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4/30/2004
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Korea Life Blog - Fatcat Stops By
Fatcat, a cat who used to be fat but has since lost weight after the winter and needs a new name, was hanging around the other night near the front of the building. For fun, I picked him up and brought him inside.
After hiding under the bed and meowing for awhile, he finally comes out to have a look. Or maybe he was just more scared under bed. I haven't cleaned under it since I moved in 11 months ago. Who knows what's living there!
I was out of tuna, so I made up a bowl of hard dog food, some scambled eggs and french fries - what else could a cat want?
He didn't seem all that impressed at first , but later, after relaxing, hanging out on my lap, and getting brushed for half an hour, he ate quite a bit.
Out in the kitchen, he wants more attention but I've grown tired. As you can see, I'm wearing stylish boxers and ready for bed.
After checking out the Coca-Cola bottles, he notices a familiar sound from above.
Great. Attempting to check it out, he climbs all over my stove and frying pan. Damn, now I have to clean...well, maybe.
He can't comprehend the screen and keeps butting his head against it. It's a nice warm night and he's ready to go back out and chase some young fertile felines.
OK, Fatcat. Time to go. I opened the screen and he jumped out (and 7 mogies flew in). It was pretty funny though. Once outside he seemed confused, staring up at me and meowing. I went back outside to leave the bowl of food and he started rolling around. He's a good cat. I'm so worried to find him dead on the road someday.
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written by shawn matthews
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4/28/2004
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Korea Life Blog - New Poll
There's a new and exciting poll to take. Here are the results of the previous exciting poll.
How old are my readers?
15-20 31 (15%)
21-25 67 (32%)
26-30 56 (27%)
31-35 24 (11%)
36-40 9 (4%)
41-45 9 (4%)
46-50 3 (1%)
over 50 6 (2%)
205 Total votes
Not a lot to say, the results speak for themselves. I'm surprised I have that many teenage readers. Since I just turned 30 over the weekend, hurray, I feel a little out of touch with the newest generation. Keep it real, y'all. It's all good. If you don't like it, talk to the hand.
As for the older readers in their 40s and 50s, too groovy of you to come by, man. Hope you hip daddies come back soon.
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written by shawn matthews
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4/27/2004
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Korea Life Blog - Peter's Story
Check the Windy Times section for tonight's update about Peter's unique friends.
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written by shawn matthews
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4/26/2004
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Korea Life Blog - More Updates!
Update: I updated the Windy Times section with a pretty interesting story from tonight's class.
Added section 19 to part 6 of the Geoje-do story as well. Wow, what a night! I have no life!
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written by shawn matthews
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Korea Life Blog - Fukuoka Again
I decided to update the Fukuoka section. I cut and pasted from the previous post and posted the disappointing photos I took and added commentary. Have a look here if you're interested. I suggest checking it out only if you're very bored or somehow enjoy reading about uneventful experiences in Fukuoka.
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written by shawn matthews
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Korea Life Blog - Weekend Update
1. It was time to renew my visa, so I went to Fukuoka over the weekend. It was pretty much the exact same trip I took before except I met a friend there who used to teach here. He now teaches in Fukuoka. While he loves it there, he plans to return to Korea because Japan is just too expensive. We had a good time except he had no money and I ended up paying for dinner and beers. I didn't mind though as it was nice having someone to hang around with. He took me all over and I learned a lot about the teaching scene there. We also went to a really cool guitar shop where I spent 2 hours contemplating whether or not to buy this really nice Japanese Fender Strat. Unlike the Mexican and Chinese licensed Fenders, this one played and felt just like an American one and it was half the price. Still I wasn't sure I should shell out $550 on a guitar in Japan on a whim. Would hate to get it back here and find some problem with it. So basically I just played it for a few hours and frustrated the shop employees and my friend. Fortunately, unlike in Korea where the shopkeepers never stop bothering you for a second, in Japan, like in America, they leave you alone.
Because the rest of the trip was basically the same as before, I didn't bother to take many pictures and there's really not a lot to say. It was nice to get away from Korea, even though it was just for the weekend. I really like Fukuoka. It's clean and peaceful, cheaper and not as crowded as other Japanese cities. It was voted best city to live in Asia in 2000. If I were ever to teach in Japan, I'd likely start there.
