Endorphins, Korean Tradies and Big Macs

Been going to the gym since tuesday, and the general unnoticable buzz from endorphins does help me deal with the bullshit I have to deal with here in Korea. Has cheered me up a bit.

Tuesday, I slept late, and was woken up by my boss, calling to let me know that a couple of tradies were knocking on my door, wanting to be let in, so they could silicone the edge of the balcony window. It might be a different culture, in a different country, but if you're a tradie, and you're in someone else's house, if you make a mess, you clean it up. If you move something, you put of back to where it was. If you've finished a roll of tape, you don't leave it on the chair you didn't move back to it's original f**king position! So far, all tradies here in Korea, have pissed me off, because of this. Its hard enough keeping my place clean as it is!

For 3 days, I've been going to the gym, and doing the usual machine work, but have been doing 650 calorie cardio workouts, with various simple combinations of the stepping machine and treadmill. Basically, I do as much as I can on the stepper, then do the rest on the treadmill. Three 650 calorie workouts, is the same as four big macs, calorie wise. If I can, I'll go to the gym tomorrow, before my long day at work (Friday, I start at 10:50am, Monday to Thursday, I start at 1:20pm). I woke up before my alarm at 6:30am today, so if I get to bed the same time as last night, it sounds like a good theory.

Also, for those three days, I've left my phone at home, either turned on or off. Actually, I forgot to pack my phone in my bag before going to the gym on Tuesday, and didn't realise until I was getting my shampoo and stuff out of my bag. I didn't have enough time to go back to my apartment and get it either, so I just left it. So glad I did. Life feels so much easier and calmer, when you don't have people contacting you all the time. Some people were worried that they couldn't contact me, others were more annoyed. But, thinking about it, its not a big deal. The people who were pissed off that I couldn't be contacted, wanted things now, and couldn't be patient. People not having patience is not my problem. If I don't answer the phone deal with it (like, for example, sending me an email (I have at least three email addresses, sending a message on facebook, or, for Koreans, sending me a jjokji in Nateon, or a message on my cyworld). As for the people who did worry, thanks, but you understood that I left my phone at home and understood when I told you that I was going to leave it at home in the future. Bottom line is, if it's THAT important, people with think of other ways of contacting me, if just damn wait.

Looking forward to going to Geomdo class on Saturday. Haven't done It in 2 weeks.

Other than that, not much else is happening in my life. Simple, which is the way I like it... But does get a bit boring from time to time. Not really much variety in Korean recreational activities either.

How has Korea changed me?

I often find asking myself this question, more than my friends asking me... How has Korea changed me? Thought I might spend some time trying to answer this question.

Learning to deal with different, unknown, and downright confusing situations can be difficult to deal with. Sometimes, you just gotta get in there, deal with shit, do the best you can, make the decisions that you gotta make, and see how it goes. Sometimes, you've gotta step up, and take charge, and have the courage and the balls to do what is right, because no-one else has the balls to, or to do what you have to do to survive, because, bottom line is, when you're alone in a foreign country, the only person who can truly look after you is yourself. Saying these things, and knowing these things, is very different to experiencing these things. Korea has changed me, so that I know what I need to do, to get things done. Knowing whose toes to step on to get shit done, is better than stepping on anyone's and everyone's toes to get shit done. Knowing when to be subtle, and when to be an asshole to people, not only for your benefit, but for theirs as well. Knowing how to chose the right moments can still be a bit tricky as well.

Being smack bang in the middle of nowhere, has been interesting as well. I'm in a place where less than 1% of my town can speak English fluently enough to have a decent conversation. I've learned Korean, by experience, to the point where I can have a simple conversation, and get things done. At first, not knowing Korean was a damn hassle, but with time, I've learnt enough to get buy, and to even make jokes at times. Also, being in the countryside, and being the only white guy in your town, does put a bit spin on things. Getting off the plane, and then being a minority within a minority (a white guy/foreigner, that doesn't speak "american"), has been very interesting to deal with. Korea has some big issues to deal with in the 21st century, when it comes to racism, discrimination and equality, and I've learned a lot from being not part of the majority.

Korea can be very random at times, and it still is hard for me to keep on my toes all the time. Just today, the boss decided to change one of my classes, 3 minutes before it started. I've had friends cancel plans, an hour or less before we were meant to meet, and I'm on the bus, heading to their city for the weekend. I've been in situations, that aren't what they were meant to be, and I've had to make quick decisions about the direction of my life at that moment, and deal with it on the fly. Basically, I've learned to make lemonade out of the lemons that life has given me in Korea. Sometimes, certain lemons need a bit more winging and complaining, to make them into more tastier lemonade. ^^

Life is hard - deal with it, or it deals with you.

