) we got our teaching schedules. Today we had our commencement shindig, and then went out to lunch in Doeksan. One on the neat things about Korea, is that you see alot really really cool big, thick, non squared wood furniture, especially large tables, benches, and today at the restaurant stump seats. I forgot to take my camera, but the cafeteria, has that style of table and benches. It is enough to give a tree hugger a heart attack.

It also snowed Monday night and Tuesday morning.

This is what it looked like from my apartment that morning, so I ended doing the smart thing, and stood in it for fifteen minutes and took a bus to Yesan, where I got a very fine mug of mocha, and sat and read The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers at B17, the icecream/coffee shop there.

I also have put all my pictures with commentary here: http://picasaweb.google.com/macjoven

Speggitti experiments...

So yesterday I did not blog despite another hike at Doeksan this time with pictures!This one has nothing to do with Doeksan, it is just the noodles we eat after church every sunday. Some of the ladies of the church prepare it.

This is Karen, pointing at where we are hiking on a tourist map of the Yesan District, which is sort of like a county. Sapgyo is in the middle right next to the corner made by that white road and the river.


This is my roommate Mike and I at the partially frozen Reservoir we hiked by, and walked on last Sunday when it wasn't so partially frozen, but completely frozen.

This is one of the reasons I had to get a camera. This is farther along the trail looking down at rice fields, a ginsing garden, the reservoir, and the the shops and houses nestled in the valley.

Wait what was the title of this post? Oh yeah Speggitti! Well I had my first attempt at Speggitti tonight and it was ok, but I made way too much, and really since I used tomato paste, it needs more of everything else. So tomorrow I am going to split the pot of sauce in two, add more onion, meat, spices, and water to it and see what happens. I am also going to figure out a way to give some away. I mean I meant to use it for a while, but really this is a lot! I also managed to burn my hand with molten sauce. Ouch. But I am definitely full, so that is good.

Also I now have a online photo Album. I will start labeling it tonight so don't worry.

PICTURES!!

So I went to Seoul today, got a camera, some books, ate a hamburger for lunch, and went to the Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit, at the Korean War Memorial. So here are some of the pictures!

This is right outside Yonsong Station, They really like cabbage here.

This is a glimpse of the massive electronics market at Yonsong Station where I got my camera.


These are a part of the Korean War Memorial, a plea for reunification.

Can anyone say M*A*S*H?

Graduation!!

So we had our kindergarten (five-seven year olds in Korean) graduation today. It was great! Know why?

1) No canned pomp and circumstance music.
2) The kids were all absurdly cute in their traditional Korean Clothes.
3) All the kids played "twinkle twinkle little star" and "ode to Joy" on assorted instruments pretty well.
4) I got a rose.
5) I got laughed at trying sushi. That might not seem all that great, but I wasn't frowned at, and I wasn't insulting anyones grandmother, by finding out there that sushi is not for me, which to me is great.
6) There are pictures. James and Beth took them but they are already in the Seoul area, so I wont be able to show them to everyone until Sunday.

Also I got my ticket to Seoul for tomorrow. I am taking some money, and subway directions to the juggling shop, and to a magic shop. I don't know if I will actually buy anything at either place but I really want to check both out. I am getting a camera there though! So until tomorrow!

Pictures? What?

So Thursday was good. It was the last day for this current group of little ones so, we pretty much had a free day and they all got to beat up on me.

Mike put up some pictures of me at Gapsa at the national park a few weeks ago on facebook so here you are:
This was the Entrance to the Park. Mike's phone ran out of juice before we got any farther...

Someone say sushi?

So it seems that all the Wesley school staff are going to Yesan for Sushi after kindergarten graduation on Friday. I told them I don't mind sushi, which might be a lie since I haven't actually tired it. I have decided though not to prejudge food here so I am going to try I and see what happens. It should be good times, and who knows I might actually like it.

