Jens, Söderlund and all the Swedes

It's fall, but it's sort of a bleached fall, washed out is the sky and there's an odd quiet going around. I'm comfortably happy, well not completely comfortable, but comfortable enough, slightly elated, sort of like floating in this bleached out calm and looking forward to every moment I'll spend with a certain girl.
But getting to the title of this post, I've been listening to a lot of the Swedes, especially jj, and also Tough Alliance, good old Jens, Honeydrips, Air France. It's all connected and it's all pretty, and labeled Balearic Pop, which I'm not quite sure I understand but it has something to do with the beats or the sound. But getting to Söderlund, he makes some pretty fitting videos to all this music, and let's take a look.



That was Sipping on the Sweet Nectar by Jens Lekman. As wistful as it gets, I guess.
Another -



As simple as it is, this is my favorite. The Honeydrips - I Wouldn't Know What to Do




Air France - Collapsing At Your Door Step
Sorta like a dream...



Just a couple of Swedish dudes on a scooter.



This one isn't from Soderlund, but these guys are what I've been listening to the most, lately. jj - My Swag, My Life

And here's their version of a famous TV theme song, set to an odd slow mo of a tennis player.



That's all.

Last Weekend

This past weekend was not nearly as crazy as the Chuseok weekend, but it was good nonetheless. On Friday I was just going to stay in, but my friend Harry called and we went out for drinks in Geumjeong.

Saturday I did some work in the morning for the Sunday class in Sanbon that I'm a leader of and then I met a friend to go see a movie in Yongsan. There's a movie theater with English subtitles there and we went to see a new Korean movie about a guy with Lou Gehrig's Disease. The English title is "Closer to Heaven"
It was pretty sadcore, but not bad and the actor lost a lot of weight for his role, which is really admirable. After the movie, my "friend" and me^^ went to eat and then coffee then we headed home. was it a date? yeah, maybe, yeah okay, I think it was.

On Sunday, I went to Sanbon early to do a little reading and then to the Friends study where I'm a leader. I really don't care because they are all my friends, so I don't mind helping out. We review the vocabulary for the episode of Friends and then watch it and then discuss. After that we go out for dinner and drinks. The girl I met Saturday was there too, so that was good. And well, yeah, it would have been cool to go to a film festival in Busan, but the weekend was really cool for just staying close to home.

Chuseok Part 2

Does anyone know how to upload pictures so that they fall in with the text and not at the start? I was getting annoyed with dragging the pictures down through the text every time I uploaded, so I started a new post.

On Sunday, we went to Lotte World. It's sort of the Korean answer to Disney World and while Everland is great with its zoo and its T Express, Lotte World has some really scary rides, and I rode ALL of them. HAHAHAHAHA!

I guess in these past couple weeks, I threw out all my past fears of amusement park rides. Because I rode this.I'm not sure at what angle that camera is being held, but let's just say the thing went really high, and spun in circles. I also rode a thing called Bungee Drop, and Atlantis, both of which have had people experience horrible accidents on, including death.

We had a really good time at Lotte World. There's not much else to say, but here are a couple of pics.Before riding the Waikiki WaveEveryone at the Magic Kingdom say Heyyy OHHH!
From the left, Wang Feng's husband, Wang Feng, Stephanie, Me, Ting Ting, and Chris
And this guy is just awesome

All and all it was a great weekend and I had a blast.

Chuseok Part 1

October 3, 4, and 5 was the Chuseok holiday, similar to our Thanksgiving. I didn't get to pig out on squash and meat but I did get to have a really great weekend.
It started Thursday night, actually, when I went to my friend Katie's apartment and our Chinese friends came over to cook us some delicious Chinese food. The 2nd was China Day, the new China's official birthday. I learned how to play Go Stop also. It's a traditional Korean card game. Katie and her boyfriend, Soo playing Go StopSome Go Stop CardsTing Ting and Wang Feng, at work in the kitchen
Delicious Chinese Food

On Friday I went to visit Ryan in Dongducheon along with my friend Katie. Katie, Soo and I took a bus from Suwon which took way too long, but was probably a little more comfortable than the train. We had a pretty good time, but my brother still annoys me adn there were some tense moments. Frankly, I'm a little upset that he went to a film festival this past weekend without inviting me, but that's neither here nor there. What did we do in Dongducheon? We played Go Stop, taught Ryan how to play, ate some western food and I went home in the evening and Katie went out to Uijeongbu to meet her boyfriend's family. Ryan and I both had plans to meet friends in the morning. Ryan went to Lotte World and I met my friends to go to Gyeonbok Palace in Seoul.

I had been to Gyeongbokgung before with my dad, but I didn't mind going back. It's a cool place and I did a few new things this time like go to the museum and to some cool old timey Korean village.Da Palace
All the kids looked cute in the traditional Korean dress, "Hanbok"I had to try on the Hanbok, myself and random people came over to take pictures with me^^
I wish it was my part time job. I would gladly be the foreignor in Hanbok on weekends.Some old fashioned Go Stop CardsJoining hands and singing in a circle
After the Palace, we went back to Beomgye to eat BBQ. That's Ting TIng on the Left and Stephanie in the middle.Wang Feng with her husband who came to Korea for the weekend to visit.
We went to Noraebang after BBQ and took a lot of pictures, but this one pretty much sums it up.

Thank You Everland!

It was a great weekend. Friday night I met my friends Ting Ting and Wang Fang who are Chinese teachers and we ate some BBQ. Jessie and Rebecca came too and I was the only guy for a while, which wasn't a bad thing at all. There was a big party going down in Beomgye and we watched some singers perform on a stage in the downtown area. We went to the bar after that and sat down for beer, but when the beer came I was too tired and didn't feel like drinking anymore, so I went home. Also, I had to meet my brother because he was coming to stay the night at my place BECAUSE we were going to meet my friends at Suwon Station at 8AM Saturday BECAUSSSE we were all going to go to EVERLAND!

