Keys, Stories and Food


This is what happens when you apply a little bit of gentle persuasion to an Apple Bluetooth Keyboard, after it decides to not work well. Watch out 8, you're next!


오리주물럭, or just Duck Stirfry. It's damn good.


Some more stories from one of my better classes. This time it's about going to a park. No poo in these ones this time.









Today, I went to the post office and bank to sort some stuff out. I send an 8.1kg box of winter clothes home (which included some t-shirts from Japan for my sisters), and my photos and movies from Japan to my Japanese friends that I travelled with. I also paid for my ticket back to Australia. $645, with tax, one way, Incheon to Melbourne, via Tokyo and Brisbane.

Just across from the bank, is probably the best restaurant in town, Gimbap Nation (김밥나라 - Gimbap country just sounds bad), so I got some Gimchi Mandu and some Cheese Ddeokbokki. 맛있어 *^^*

Weather

Last night, I was checking some weather information for Gwangju (the city close to me here in Korea), and my home town back in Australia (which is currently in winter) on my iPod. Here's how it looked:


I thought, "I know where i'd rather be.". Just from the weather perspective, I'd rather have cool sunny days, than this humid, sticky stuff that Korea has called "summer". hehe. I grew up with dry, forty degree days.

But in 87 days, I'll have my 2nd summer for the year, and my first real summer in 3 years.

It's only a number, right?

I came across this table just now, while I was surfing the web. It's the "Human Development Index", which the UN uses to measure the quality of life in countries around the world.

Here's the Top 30:

1: Norway
2: Iceland
3: Australia
4: Ireland
5: Sweden
6: Canada
7: Japan
8: United States
9: Switzerland
10: Netherlands
11: Finland
12: Luxembourg
13: Belgium
14: Austria
15: Denmark
16: France
17: Italy
18: United Kingdom
19: Spain
20: New Zealand
21: Germany
22: Israel
23: Greece
24: Singapore
25: South Korea
26: Slovenia
27: Portugal
28: Cyprus
29: Czech Repupic
30: Barbados

I was surprised to see Australia in the 3rd position, and was also slightly surprised to see Korea in the Top 30. So, I guess Korea isn't that bad at all. But, moving to a country that is 22 places below yours... lol... I won't finish that sentence :p

I put Japan is bold as well because I've been there, even though it was for a holiday, I could really notice the difference between life in Korea and life in Japan. Just as I came to Korea for work after a holiday, because I wanted to experience the "real" Korea, I am tempted, after a break, to try to live in Japan for a year, and see how it goes. I think, after 3 years in Korea, it would be very interesting.

Cheap Food


One of the few things I'm gonna miss from Korea when I'm gone, is the cheap (but delicious) food. I'm not a fan of Gimbap (김밥), but one of the joys of places like Gimbap Nation (김밥나라), Gimbap Heaven (김밥천국), and all the over variations, is that it has a large menu of basic stuff (with basic refils of side dishes). Nothing over $5 is a bonus too, and most of the things are pretty filling as well (if not, just fill up on Gimchi and Yellow Radish).

For something healthy and filling, I normally go for 비빔밥 or 돌솥비빔밥. If i'm in the need for something oily, I normally go 고구마치돈 (short for 고구마 치츠 돈가스). For something spicy, I'd go for 순두부찌개, 김치찌개 or 된장찌개. I haven't got around to tryint the 참치찌개 yet, because the other three 찌개s are all pretty good.

The 김치뽂음밥 is good, if you ask the 아줌마 to melt some cheese on top *^^*

Pride



I totally agree with George Carlin. I'm proud of what Australia has accomplished (and not so proud of the things it's fucked up), but it's just a chance that I was born in Australia to Australian parents at the time *^^*

I'm not a big user of the word "we" or "our", and because I agree with George, I never use it, and it hear it all the time (in Korea, and from others as well), it makes me cringe. For example, many of my Korean friends will refer to Australia as "my country". I don't own Australia. I didn't buy Australia, and I didn't sign a lease to rent it. It's not mine, therefore not "my country". It's just the country where I was born, therefore Australian my nationality, because of people's need to categorise and label everything (especially here in Korea, through my experiences).

For example, when the Australian cricket team, or my favourite football team wins or loses, i don't say "my team". I don't own the team. I will use the name of the team. If I own something, sure, it's mine. My MP3 player, my MP3 player, my emotional baggage *^^*

If you own it, it is your duty to take responsibility for it.

Pride



I totally agree with George Carlin. I'm proud of what Australia has accomplished (and not so proud of the things it's fucked up), but it's just a chance that I was born in Australia to Australian parents at the time *^^*

I'm not a big user of the word "we" or "our", and because I agree with George, I never use it, and it hear it all the time (in Korea, and from others as well), it makes me cringe. For example, many of my Korean friends will refer to Australia as "my country". I don't own Australia. I didn't buy Australia, and I didn't sign a lease to rent it. It's not mine, therefore not "my country". It's just the country where I was born, therefore Australian my nationality, because of people's need to categorise and label everything (especially here in Korea, through my experiences).