Today was not half as interesting as yesterday. It wasn't a bad day, just pretty typical here and without injury. School, PC bong, Dinner, Church, and then Mike and I hung out and played cards with James and Beth.

Our bathroom drains are backed up and we need to get a plummer here. But other then that, good times!

Busted toe in Taekowndo... hey that rhymes!

So I sustained my first injury in Taekwondo here in Korea... playing indoor soccer. I kicked the ball the other guy kicked the ball my toe met his foot, my left pinky toe went splat. Not bad mind you, I didn't notice for a couple of minutes, but I was bleeding so I got one of the black-belt's attention, and we stopped the game and slapped a band-aid on the the thing. The reason we were playing indoor soccer was because we had gone out to dinner at the Chinese restaurant to celebrate someones graduation from something, and after that there is certainly no way to go on business as usual so we went back to the institute, and... played in door soccer with a very soft bouncy ball, and water bottles as goals. A goal was knocking over the bottle with the ball. It was fun. I think we lost.

Also today, I called home for the first time since I got here. I talked to mom which was great and I left a message on my dads phone.

In class today I taught the six and seven year olds the "Apple and Bannana" song. If you dont know it goes:

I like to eat eat eat
apples and bannanas
I like to eat eat eat
apples and bannanas

I like to oat oat oat
opples and bonnonos
I like to oat oat oat
opples and bonnonos

I like to iyte iyte iyte
iypples and bynnynys
I like to iyte iyte iyte
iypples and bynnynys

and so on, substituting a different vowel sound every verse.

they loved it... for fifteen minutes... I need more songs like that.

A month!

So yeah I have been here a month. I should get paid tomorrow, and I promise to get a camera this weekend.

It has been a great month, went to Seoul, and two big parks, got into Taekwondo, ate all kinds of food, explored Sapgyo and Yesan and made new friends.

Speaking of Yesan, I went to a fantastic ice cream shop there today. I got three flavors in a waffle cone, for 3500 won (1000 won equals roughly a dollar). Then after I sat down and started in on it, they gave me four tangerines, some crackers and hot chocolate fudge dip with these rolled up waffle cone sticks. It was great. I am definitely going to have to start hanging out there... War and Peace and icecream... mmm....

Also today I made "Mexican food" which in our family growing up for those of you who are not in our family, means taking rice, beans, ground turkey, cheese, pico de gallo, guacamole, and sour cream or yogurt and mixing it all up and eating it. But since I am not a veggie or bean fan, I made my version with ground pork, cheese, rice, and sourcream. YUM.

A Sunny Sunday

So we got up right before church today and went. After church and a lunch of noodles, we came home and settled in for a afternoon of... whatever.

Then we got a call from Karen who is a Korean English teacher at the local high school (not Weseley Mission School which is more like a huge after school program kinda sorta.) She asked if we wanted to go over to the Provincial park near Deoksan, and go for a short hike. We said sure, and so we had a delightful time for a couple of hours hiking in the park, playing on the frozen reservoir, and sampling a small restaurant disguised as green house. The air was very clear and blue today. It was great and is another place that we are going to have to go back to when in better shape, and check out in greater detail.

So we came back, resumed lazing about, then went to evening services. It seems that Pastor Byoung is leaving us very soon and that the church is in search of a new head Pastor. So tonight there was a lot of praying, and I would like for you all to keep the church in your prayers as they go through this search and transition.

After church Mike and I went out for some amazing fried chicken, and then went to the PC bong to play sudden attack which was fun. So all in all a good day!

Lazy saturday

Today was a lazy Saturday. I actually did a lot, I got a slide for my guitar in Yesan, and I baked buttermilk biscuits. I also got some dark chocolate Hershey kisses that I am going to chop up and use in chocolate chip cookies. But mainly I sat around and played video games.

Friday was good too. We did forms in Taekwondo, and my body is still sore from it.

It is warming up here a little bit. Next week, the highs are supposed to be in the forties which hasn't happened yet since I have been here.

