KLB - The Korea Times Review



Click here to read The Korea Times review of my memoir, Island of Fantasy.

written by shawn matthews    -|link

KLB - Trudging Along



The rash is all but cleared up, thanks to those pills I got, I guess.

Same old confusion between Cathy and I at work. She gets all worked up and flustered by what I consider nothing. I mentioned to her that the kids were noisier than usual during C class this afternoon...which really didn't bug me. But apparently Cathy thought I was enraged. She kept the kids after school - I had no idea why at the time - and so I awkwardly put on my jacket and got ready to go as she and the kids watched in silence.

When I got home, Julie told me Cathy called upset, worried I was angry at her and the kids. I really had no idea anything was amiss, and I thought Cathy had kept the kids late because she had something to tell them. Apparently she berated them for angering me and she felt horrible as if she is failing in her job. I just laughed at this because she's always getting all worked up over nothing. In fact, she spends half the day in a perpetual state of panic, running back and forth, yelling "no Korean!" and "minus one point" and keeping kids after class to scold them during her breaks. The only thing she does that's of any use to me is make copies.

Now she's complaining she has no time to make copies because I don't get to work early and, during breaks, she has to talk to the kids, call the parents and try to find kids that are late. I've already told her for the tenth time I refuse to leave my house earlier than 11:30 to get there by 1:00. As it is, that's 3 hours of travel time per day, which I don't complain about except when she/they tell me to come early. This is the only complaint they have had about me, that I know of, and I've offered to find another job if this is so important. The agency said no, and they really want me to stay, of course. Since Cathy lives nearby the school, it's very easy for her to get there early and open the classroom and whatnot, so I don't understand what the fuss is about.

Besides, in my opinion, making copies - which she only has to do once or twice a week since we normally use a book - can be done any time (for example, in the thirty minutes that she's there before class starts) and she doesn't have to be in the room yelling "no Korean!" every 15 seconds...in fact, the less she's in the room, the better. The kids are confused as to who is in charge, and half the time I am too. I've given up on worthwhile communication with her, because she never knows what I'm talking about. This is because her English isn't fluent and when I do say anything to her she gets flustered and upset, thinking there's something terribly wrong (as was the case today) when in fact I'm just mentioning something or sharing an idea.

Now that I think about it, everyone involved with this program makes a mountain out of a molehill...it's just three classes with 15 kids in each class. Seems to me a pretty basic concept: students come to class, I teach them English, they go home...too bad they have make it so complicated.


Well, enough ranting about that. Time to get some grub. We had a big pizza last night. Tonight, I guess it's Korean food, maybe kalbi tang, mmm.


[Update] I sent a message to Cathy not to worry and eveything is fine. Julie and I picked up some bagels, tomatos and sliced ham and made delicious ham and cheese bagels with caesar dressing. Now we're going to watch "Secret Window" a movie based on a Stephen King story. (Just watched it and man that was one ridiculous movie.)

written by shawn matthews    -|link

KLB - Return of the Cheese Burger Rash


I thought the rash was going away, but when I work up this morning it was all over me again. I stopped by the pharmacy and this time I showed him my stomach (yesterday I just asked for some anti-itch cream) where the rash was the worst. He agreed I had an allergic reaction to some food and sold me some anti-allergy pills for 2,000 won (less than $2.00) Hopefully these will work. The rash isn't as annoying as it is unsightly. Fortunately, it hasn't affected my face at all and isn't that noticeable on my hands unless you look closely - which means nobody can see it.

Julie had gotten up and gone to work before I woke up. When I got out of bed and noticed the rash again, I sent her a text message from my cell-phone: "That cheeseburger-rash is back on my body! Damn!" -- implying she'd have to help me at the pharmacy later. Unfortunately, I used the "reply function" and didn't realize I sent the message to Cathy, my assistant, who had sent me a message the day before to tell me something about the classroom. To make it worse, somehow I had turned off incoming calls on my phone, which I didn't figure out until later when I was on the subway. So, when Cathy received the message from me (God knows what she must have thought) and tried to call me back, I didn't answer. Then she freaked out thinking I wasn't coming to work. She called Julie in a huff whose number she still had from before whining that I shouldn't miss work and I have to call the agency and blah, blah (God forbid you miss a day of work in Korea!)

Once I figured out incoming calls were off, Julie got ahold of me and, after a lot of laughter, ended up straightening it out with Cathy, who was very relieved I'd be going to work (but, of course, put on the obligatory display of concern when I got there).

Well, I just popped a couple of the pills and will lay down and watch Shrek 2, which I just rented after returning Farenheit 9/11. Hopefully when I wake up tomorrow, my body will be normal again, but the pharmacist said it could take a few days. I definitely won't be eating any peculiar looking/tasting fast-food burgers in the future. Yuck.

At least I don't look like this poor guy.

written by shawn matthews    -|link

KLB - Skin Rash


Today was the first time in about three years that I've eaten at Lotteria, the Korean or Japanese owned (nobody seems to know) franchise. I don't really like fast food much anymore and I never liked this chain, but I arrived to work an hour early and there are no decent places to eat around the school.





I ended up getting a cheese burger set, which wasn't as bad as I remembered but still nothing too great. The place was dead and the fries had been sitting there all day, judging by the taste.

Several hours later, I started feeling a little itchy here and there. I didn't think much of it when I was teaching, but when I got home from work, I discovered a light rash spread over on my body, little itchy dots all over my ankles, legs, stomach, and especially arms and hands:


Not the best shot but you can see the redness around my knuckles, just one of many areas the rash has spread.

I didn't freak out, as I normally might, because I have sensitive skin and sometimes get rashes from the sun in the summer, but with all this "mad cow" talk in newspaper from time to time, there was a brief moment of panic...





I took a shower - a really dumb move that made it worse - then went to the pharmacy and got some cream and the rash seems to be getting better, at least not spreading any further. If it doesn't clear up by tomorrow, I may have to go and get an injection (they give you an injection no matter what ailment you have here).


Other than this excitement, it's been a boring week so far. I've been trying to teach the young kids how to write neatly. As you can see, this is not going very well:





[Update] The annoying hamburger rash seems to have subsided almost completely, thanks to the cream. To celebrate, I bought a few ice cold beers, some Italian bread, olives and miniature tuna sandwiches from the bakery. All this to be enjoyed while watching Fahrenheit 9/11, which I rented from LG25.

Just to say it again, I'm not blaming the rash on Lotteria (after all, who wants to be sued, deported and/or ground into hamburger for making groundless accusations?)...so don't be afraid to try one of their delicious set items on your way to work tomorrow.

written by shawn matthews    -|link

KLB - IOF Review


The Korea Times review of IOF has been delayed until next Saturday's edition. Apparently there was a little mix-up this week over who was actually doing the review and when it would appear.

written by shawn matthews    -|link