Any questions? put them in the comments. I've had over 200 hits in 2 weeks. Some slackers need to write some comments ^^

Australia Day (Better Late than Never)

It was Australia day January 26, where Australia celebrates is achievements, history and culture; reflects on it's losses, times of hardship and change; and gets together to look forward and hope for the future. Also a good time to hang out with mates, be proud that you come from the best country in the world, and how lucky we are.

When I was young, I liked the music of Daryl Braithwaite, an Australian Singer and Songwriter. I've put together a few videos of his tracks, that I found on Youtube.

One Summer


The Horses


Higher than Hope

Views at Work

One thing that I was used to, but really shits me, is taking my shoes off, and putting them back on all the time. Also, I'm sick of lazy students, that can't clean up after themselves. Too used to their mothers' wiping their asses.



The small classroom in my hagwon that I teach in. Pretty much have to make my own shit in the classroom. The poster, I bought in Australia. The coloured pieces of paper, are reading speed charts of middle school students.

eMart, only open 2 hours?

For the regular "foreigner", it looks like that eMart it only only 2 hours. But, in Korea, the change of AM and PM happens at 1 second after 12, rather than at 12. So, in Korea, 12AM is Midday, 12PM is Midnight.

Weekend Edition

It was good to see HP and YS at their wedding. HP does look good in a suit, and hanbok, and YS was looking absolutely stunning - even more prettier than normal. I met two of SJ's cousins again, that I met over 3 years ago when I came to Korea for a vacation. They were kinda surprised that I could speak Korean. Also met two other people there, which was good. Both could speak English as well ^^

Had some taxi driver problems, who insisted that I take a bus to the bus terminal in Jinhae, rather than the taxi driver take me there, so I got anthother taxi driver (who wasn't in a shitty mood) to take me there, to get to Busan.

I met SJ (a different SJ) at the bus terminal with a workmate, and we went to Taejongdae. We rode a boat for a while, which took us around to another part of Taejongdae, which was good, but it was damn cold. Walked back to the car, and then had dinner. Went shopping around Nampodong for some jeans for SJ. We walked past a big clothes shop, but I didn't go in to have a look, because I'm already over budget for this month already. I'm writing this on the bus back to Gwangju. SJ has a wedding to go to in Gwangju. SJ's girlfriend didn't want to come, even though the guy getting married is important in his life. But SJ has been to three weddings that were important to his gf. Women. Go figure.

Also, not to self: Don't buy any more Samsung crap! Its shit!

Friday Night

Just arrived in Masan to go to HP and YS' wedding tomorrow. The motel closest to the bus terminal is cheap (25,000won - I was expecting more, because its close to the terminal), basic and clean. It's been a while since I took a bus anywhere that took over 30mins. The bus to Masan used to stop somewhere else, before getting to Masan, but now its direct.

Going to the gym yesterday, and doing that 750cal workout was damn good. Just gotta keep it up. Funny that I said that, and am about to say that I didn't go today. Should have went to bed at 9pm or 9:30pm, which was the plan, but I still had to pack my bag, and help GM with a short essay he wrote for his TOEFL studies. Going to the gym on Friday probably isn't the best of ideas, since I have to wake up even earlier, due to middle school classes. Yesterday, waking up at 6am, getting to the gym at 7:30 was good. That is the routine I wanna keep.

Plan to have a good weekend this weekend. After the wedding, going to Busan to meet SJ. I saw him on the weekend before new years eve with his gf. He's got a wedding to go to on Gwangju on Sunday, so we're gonna travel together.

Already Thursday

There are weeks where they go by so slowly... This week, isn't one of those weeks. Things have gone by pretty quick so far. I woke up at 6:20am today, so that I could go to the gym. Got to the gym at 7:40am, and exercised for about 2 and a half hours. I really wanted to start on Monday, but, the weather is just too damn cold lately. This morning, it was snowing on the way to the gym, but just light snow. I have nothing to do in my town, except work, so I needed to get back to the gym, so I can get into better shape, and also, gives me something to do.

The trainer at the gym finishes working there on Saturday, so there won't be a trainer anymore. He's a cool guy, and will miss talking to him in the mornings.

More class changes this week, that it gets annoying to keep written records of what I teach, with which kids... so, just gonna keep with the report cards and the sticker bingo rewards thing. Looking forward to going to Jinhae (진해) on the weekend for HP & YS's wedding. I might be the only foreigner there, but its not about me on that day, its about them ^^

Today, I'm thankful for...

Today, I'm thankful for the shitty morning weather, which pursuaded me to not go to the gym at 6am. I'm also thankful for the people who live in the apartment directly above me, who decided that it was a good idea to start a party at 1:30am (and I hope that they'll be thankful when they have an angry foreigner banging on their door if they do it again).