Tae-Kwon-Do

So as it turns out, I did in fact visit one of the two TKD places in town and signed up, and a hour or so later I had my first practice session!

It is really is amazing how much the body remembers after six years. I knew how to do everything, and the language barrier wasn't too great since I learned everything in Korean in the first place. They let me in with the rest of the red belts which was good since that is what I am, and I think any lingering doubt's that I should be there were eliminated with this first class since my kicks were better then some of the other red belts there, several of whom are my students at school.

Practice is at seven o'clock every weekday, though I have church on Wednesday, which makes four days a week which is twice as many days I practiced back in the states. On Wednesday, I think I will keep weight lifting with Mike after church.

Anyways, I feel quite sore now, but also good. In six months or so, since I am getting a foreigner's residence card, I can actually test for my next belt here. Who knows, if I stick around long enough, I could get my Black belt here.

Work it all out...

So I and my roommate went to the gym in town and worked out. I did exercises I could think of, and benched pressed weights for the first time since middle school. It felt good, but I really realized how out of shape I am. Karen, a Korean English teacher at the high school, and I are going to check out the Tae-Kwon-Do school tomorrow and that will be good.

Today we did out second set of interviews. Afterwards I showed off my mad juggling skills, to the other staff, and taught some of them to play hackey sack, since my juggling balls are in fact brand name hackey sacks. Then we all went down stairs for dinner which had been ordered in for us.

While I was juggling a couple of the others tired and one knew how a little bit. I think when it warms up I might try and start a juggling group just for the heck of it. Juggling is funner with other people doing it.

Interviews of DOOM!

We are did placement test and interviews today and some tomorrow for our English students. It was very exciting today. The first part was written test. I was a "invigilator" which neither I nor the other English teachers thought was a real word, though I should have known better because their were strong properly used latin roots in it that would be hard to put together accidentally. It seems the British use it like we use "proctor." Anyhow, I was a invigilator in the meeting hall along with Mike and two Korean helpers. It took a bit of time getting all the students in there, so I ended up entertaining them by juggling erasers, doing silly magic tricks, and other clownish deeds, attempting to ease the sense of doom written on their young faces.

After the test were the interviews. Each of the English teachers had a room, and then one by one a student, and maybe their parents would come in and we would ask them questions, the difficulty of which would be determined by the students level, and we graded them depending on their responses. Responses in nice complete sentences were the best, no answers were the worst. Most student's answers were a mix in between. It was quite fun. I found out that ski camp is a popular thing to do for vacation, that pizza and speggetti are delicious, and that we are going to teach two future dentists, one anomalous doctor, a singer, a cook and a business man.

I also found out the Tae-Kwon-Do place is being remodeled, so it won't be until next week that I can go.

Coffee

So there is a nice little Italian restaurant in Yesan, that serves a good mocha. Several of us went to Yesan to help Mike get a present for a friend, and we went to the Italian place for coffee and it was good. They really like coffee over here, as I think I have noted. James also showed me the small super market in Yesan, which has frozen French fries, corn dogs, and chicken nuggets. So I had French fries and chicken nuggets for dinner, which I fried myself. Dad, we have been doing the French fries the wrong way... I am going to have to try the corn dogs...

Also I learned the joys of standing on a Bus. Inertia loves you when your feet and hands are at different speeds then the rest of your body.

Post post gimme the post!

You gotta the post? Wheres the post? No not the roast! The post you hava the post? Toast no notta the toast the post! I needa the post! Here let me aska the people for the post... hey any of you hava the post? We are looking for the post. Gotta get the post for everyone to read ya know. If you gotta the post give me a sign... then you can getta the cemente and post up your sign, slow down those crazy drivers...

Anyhow... I didn't post yesterday. I think I was tired. Not dead in case you were wondering.

We did go to the National Park on Friday. It was really neat. We wandered around the east end of it, and visited the Gapsa Buddhist Temple there.

