New Semester

I'm trying to write blog entries a bit more often now.  We'll see how it goes.

Last week was the beginning of the new semester for my school.  Korean schools seem a bit backwards compared to schools in the U.S.  Last Wednesday marked the first day of the new school year, thus my old devilish 6th graders have moved on to be someone else's problem, and my two favorite classes have each moved up a year.  Also, due to new national education policy I will teach each class three times a week.  I'll spend my time with the 5th and 6th graders for 20 of my 22 classes, and I'll teach an advanced class of 3rd and 4th graders twice a week to complete my required 22.  I'm excited for the new semester for a few reasons, but the biggest being that I get to focus on two grades and hopefully get to know those kids a bit more than last year.

Also, the English department is looking a bit different than last semester due to Fran's departure, and Edward becoming a homeroom teacher for the 2nd grade.  Now I share the office with two women, Julie and Annie.  They both speak a reasonable amount of English, and they're both very nice.  I'll be teaching with Julie; so far our classes have gone well.  Julie is a bit more active in the classes, and it allows me to work some more one-on-one with some of the students who struggle.  Julie seems to be just what I needed to recover some of the energy and excitement I brought to the classroom for the first few months here.

My school has also become an English Specialized School, which is good news for me.  Prior to the certification my school doubted they'd have the money to retain me for next year.  However, with this certification comes a larger budget for English, and last week the principal asked me if I'd like to resign my contract.  I haven't decided what I'll do next year, but it is nice to have options.

Finally, another weekend has come and gone.  Nothing of substance really occurred, I only reaffirmed my my commitment to beer and sleeping.  I saw the movie 'Rango' with Nate and was not impressed, but it did get me out of my apartment for a few hours.


here are some pictures of our farewell faculty dinner:

Fran in the middle

Mr. Saw, hilarious teacher.  Moving to Seoul.

Clapton

Rocked.

I seriously considered stopping my post after that first sentence due to its overwhelmingly perfect recap, but I’ll continue. 

We walked into the venue (Olympic Park in Seoul) as Clapton is getting into his first song.  We took our seats and take in our surroundings.  I’m pleased with the seats especially because of the gigantic HD screens on each side of the stage.  They were showing close-ups of Clapton and his nifty guitar work.  I couldn’t help but smile as I sat back and listened to him play his music.  It is amazing to see a guy play every song with so much passion after so many years. 

His setlist was a good mix of classics and new songs from his newest CD.  Nothing surprising there.  He rocked each song and after each he screamed his same “THANK YOU!” into the microphone.  I’m not sure which song I enjoyed the most, but I’m going to say Cocaine only because of the enthusiasm it brought out of the Koreans who came to watch.  Clapton could have played 5 more concerts of equal length and he would still not have played all of the songs I wanted to hear. 

So, Clapton rocked.  I’m sure this statement doesn’t blow you away, as it is a FACT.  Go ahead, look it up.  

I got longwinded and now this post is boring.  I guess I should write these in a timely fashion so it’s fresh in my memory…  I should have left it at “Rocked.”

HK

            February 1^st, we three dudes from Suwon departed on our journey to the epicenter of where East collides with West, Hong Kong.  In the early afternoon we met at our usual meeting spot at Suwon Station (exit 1) to take a bus to Incheon International, where a bus limousine picked us up.  It’s a great service that I’ve used multiple times now.  For only 12,000 won (little more than 10 dollars) we get an 80-minute bus ride to our terminal at the airport.  With high spirits and a shared excitement for the trip I realized it was really nice to travel with a group of like-minded guys.  Our flights to Shanghai and Hong Kong were smooth and short, however it seemed like every 10 minutes the flight attendants would ask us to buckle up due to turbulence.  By about 9:30 we had arrived in Hong Kong, and by 10:00 PM we were on our way to our first hostel.  The first thing I noticed was the abundance of double-decker buses waiting.  We found our bus and rode about 45 minutes to our area of HK, which seemed to be at max capacity yet normal.  The area, Mong Kok, seems busier than many of the other places we visited.  Street markets in full bloom due to the up coming New Year celebration dominated Mong Kok.  That first night took some time to find our hostel, but eventually we found our way.  At first I was a bit skeptical due to the dirt and grime on the outsides of the building.  Buildings doused in soot surrounded our hostel and clearly the city’s pollution had had its way with the exteriors.  However, even in these dirt-blasted buildings one can find Rolex stores, Citi banks, and numerous jewelry stores. 