I'm also thankful for the person who gave me a wart on my finger, conveinently places where I use chopsticks. If it was from chopsticks, I'm also thankful for the person/people who didn't wash the cutlery very well at that restaurant (but since I eat out every night, not sure exactly which restaurant it was).

I'm thankful for the doctor who ignored the wart and said "observation" rather than doing something about it.

For the people who don't know what's going on, this is called "sarcasm". I'm not really thankful for these things. Here are the things I am thankful for:

I am thankful that I start work at 1:20 in the afternoon, so that I can sleep in or go to the gym early on the morning. I'm thankful for the women in who work in the restaurant that remember my name, use simple Korean to talk with me, and the occasional bonus food I get. I'm thankful for the Chemist, who didn't tell me to observe, and was able to provide me with some over the counter medicine foe the wart.

I'm even thankful for the people that had a party at 1:30am last night. At least they have something to celebrate with friends and
family, which is something I haven't had in a long time.

Lastly, I'm also thankful for people who dont put passwords on their wireless Internet devices ^^



More random English on the design of a notebook.

Wonder Girls

Got this poster when I bought some CD's yesterday. The conversation went a bit like this:

나: 아... 원더걸즈는 예쁘지만, 그 Tell Me 노래를 진짜 싫어해요.
가게주인: 왜요?
나: 왜냐하면 어디든지에 항상 나와서 자쯩나요.
가게주인: 하하하, 맞아요.
나: 하지만, 여친이 없어서 이 포스터를 선택할수있어요.
가게주인: 하하하, 그렇군요. 웃겨요. 또 어서오십시오.

For those playing along at home:

Me: The Wonder Girls are cute, but I hate the song "Tell Me".
Shopkeeper: Why?
Me: Because, It's always played everywhere.
Shopkeeper: Hahaha, That's right.
Me: But, I don't have a girlfriend, so I can choose this poster.
Shopkeeper: Hahaha, I see. That's funny. Please come again.

Good Saturday

Actually had a good day today. Started when I got in the elevator, and met one of the pizza delivery guys that's in my town. I kinds kept my distance from him, from what I've heard from middle school students, but had a quick converstsion with him. I just missed the bus, so he gave me info about the next bus, and alternative bus stops, which was rather kind.

Got to Gwangju, then walked to Geumho World, to get a larger internal hard drive. Visited a few places, but they all had Samsung hard drives only, And I didn't want to put anything Samsung in my computer (Sorry Korea, but I haven't had any luck with Samsung, so I prefer to avoid it), then went to the Apple Store to talk the guy there, who is really cool. He had Western Digital drives in stock, which was on my list of possible drives, hut the largest he had was 250Gb, which was what I was after, so bought that. We had a chat about the software update for the iPod Touch, and how Koreans can't update their previously purchased iPod Touches, if they don't have an overseas iTunes Music Store account (since Korea doesn't have an iTunes store). Also talked about Time Capsule and MacBook Air.

Then went looking for a Hard Drive case, to put the previous hard drive in, so I can use it externally. Got a nice blue and white one for 30,000won. Then went back to the bus terminal. As I walked out, I could see the new model Sony CyberShot cameras, looking really good. Hehe. So tempted, but I had spent enought money already.

Got the bus home, and tidied up a bit, while I was making a backup of my old HDD, then installed my new HDD. Was taking a long time to restore all my files, so went out to get some dinner. Got home, and started writing the blog, to fill in the remaining 20 minutes of restoring the disk image.



Not the best burger I've had, but the biggest so far in Korea. Something from KFC at the Bus Terminal.

Japanese Human Tetris - Choi Hong Man Style

I'd seen this ages ago, and had to put it up here. The big guy, is Korean K1 fighter, Choi Hong Man (최홍만), standing at 218cm tall.

So Far, So Good

Went to bed early last night, about 9pm, cosidering I had been awake since 10am the previous day. Woke up at 6:25, beating my alarm by about 5 minutes, but changed it to 7am. It's way too cold this morning, -8 degrees outside according to Yahoo, so got back into bed, and just surfed the net with my iPod.

Surprisingly, yesterday wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. Had 2 tastless premix coffees to keep me going, which helped, but really noticed the difference when the caffeine wore off. I'm changing my body clock/sleeping pattern, because I'm gonna get back to the gym on Monday. I didn't really go that often since I got back from Australia, mainly due to all the public holidays, so it messed up my rhythm, and after all the holidays were done, my membership expired, and didn't have enough cash to rejoin.

This week has been a pretty shitty week. I've had to end a friendship with an ex-girlfriend, mainly due to her trust issues, and how she looks at everything negatively, and I sleep deprived myself, to get back into a regular rhythm. But, sometimes you gotta change to move forward. Sometimes, you just gotta say "fuck it", do what is good for you, and deal with the consequences later.

Sure, ending friendships isn't good, but sometimes, they get to a point, where something so bad happens, that you know the other person doesn't give a fuck.