2. I ate an entire large pizza last night. Then, so tired from my trip (about 4-5 hours sleep each night) I fell asleep at 8:30 and woke up today at 10:30AM.
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written by shawn matthews
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4/23/2004
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Korea Life Blog - Gmail
Certain Blogger users like me were given a first chance at testing Google's new e-mail service known as Gmail. I had been eagerly anticipating getting an account and being one of the first to sign up was a welcome surprise. It made my morning! I was excited. Unfortunately, I was so taken off guard by the chance, I hurriedly chose my full name for a user ID before anyone else could claim it. After a couple of times of logging into the mail account, I realized my name is much too long. I envisioned trying to spell it out for Korean friends, etc. So I decided to make a new account. That's where I messed up again. Instead of checking into it ahead of time, I went ahead and brilliantly deleted my account, thinking I could simply make a new one. Wrong. The invitation link no longer worked and my account was gone. I e-mailed Blogger who referred my e-mail to Gmail support who e-mailed me back this letter today:
Hello Shawn,
Thank you for your email.
Unfortunately, there is no way to re-enable a Gmail account that has
been deleted. Each invite link provides a user with the ability to create
one account. Because Gmail is in a limited test period, we periodically
issue a small number of new user invitations. We are not able to reissue an
invitation for you to create another account at this time. We look
forward to announcing a wider release of Gmail, and we thank you for your
patience.
Sincerely,
The Gmail Team
Murphy's Law has gotten ahold of me once again. I have been a fan of Google since they launched their search engine and Google.com has been my homepage for years. I was happy and surprised when they took over Blogger and made a lot of improvements. When they announced Gmail a month ago, I immediately looked into it, frustrated to find out it would likely be 3 months or more before it's open to the public. Of course I would blow the early opportunity. That's me! Now instead of being something like shawn@gmail.com I will likely be something like shawn_102873@gmail.com. Oh well.
Desperation: If any other Blogger users have gotten the invite and don't want the account because of the privacy concerns or any other reason, please! e-mail me. You can sign me up for an account and giveme the password. I'd really appreciate it.
Update: A genuine thank you to Fatman in Seoul for donating his Gmail invitation to me. I am now registered with Gmail with the name I wanted. Make sure to check out Fatman's popular website . He does a wonderful job of making people happy and hungry, though he has been known to disappear from time to time. Unlike me, he has a life. Thanks again, Fatman!
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written by shawn matthews
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4/22/2004
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Korea Life Blog - Weird Art
While walking back to the bus stop from Kwang Kyo San Julie and I noticed a long wall painted with weird art. There were at least 20-25 paintings like the ones below. I really don't know what to say about them because I have no idea why they are there, what the artist(s) is trying to say and because they are plain bizarre. I'll number them in case anyone has an interesting interpretation of one.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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written by shawn matthews
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4/21/2004
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Korea Life Blog - Odd Hagwon Names
A long time ago I felt funny telling my friends I was leaving America to work at a school called Wonderland in South Korea. It sounded nuts. Since then however, I've seen far worse names. Here's a just a few:
Yeah, I work at the Tomato Academy. No, it's not a farmers school, it's a language school of course. Out of curiosity I checked the URL and the website doesn't exist. Kind of adds to the lack of credibility, one would think. Next door is the Brain Hagwon. Is it a medical school? Ah, I see - it's the English institute where they use the ever effective Brain English System. Right.
Or is it the Brainy English system? Why is the name different on the sign than on the window? Anyway it's still a weird name for a school.
Either way Brainy Smurf would be proud. "OK class, repeat after me: He smurfs, she smurfs, they smurf. Notice that when they smurf they smurf without s. Now If you open your Quotations of Brainy Smurf Volume 16 to page 452, you will see..."
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written by shawn matthews
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4/20/2004
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Korea Life Blog - Freedom of the Cats
Unlike the dogs, the cats are free and thriving in this town. Here's my favorite one: Fat Cat, though he seems to have lost weight over the winter so I may have to change his name. He's the friendliest cat out there, always rolling around and happy. As a matter of fact, he's sitting outside my window now.
Here he is rubbing against my leg. Look at those beautiful green eyes. He loves to be pet, the little rascal. If I were to adopt a cat, this would be the one. However, I had to leave my cat behind before and I don't want to have to do it again. Also, it's not fair to an outdoor cat to suddenly pen them up inside, especially with the nice weather. He'd probably just want to go back outside. He seems just fine where he is now, and I kind of like it this way. I pray he doesn't get hit by a car though.