The first night was short due to our late arrival, but we still managed to find a great dim sum restaurant.  I was a first time dim sum eater, but luckily I was with two knowledgeable eaters.  Dim sum covers a wide range of options, but I found some version of a dumpling was common.  Filled with items such as chicken, pork, seafood, and veggies, dim sum can please even the pickiest of eaters.  One aspect I liked in particular was the amount per order they gave you.  Each order was only 3-4 pieces, which allows you to test the many options and not be screwed if you get something you don’t like (liked everything but the seafood).  My first meal was exciting and delicious which only heightened my anticipation for the remainder of the trip.  We finished our night with a couple beers at a local bar and called it a night in order to get a full day’s worth of activities in the next day. 

Day two contained a lot of activity.  We wandered the street markets to get a full feel for the magnitude of the New Year celebration that was gripping the entire city.  I was in awe of the produce they had.  It was also unbelievable the disparity between the nicest parts of Hong Kong and the street markets that the average person attended. 

Following the street markets we took the metro down to Tsim Sha Tsui to see the Avenue of the Stars, Hong Kong’s version of Hollywood’s sidewalk of stars.   It consisted of a lot of unheard of names and over zealous Asian people finding their favorite movie stars (probably very similar to Hollywood…).  Also, there were a lot of statues of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.  People lined up to take pictures with the Bruce Lee statue in his famous pose (about to strike while screaming).   We ended our afternoon by walking through Hong Kong and finding Kowloon Park.  It was a nice find in the dense city; a handful of city blocks were transformed into trees and ponds and bird displays.  A breath of fresh air was enjoyed, but we had to hurry back to the hostel because we were expecting our last member of the trip to meet up with us back at the hostel.   

Once the 4 Hong Kongeteers were together we hit the streets in search of some food.  We made a point to only eat good foods, foods that were not available to us outside of Hong Kong (for the most part).  We found a similar dim sum restaurant on one of the side streets we were searching, and it turned out to be amazing.  A lot of dumplings, soup, and ended with a cheese&bacon crepe-like creation that the owner gave to us.  Perhaps the best part of the food scene was its price.  I don’t think we spent more than 7 dollars/person on any of the meals except for our last dim sum experience. 

After our dinner we covered the area around our hostel in search of something to do.  We knew of a flower market from our first night’s expedition.  We decided to grab a handful of beers and do some people watching and provide commentary.  We saw some hilarious sights, and it was amazing how so many people were buying flowers at 1 AM. 

Thursday, the actual New Years Day, was a late start.  Everything was closed for the most part, and it took a great effort to find a decent restaurant to eat at.  Even the restaurant we found was questionable, but it got the job done so we could start looking around the city some more.  We worked our way down to Central Hong Kong to take a gander at all the big buildings that define the skyline.  After exploring on foot for a while we came across the Rickshaw tour.  This was a double-decker bus without a roof so we could sit on the top and have a great view of everything around us.  For about 3 or 4 dollars we got driven around the city to see all the metropolitan sights.  It was an excellent way to see A LOT in less time and have the opportunity to snap a few photos as well.  As we rolled around the town all I could think about was the amount of effort and wealth it would take to grow such a skyline of magnificent buildings.   That night we attended the annual Cathy Pacific Night Parade, only to be disappointed.  For a city as magnificent as Hong Kong I expected a parade on the level of the Macy’s Day Parade.  That’s ok though, we managed just fine.  We got drinks at the Intercontinental Hotel, where we had a beautiful view of the Hong Kong skyline.  After that we taxied it over to Lai Kwai Fong (spelling?).  This is kind of a hip and happening area of HK, where people are drinking on the streets, walking in and out of bars, and a general party vibe echoed through the narrow streets.  It was a great end to a great day.  We managed to cross off many items on the to do list. 