Saturday, I dragged my self and a half hour later, my brother, out of bed and went to Suwon Station to meet my chingoos. I thought were were taking a bus, but we rode in a van to Everland, one of three popular amusement parks in Korea. This was my second time to go to Everland. We arrived at about 930. (Ko's Friend Mi Nae(??), Ko, Yeni, and Me)


Everyone wanted to ride the T Express first. It has the title of 'The steepest wooden roller coaster in the WORLD.' I was scared because I don't like roller coasters or high places, but I was too tired to care too much, so I walked my death walk to through cute animal areas where skunks and meerkats slept near each other and lions had morning 'relations'.
We got to the T Express and it wasn't running! I felt the day get better and we went to ride the 'Amazon' instead, which is like the rapids at six flags. Circular raft that goes through a river and splash splash. I'd done it before, you don't get that wet. But that's alright cuz it was morning and the fall air is a little chilly these days. We went back over to T Express and surprise surprise! It opened at 1030, so it was now running. Well, ****. Anyway, I did it. We waited in line and found a good place to take pictures. There was even a bag on the ground so we could look fashionable.
Ko and Me in line for T Express
The ladies, looking cute.And Ryan being crazy...

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that everyone but Ko go animal ears after the Amazon ride. This is us being our animals.


Man, blogger is giving me trouble. Anyway, we rode T Experess and I closed my eyes during those 77 degree drops, but overall it wasn't bad, but I did duck down for fear of losing my giraffe head.
After that we rode bumper cars and smashed then we ate some hamburgers. It was good and bad to ride T Express first. Good because it was morning and the line wait wasn't long, and there wasn't time to build up stress about it but bad because after it, nothing was quite as exciting. There's one other roller coaster in Everland, but it was down for repairs. But we did the Hurricane which is kind of a cross between a Tilt A Whirl and the rocking pirate boat. Oh and we did some lame haunted house rides that were for Halloween. Haunted house wasn't scary at all and there was a thing called a rotating house that was just silly. You barely even move. And we went through the "Global Village" which was rife with stereotypes and to my friend Katie's dismay did not mention Canada. It's like the spelunker or now yosemite sam ride at six flags where you ride a little boat through a cave. And Africans are savages and Americans are football players or they wear stars and strips forever costumes and oh joy! After that we rode the log ride, which was short but sweet. While waiting in line, I saw a girl with giraffe ears and my friends got her attention so we could take a picture together.
We rode the Safari because Ryan really wanted to see the Liger
OH yeah, and another Ryan joined our group. He got there a little later than us, but here he is not looking very happy. He told us that 90% of American say ain't. Yeah, right...

Well, so yeah, there were a lot of fun rides and we rode them. Haha. After the Safari we had to hurry over to the Magic Cat Show, that's right. Magic. Cat. Show. I wish I could have taken home one of the posters for it. It had a black and white cat wearing a bow tie and top hat and holding a cane and dancing. Ameowzing. Well, we got to the cat show about fifteen minutes early and Ryan and me went to the bathroom. We get back and the thing is roped off. I try to tell the guy at the rope that our friends are inside, but he just kind of yells at me and won't let us back in. I get really angry and call my friends to come help us out. They come and tell the dude, but the guy is being a dick and I see my day being ruined before my eyes. It was really a ridiculous policy because there were families where a husband or wife was showing up a little late and being kept from going in. It was like the Berlin Wall all over again. Really, it was. But most Koreans were just ducking under the rope and the guy wasn't saying anything or stopping them. It was frustrating because we couldn't do anything because we're white and kind of stand out, ya know. Finally, more of my friends came out and talked to they guy. He was still being an ***hole, but my friends told me that he said we should wait and they would let us in the back. So, we got let in the back. Yesterday I went onto the Everland site to complain about this incident, but there was no contact email or anything. Bastards! I was livid, but as the magic cat show music came on, which was like the music you'd hear before a basketball game mixed with intermittent strangled meows, I couldn't help but crack up and laugh all the BS away. The cat show was short and sort of thrown together, but who am I to complain about a Magic Cat Show. It was less magic and more show and cats jumped high and went through obstacles, and a couple of the cats were like, screw this, and just ran away, so the people on stage were visibly nervous, but that made it even better. They brought out a monkey at one point and the show finished with a dog. A DOG! That was pretty ridiculous. If you're gonna call it Magic Cat Show. Stick with cats. Dogs do tricks all the time. If anything just let the kitties hang out on stage. We want to see kitties!After the cat show, we ate a lackluster dinner and ran over to the Viking Boat to ride it. I wanted to stay on it all night, but we wanted to see the fireworks, so our tired feet ran to the fireworks locale. After fireworks we dragged ourselves to the buses and went to Suwon station then home. Ryan and I got home around midnight.

Sunday, we slept in and went to get donuts. Then, I saw Ryan off because I had a date. I met my girl and we went to a movie, dinner, hang out on a bench ^.~

It was a great weekend. Now I'm back at school. No classes today and fun classes tomorrow and Wednesday because the kids need to loosen up before exams next week. We'll sing and play a game and talk. Chuseok is this weekend and I get a four day holiday, I think. Maybe five? I'm not sure yet. I'll go visit Ryan and maybe go to another theme park next weekend. I'll try to bring my camera this time, because all these pictures are mooched off my friends' facebook pages.