Ah, the life of a cat. Nothing like rolling around in the dirt then a nice nap after getting pet for awhile.
Another one watches jealously. This cat is utterly adorable too, yet she is shy. She's fairly new around this part of the town, but I've seen her everyday for the past couple of weeks. She'll sit by me and meow and meow and rub against some branches. Then she'll come right up to me wanting to be pet, but then flips out and hisses if I try. Obviously she's wrestling with her instincts. It's actually kind of interesting and comical.
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written by shawn matthews
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Korea Life Blog - Dilemma
I'm not sure what to do about this remaining dog, the one that lives with a chicken. I went out tonight and checked her food and water dish. There was a clump of something weird in the food dish, no water. I dumped in some dog food and tuna. She took a sniff and jumped around excitedly and then devoured it. When she finished, I took her chain but couldn't see well how to release the lever - too dark outside. She got scared and backed off. Afterward she wouldn't come close enough to me long enough to try again. She hasn't attempted to bite at all but just backs away into her "house". I tried for awhile, but all I could do is leave her there. I'm not about to climb inside and get attacked.
Basically, I just don't know what I'm doing. Maybe I should just not worry about it. I don't know why it bothers me so much. Part of me thinks the dog is better off there. She has a "house" and I guess the owner must be feeding her as she's not too thin and she appears healthy. Maybe he just feeds her in the morning when I'm sleeping and the food and water is gone by evening. Still, it's not right to leave her endlessly every day and night and I feel pity. I can't rescue every dog, but every dog is not in my backyard. I want to help this one if I can. Freeing her may not be the right way, I don't know. There's not many other choices. Yet I have to wonder if it's the right thing.
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written by shawn matthews
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4/18/2004
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Korea Life Blog - Heavy Weekend
There were a couple of instances this weekend in which I tested the limits of my strength. Let's take a look.
There's nothing quite like drinking Coca Cola out straight out of a glass bottle. I love it. Especially this style which is still available in Korea (not the short fat style from the 80s). You can still by them here because they reuse bottles in Korea (been drinking them like this for almost four years and never got sick!) In America, unfortunately, this system wouldn't go over well. Even though the bottles are sanitized, it wouldn't sit well with your average sanitization obsessed American. There they have a deposit on the bottles and just smash them to pieces upon redemption. Last I knew you could still by these Coca Cola bottles at certain stores, however, but when I was home last time I didn't see them anywhere. Here, they are for sale pretty much everywhere. Unfortunately, mostly restaurants use them and stores won't sell them individually for practical purposes. That means I have to buy them buy the case. The store is about a kilometer from my home. It was a long kilometer but I managed to make it home, sweating, my muscles ready to give out. It was a good work-out and I celebrated by drinking a cold Coke.
Julie and I went to Homeplus this weekend. We were going to eat there but as Murphy's Law would have it, there were having a norae bang (karaoke) show in in the food court. Loud and annoying. We decided to check out the Galleria department store down the street. I'm glad we did. After Popeyes Chicken and ice cold Naeng Myung (chilled noodle soup), we did a little shopping in the grocery store below. Check out what I got:
All wines were 20% off. I got this bottle of Yellow Tail Chardonnay from Australia for a mere 11,000 won. As lucky would have it, they threw in a "service" bottle of French table wine. They also carried four kinds of cheeses including this Danish Brie you see here which cost 6,000 won and is well worth it for a treat. As I was going to check out, I shouted with joy as the site of this big bottle of V-8 juice, my favorite drink. If you don't know it, tomato/vegetable juices in Korea are sweet, not salty. I don't like them sweet much, although they've grown on me somewhat. I'm sure there are other places to buy this, but I haven't seen any lately, and never in Nowhere-dong. It cost 7,000 won - expensive but again, I don't mind splurging on a treat for myself now and again.
The only problem was carrying all this. I put everything in my backpack which already contained Julie's sweatshirt (once again I told her not to bring it, but she insisted and then never wore it), her purse loaded with change, my camera and a book. It wouldn't have been that bad if we just went home. Instead we went to the Libro Book Store in Suwon Station. I wanted to buy Julie a book for "reading time" later. She spent 2 long hours looking while I walked around carrying this bag. To my anguish, she found nothing. Then we went shopping down below for dinner.