The Gapsa Temple was very old, it was founded about 1500 years ago. It was extremely beautiful, and full of prayer. Prayers were hanging on cards from the ceiling, painted into the walls, and there was a stack of roof tiles at a table which you could write prayers on the bottoms of them with a white paint marker, and they use the titles to retile one of the roofs. This last bit is a brilliant and sublime idea to me. Imagine a church literally built on prayer, every stone, beam and roof tile, inscribed with a prayer, praise, or hymn, not necessarily where you can see it, but you know it is there.

Besides the temple, we did some easy hiking there. Neither I nor my roommate are hard core hikers, little old ladies and four year olds were speeding by us, so we wandered along the clear hoary river there, admiring the ice formations and water falls. I defiantly want to go back, probably in the fall, when the leaves are turning and falling, and I am in better shape. We learned a lot about exploratory Korean traveling, foremost is guide books are you friends because you can point to where you want to go in Korean, to people who cannot untangle your atrocious pronunciations of place names, and you yourself have a idea of where you want to go. I need a camera.

Yesterday, (saturday) I slept in and then went to the PC Bong (bar) with Mike in Yesan and played "Sudden Attack" on the computer for about four hours against other people. That was fun. I then explored Yesan some more, and got a tea kettle to heat water for one person with, and a rolling pin, and a can of wild honey. I want to make homemade biscuits. Mmm....

National park? nah dishes!

So as it turns out, my alarm clock mysteriously stopped working, and so we over slept and did not go to the national park today. So what did we do instead? Played "Sudden Attack" at the PC bar, watched movies and cleaned the dishes. Yes, that's right, I cleaned my own dishes voluntarily, all of them, by hand. All in all it was a very nice new years day.

But I have my watch alarm set, and I am going to get up and we are going to the park tomorrow!

Happy New Year!

Thursday is the Lunar New Year. My roommate and I are going to get up tomorrow morning and attempt to make the trip to the national park a day trip. It is going to be an adventure. Gyerongsan National Park is one of the more popular in South Korea. There are mountains, forests, waterfalls, and two large Buddhist temples there. It was actually one of the places to rival Seoul as the capital at one point. I will tell ya how it goes tomorrow so tune in!

Ready, Set, Break!

So starting this afternoon we are off for the Lunar New Year. The English teachers spent the evening hanging out and playing cards. Tomorrow, I am going to try and get to that national park. It will be probably a two hour bus ride, and there will probably be standing room only since everyone is going home for the holiday.

Today we had a special new years soup that was basically, a Korean version of Chicken and Dumplings, but with beef, eggs, and rice dumplings. It was great. The folklore goes if you eat a whole bowl, you will add a year to your life. So I got half a year.

Lethergy...

So we only had one hour of class today. I did that, went to lunch in the school calf and hibernated in my apartment all afternoon and evening with my roommate. Tomorrow we have one hour of class again then I am off for a few days for the lunar new year. There is a national park near here that I want to check out, and I need to get to Seoul again to get a couple of things, and maybe check out the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit there. But now I am going to bed...

So teaching eh?

I thought I would put the "eh" in there because my room mate is part Canadian.

I just realized that I haven't talked much about my job, you know, my excuse for coming half way around the world? What was it? Oh yeah teaching. I am enjoying it. For the last week I have had a class of six year olds and seven year olds. The six year olds are really easy because the main thing is exposer to English. They do a lot of coloring, and some watching movies like Madagascar and Shrek in English. I speak to them in English, and try to get them to talk to me in English.