Friday, we woke up and suited up.  After throwing our bags at the next hostel we worked our way to the Ferry terminal where we boated down to Macau.  Macau is the Vegas of Asia, so you can imagine the type of night we had.  I learned how to gamble, and didn’t lose my ass at it, so I’d say it was a successful outing.  The other guys, who know how to gamble, all left with extra cash lining their pockets as well.  Macau was the last city to gain autonomy in the region, and the Portuguese influence is evident.  We strolled around the city square and it honestly felt like we were in Europe.  We didn’t have a place to stay in Macau so we just stayed awake until the first ferry in the morning, and we headed back to Hong Kong.  There we crashed for a few hours to feel better, and we were back out to enjoy our last night in Hong Kong.

I will always remember the last night in Hong Kong.  We got dinner in an area called SoHo, another foreigner friendly area (really all of HK is…).  We ate at an amazing Mexican restaurant, and worked our way back to Lai Kwai Fong… we had a lot of fun there the other night so we figured we’d end it on a positive note.  We found a hookah bar and enjoyed a round there before finding a bar to drink at.  Standard drinking practices ensued, no need to go into detail there…   We ended the night at a rooftop bar that was nestled nicely in the skyline.  It was a great way to take it all in one last time.  I headed back to the hostel and woke up at 5 AM to catch my flight home.  Hong Kong is definitely an advanced city; from the octopus card, to their buses, HK just seemed great.  I got to chat with my dad on the way to the airport because their buses have wi-fi… I can’t imagine that in the U.S….

Sorry for the long delay about Hong Kong.  I’m not much for blogging. 

Me, Nate, Wolfish, Braden

Macau city square.  

fecal matter hitting the wind maker

A later blog post will deal with my time in the U.S., but I want to discuss my current travel experience while it is still fresh (in fact I’m in the air as I write this.)

I have had an outstanding track record of flights being on time, and ideal seating arrangements, however my record took a brutal hit yesterday as I flew from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Tokyo.  

           

I couldn’t have asked for a better itinerary… flying out of La Crosse airport is somewhat of a joke as they basically ask if you’re carrying any drugs/firearms and don’t even listen to your response.  I landed in MSP with a few hours to kill so I put down my last burger for the foreseeable future (jalapeño & bacon), and find my gate.  G4 is a great gate if you ever find yourself in the MSP airport with time to kill because it sits next to the Leines Lodge.  The LL has a deal where if you get a beer you get a discounted shot of whatever you want, and me, being the economically minded person that I am, couldn’t resist.  I made friends with the barkeep and the two other guys who were bellying up to the bar with me.  Gary, the old guy pouring the drinks, was a great guy who just wanted to shoot the breeze with anyone willing to chat about sports.  Wearing a Wisconsin sweatshirt made me an obvious target, and in return for chatting about anything related to Wisconsin/Minnesota I got to try “sample shots” of all the whiskeys behind the bar.  Lucky for me, Gary has a worse tremor than I do in his hands and every “sample” turned into legitimate shots of high-end whiskey.  I’ll be visiting Gary again next time I’m home =)

Feeling good, I hop on my 747 to take on the 11.5 hour flight.  Sitting next to me was a guy from La Crosse who was a year older than me, and graduated from Central High a year before me.  Small world I guess.  He was on his first trip to his home country of Laos with his mom and I think aunt. 

About 4 or 5 hours into the flight we hear over the PA that if there are any doctors on the plane they were needed at row 65.  I was in the middle of the plane and saw about 6 or 8 men dash to the back of the plane to offer their assistance.  I guess another 6 or 8 were behind me too because they had to push back the crowd of doctors ready to help.  It’s comforting to know there are so many helpful people on the plane with you.  I’ve heard a lot of stories about what happened ranging from a simple diabetic issue and that the person was stable, to the patient was actually without a pulse for a minute.  I’m not exactly sure what happened but I don’t think they would make us land in Fairbanks, Alaska if the person just needed some insulin.  But, that’s what we did.  And this is where the fecal matter hit the wind maker.  In order to land so early in the flight we had to dump fuel to get down to a reasonable landing weight.  When we landed they couldn’t close the fuel tank’s cap so mechanics had to be flown in to fix our plane (I doubt Fairbanks has much experience with 747’s).  Then our plane had essentially turned to ice so we had to be de-iced but their de-icer was broke… so now that mechanic had to fix that.  Luckily I managed to sleep through a fair amount of the 5 hours we spent in Fairbanks (thanks Gary!).  I guess everyone got really thirsty in Fairbanks because everyone and their mother drank all the liquids on the plane… and of course when I woke up I had a case of cottonmouth.