We bought shrimp and vegetable, and I picked up a nice piece of steak, something I hadn't eaten in ages. We had a wonderful dinner - fried rice with shrimp and vegetables, and I cooked up the steak with broccoli and mushrooms in wine sauce. Delicious. The Australian Chardonnay tasted wonderful, best wine I've had in Korea. Julie even had a piece of Korean style (terrible) cheesecake for dessert. A little later we had more wine and enjoyed the delicious Brie cheese.
My back hurt from having carried that heavy bag all day. Julie made it up to me with another hour long massage. I have to confess I am very lucky - she gives an amazing massage and her hands never seem to get tired. Unfortunately (or maybe a good thing, depending on how you look at it) she can't handle alcohol. After three small glasses, she was totally drunk fell fast asleep three hours before me.
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written by shawn matthews
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4/15/2004
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Korea Life Blog - Odd Couple
This poor dog lives behind my building. She's an extremely quiet dog and I never knew she was even there until a few months ago. I was outside, feeding the cats when I heard a scratching noise. I looked over and saw the dog's paw scratching under the wood. Over time she managed to push out two slats. Curious as to why she just didn't walk around the backside I decided to have a look. What I discovered broke my heart: her chain is about 2 feet long - so short that she was unable to even walk outside her dog house. Sometimes I really hate people. This was one of those times. Maybe, though...maybe she's only chained up here occasionally, I hoped. Since then I've kept my eye out. Sadly, she is chained up like this 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The owner pops out once a day to dump food in her dish. That's it. No petting, no play time, no affection. I can't imagine how this dog must feel day in and day out fastened to a short chain, barely able to move, no reprieve, no love. The guy that owns her - what a thoughtless asshole.
As I was trying to entertain the dog, trying to make a little excitement in her tortured life, I noticed something there beside her.
What the hell is that? Apparently this dog is living with a chicken. How bizarre.
One of the cats walks by and they both turn to look. Weird. The poor dog lives with a chicken of all things. What is going on in my town?
There used to be a really cute dog that lived in this other dog house. A small dog with long ears, also attached to a short chain (from the blue hook to the dog bed) day in and day out eternally. Somehow though, now that the weather is warm enough, the dog managed to get free. How? - well I'll leave it to you to guess. All I'm going to say is that the dog that lives with the chicken would be free too if she didn't bark so loudly at the wrong time. She gets scared late in the night. Soon, though I'm guessing she'll be free.
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written by shawn matthews
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4/14/2004
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Korea Life Blog - Kwang Kyo San in Suwon
Awhile back Windy recommended I visit Kwang Kyo Mountain in Suwon. There's a bus near my home that goes right to it. With nothing to do last weekend, Julie and I decided to give it a try, not really sure what to expect. Whenever I hear the word "mountain" I envision a real mountain. However, most mountains in Korea are just gigantic hills. There really needs to be a word for something between a hill and a mountain like you'd find in the Rockies.
Turns out Kwang Kyo San is similar in appearance to any mountain anywhere Korea, but it has a nice walking trail that runs through it. The slope never gets to steep and it's easy to traverse and pleasant. The mountain fairly popular but not overly crowded.
It didn't look like much at first especially. We had no idea that the trail would be so long. When we first started to go up, we realized we may need some water. Julie stopped an old man and asked if we could get water in the mountain. "Nae, mul ichi," he replied and walked off. He didn't bother to mention the water was 3 kilometers up the trail!
Anyway it was really nice to get away from society a bit and we had a great time. Here are a few pics:
Within minutes you're on the trail and away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Almost immediately I could smell wood and flowers in the air rather than diesal fuel and/or sewage. A welcome change. They did a nice job with the trail as well.
An ajumma wearing decorative socks scuttles past us. Sure it's a great source of exercise, but isn't the point of hiking also to relax and enjoy the surroundings? So many older people treated it almost as a race. Don't they hurry around enough in their daily lives? Even worse was seeing people a little further up chatting on handphones.
Wow, flowers, trees, water? Where am I? No concrete and metal, garbage, highrise apartments or PC bangs to see for awhile. I remarked later though, McDonald's could make a killing with a restaurant halfway up.
The weather couldn't have been any better. We were worried it would be too crowded. While there were many people, it wasn't that bad. Sometimes we'd come across groups like this.