Importants

Radio is important. I'm not talking about clear channel corporates who shovel out the same manufactured bands every hour every day like clockwork. And I'm not going to pretend like I know everything about NPR and talk radio. But there are a select few radio programs out there that are and have been doing some important stuff. This American Life has been around for over ten years but it upholds all the originality of its first shows. Ira Glass is calming and charming and sometimes he puts me to sleep, but I can't name a TV show that is as engrossing as one story from this show. Take one I just listened to, Kindness of Strangers. One of the stories took us back to Harlem and the Renaissance that happened there and you are transplanted there, your imagination fires up and you want to be part of something like that and where is that happening today?
Then there's Radiolab. It simply makes science interesting. It's like listening to a movie and it's so aurally inventive that you can forget everything going on around you. Two days ago I listened to one of their short podcasts where we learned that what we see might not be what we think we see because our eyes have yellowed over the years and children, babies have such pure lenses that the world is a bright blue blur to them.
I don't tune in to either of these shows, I subscribe to the podcasts along with ones available from the New Yorker. I suggest you download iTunes and listen to them too.

La Bamba

Had a great weekend. Saturday was an event for ESC, the group that I'm a part of that regularly meets in Sanbon. Hung out with all my Korean buds and a couple foreigners. We dressed in sharp threads, ate cheese and drank wine and listened to strings and danced to K Pop. It was classy and fun. ESC is a group started to help Koreans learn English but it's also to bring the people together (duh). And the founders are trying to spread it all over the Earth. That's right, they got plans for a world takeover. The party ended around 9 and I headed back to Anyang with the homies. We hit up Garten Bier for a couple pitchers and then went to Noraebang until about 2.
Yesterday I met my friend for her birthday and we went to Namsan Tower together, then a cafe, then walked around Myeongdong and found dinner. Myeongdong, so many people. There was a Mexican band at Namsan Tower and they played La Bamba which was AWESOME.
Back at school, gonna teach in about thirty, it's all good.

No Ice Cream Cake

Well, I was looking forward to coming home, having an early birthday in October and eating the ice cream that all my friends and family promised me. Unfortunately that's gonna have to wait a few months, because according to the school, I just can't skip out on the kids like that. So, my trip home will come in January and we'll all have to wear gloves or mittens while eating Ice Cream Cake. Yes, we're still gonna eat ice cream cake in January. Okay?
Yesterday I fell asleep around 10 and got a decent night's sleep, free from mosquitoes for the most part. I finished watching this French Film called L'Homme qui Aimait les Femmes (The man who loved women) and it got kind of bad toward the end even though it was Truffaut who I've been watching a lot of lately. (UN?)Surprisingly there was a remake of the French film starring Burt Reynolds and I want to see it because it's probably really bad.
I also bought a pineapple pizza last night and ate it. It was good except it needed more tomato sauce and they didn't give me any hot sauce or parmesan. : P
I also watched an episode of The Mighty Boosh, which I'm not so crazy about and Fawlty Towers which I should have watched a long time ago because it's funny.
Today's been good. Classes breezy. Especially 102, what smart girls! It's good when more than one person answers my questions. Got a Dentist Appointment tomorrow. Later Blogs!

No More Mosquitoes! (Pleaz)

I hate mosquitoes. Last night I went a little crazy staying up until 1AM trying to kill all the mosquitoes in my apartment. I thought at one point that we could read each others thoughts. I thought the mosquito knew I wanted it dead and maybe it did. The satisfaction of reaching into the air and crushing one in my hand was bittersweet as soon after I turned off the lights I heard another buzzing near my ear. I hate mosquitoes.

Tuesdays with Morrie

I added a few more words about the park in the post. There's an explanation of why I'm on one leg kneeing a teenager in the stomach.




I just read this book called Tuesdays with Morrie and it changed my life and now I'm going to get a dog and spend more time with old people.
I'm joking, I never read that book or saw the hallmark movie. I think it had the dog from Fraser in it right?
A week ago the Former President of Korea died and my school got shut down for swine flu and it was my one year anniversary in Korea! Party!
I was pretty busy last week, meeting friends, coming in fourth in dart tournaments and watching movies. I went to a park on Saturday and it was a really beautiful place called Mulhyanggi Arboretum. Mulhyanggi means water smell, so it's the Water Smell Arboretum.
We ate Jok Bal which is translated as "shaven pig's feet" which sounds really strange but is actually really delicious. After eating pig feet, we walked around and had a chicken fight. I got beat by my friend's nephew who is in high school. Then we found a maze where we raced to the center and our team won. After the park we went back to a friend's apartment and he made us all spaghetti. We was me and about five Korean friends. All the foreignors were off at some island playing Lord of the Flies or something. I felt special and also a little lonely when everyone spoke in Korean and I just had to sit there like I don't know what you're saying people, speak English, but forgot I was in Korea.
Sunday Ryan came by Anyang, and we hung out with my friends in Sanbon and walked around Anyang a little. I don't know if it was not enough Ryan or just enough Ryan. Probably just enough. Because sometimes he says things that I don't want to hear.
Yesterday I went shopping and bought a lot of vegetables and spaghetti and some other groceries. I sat in a cafe and tried to read and block out girls saying 'blah blah blah migookin saram, blah blah blah migookin saram" migookin saram means American person, so I kinda sorta felt like they were talking about me, which makes me uncomfortable. It's one thing I can't get used to and I'm thinking about getting surgery so I look Korean.
Today I'm back at school and I don't know what I'm going to teach my first class because the copy room's locked but whatever, if all else fails, dance party, right? Or hangman, I don't know.

Chinese Drinks

Last night the owner of the English cafe where i go often to meet my Korean friends and one or two other foreigners took my father and me and a few of the aforementioned friends to a chinese restaurant slash bar and bought us a lot of chinese liquor. There were two types. The first came in a porcelain vase like bottle and had masks all over it. It was strong but good. The second was a little smoother and sweeter and had bamboo in it but I'm not a fan of sweet and while one shot would have been okay, the remaining uncountable number was not good. A little hungover today but we had a good time and I think my dad made a new friend.