For example, when the Australian cricket team, or my favourite football team wins or loses, i don't say "my team". I don't own the team. I will use the name of the team. If I own something, sure, it's mine. My MP3 player, my MP3 player, my emotional baggage *^^*

If you own it, it is your duty to take responsibility for it.

Almost 2 weeks

Yeah, It's been almost 2 weeks since I've updated my blog. There are a few reasons why I haven't updated in a while, and I might get around to those reasons (or not) during this post.

I have about 92 days left in Korea, and roughly 65 of those are days where I have to go to work. Work is one of the main reasons why I am really hating Korea. For the past three years, I have been wasting my time here, not really teaching anyone real English, because in Korea, people rarely learn real English. Sure, some do, who have real jobs, for example: in a University or a real Language institute, but then even the students don't take it seriously until a score is attached to it.

Anyway, for familiar readers, I work in a hagwon (학원). Now, for me, I don't really like using "academy" or "institute" because there, people actually learn things, and put an effort into their education. Where I work, that doesn't really happen. I use "hagwon", because I think those words are too "good" for my situation. Basically, I am baby sitting. Many of my students will come to the hagwon pretty much directly after school. I had a chat with one of the kids that regularly comes way to early for his classes, and just after school finishes. This is how it went down (I talked to him in Korean, i'll give you the English version):

Me: You came early today? Why?
Student: What do you mean?
Me: Your class is at 3:30, right?
Student: Yes.
Me: But, you came here before I did.
Student: So?
Me: Your class is at 3:30, but now it is 2:20. Why don't you go home?
Student: My mum says to come here when I finish school.
Me: So, your mum is busy?
Student: No. She is at home.
Me: So, if your mum is at home, why don't you go home?
Student: Because she said to come here.
Me: Why did she say that?
Student: I don't know.
Me: So, in the afternoon, your mum isn't busy?
Student: Yes, she is not busy in the afternoon.
Me: So, why does your mum say to come here?
Student: I don't know.
Me: I think, if you come to hagwon early, if you don't have a class, I think you should do your homework.
Student: Why?
Me: So you don't waste time. So, do you have homework?
Student: Yes... ah... No! I don't have any homework.

This is a regular conversation I have with a lot of students. Parents tell their kids to go to hagwon right after school, even though they don't have a class, and even though a parent is able to look after them before their class. Basically, some Korean parents, if they have the time or not, are using hagwons as baby sitting places.

In my opinion, hagwons are pretty much a joke. Not all, but a lot of them. A lot of them, like mine, aren't really helpful for student's education. At this time in their life, they don't need to study for hours on end. Also, the should enjoy what they study. Student hate English, because of the way they study it. Then, they get to their early 20's and complain that they can't speak English well enough, and can't figure out why. I can understand kids going to a piano hagwon, or a taekwondo hagwon, if they enjoy it. There is society pressure, and parental pressure (I'd hate to be a korean kid) for kids to go to hagwons, so that parents can show off and brag about thier kid if they get 100% in a test, or are in first in class.

Also, the way that Koreans study (pretty much rote method - remember it, and regurgitate it verbatim during a test), it's not really education in my opinion. And, I have tried bringing in some REAL education into my classes, but it is labelled as "too hard". Not everyone is good at this method of learning. I know I'm not. For example, I've learned a lot of Korean from being in the countryside. For example, when I take a taxi, and the taxi-driver is chatty, I can get him laughing in no time - I can order pizza over the phone, I can talk to my students' parents when I see them on the street, plus heaps of other things. But, I didn't study, I learned it all from experience. Now, if I sat down and did a Korean test, I'd be fucked. I have some Korean friends who are great English speakers, but when it comes to doing TOEIC, they suck at it, because, first of all, it's not REAL English, and secondly, it is about regugitating and remembering grammar and vocab.

If I had to learn Korean the way that Koreans learned English, I'd fucking hate it too.

But, outside of work, I find that things are starting to piss me off easier, now to the point where I don't hold back, depending on the situation. I've told people off for doing stupid things, like standing in the entrances of places and gossiping, not moving out of your way (or even attempting to leave a clear path), bumping you a little too hard, and they ignore it (in korea, it happens, but if you loose your balance, it's worth an apology in my opinion), smoking in places where there is a FUCKING obvious no smoking sign. Just imagine, a foreign guy telling a Korean guy that he can't smoke, coz of the sign. You should see the look on their face! One word - priceless!

Basically, all the things I tolerated here, and put them into the pile of "cultural difference", are now in the "it's not cultural difference, it's just rude, selfish, inconsiderate and stupid - grow a fucking brain cell" pile.

Yes, I have turned into a bitter foreigner that is starting to hate everything about Korea, and I have crossed the point of no return. I'm sick of my Korean friends saying that I live too far away from them, even though I have visited them many times (and last time I checked, it's the same distance, cose and time from my place to there, as it is from their place there here), I am sick of Koreans saying "wow, you're Korean is really good" only after saying a simple sentence. I am sick of being pointed at, stared at and called out at (미국인: American, or 외국인: foreigner). I am sick of being asked "Have you eaten Gimchi before? Isn't it spicy?" after I have told them that I have lived in the Korean countryside for almost 3 years (where there is heaps of Korean food, a couple of pizza shops and a few fried chicken shops, and pizza and chicken got pretty boring a long time ago).