So, why should I?



Students asked me to draw a pine tree (소나무) and some kind of noodle soup (칼국수), so I drew them a cow (소) tree (나무) and knife (칼) soup (국수).

Back to the Usual Crap

Had a great weekend, but back to the usual crap, with work. Don't get me wrong, the good students are good, but lately, there seem to be a lot more bad students, than good. Also, for me, in Korea, there seems to be a lot more bad than good here. All the friends who talk to me, listen to me, and cheer my up - I really appreciate it. I know that I will miss the good things in Korea, but, I really need a break from the bad things, and most of them happen at work.

I don't regret coming to Korea. I have learned a lot from my experiences here. I do regret staying in the same place for 27 months. With that said, I know I can survive the next 10 months here. Got a credit card to pay off (this will be the 2nd time It's paid off during the time I've been in Korea), and then want to save money, so that when I get back to Australia, I can relax for a while. Also, due to the timing, I won't be getting a teaching job for a while.

Lately, I haven't made or remixed any music. But, i got the idea to remix Domino Dancing by pet shop boys, when it came on my MP3 player, when I was walking to the train station last Saturday. I started working on it Saturday night, and now, Wednesday morning at about 3am, I had the full version, and an edit finished.

거시기, Gwangju and Donuts

Went to Jeongeup again on Saturday for Geomdo. I missed the 8:50am bus outside my apartment by about 2 minutes (due to going back to sleep when my alarm went off at 7:30am), but got the next bus to Jangseong, and then got the train (새마을 is too pricey - not worth is 7,500won for one station and 17 mins!). Got there at the time that I usually would, if I got the bus, and then got a taxi to the Geomdojang. Re-learnt 예도1번 and then practised cutting bamboo for competition stuff again. Pretty much figured out what I was doing wrong, but was about to fix it. One other problem was thinking too much, before I cut. The "거시기" style of my Geomdo teacher really works for me. Also, met with some of the kids that attend his wife's English school, and they asked me questions about Australia and a few other things. Was good. Got the bus back to my town (only 2,700 from Jeongeup to Jangseong), and got home at about 4:40pm. Got pizza for dinner, coz it was just too damn cold to go across town to a restaurant.

Sunday, I met up with MH in Sangmujigu in Gwangju. It was the first time to meet in person, and we had a good time. Had some lunch, then saw Golden Compass at the cinema, which is better than what I expected. If you liked Never Ending Story and Harry Potter, go and see it. Then, went to Sejung Outlet for some window shopping and coffee, then Lotte Mart for some more Window Shopping. We both felt pretty comfortable with each other, which was good. Bought some donuts and checked out the bookstore/Artbox at the terminal, before getting the bus home.

Was hassled by church recruiters again, who happened to know someone in my town, so they thought it was a good angle. Two words... No Dice. I was just direct with them, but not in a rude way. I don't mind talking to people, but 99% of the time, at the bus terminal, its religious people, so it can get quite annoying. So, told them I'm not religious, and then told them I'm not interested when they tried to give me the magazine, then asked me why I'm not religious, so just told them, its a personal question for a foreigner, so i won't answer. After that, they got the idea, said bye, and were on their way.

While taking the bus home, I thought about the meeting, and realised that we used mostly Korean. Sometimes things were difficult, and she'd try English, or I'd speak a little English, but most of the time, we used Korean. I've noticed that with many Koreans, if you can speak Korean well enough, they feel more comfortable.

By the way, saw this hagwon while walking to Sejung outlet. I strongly recommend not studying English here, since they can't even get their sign right ^^ Did make me laugh though - Seedy English ^^

Just when you think it's safe...

I was so ready to write my week off, saying it was yet another shit week in Korea. But, thanks to M, who unjinxed that with the "your blog has been a bit negative lately. I hope you're not turning into one of those bitter bloggers.", which made me laugh, but also made me realise, that I have been a bit negative lately. But, my response was, "when I've going something positive to write about, I'll write about it.", because lately, things have been negative...

Until today...

I was expecting yet another bad Friday. Friday is the day I have middle school classes, which normally tend to be a waste of my time for two reasons. One: Students just sit in my class, and do and say nothing. Two: Students are immature, misbehave, and act like dicks. Well, there was a bit of each today, but not enough to f**k up my day. The first incident was of a student, who normally sits there and does nothing anyway, didn't have a pencil, refused to find one, and just sat there with her mobile phone under the desk, texting people. I found her a pencil, and made her do some work. The first class was not all that good, since they just sat there and didn't do anything. I'd ask a question, and I'd be ignored. So, I'd try to get answers out of them, or make them feel embarrassed, when I know that they didn't do the work, by asking them. Sometimes, I do pick on the students, who don't do the work, but why not? They're being lazy!