Last and This Weekend

Just a few pics from last weekend in Gangchon. It was a lot of fun and made me want to get out more and see more of Korea. I'm going to Gyeongju with my dad and brother in a couple weeks. Dad's coming in tomorrow night and I still have some apartment cleaning to do. I'm also on the verge of finalizing my summer vacation in China.
I'm really proud of my students today after reading some of their speeches that they have to give for their English class. I'm really interested in what kind of people they'll become in the coming years. These are my third graders who are graduating high school next March.
Yesterday I was given a huge jar of this ginseng liquor. I teach some moms and one of them brought it for me. It's expensive stuff but she made it. I tried some last night and it's definitely an acquired taste. Another mom brought me some pear juice. They're kind ladies.
Yesterday after school I went to the photo shop to get my visa photos. The man that worked there was really nice. It was all proof that I need to get out more during the week because I think I'd forgotten how nice people are in this country. Sometimes they ignore you and make you feel like an eyesore but you are, you're white and tall, well at least I am. But yesterday was great. I was totally gay for Korea yesterday.

Great Albums, etc.

I expected Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion to be my number one this year but so far it's received scant listens and it lacks a lot of the things I love about the band: the chaotic elements that they can turn into a beautiful tune. Instead there's none of avey tare's screeching yelps. I do think bluish is one of their best and panda bear's song about a normal day is nice, but there's no grass or fireworks or for reverend green. Well, what I want to get to is what I can't stop listening to these days and it hasn't even come out yet. shhh. I pre ordered a copy of it on vinyl, so I'm going to support this band hands down. It's a group called The Dirty Projectors and the album is called Bitte Orca. It's something you have to listen to and listen to again and maybe a few more times. It's not the easiest music to like but it's really grown on me and has helped me get through the last couple months, which have been extremely difficult at times. I don't know exactly what it is about the album that I love, maybe it's that they have created that beauty out of chaos, but while I haven't heard the much hyped Grizzly Bear Veckatimest yet, I don't imagine it will hold a candle to Bitte Orca.

I woke up this morning dreaming about opening a coffee shop in a Korean neighborhood in the states.

This week's been rough. I didn't get enough sleep most days and then I sacked out yesterday from when I got home at 430 to about 10, ate a snack, watched a tv show on the pc then crashed again around midnight. School's been stressing me out but I think it's just because I had to work last saturday and only had one day when I didn't see good ol chunghun high. I'll be glad when the final bell rings today and I can have a real weekend.

I'm really looking forward to summer vacation, coming up the first two weeks of August. And the chinese teacher at my school is teaching me a little chinese. Dad's gonna be here soon, too. Only about two more weeks, which is exciting.

There's a going away party tonight for a korean friend who is moving to work somewhere far away in Korea. Wednesday I met a Korean girl who worked with Oren at the College. She's pretty cool.

Skype is set up on my computer, so I'll be utilizing that soon.

Teacher's are higher than the sky

I just had one of my worser classes, but it wasn't so bad. Just a crazy boy that fuels the fire by yelling out random things in Korean.
Yesterday was my Korean class and it went alright, but I'm starting to find faults in their system, like why do they pair people up with different people every time? It's difficult to adjust and figure out the level to work at when you're having a language exchange for the first time.
Last Friday was Teacher's Day and our school had a ceremony where all the teachers received a carnation from one student. It was sweet and even cuter later on two of my girls came by to my office and very shyly asked to sing me the teacher's day song, which compares teachers to high flying fighter jets or something. It was awesome. I also got a bite of a cookie and some pink balloons that are still on top of my computer.
Last weekend I went to see an awesome movie. I think the English translation is Kim's Island. It's about a dude who loses his job and girlfriend and starts to live on this island in the middle of the Han River in Seoul. It was one of the best Korean movies I've seen even though there were no subtitles and my friend Harry had to translate for me.
Sorry, but I gotta ask, is anyone reading this?

Jo Ah Yo

Despite the hardships of dealing with a death back home a couple weeks ago, things have been rolling along as usual here. Tuesday was Children's Day and I went with some friends to Seoul Grand Park and to the Contemporary art museum. There's a giant temple like structure made out of TVs with hyperactive video clips playing on each one. And there are paintings. We went bowling afterward and I'm seeing my score steadily improve. I went from bowling 40 on Sunday to 100 on Tuesday. Yesterday I was back at the museums with some teachers/friends from my school. We ate duck for lunch which was amazing. It was stuffed with rice and berries. And I ate dog stew the day before. It's not bad. We saw some India Art at the gallery, which was a little meh, but there was some good photography. It was pictures of two older Indian women posed to look like paintings. I wish I had written the name of the artist. The last picture in the series was a black and white mugshot of the two women. Of course all the descriptions are in Korean, hehe.
I went to a Korean language class last night and tonight I'm meeting a friend in Sindorim. Tomorrow I'm going to a baseball game in Jamsil. Dad'll be here in about five weeks. Listening to Dinosaur Jr.'s 07 album. cha cha

Today, Yesterday

Today's going well, but I'll be glad when this lesson's over. We're reading about Angel Falls and the CN Tower. Why can't we talk about America! Canada makes me bored. I'm half joking here.
Tomorrow starts my first parent class. That's right, I'm teaching parents of students and a few other adults. I don't really know how to go about this yet so I've got some planning to do.
Yesterday was ahight. I went to my Korean language class, but my partner was a little too intense, drilling Korean into my brain with a jackhammer. I was too tired to keep up and it was kind of intense. Which is surprising since he's one of the leaders of the group. I thought he'd be a little more easy going, but he acted like he had no patience whatsoever. Whatta drag.
There's some Japanese noise dude playing this Friday and there's a lantern festival this weekend that I want to go to.