I even joined a group of facebook called "Takeshima Belongs To Japan", because I am so fucking sick of hearing about "Takeshima/Dokdo is Korea's". Or the whole "Japan Sea/East Sea" thing.

Is it possible that "being/playing the victim" has become a regular thing here? Rather than moving on, and taking steps to solve the problem, lets just blame others...

I know I have made the right choice to get out of here. I know that when I leave Korea, I won't miss much, but the things I will miss, I will miss for a very long time.

Japan, revisited

Last week, I got a Cd from D, my friend in Japan. He put all of his photos onto a CD for me, and sent over a few things that I accidently left behind. So, here are a few of those photos.










Still here

Went away for the weekend, which was good. Just really putting in my energy to surviving the next 104-ish days here, and getting home and starting the next chapter.

Mentally Prepared

I've always got some thoughts floating around in my head, for getting my shit together, for going back to reality (aka, Australia).  The things I have to pack, the things i need to throw up, the things that I need to prepare, things like that.  It's mainly why my room is such a mess lately.  I'm going though everything on a weekly basis (especially clothes lately) to figure out what I'm taking back to reality, stuff that I have to mail back (because I don't want my suitcase full of everything), what I'm recycling (coz it's still okay), what I gotta throw out (coz it's too old/smelly for recycling) and stuff that i'll be leaving behind.

So, because of this, my room is a constant mess. I could never keep anything organised here, because I just live in one room. Living in a one room apartment is just a bad idea. When I have visitors (which is extremely rare for me here - don't get me started on how Koreans think their country is "big"), they see everything. There is no level of privacy. Especially when tradesmen and other people come around to install/fix things (and don't get me started on how that every Korean tradesman that has entered my apartment, hasn't cleaned up any mess that they have made).

Anyway, just to give you an idea of things, i made a panoramic photo of my apartment. It's gonna look like this until about a month to go.


Also, here's a panoramic of my classroom:

Stuff from Work


As a form of punishment, I make some of my students write lines, but only in Korean. The top one means "I won't talk back to all teachers". The kid who talked back to me, wrote 20 lines, and then he did it one more time while writing, so I made it 30. The bottom one says "When all teachers are talking, I won't interrupt". Both kids only did 20, because after writing it, they didn't do it again.


Something that I did with a class last time, so I decided to review it, and get them thinking...



Eventually...

There are certain truths in life: the biggest one is: eventually, you're gonna die. You just don't know how, when, on by who/whom/what/whatever.

Another one, that has just occurred to me (which I have learned may times before, but it's one I seem to forget) is that "eventually, everyone is gonna disappoint you, or fuck you over". It depends on who, the relationship, and what they have disappointed or fucked you over about (and the size/complexity of it, and it's ramifications), and weather they have disappointed/fucked you over before in the past (and the size/complexity/quantity of those) as well.

But what can you do about it:

  1. If you're too pissed off to deal with it, walk away and compose yourself.  You don't wanna make a dick of yourself, because after all, you have integrity (unlike the person who has fucked you over).
  2. Walk away, and leave it.  You need to assess your damage, and also assess any potential damage to yourself, if you attempt to fuck their shit up just after they fucked your shit up.  Random outbursts rarely help.
  3. After walking away, and thinking about it, confront the person in a professional manner, and tell them why you were pissed off at the time, and see how they respond.  If you can make them more pissed off, and there is no cause for them being hostile, the better (witnesses are also good in this situation).
  4. When the time is right, after all things have been considered (including all contingencies and all "what if..." scenarios), fuck their shit up big time.  Remember, revenge is a dish best served cold, and when they least expect it.
Basically, knowing when to ignore and to retaliate, is better than just randomly reacting on anger.  Also, it's way more fun and enjoyable to plot and scheme your revenge.  You've seen the movies, look how much the bad guys enjoy it!

Also, it's great to be the bad guy, once in a while - especially when the other person so fucking deserves it *^^*

Korean T-Shirts, Semi-explanation

In Korea, so many t-shirts had random English bullshit on them. One thing I find funny, in a country that is so pedantic about learning English grammar to pass tests, they buy t-shirts with bad English on them. Here are 2 highlights of recent, Korean made stupidity on a shirt:


Not even sure what they mean by this one...


Umm... you have a really hard what? This one, I saw in COEX, a guy, with his girlfriend was wearing it, and by the looks of his girlfriend, i can understand what the "really hard" thing was.

But still, if you wanna look like a douche, then it's up to you.

Oh yeah, and for the people who are really interested in what has happened to me lately, find me on facebook, or send me an email (atmx888@gmail.com). I'm not cool with putting it up on the blog yet.

Shit is fucked up.

It's taken me 2 years and 8 months, but everything has clicked into place. Why have I been such a freaking idiot?

Time to get your shit together Andy, cut your losses, and get out.

Leave this shit behind...