The other middle school class, which is grade 1 middle school, was a bit rowdy, but not a bad class. I've got them working on a book I bought from Australia - a spelling and vocabulary book aimed at Grade 3 (ages 8 and 9) level, and it seems to work for them just fine.

The boss shouted lunch at the Chinese restaurant again, which was nice. Then back to work for the last middle school class, which I teach the same stuff to, as the first class of the day. I normally take a bit more time with these guys, because for some of them, it's a little hard, but this class has a few lazy students in it, and when they try, they can do it. An hour break, and then my elemntary school classes, which were great.

I rarely do this kind of activity, but for my first class, I got them to write down the Korean words, in English order, and the English words in Korean order, to make them think about the grammar of the two languages. In Korean, writing people's names in red, means that you want them to die, so the kids and I came up with funny ways (using English) about how they died. Ben got hit in the head with a baseball, Wendy got hit in the head with a guitar by the rock star, Amy got attacked with a fork at the restaurant that she ate out at, and David caught on fire by the hot air balloon's gas burner, and then fell to the ground. They also thought it was funny, that all four people died on their birthday. ^^

The next two classes were okay as well. One of my students gave me a chocolate bar, an Almond Snickers, which is one of my favourites here, so that definitely put a smile on my face. The second class has had a student or two missing this week, since its school holidays and they're off doing stuff, which is understandable. In this class, when I ask, if someone is not there, the running joke is that "XX died.", so I reply "again?". And the last class, of students who will be in Middle school Grade one this year, were a bit rowdy, but fun. Then the usual class with the boss' son, teaching TOEIC. Yes, a 15 year old, learning business English. Very normal in Korea.

I've gotta go to Jeongeup for Geomdo tomorrow morning, which is cool, and Sunday is free to do whatever, which is cool. In order to save money this year, I've gotta cut down on costs, and one of the things that costs the most for me, is when I travel. So, I've allocated one weekend a month, for travelling. I'm okay with friends coming to see me, but many of them rarely do.

So, a big thanks to M, for ending the reign of shit times. Also, a big thanks to one of my students who drew this, and gave it to me. Definately worth putting on the wall, above my desk. Two gifts from two students in two days. When it rains, it pours, eh? ^^

내머리가 폭발했어

Yes, my head exploded!  Why?  Because of many things.  At first, this was a way to show my students, that I was making a joke about how stressed I would get, for when I had one student, who decided to play dumb, and pretend he/she didn't know what was going on, and didn't understand anything.  Actually, I have one kid which I am so certain has ADD, because he's not a pain in the ass, he just can't concentrate on anything, anywhere.

But lately, I use "내머리가 폭발했어" in any situation where I find that the person I'm talking to is just not paying attention enough, to give the illusion that they are being dumb, and I just can't deal with it.  My brain ceases to function.  Basically, my brain becomes Microsoft Windows, and I need to reboot.  Not only did my head explode at work today (surprisingly, not because of the ADD kid), but for other students who were having a VERY off day, but for 2 of my friends that I was talking to.

I'm just glad that tomorrow is Friday, and that I've got 2 days to myself.  One day for Geomdo, another day for me.

d here's the next instalment of "Don't f**k with my Language!":

Mid week Blog

Just the usual stuff here.  Last minute time-table changes as work, and then important information at the time the boss thinks I need it.  Sometimes I'm surprised how things are actually done here, since things seem so last minute, and random.  In my opinion, so many things are made, without any thought of the consequences, or how it affects other people.  This pic on the left is an example.  While doing renovations at the apartments I'm living in, some worker thought it was a good idea, to leave this tin of stuff open in the elevator.  You can see 6 yellow warning labels on the tin, and it is open in an elevator, and enclosed space.  By the time I got out of the elevator on the 1st floor from the 12th, I was feeling a bit dizzy.  Also, what if a child got into the elevator, and was "curious" about the tin of stuff.  Join the dots, and you've got some very angry parents, possibly with the worker trying to lie and get his/her way out of it.  But sometimes, that is Korea.

Another issue I have with Korea, is its attitude towards English.  One aspect of that, is how they use English for promotion of things, or just random sayings on any product that is manufactured - most of the times, wrong.  And, after over 2 years of seeing/hearing/experiencing shit English, it does get to you.  Here is an example, on a random bottle of sauce: "For your the image world".   Even if you change it to "For your image world", what is my image world?  These kinds of things pop up everywhere.  English has made its way into Korea and its culture in a strange way, and its fascinating, peculiar and damn annoying at times.  Some "mistakes" I've seen are just stupid mistakes, but others are problems that come from thinking of the Korean first, and then changing it to English.