Tally Ho!

I was listening to the Crystal Stilts but i switched over the The Clean

It's a student's birthday today. We hung out during lunch and ate snacks. Now I'm sugar overload. But it's bliss.

Finished Savage Detectives by Bolano and now I'm starting Zadie Smith's On Beauty.

I got coffee and dinner with a friend last night.

Tonight I'm going to a spin off of the Korean Language Group. It's an English group for Koreans, but it's all good. I say words and we all say words. Together!

Weekend's up in the air, which is ahight with me. It's been bizzy.

Micachu

I'm in love with a new band called Micachu and the Shapes. Everything I was looking for in new music in 2009 is in this band.
I was at a English Teacher conference for the last four days. Sleeping in a room with two dudes I never met before, drinking after the day long lectures. And I'm wondering why the sky isn't blue today?
I do feel refreshed and woken up and like I can handle up on the teaching biz a little better. I think I was just starting to get really entrenched in my social life around Anyang so I was uprooted when I went out to Bundang for the conference and shoved into a group of foreigners. I met some pretty cool people, though, so I'm not hating too much. Played some ping pong and pool the last night. I'll take ping pong over drinking almost any night. Made some ethnic friends. It's all about the ethnic friends. F$*(! Whitey!
Of course coming back home was a bit of a turn around thirteen times with a blindfold on then take it off. Oh yeah, I'm in Korea, so it was back to being the standout in the crowd.
Ho hum, another year here is looking more and more the option. I just don't know how I'm feeling. I'm young so I got time but I'm young so I wanna see places. It's a decision to make, but I guess wtih travel time I'll be able to fulfill the needs. Time's running out for decisions.
One thing I really like here is you go to a cafe and sit by the window and you can see people in the restaurant across the street. It's a happy zoo.

Wine Broke

I knocked over a bottle of wine last night just after opening it and now my apartment smells like a wino's home. I guess it's better than the smoky smell left by the previous tenant.
I made friends with some ladies at my school by accident on Monday. I thought one of the teachers was one of my friends but she ended up being someone else.
I'm caught up on Breaking Bad and almost to the end of the first season of Big Love.
I guess there's not much to say. It's raining today and still cold.
I've been doing a lot of crosswords.

listening bolano reading delerue

listening, reading, reading, listening,
nothing notable lately
teachers come in crashing through the office
taught the kids about sports, taught them 'take me out to the ballgame'
went to a language group meeting last night
didnt get much sleep last night

Bent Drums

Yesterday was a drag. One of those all day, nothing to do, kids taking a test but I gotta be here anyway. Plus I had an awkward conversation about my plans here. I was given a contract for the club that I'll be helping out with and they had me working on it past my contract end date. I asked them why they did that and they said they thought I was staying another year. I might have said I probably would, but that was two months ago and I never signed anything, so when I told my coworker that I didn't know and tried to explain my reasons (tried) it was a little awkward. So yesterday was awkward and I skipped out on the school dinner with all the other teachers to go home and chill out. I listened to a little This American Life and crashed early.
Today's better. When there's something to do, it's better. I taught three classes this morning and now I just have to wait it out a few hours before I can go home. I still feel a little tension in the air. I just feel sometimes like I'm not being told about things... but that's a drawback of not knowing the language everyone's speaking.

One of the funniest thing my students do is call each other out and I like to counter them when I get a chance. Some are mean about it and just go on and on. Like there's a girl who is kind of overweight and a loudmouthed boy will point to her and say "Oprah" or a boy's skin is a little darker so a boy will point to him and say "Obama". Usually the boys are more mean spirited about it than the girls who will just say things like "dull girl" pointing at their friends. At the end of one of my classes today a boy started pointing to all the other boys and saying "Japanese" "Chinese" "Indonesian" So I pointed to him and said "Philippines" and got a laugh. Anyway, it's usually all in fun.

What up Y'allllll

The weekend was a bust. I remember reading a lot and straining to watch Lost on my computer's dark screen. Still no new computer. I wish I could swing a mac, but I don't know if I should drop that much cash on something that will be outdated in a few years. I guess I'll stay a slave to the PC.

I had a date but it was pretty lame. That's what I get for letting loose too much through email. All the spark was lost in the world wide web. I'm sick of internet dating. It's a scam.

I've been listening religiously to everything Scott Carrier has to say in his segments from This American Life. Man, if anyone reads this and they have the time, look for the show entitled 'Summer' on thislife.org It's way back there, maybe 96 or 97 when the show just started. It's proof that TAL is better than any TV show. Also, I found out Carrier has a radio show with NPR called Hearing Voices, which opens up a new box that I've got to be careful not to chew through too fast.

Classes are pretty easy. I'm teaching about ocean animal. I hope it's not too kidstuff, but it teaches them some Englishy and that's all that matters. My girls class was nuts yesterday and then my first class of boys was a dud. They were zombies. The last class of boys was alright, though.

No classes tomorrow, but it'll nice to come in and do jack.

I'm pissed that I'm not going to Jeju. One of the teachers asked me to come to Jeju Island with the second grade class. Jeju is the Korean Hawaii. Buuut I have class that week. Why can't they schedule all the classes' trips at the same time. First grade has a trip the next week but I don't think it's anything I can go on. I heard it's some sports camp. Damn, it's like I'm here for a year maybe, can't they let me get a little beach for a week and let my coteachers teach my classes? I'm pretty much over it now, so whatevah.

Marshmallows

In the wintertime they wrap the bales of hay in white plastic and it makes them look like marshmallows floating on the field.