So we were about 5-6 hours late to Tokyo’s Narita Int’l Airport… The airport closed as we were arriving at our gate, and it was clear that no one on the plane was making a connecting flight.  Delta had about 20 people there to take care of us and give us new connecting flights and hotel arrangements.  After everyone got situated we got to exit the airport and take a shuttle bus to the hotel that housed everyone.  I got a nice hotel room, dinner (at midnight) and breakfast.  This was also a great reminder of how important a well thought out carry-on is.  I was without a second set of clothes, toothpaste, deodorant, etc… Luckily I found most of these items in the hotel.  Also, a bottle of water in case you end up on the tarmac (spelling?) for 5 hours and the plane nearly runs dry.

While waiting for my flight I had an opportunity to check out a duty-free shop in Narita Airport, and found one of Japan’s finest single malts, or so the kind lady told me.  She’s probably blowing smoke, but I’m in no position to argue so I am now the proud of owner of a bottle of whiskey I can’t pronounce. 

After seeing what chaos one delayed 747 can do, I cannot even begin to imagine what a few days of blizzards and cancelations would do to JFK (about 10 days ago). 

Now, I am on my flight back to Seoul’s Incheon Int’l Airport on an Asiana flight.  I love Asiana and Korean Air… the flight attendants are so much nicer and nicer looking.  In fact they’ve got me excited to get back to Korea.  I was a bit down about leaving Madison, but this last flight has me pretty excited to get back to my Korean digs. 

Although my travel record took a beating in the last 24 hours, I realized how much I love the entire process of traveling.  Hopefully my next flight goes a bit better, though.    

My Korean Barber

ROCKS!

I've been going to a barber next to my apartment building for my simple buzz cut, and each time I'm more impressed by the guy.  The first time entering the barber shop was a bit of a mystery due to the twirly traditional barber shop sign out front.  I had heard about these signs and what they could mean, but I couldn't recall how to tell what one was the barber shop and what one would involve old women, plastic gloves, and a horizontal "chair."  I was relatively certain I was safe due to the exterior of the building, but living next to so many love motels made me nervous. Once inside, I saw that it is a rinky-dink barber shop that actually reminds me of a place I went with my dad as a kid.  Just a couple barber chairs and a couch is all, I can picture old korean men sitting around drinking coffee and talking about the news.

 After finally mustering up the courage to open the door to see what was in side (bed or chair?) I saw an old guy sitting on the couch watching tv, and I breathed a sigh of relief.  Approximately two seconds later I thought "what if this actually is one of the other barber sign-bearing places of business, but a dude runs it?!?!" The old guy gave me a big smile and ushered me to the barber chair, and whipped out his clippers... I was finally relieved, and ready to try to explain what I wanted done with my hair.  One would think this would be simple and obvious, however he tried to shape the sides longer than the other hairs resulting in one goofy-ass haircut.  After finally conveying my desired buzz he was happy to fix his creation.

And that is the best part about my barber, he tries SOOOO hard.  First, he straps me into the chair and covers me with 2 or 3 different items to save me from getting a single hair on my shirt, then he methodically clips my hair making sure not to miss a single spot.  He uses three different clippers, depending on what part of my head he is cutting, and is so careful around my  ears I feel like he thinks my head is a balloon ready to pop if he ever were to accidently stab me with the clipper.