Yesterday, I woke up at 7am so that I could go into Gwangju to buy some books for classes.  This is part of the "last minute/not telling you everything" problem here in Korea.  I bought books on the weekend, for a new elementary student, and some books for middle school classes for Friday.  Since the boss was pretty busy on Monday, I didn't give him the receipt until Tuesday afternoon, before the first class.  Also, last Friday, I told him that I was going to Gwangju on the weekend to buy books.  At that time, Friday evening, he knew I was going to Gwangju, and he didn't know about the new class until Sunday evening.  So, I show him the receipt for the books I bought on Sunday, he paid be back, and thought that was it.

No, that wasn't it.

He then asks my Tuesday night, after the class, why I'm not using the new books I bought, for the new class (that I didn't know I had, at the time I bought the books Sunday afternoon, and neither did he).  No thinking there what-so-ever.  Then he tells me, that the parents of the students, gave him money, for books to use for their class.  So, how can I books for their class, when I don't know that I have that class when I buy the books, and also, how can I buy them books, when I didn't know that I was supposed to?  This is the kind of logic that Native English teachers would have to deal with, when they come to Korea to "teach" English.

Whenever I go to Gwangju, I take the subway to go to different places.  Normally downtown, and Sangmu.  I prefer to take the subway here, because the subway is never crowded here, and its a lot safer than taking the buses anywhere (Korean bus drivers  don't get me started on them!).  Lately, the walk from the bus terminal and the subway station, is just so damn boring, that when I think about going to Gwangju, I start to think "I have to walk to the subway station", and its just so boring!  I can walk from the Bus Terminal to Sangmu, which takes about an hour.  I used to walk it now and then, when the weather was good.  I have found that in Korea, there really isn't enough diversity to keep me interested here.  I think that is also part of what bores me here.  I have good friends, but some friends just want to do the same thing all the time when we meet.  But, I've noticed, that many Koreans do the same things all the time as well.  Either they are content with that, or they do a damn good job of hiding it.  I just feel that things are very stagnant and monotonous here.

Another View of Korea

At a site I'm registered at, www.iluvkorea.com (inappropriately named, I might add), there are other people have been in Korea, and who have blogged. This section of a post, comes from the guy at Spoon with Koreans, an American guy, who taught in a Hagwon for some time in Seoul. I totally understand his situation, so want to share what he said, after thinking about his experience in Korea.

Final thoughts on Korea? Don't care? That's OK, I'll give them to you anyway. My feelings towards this place have changed a lot since I first came, the first few months were all just new experiences and it was exciting. Around the 4th month, I really loved it here, it was getting easier at work and I wasn't feeling so isolated. And then there was a problem. You stay in Korea more than six months and that's enough time for the country to really bear down on you and beat you with its culture.

Simply put, foreigners just aren't treated properly in Korea. Screw the excuses about cultural differences and how Koreans aren't used to be around foreigners, you're either nice to people or you're an ass. And Korea is full of asses. The racism isn't blatant and it isn't in your face, probably one of the reasons I didn't really pick up on when I first got here, but dig a little deeper and it's there, and it's not a pretty picture. I've always felt alone in this country, even when surrounded by Koreans. It's tough to describe, but anyone whose been in Korea for any length of time knows that feeling I'm talking about.

The worst isolation, by far, has come at work. Nathan and I are up against a great beast, in the form of a bunch of Koreans who have no desire to even be remotely friendly towards us. It's easy to just say, so what, just ignore them, do your job and go home. And I convinced myself to do that a long time ago, but it still eats away at you, day by day. Somehow God forgot to give Koreans the gene that controls showing compassion towards people of different races. Here's an example, the teacher who will replace me will get here on Saturday night, just as I did last year. Then at Monday, at 2pm, still jet-lagged and probably awake since 5am, he'll be thrown to the wolves. He will walk into that office and the Korean teachers will look up from their desks for a second, smile and say hi, and five seconds later, all will be calm again. He will just be the next white guy. Besides Nathan, nobody will help him, nobody will ask him anything about his life, about how he's adjusting to Korea. He will be expected to teach 30 classes a week and teach them all well, without any direction as to how to teach, what materials to use, and if he doesn't do this, he will be looked down upon and treated like an idiot. It's an awfully difficult situation to come into, and all I can do is wish him the best. Although, for his sake, he better not see this blog until at least his 6th month here.

If I could do it all again, I wouldn't. As in, I wouldn't have come to Korea. Living abroad is an amazing experience and I think everyone should do it at least once in their life, but the world is full of incredible places and cities, and Seoul, South Korea is not one of them. I knew before I came here that I was choosing money over the experience and I also kind of knew before I came that would be a mistake. I should have gone to Thailand, but what's done is done and getting out of where I was with my life in America last year was still the best decision I've ever made.

