I Get More Sleep Than My Students

I haven't been able to communicate with my students much, but I've talked with them enough to know that most of them go to an institute after school. Yes, after school, they have even more school. After talking with some of the teachers about this issue, I've come to the realization that Korean society is heavily competitive for white collar domestic jobs. The students have to / are forced to study hard now so that they can get a good grade on the college entrance exam and get into a good college so that they can have the best chance of getting a job (possibly one not even related to their study) after graduation.

I was talking to one of my students today and after a couple hours of break after school, she goes to an institute to study math and finishes at midnight. She goes to bed at 1AM and then wakes at 6AM to get to school. She's maybe 14. I go to bed at 1:00 AM, wake up at 7:20 in the morning, sit on my bed for 15 minutes while trying to "really" wake up, and then groggily walk to work 5 minutes away. And I'm 24.

Feel surprised? I am. It really doesn't seem healthy for my young students' development to be sleeping so little and to be trying to learn so much in a single day -- I mean, have you ever heard of trying to pour water on a full sponge? I dislike the idea of putting so much importance on academics, but all I can really do is to make sure I don't treat my own kids like that.

Beer at the Movies

There was a little surprise at the movie theatre when I went this weekend:
















I love beer, and I enjoy drinking anywhere, whether it be in a bar, in a park, or on the street. So dear reader, can you imagine my excitement when I saw beer for sale at the concessions? I was more excited than a Saudi Arabian man is after seeing a woman's exposed shoulder.

I'm not one to suggest that we should adopt this practice in America, but I do think we should look at the pros and cons of it.

Con: Considering the large markup at the concession stand, one could probably expect a beer for a large sum of about $6.50.

Pro: Better $6.50 on beer than on a greasy, salty bag of popcorn and ju ju bees.

Con: The availability of beer at a movie theater may destroy the friendly family atmosphere of the movie theatre.

Pro: Well, actually, I think movies like "The Hills Have Eyes" and the Saw series have already done that.

Con: All the beer will cause a 127.9% increase in bathroom trips.

Pro: Increased bathroom trips can be a plus too, if the movie being watched is the newly released, "Terminator Salvation." I would prefer to have T-1000 impale my brain rather than having to watch that movie again.

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Random pics



I was walking around Kangnam, Seoul when I spotted this Cold Stone Creamery. They had a wheel of fortune and a costumed man on stilts to attract customers (or to scare children, I'm not sure which).
















My favorite restaurant in a place called "Hansot," where I can buy lunch boxes like this for real cheap (about $2.80 in this case).





















Unfortunately, the frosty remnants of winter have finally waned away. In it's wake are my old friends, warm and humid. Well, fortunately, there is a water fountain right next to me in the park, just in case I have the sudden urge to go frolicking in jets of water in the middle of the day.

I miss my friends. The thing I miss the most is probably hanging out, drinking and being lost in a drunken haze of laughter. I need to find that here I suppose.

I'm a Rude Foreigner

There is this phrase that I've used a lot here that I found in my Korean-English travel book: "shil lyeh hammida," which means "excuse me."

I've been saying this to everyone before I ask them questions here. Just this morning, I found out that shil lyeh hammida actually means the "excuse me" you say when you want somebody to move out of the way, and not the one you say to ask a question. In fact, there is no precursor to asking a question in the Korean language.

Is this a big deal? Well let's see, when I asked a guy if he sold calendars yesterday, I basically said to him "move out of the way (he was behind a counter)... oh and do you have calendars?"

My First Rose

It is May 15th and officially "Teacher's Day" here in Korea. Teachers are forbidden from accepting gifts from students (due to a possible "you scratch my back, I give you an A in class" situation). However, it is okay for teachers to accept flowers.

A student by the name of Jin Gyu today actually gave ME a rose and thanked me for being a teacher. How strange is it that I have been the one giving flowers to others all my life, and now, someone gives one to me? It was very thoughtful and as a teacher, I must say these small tokens of appreciation like this make my job feel very fulfilling. Oh and did I mention Jin Gyu is a dude? And that the wrapping on the rose says, "Loving You?"

Hm... man-crush on the teacher or ... just another Korean custom? You decide.

Kids Say the Darndest... part II

I have been showing my students a video of a woman trying to sing Mariah Carey's "Without You" on a Bulgarian version of American Idol. My point? Enunciation is extremely important. Take a look, this sh*t is hilarious!







I also show them Mariah Carey's original version, because she is simply amazing in that song:

I can't live, if living is without you.
I can't give, I can't give anymore.

I was asking my 8th graders today if they understood the chorus, because I wasn't sure. One of my students yelled out, "you dead... I dead." I blew up with laughter and so did the other students. It was a simple, yet effective explanation.

The Ubiquitous Chinatown / The Amusement Park

Ubiquitous: it is a word that has been growing on me ever since I saw the Cadillac commercial where the black guy complains about his kids giving him the "ubiquitous sweater vest" for Christmas ("ubiquitous" is a term I never heard before, for something that is constantly encountered).