Not much to talk about today. One of my third graders chose his English name to be Jonie Dabb (johnny depp) and I had a good time playing a game with my other class of third graders this morning (that's third grade high school, seniors in Korea).

Last night my computer spazzed out and the screen went ultra dark. I thought a bulb had burned out or something, but it was back to normal this morning. I'm hoping it can last another month or two, that is until I have a little more cash in my account so I can get a new one.
I'm thinking I'll stay here at least until Feb/March '10 right now. I don't know if that's feasible, if I'd be able to draw up a contract like that or if the won will be worth anything by then, but that's my plan so I can have some closure with the school year and see my third graders graduate.

Been listening to The Boy Least Likely To, the new one hasn't taken yet as much as the first, but it's pretty good so far. Twee-tastic.

Last night I just listened to This American Life and then my computer was working around 9 so I watched an ep of Eastbound and Down then crashed.
I try to wrap my head around the 'simple' descriptions of the economy provided by alex bloomberg and is associate but I still can't unlock that side of my brain. I'm gonna try to listen to some Planet Money podcasts, the show they have together.

What do I have planned for the weekend?

Buy
A hat?
A hammer and nails so I can finally put up my shade
A computer if mine dies again today...maybe
That many smiles of Heath Ledger shirt if I can find it.

Call Pap tonight
Meet some friends Saturday.
Maybe drop by the English cafe in Sanbon on Sunday

I just want to relaxxxxxx.

LunchSleep

Damn, lunch makes me sleepy. And it wasn't that good Again. four for four this week.
I'm almost to making my lesson plan, but gotta blog first.
Yesterday was a riot. Not really, but here's what happened.
First, I had a girl with special needs in one of my classes and the teacher made me skip over her which made me feel awful and I'm sure made her sad too because she put her head on the desk afterward. It was really sad. She's going to be in another class next week.
After work I finally went to get my haircut. First I went to the coffee shop to order a macchiato. Unfortunately they thought I wanted a Caramel Macchiato. I should have known better after picking it up and sure enough the first sip was way too sweet. Instead of taking it back I sipped a little down while waiting for my haircut, but I swear the syrup was coating my throat with sugar, so I just left it on the table.
The haircut was a lot fun since the girl that was doing it didn't speak English. She was cute, though, so we worked through it. I decided to do a little shopping after that. I went looking for the store with the shirt that says "The many smiles of Heath Ledger" but I couldn't find it, so I went to the underground shopping area. I went to a shop I'd been to before but the girl who worked there was extremely annoying (following me around) and rude (I'm pretty sure she said I couldn't try on any clothes). She finally let me try on clothes but I just tried on one shirt then left. She had this really rude attitude towards me that I wasn't digging. I went to the shop where i bought my coat "Friend" and found a cool plaid button up. The old dude who works there was really nice and that's what it's all about people. Just be nice and usually I'll buy something. I found some sushi after that and took it back to my place. Stopped by the nice lady at the fruit stand and bought some tangerines. Went home and watched a couple shows. Eastbound and Down is HILARIOUS. It's crude but the main actor was in Pineapple Express and All the Real Girls and the guy is insanely funny.
Today classes were alright. I had bang bang bang, three in a row starting first perious, so it's good to chill before my last one in last period. I gotta make lesson plans, though. It's been so gray lately, makes me sleepier.

Again

I'm gonna do this again today. Because I"m bored and still another twenty minutes until my last class. Listening to Vivien Girls p4ktv.
I want a mug full of espresso that I can rest frothed milk on so it will look like a cloud on top of a sludgeheap.
I should be planning for next week's classes but my body feels rusted over along with my brain. I have no idea what to do for the third grade classes I teach tomorrow. I think doing the same thing as first graders is okay this week, but it will probably go by fast. I'm going to have to keep those kids in line.
I wish there was a swimming pool in my apartment. There's something to be said about a country where most people don't have baths. I don't know what to say, but there's something. I mean, taking a bath is the best sometimes. I took them for a couple years when my foot was all wrapped and wounded, and one can find efficiency in them. They're not always just candles and Nora Roberts.
Nora Roberts reminds me of when I priced crappy books at Goodwill. So man Janet Evanovanovavich, so little time.
Lunch was curry. I mean I like curry, but it could've been better. The cafeteria is three for three this week. Usually they do pretty good, maybe two meals out of five aren't that good. But three for three, come on ladies. Let me introduce you to my secret ingredient... The eyelashes of old men.
The world's just one big world. There's no twist and turns, no secret alleyways, it's all a big pair of lungs and we're pushing and pulling to make it breathe.
Forgive me if I sometimes say stupid things, it's just my mind sort of bleeding if you will. Did I mention I'm bored?

http://pitchfork.tv/videos/the-books-that-right-aint-shit

Click on the above.

I fried chopped banana in a little oil, water, coffee, sugar last night and poured them and the residue into a a little milk. Poured the rest of the coffee in a mug and that's how I make dessert out of scraps and pieces.
I was looking at my mom's blog today and saw the Christmas decorations she made last year. Those things should be in a gallery. My mom's a creative woman. She should have her own TV show and Martha Stewart should be all, hey I made this goat cheese salad for you.

It's another ten minutes and I don't know how much I can keep up the rambling, but believe me, there's absolutely nothing left on the internet for me. Nothing. It's a barren wastland and the only other thing I could do is get my self together and actually do the work for next week, but it's only Wednesday and I got plenty of time tomorrow.

Olive Garden

I was told I look sick today. Yeah, baby, I'm sick. Sick for your love.

My hair has reached a volume that's large, poofed out like a bush. It needs cutting.

All the kids that like hiphop try to look like badasses, but they don't realize that they're white. Okay okay, they're korean. But they're still white.