The seven year olds, are a bit more advanced. They learn phonics. That is, how to pronounce things, and correlate sounds with letters on the page. At first I had a hard time engaging them. They much rather play then learn the short u sound or the letter B. Surprise Surprise. So I took out an ancient and dog eared page of how to get kids to want to learn, and made it... you guessed it: a game. Boys vrs Girls naturally. Points going to whoever says out loud the proper answer first, and another to whichever side spells it. I have done it two days so far, and the first day the girls crushed the boys. The second day the boys caught on and only lost by a point. I think this is only a temporary thing though. Too much inter-competition in a class room can get out of hand.
I at least to mix up the teams. I want to write some teaching songs and use them too. Maybe sometime get and use a puppet and more! Look at me being a optimistic teacher! Huzzah!

After this week I get my own full schedule with a full range of students. The older kids are fun too though I have yet to have them on my own. They like my magic tricks, and after class we have been playing a lot of ping pong... so I have their interest which is important. We'll see how it goes with my own classes. I don't think there will be a problem.

I went and hung out in Yesan today. I got a alarm clock, some slippers, some long underwear, some pens, and a capo for my guitar. Then I went to a Pc room there and played on the computer. Fun fun... anywhoo, I dont have much to say about Korea tonight, so I thought I would publish a compare and contrast essay on Physical and Verbal humor, that I wrote for a forum I am on, again here...

Verbal humor and physical humor are two different worlds, and they are thought of in different ways.

Verbal humor, is associated with intelligence positively. It can be done on purpose and be extremely funny. It sometimes takes a higher education level (self or formal) and greater cultural literacy to understand. On top of that, it is easy easy easy to repeat and spread. You can buy wit, any kind, as obscure or highbrow as you want for fifteen bucks, and wear it around all day long. You can repeat it to all your friends and they will laugh, at least the first fifty times. Moreover there is a strong verbal humor folklore entrenched in America, so much so that in a learn English show here in South Korea, they specifically said that 98% of English humor occurs in the last line or punch line, despite the fact we usually call it "juice," of the joke.

So that is when you are supposed to laugh. That's verbal humor.

Physical humor, though has a negative association with intelligence. If it is done on purpose, it better look like it is not. It takes no education at all to understand, monkeys will laugh at it. It is generally considered in America, at least to be the stuff of small children who have not vaulted to the heights of verbal wit. Practitioners of pure physical comedy have titles synonymous with stupidity: clown, fool. Also, physical comedy is difficult to transmit. You can't put it on a t-shirt, you have a hard time explaining it, and really you can't even repeat it, only try and recreate it, if you dare. There is no punch line... no lines at all... the comedian is the joke. We don't laugh at a physical comedian because we know he is secretly laughing with us, we laugh because that person endures where we don't think we would.

You laugh when they fall because you know they will get up. That's physical humor.

Pc gaming rooms it's not just for christmas....

My roomate, Mike, just took me to a pc game room in town for a couple of hours. We played "Sudden Attack" which is like counter strike, but actually simpler. It is a first person shooter where the goal is basically to kill the other team. Theoretically, one team is cops and the other terrorist, but only if you play that way. We played mostly the "kill the other people as much as you can" style.

Tomorrow, or today since it after midnight here, I am going to go explore Yesan. A city really close to here. There is a instrument store I want to find, (I need a capo) and a electronics store, where i might get a camera to spice up this blog with some. Also I just want to see what is there.

four and twenty and a hundred pager baked in my mind...

So I am now a hundred and twenty-four pages into War and Peace... only 1300 more to go. It is actually a pretty interesting book. I am still trying to sort out all the character relationships. There must be twenty "Princes and Princesses" running around, which is a bit confusing. I just thought I would mention that. Since I don't have a good English library, I brought a book to read for fun, that would take me a while to get through... and surprise surprise: it is.

I recent news, my computer has miraculously healed itself, and now the CD drive works, after not working for the last oh.... year. The up shot of this is that I can put some of my Mp3s back on my computer, and on to my Mp3 player without having to buy a new laptop. Yay!

Korea you say? There are no lawns here. A couple of people were asking about my jobs in America this evening, and I had some trouble explaining the word "lawn" to them, and what working for a lawn company entailed. But I did it!