Next he scours my entire head looking for strays that he missed.  I watch him in them mirror, and he actually looks like a sculptor at work.  After working around my entire head and clipping imaginary stray hairs he lathers the entire perimeter of my hair with some shave cream.  He then proceeds to take a straight blade and shaves the lathered area to make sure I have a sharp looking hairdo.  Never before have I shaved or thought about shaving my widow peaks, but he did, and continues to every time I get a hair cut.  Perhaps thats not the oddest part though, as he shaves MY EARS too.  It wouldn't make sense to bend my ear and shave behind it, so to complete the perimeter he shaves my ears EVERY time.  I checked before going to the barber the 2nd time to see how long my ears' hair was, and it was non-existent (most likely due to the previous visit).  Nonetheless, my barber makes sure I look good before leaving his chair.

Now, at this point during the first experience I was truly amazed at the quality of haircut I was receiving, and was ready to pay him many compliments on my way out, but it turns out the haircut was only 1/2 over.  My barber then changed the covers he had on me to prevent any hair from falling on my clothes and put a tray on my shoulders that fit snug around my neck.  I was confused, and he could tell from the look on my face, so he happily explained in korean.  I nodded with a grin because thats my answer to every korean who speaks to me, and he lathered up my head with some sort of soap.  Now I thought he was going to shave my head, which had me a bit worried because I didn't know how to stop him, and I wasn't sure how my school would take it if I showed up as a skinhead one day to teach the 4th graders.  So, I braced my hands on the chair's armrests ready to bolt outa the chair if he brought a razor anywhere near me, but he pulled out an electric massage tool and gave me a head massage for a few minutes.  REALLY RELAXING!  and I once again my heart returned to a normal pace.  Next, he threw on some gloves and started giving me a massage with his hands which was OK too until he started pushing certain spots on my head.  It kinda hurts, and it seems like he's searching for some soft spot in my head that'll cause permanent damage... I'd be cool with this type of thing if I could communicate to understand what is going on, but, instead, I have a guy who doesn't seem to have all his teeth pushing on my head as hard as he can, with an intent that doesn't seem healthy.  He finally stops and I'm still alive, so I figure he must have an idea of what he's doing so I stay seated.    

The haircut experience continues as he takes the toiletseat bowl off my shoulders and asks me over and over to stand up (in korean) and come to the sink.  He sits me in front of a large sink and pushes my head over it to start washing my head.  Then he pulls out some ball that looks like one my mom uses in the dryer and starts scrubbing my head with extra elbow grease.  Finally he throws a towel on my shoulder and says something (guess what language he said it in...) so I assume I'm suppose to get up, but he pushes me back down and makes me wash my face and hands.  I comply, because frankly at this point I'm so confused/lost that I just want to make it out of this in one piece.

The last step of my korean haircut experience is to sit in a new chair while he sprays products on my head and combs my 1/8" haircut.  I just smile at how ridiculous it is, and thank him a lot (partially because he deserves it, and partially because thats 1 of 2 phrases I know in korean). I splash some aftershave on my face because he says to, and its complete.  TA-DA!!!  FINISHED!

As I am shuffling some money in my wallet to pay the guy I couldn't help but think it was going to be expensive because he did put in a ton of effort.  I pull out two 10,000 won bills thinking I'll just get by  the language barrier by paying too much and seeing how much he gives back (a practice I still use today).  He laughed at me and took 1 of the 10,000 won bills and returned with 2,000 won in change.  I couldn't believe it!  This amazing haircut for 8,000 won?  I tried to tip the guy the remaining 2,000 won, but he refused, so I received the best haircut of my life for less than 8 USD.

And that is why my korean barber rocks.  I've done this process about 4 times now, and I can tell he gets a kick out of cutting red hair.  I guess I can't escape the laughter...

My experience at the barber is only one example of living in korea, but I have had a lot of similar situations in the day-to-day living here.  In the beginning every encounter was an unknown, and thus a bit stressful.  However, now I realize how awesome most korean people are, and how happy they are to help.

week in review

The last seven days or so have been pretty entertaining, so I thought I'd blog.

First, SANTACON was better than I had expected, with seemingly thousands of people dressed in santa gear.  I didn't take any photos to show the red mob, but I'm sure you can picture a thousand santas at a bar/park.  It was amazing to see, and clearly the korean people who live in Seoul agreed.  I think it must be odd for them to go about their daily lives with the expat community celebrating our many holidays (halloween, christmas, can't wait for St. Patty's day).  I can't help but think they're concerned for their children's education when they only see us together when we're dressed up and drinking.  Oh Well.