Korean Problem Solving Flowchart

I was going though some old files on old backup CDs, and I found this flowchart that a Korean friend sent me. I'm just wondering how true it is... ^^

Weekend

Saturday: The Train times have been changed, so I had to get a bus from Jangseong to Jeongeup. This is what normally happens in Korea, things change, and no one tells you. So, it means, that I have to get to Jangseong earlier to get another train to Jeongeup, or I can get out of bed a bit later, get the next bus to Jangseong, then get a bus to Jeongeup. I think that's be better option ^^

So, I arrived at Jeongeup just after 10am. Hung out with the kids at the Geomdo class, then had my own geomdo class. At least I was able to cut the bamboo that time, but not all the time. Its an improvement on last weekend, but still, its gonna take some time. I'm having trouble cutting where I want the sword to cut. Also, the sword is heavier than any of the other practice swords that we use. I know its gonna take me a bit of time to get it all sorted out, so I just gotta keep trying.

Got the bus to Gwangju, stopped by 금호월도 (Geumho World) for some new headphones, and then got the subway to downtown, to meet some new friends. We had a bit of a discussion/study group about 2 current issues here in Korea, and then headed out for dinner, then coffee. I had to leave early, due to the bus times back to my town, but it was good to meet some new people there. I got along with the Korean guy, and we're gonna go to 순천 next Sunday, with his girlfriend and another person. Really looking forward to it.

Sunday: Procrastination Day. The plan was to get up at about 8:30am, cook some pancakes and get to Gwangju to do some book shopping, watch a movie, walk around a bit, get to Lotte Mart.

Real version: Woke up late, had a long chat with J in Daegu (he's had enough of the bullshit in Korea as well), and then eventually had a shower, and got to Gwangju at 4:30pm. Bought the books I needed for class, headed to Lotte Mart for dinner and some shopping. Lotte Mart was "busy", and a little annoying, so was the bus terminal. At least there was some space on the subway ^^

Shopping, New Friends

Woke up at about 7:30am today, had breakfast, and got ready for going to Gwangju. Today was the day I bought my birthday/christmas gifts. I had what I wanted to buy in mind, and knew where I needed to go, to buy them ;) Arrived in Gwangju at about 11:40am. The bus took a bit longer today, about 50 minutes, due to the snow that fell over new years.

Went to the Apple store first, and bought a Wireless (bluetooth keyboard). The guy that owns the store, is really kind and helpful. I've been there enough times that he knows me, and greets me every time, no matter how busy he is. Also, his wife works there too, and always greets me kindly. They probably know that I'm gonna spend some cash when I go in there :p

After that, I got the subway to Sangmu, to head to an electronics store, that I've been to before a few times. The regular guy that serves me, wasn't there today, but there was another guy, who could speak a bit of English, that helped me find the bluetooth headsets. There wern't many to chose from, but chose a decent one. Bought one, and then went across the road to Sejung outlet, to check out the Adidas store. Sejung Outlet, has heaps of stores, including some decent brands of clothes, shoes, and other fashion things.

Whenever I walk into a Nike or Adidas store for shoes, the first thing I do, after entering, greeting the sales assistants who greet me first, and then walking over to the shoes, is asking a sales assistant "Which shoes do you have in size 300?". In Korea, shoe size is measures by length in millimetres. For me, size 290 is tight, but okay, 300 is comfortable. I've found that size 290 of Adidas and Nike are okay, and size 300 is great. Anyway, after asking, I had 3 styles to choose from. The other two sucked. So, the choice was simple.

So, 3 things bought in one hour (including walking to subway and taking subway time). Now that's shopping. Was hungry, so went the 3rd floor of Sejung Outlet, and had dinner. Tofu spicy soupy thing, 4500 won, and tasted good. Wanted to try it, since I ate it when GM and EJ in Daegu on Sunday. Anyway, was damn good. After that, rode the subway again to downtown, to meet R for coffee.

Meeting R at Starbucks was really refreshing. Firstly, the Australian accent, and 2nd, the happy-go-lucky attitude about life and living in Korea. We just talked and talked, and then 4 hours went by. She already made plans to meet another friend, but just before she left, one of her Korean friends, ㅇㄹ, and we met and talked for a moment. There's a group on Facebook for people in Gwangju, which R told me about, so I joined, and ㅇㄹ is also in that group. I don't have many friends in Gwangju, so it would be nice to meet more people in Gwangju. And, thanks R, for singing happy birthday to me, as I was walking down into the subway station ^^

Went to eMart (for people back home, imagine Target and Coles in the same building, on two floors) for some shopping, and then got the bus back home.

A big thanks to all the people who made the effort to contact me, for both new year, and happy birthday. I really appreciate it. If I didn't poison myself, I would have replied ;)

Also, if you're interested in how I tied my shoe laces, check out Ian's Shoelace Site.