I'm almost finished with 'interpreter of maladies'. Nothing like even headed writing to leave you even headed.

Man, these kids were shaking today as they were introducing themselves in English. Like leaves.

Wearing my new shirt and pants but I feel like an outlaw with the hemlock on my head.

The weekend's coming. I'm setting up a flickr page. I've got one class left today. I've got to make a lesson plan for next week. I'm tired.

I thought I heard a cat meow as I was walking through the school gate this morning.

I think I tried to watch a movie last night, but I ended up talking to Oren for a couple hours.

cologne storm

There's salesdude in the office wearing too much cologne and it's making me all nauseous.

The first classes were stonefaced yesterday, little zombies fresh out the morgue. Well, I guess the girls were alright, but the boys were silent as hell and I think it's just shyness. I'm looking forward to their loosening up as well as mine, but I hope thinks don't reach the havoc of some of last semester's classes of boys.

I start my classes in about ten minutes and today it's two girls classes and one boy class. They don't really understand the meaning of the word exciting. I try to explain but some say the most exciting thing they've done is sleeping or watching TV.

Last night I got sucked into tv on the pc since sunday is the night with the most shows I watched, but it reached an ugly place where I felt like a zombie myself and that nothing I watched had any meaning and I wasn't even laughing at the simpsons, just staring blankly and my apartment's a bit of a mess so I was quick to go to bed, and even though I'll be busy this evening I got to pick it up a little.

The Home Ec teacher approached me yesterday before we took a teacher group photo and told me she wanted to practice English with me. Her husband worked in India for a few years and she lived there and tried to learn a little English. She's a nice lady.
Lunch was atrocious yesterday and I mostly ate spinach because the meat dish was mostly bone and very little meat. Hoping it's better today.
I went shopping after school yesterday at a corner supermarche and got great deals compared to the mart in Lotte Dept. Store.

shopping, hiking,...

Friday,

On Friday I didn't have to come to the school, so I slept more than usual. I needed to get out, though, so I went downtown around 1 o clock. First, I hit up McDonald's for lunch. The place was crowded, mostly with schoolgirls. I grabbed a Shanghai Spice Burger and ate surrounded by gigglingness. Sated on western food, I traversed the streets of "Il bang ga" (the downtown area of Anyang) and dropped into one of my favorite clothing stores. Only in Korea, well, probably only in most foreign speaking countries, but man, what strange t shirts you can find. I saw one that had an article printed on it about the mouthharp. Of course, anything with English is top. I found a long sleeve with colorful cassette tapes printed on it. On the bottom it reads, "Vintage cassette tape illustration from norwegian magazine." It's best not to think too much about it. I also found a pair of pants, surprised they would fit. The dude at the shop told me I looked very handsome, and I just smiled and nodded. After that shop, I walked around looking for my favorite cafe. Sometimes I get lost in that maze of shops and cafes and it took me a good fifteen minutes to find it. Other times, I'll know right where to go. Confusion abounds. I finally got there, ordered a cappuccino (I don't know if it's the espresso or the milk, but man their drinks are good). I got it to go, and walked over to Stop, another clothing store. I got some pretty cool sweaters there a couple months ago, so I thought I would check it out but the selection wasn't as good and their customer service was a little dreary. I ended up buying a couple button ups for about fifteen bucks each, so I could look a little snazzier for the new semester. Not that vintage cassette tape shirts aren't snazzy. After that I went home, ended up grabbing a pizza (the rare double western food day) and went to bed.

Saturday,

I had to get up early on Saturday. One of the coolest teachers at my school, Mr. Kim had invited me to go hiking with his schoolmates. They're all in their sixties! Mr. Kim and I took the train to Dongducheon, a good two hours, and I nodded off on the way. We got there at ten and all his hiking buddies were waiting, decked out in their anoraks and hiking shoes. I was lacking in the hiking garb, but what's a guy to do? My brother met us too, his scraggly self. The hiking friends were a little standoffish at first, but things loosened up as we hiked. We walked from Dongducheon station to the base of Macheon Mountain, and climbed and climbed. I thought we reached the top a good three times before we actually reached the top. Wearing Vans isn't a good idea for hiking, I slipped a couple times, but nothing serious. Once we reached the top, we lunched on Korean food and sandwiches and fruit. The sandwiches were some strange mixture of ham and cheese and jam. Yeah, strawberry jam between the slices of ham. hamjam. jamham. After lunch Ryan had to rush back the way we came because he was getting his internet connected. I continued on with the group, descending the mountain on the opposite slope.

When we got back down to Soyosan station, it was about 330. We drank some soju and makkoli and ate some soup. I was exhausted. I was supposed to meet some friends that night, but they cancelled, so I joined the old dudes in Noraebang and sang classics like Hotel California and Heart of Gold. Singing My Way with a sixty year old Korean guy who speaks very little English was pretty surreal. The whole experience was really heartwarming, though. When I see older men on the streets, usually I'm met with a scowl or a loud cough or I'm just completely ignored, and I'm sure that if I were to have seen any of these men on the street before this day, the same would have happened. But after that day of hiking, they called me a friend and even invited me to their next event in March. I got home at about ten that night. It was a pretty amazing day.

Sunday,

Last Sunday I went to a English group and hung out, watched an episode of Desperate Housewives and talked about it. It was kind of lame. This sunday I was going to go again, even though I was pretty tired from the previous day's excursion, but I got on the wrong train. I got on a rapid to Cheonan, thinking it would stop at my transfer station, Geumjeon where I'd get on a train to Sanbon. Unfortunately, it didn't stop until Suwon and if I tried to go back from there, I would be a good 30-45 minutes late to the group. I hadn't seen a friend of mine who lives in Suwon in a while, so I called him up instead, and we grabbed some lunch and talked about the kind of stuff indie rock obsessed nerds talk about (new music, pitchfork, great albums of 08, etc.) Lunch was some weird soup with chewy chicken parts in it, but I ate it anyway. Basically, we didn't really know what we were ordering. I think the lady running the restaurant just brought out whatever for us, to mess with us. After that we grabbed a beer and a coffee (not the best mix) and sat outside in the cold wind, watching the ladies pass and talking more about Animal Collective, Dan Deacon and the like. I took a train back to Anyang, picked up some pasta and broccoli near Anyang station, and walked home. It was a decent day.