SANTA!?!?  I KNOW HIM!

On Wednesday the entire country had a war drill at 2 PM.  I didn't realize the magnitude of the drill until we tried to leave a bit early to see the doctor... all cars pulled off the road and had to find a fallout shelter, & fake North Korean jets flew over the major cities.  A bit intense, but I didn't get too into it since we had someone from our school taking pictures of everything.  Instead, I continued my unfinished games of rock-paper-scissors with some students, and played a game of 'who could knock over who' while squatting with some other teachers (I lost, fancy that).

Wednesday was also a sad day in korea due to the departure of a good friend, Alex Kimball.  Kimball and I lived a few blocks apart and got dinner together regularly.  It was a privilege to meet and hangout with him on a regular basis, and he will most certainly be missed.

 Here is Kimball and me on the metro

yeah, we're cool

This week also concludes my after-school duties.  Both my advanced class, and my phonics class have been some of my fondest memories from teaching so far.  Some of the students in my phonics class made phenomenal progress, and it shows in their participation in regular class activities.  Both classes were a refreshing change of pace from the regular classes due to their desire to improve, and the respect they showed me.  

Only one more week of classes before my trip home!  I'm really excited to see everyone and indulge in the few things I miss.  Also, I found out I will have my cell phone reactivated while I'm back, so feel free to call/text while I'm home.  

fast times at Maeyeoul Elementary

Dearest readers, I'm sincerely sorry that I have not updated this blog thing in so long.  If it is true that it is the thought that counts then I have written hundreds of posts.

Recently I have been on cruise control at school... planning the occasional lesson, playing rock paper scissors, and giving an abundance of high fives.  Students have lost nearly all interest in classes as the semester draws to a close, and my lessons have taken that into account.  Games have increased, curriculum has seen some interesting twists, and rules seem to be becoming more like driving laws (polite suggestions) opposed to absolutes.

The faculty at my school plays volleyball every Tuesday and Thursday at 4 which is nice since it ends my school day 40 minutes early, and I get a little run around time in the gym.  I didn't realize how serious this was until we had some ex-professional volleyball players attend one of our bi-weekly practice sessions.  At first I was a bit skeptical about the competitive nature (surprisingly competitive!) of after school volleyball between middle aged men, but I am really enjoying it.  I think other members of the faculty who were previously too nervous to talk to me are now trying to communicate with me even though its very difficult and sometimes embarrassing for them.

Its hard to believe its nearly Christmas!  Time is flying by here, but I suppose thats an indication of how much I am enjoying my time in Korea, and how busy I am.  Hard to believe its been 5 or 6 weeks since I was dressed as a chicken and clucking my way around Seoul.  This coming weekend I'll be roaming Seoul dressed as Santa Claus and taking part in Santacon- Seoul.  The mob of Santa's should be a blast and it will definitely be fun to see all the Koreans' reactions.

Coming up on the 26th of December I'll be landing in La Crosse to visit friends and family for a while.  No definite plans as now yet, but I do plan on spending NYE in Madison!   I'm REALLY looking forward to coming home to see all of my family.  Since I moved to Madison and now the ROK, and Josh (brother) moved to Wyoming, it has become difficult to see each other.  Luckily our paths will cross over this vacation, and we'll get to catch up in person, opposed to skype.  One thing I'm NOT looking forward to is Wisconsin's freezing winter.  Suwon has had little more than flurries recently, and even that doesn't stick to the ground.  I am mildly concerned about flying home in the winter with little time between connecting flights.  The odds of flights being on time from Incheon-Detroit-Minneapolis-La Crosse seem slim, but hopefully all goes as planned.

That'll be all for now, but I like adding a picture or two on each post of students that make my life easier or fun.

1st and 2nd graders singing "Today is Monday" at the English Festival.  "All I want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" would have been more appropriate.  

A clown dressed in a monkey suit. 

D, playing doctor at the English Festival.  Student: "I have broken head"

4th grader.  Always with a smile, and always participating.  Receiver of many a high five.