I'm now 27... or 28 ^^

Yep, since my birthday is on January 1, my Korean age, and "real" age go up on the same day. In Korea, when you're born, your age is 1, and goes up every year on January 1. So, for me, my Korean age is 28, and my real age is 27. For example, someone who was born on December 31, 2007, on the next day, their Korean age would be 2, but would be the same age, as someone who was born January 1, 2007. Go figure.

Anyway, you're probably wondering what I did on my birthday... well, not much. It was still snowing here, so going to Gwangju was kinda out of the question (I didn't wanna deal with snow), so I decided to stay home and clean up my apartment, and re-arrange things as I go. With procrastinating on the computer, I'm about half done. Will do the other half today, after getting back from Gwangju. A couple of bags of Microwave Popcorn went down well while cleaning. Since pretty much everything was closed in my town, buying food to cook was not an easy option (especially with all the snow in my way), so I headed down to the mart to buy some stuff. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I gave myself food poisoning from what I cooked for dinner. Nothing too bad, but I was at the point where I'm thinking "I know I'll feel better if I throw up".

I'll go to Gwangju today, to meet a friend, and to do some birthday shopping. I've got a few ideas of what I wanna buy. Maybe will take some photos of the stuff, when I get back ;)

Ah, and one last thing, luckily I know some Korean, and have cooked Microwave Popcorn before, because the instructions were a bit hardcare... It's my birthday, i didn't wanna mess with difficult Korean stuff, that I'm most likely not going to use again :p



Basically: Unfold it, and put it in the middle of the microwave, with the dot facing up. Cook it for 4 minutes on high, or until the popping sound stops. (That was good enough for me. Not gonna bother with the rest - basics is fine ^^).

New Friends, New Year, New Andy ^^

Got to Busan after my Geomdo lesson in Jeongeup. Was going over the first half of all the stuff I learnt in the past two years, just to see what I remember, and get used to my new teacher's style. I learnt a few things wrong, and couldn't remember a few things, but its all good. I started learning the stuff for the competitions as well. It is a lot harder than it looks. Gotta bend my knees a lot, and my knees are fucked.

Met ㅂㅅ in Seomyeon, and then ㅌㅁ found us as well. Her friend (ㅁㅈ) was a little late, but when we all met, we found a nice Bossam place to eat dinner, then went to a coffee shop, and waited for ㅌㅁ's other friend to show up. A few mins after ㅅㅈ turned up, ㅁㅈ had to leave to meet other friends. It was surprising that the four of us felt really comfortable together. After talking and coffee, we went to Noraebang. ㅂㅅ's voice is really good... like, "when is his album coming out?" good. Then went to another place for talking, eating and drinking, and then tried to get a taxi for the girls, and then got one for ourselves.

Met ㅅㅈ and ㅁㅅ in Nampodong, and had Galbi together. Both ㅅㅈ and I didn't eat breakfast, so all together, the 3 of us ate 7 servings of Galbi, but the servings were pretty small, but it tasted damn good. We then went to say hi to ㅅㅈ's parents, who own a shop in Nampodong, and then did some shopping (I remembered that there were a couple of large clothes shops in Nampodong, so ㅅㅈ showed me where they were, and I bought a new jacket), and then went to Noraebang (hehe). I got the subway to Busan station, and then travelled to Daegu.

I met ㄱㅁ and ㅇㅈ at Daegu station, then had dinner. Got some icecream at Baskin Robbins, and then, yes, Noraebang. 3 times within 24 hours. A record for me. But, it was good to see them, and to hang out. Stayed at ㄱㅁ's place. His Grandmother is really kind, but his dad is rather reserved, to the point where I don't feel comfortable. I know its not mine or his fault, ㄱㅁ says he's just really quiet. ㄱㅁ and I walked around Lotte Department Store for a while, there were some nice things there, but wanted to save my cash. Got a subway sandwich to eat on the train (which tasted damn good), and headed for Daejeon.

After taking a taxi to change train lines (the Seoul-Busan line stops at Daejeon station, the Yongsan-Gwangju/Mokpo line stops at West Daejeon station), i was waiting the train, when a Korean guy starts smoking next to me. Normally, I don't give a shit, but there was a sign on the pillar next to us, saying don't smoke, so I said to him (넌 한국거를 몰라? - Don't you know Korean?) and pointed to the sign. He just looked at me, so I said (난 너의중독대문에 안죽고싶어 - I don't want to die because of your addiction), so he put it out. He look a bit younger than me, and we was smaller than me, and if the wind wasn't blowing the smoke into my face, I normally would have ignored it. After being in a country where everyone seems to smoke, and doesn't give a fuck about anyone else in the vacinity, I'd pretty much had enough.

Anyway, got the train back to Jangseong, and then the bus back to my apartment. Even snow doesn't slow bus drivers down!

To everyone who reads this, I hope you had a good ending to 2007, and have an even better start to 2008. I plan to. ^^