Now, it's Monday and I'm a little nervous about starting the new semester. I have my first class in a couple hours and we're just going to introduce ourselves.

I can't stop listening to the two songs I have by this san francisco band called Girls.

As my coworker just said as we finished eating pears:
The End!

Daft Punk is Playing at My House

It looks like I'm only teaching about 16 classes a week. That's two less than last year's, around 3 per day. I'm not teaching any second graders, which makes me kind of sad, because I'll miss my students from last year, but I'll see them around the school, and I get to teach the second graders I had last year who are third graders now. I'm teaching a listening class, but I have no idea what that will be like yet. I'm trying to set up some kind of English club, but I was already told I couldn't meet students outside of school because, basically, they don't trust foreigners around the students outside of school, which is really depressing. So, I'm going to see if I can do something on Saturday at the school when students have to go to school for clubs. Man, I just wanted to meet a few students Sunday afternoon at a cafe to help them practice their English, but whatever. I've been reading too many articles about anti foreigner sentiment that the Koreans have, so it sort of got on my nerves when I was told that.

Freak Out!

I'm freaking out about not knowing my schedule for the new semester, which starts next week. How am I supposed to know how many copies to make? I've experienced being kept in the dark here many a time, but this is a little ridiculous. I don't have a clue what I'm teaching next week except for my first grade classes, but I don't know how many first grade classes I have.
Listening to some remastered Leonard Cohen, trying to chill out but Leonard's voice can't always drown out the Korean of my coworkers, which today is grating on me. It's mainly the stress of not knowing about next week, though.
I'm not really looking forward to the teacher dinner tonight, which if it's anything like the other teacher dinners, will be me listening to everyone talk Korean and occasionally hearing my name come up, but never having why it was explained to me. Sighhhhhhhh.
I need a haircut.
Last night I watched half of That Obscure Object of Desire by Bunuel, but I got bored. So I watched Gran Torino. I think it should have been animated or rotoscoped or whatever that animation they used in Waking Life is called. Because often, Clint Eastwood was like a Country Bear. Listened to some good This American Life. Tried to chat with a Korean girl online, but I felt like I was talking to one of my students, and she wasn't being responsive, so I nixed it.
I'm ready for the weekend.

Late

I woke up late today. But only on purpose. I'm supposed to be at school at 830 but I had to go by the bank so I ended up getting here at 930. There was a girl at the convenience store I stopped at to buy a package of instant coffee tubes (mocha gold), and she looked like a student. She was watching cartoons on a TV hanging from the ceiling.
Last night I went to the Language group and got Korean shoved into my brain. Seriously, the woman teaching me was hardcore. I got to that point of too much information in my head, and she just kept cramming it into my ears. But it's good, I'm learning things like, 'i would like to buy an apple' and 'i don't want to eat pizza.' But who would ever say that they don't want to eat pizza?
Still worried about next week because I don't know my schedule yet. I know it's just going to be an introduction week, but I'd like to know these things.
I feel like I'm not saving enough money and this might be a factor in deciding to move to China if I decide to move to China. It's expensive here. But I also might spend too much on Noraebang and Beer.
some pros and cons in my (probably too early) china debate
pros
I've got a good friend there (Oren) and I don't find good friends like him easily.
It's cheaper to live there
I would be working less hours if I get the job Oren said he can get me, teaching about the same age as here, and I wouldn't pay for most utilities I have to pay for here like electricity, internet.
Maybe China is less conservative?

Cons
I like my students and I don't feel good about leaving after just one year.
Picking up and moving is a drag.
China might be less safe.

We'll see what outweighs what in the future. It all depends on what kind of relationships I build here and how I feel after I vacation to China in August. I just overthink and plan too early on this kind of thing.

Lost and Found

I think that's the third blog I've given up on. That old south korea see saws. I liked the name, and I tried to go back to it a few times, but I couldnt find it. Maybe I forgot my username or password, probably both. So this is a new one I'm starting on a whim and I'll tell you all about it sometimes. I just mean, I'm not going to tell anyone about it until I know I'm serious. I didn't even give much thought to the title. Shirts music kinda sounded like church music or search music to me so I thought shirts music would be the most absurd of the three.
Anyways, I'm bored, thus the blog. Maybe this is just a last resort once I've burned myself out on news sites and digg and facebook and so I'm just sitting at the school, waiting for the semester to begin next week. I'm listening to New York by Lou Reed and I really love this album. I thought Lou Reed was a little outdated, I mean, I like velvet underground, but his solo stuff never really took to me. Perfect Day is a great song, but I never cozied up to songs like andy's chest, something about the production on that album, (is it transformer?) anyways, Dirty Blvd. is a great great song.
New teachers in my office now. I don't like it. I mean they seem nice. But Korea has this thing where they transfer the teachers every year either to the next grade up or to another school in the area. And part of it makes sense in a way, but they totally changed up my comfort zone I guess. You see, there's this teacher who has sat next to me since I got here and she's assigned to help me out. And they put her in a different office and stuck me with a new helper and I'm just not crazy about that. Going through withdrawals. Also didn't drink coffee this morning. Going through those withdrawals too.
Anyway, talking to Oren now. Capital bro Pap.