Well, aside from sweater vests for dads on Christmas and hookers in Waikiki, something else that is "ubiquitous" is Chinatown. No matter where you go, there is always a Chinatown. And of course, this is a good thing, as Chinatown is a very crucial part of communities all over the world. (I mean, where else would we find necessities like wooden back-scratchers and plastic squatting chairs?)



I went to the Chinatown in Incheon this past Saturday with two of my Korean co-workers and enjoyed checking out the place. It actually wasn't as big as I thought, but it was nice to see something different than the typical Korean city setting.



1. As we walked through Chinatown, there was loud cymbals and drums. Lo and behold, there was a lion dance.



2. I had no idea why they were having a lion dance in the middle of May -- Chinese New Year is over guys, get over it. Then I realized that they were creating a mock wedding, complete with traditional Chinese garments. I think this would have to be the least awkward job possible... next to prostate examiner.



3. We ate lunch at a nearby restaurant. I ordered some Kung Pao chicken. It wasn't that good, but it was nice to eat something different (and guess what? no kim chi finally!)



4. This was a little entrance into a nearby park.



5. As we walked further, we eventually came across a drunk man, taking a nap on the street. Welcome to the Korean Chinatown.



6. Afterwards, we went to a nearby Amusement Park. I actually have never been to Disneyland and fairs and the like were never anything special to me. We simply walked around. Notice they spelled hurricane wrong.



7. One of the rides that was drawing a large audience was this spinning ride. It seemed to be manually controlled and was made to be a fairly bumpy ride. The objective is simply to hang on tightly and laugh at anyone that loses their grip and tumbles into the center. There is also emcee talking and cracking jokes during the ride.



8. 2 for 1 special anyone? Actually, this is a bizarre Asian phenomenon known as "couple-tees" where a couple wears the same shirt so that everyone stares, laughs and takes pictures of them to post on their blog.



9. Next to the amusement park was a boardwalk. This is a huge sidewalk right next to the ocean with restaurants and game rooms lined up all along the area. I've always enjoyed just taking leisure walks, unfortunately, Hawaii does not cater much to the walker and there are not many wide areas to just stroll and have a chat. This boardwalk was beautiful. I need to find a girl and take her out here.




10. Here's a little picture of the ocean from the edge of the boardwalk. What a sight.

Kim Chi Could Drive One to Insanity

I used to really like kim chi -- it was a fiber-full and spicy addition to my meals. Having been in Korea for over a month now, the joy of munching on spiced vegetables is slowly waning, and in it's place are only the feelings of pain and frustration.

You see, there is kim chi everywhere and at every meal. Whether I'm eating katsu, noodles, Korean yakiniku or eating at the cafeteria, there is ALWAYS kim chi on plate, staring at me ominously, begging me to eat just another plate of them. There is no escape.

Once in a while, it seems restaurants here like to switch things up with a little variety -- radish kim chi instead of cabbage kim chi.



Oohhhhh boy, what a way to spice up my life! Pun intended.

And if that weren't bad enough, well, they are always 50+ other types of kim chi.




Much as the protagonist in Edgar Allen Poe's short-story, "The Tell-Tale Heart," was slowly driven to insanity by the still-beating heart of his victim, I am similarly becoming insane by way of eating kim chi... everyday.

Korean Fashion

I am amazed at Korean fashion. No, I'm not talking about hanbok (although Serena Williams sure is lookin' fly in one) --


I am talking about how well the general Korean population dresses. I suppose it's no surprise, as Korean society is incredibly superficial (this is of course, another blog in itself). The men typically wear a suit to most white collar jobs and the women are layered head to toe and always have on a hot pair of high heels, even if only to go to school or to buy groceries. As for me being so amazed, well, I suppose it's because I've been living in Hawaii too long and I've forgotten that an aloha shirt, cargo shorts and slippers aren't typical attire in the rest of the world.

I've been doing a little shopping in SK and although it's very tiring to look through so many random stores, the clothes here are worth looking for because they actually FIT me. You see, clothing mass manufacturers like Banana Republic or American Eagle try to make as few sizes as possible, to reduce costs (for example, in most men's dress shirts, there are usually two buttons on the wrist area-- one to use if the length is fine and a tighter one to use to make the shirt hug the wrist and appear shorter). And because so many Americans are bulky or obese, the clothing is made to suit their shape. This may be good for them, but for a 5'10" slender Asian man such as myself, this means my American-medium dress-shirt from the GAP can double as a poncho:



Again, the squareness of the shirt would probably fit a typical American male or SpongeBob Squarepants just fine, but as for me, it is a little baggy.

I just bought this shirt the other day for about $25 in Seoul and it fits like a glove (notice how much the sides taper in):


As much as I enjoy learning about fashion here, I'll still stay away from the skinny jeans for men, so don't worry. That shit is queer, yo.




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A little taste of home -- I made some chicken katsu curry.