Other times we wouldn't see anyone around. During these junctures, I'd take the chance to plant a kiss on my lucky baby's cheek. Wow, what a romantic hero.
A sea of apartments in the distance. I wonder if they are visible from the moon...
Further up, less noise from the highways, almost quiet. I feel like I'm back in America in the country side near my hometown. I wonder what it would be like to have lived in a time when the whole world looked like this. In fact, walking through nature brings you in touch with past centuries. I could almost envision Confucian scholars walking the trail.
More scenery. It's nice that the leaves haven't grown back yet and you can see in the distance, yet I'd like to come back later in the season too. Another reason I'd like to come back, I forgot to take pictures of a couple of things: a few dug out holes lined with stacked tires to serve as bunkers in the event of another war. Also, we were so happy to finally reach the water tap I didn't think to take a photo there. We drank and drank the cold spring water for several minutes before sitting down to enjoy some kimbap and a few donuts. Suddenly a gigantic mosquito landed right on Julie's jelly donut and stuck to the jelly. Julie screamed so loud everyone stared at us. I can't blame her really, that was one huge mogie!
However, I should point out that she gets scared rather easily. Earlier in the day she cut her finger in the bathroom and flipped out in a panic. She thought she should go to the hospital. She swooned, she grew nauseous. I looked at her finger. The cut very small and there was hardly any blood. It took awhile to calm her down long enough to apply a small bandaid...
Well, that's most of the pics I took. I found out later if we kept going we would have gotten to the bottom where there are a lot of traditional noodle restaurants and a bus station. Instead, we turned back the way we came and eventually had spaghetti at a Sorrentos across town. First we stopped at Buy the Way. To my surprise the convenient store carries a decent collection of wines under 30,000 won. We picked up a bottle of California Red and drank it with our dinner. (Actually Julie drank about a teaspoon and I drank the rest.)
If you'd like a nice relaxing climb and have nothing to do on a weeked you may want to try Kwang Kyo San and make a day of it. It's easy to find being located right next to Kyungi University. You can take bus #32 across the street from Suwon Station. Many other busses go there as well.
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written by shawn matthews
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4/13/2004
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Korea Life Blog - A New Poll (9)
There's a new and exciting poll to take. Here are the results of the previously exciting poll:
Where would you rather live?
Korea 68 (30%)
America 38 (17%)
Canada 19 (8%)
New Zealand 20 (9%)
Australia 16 (7%)
England 4 (1%)
Other European Country 17 (7%)
South East Asian Country 10 (4%)
the moon 11 (4%)
other - see comments 19 (8%)
Seems the majority of people would prefer to live here if they aren't already. America comes in a distant second and a close race between Canada and New Zealand and "other" for third. I found it a little disturbing that more people would rather live in Australia or the moon than England.
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written by shawn matthews
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Korea Life Blog - Modern Scenery
You ever get a little scared when you look out at the world these days? At the sprawling sea of concrete, metal and air pollution...is this what scientific advancement is doing for us? It's plain ugly and I feel sorry for future generations.
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written by shawn matthews
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4/12/2004
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Korea Life Blog - Subtitle Trauma
In my town there is a single video store with a patherically small, old collection. The guy who runs it, a Star Craft addict, gets a new movie in about once every two months. He charges 1,500 won for "new" and old movies alike, 2000 won for a DVD. (To anyone not living in Korea, that still may sound cheap, but usually old videos are 500-800 won and new movies 1,000, maybe 1,500 on DVD at the most). Every time I've gone there, I've ended up frustrated and usually leave empty handed.
After awhile I got to downloading movies off Overnet. It's illegal, sure, but who cares when you're living in a small town in the middle of nowhere with one lone video store and no selection and a lethargic owner who can barely pause Star Craft long enough to check you out much less take time to order some new videos and increase sales. Also, by downloading, I am able to see movies that never make it to Korea, which are usually the ones I want to see anyway.
The only problem with this is that I want to watch some of these movies with my girlfriend. Julie, as you know, is Korean and speaks English very well - just not enough to follow a movie 100% without subtitles. So I started to look into using subtitles on ripped movies. This is where my story of trauma begins.
Sometimes I think I could never live without a computer and the internet. Between playing games, downloading, surfing the net, updating my website, writing, listening to music and watching movies and porn, etc., I don't have need for much else. Yet other times, when things don't work properly, I feel like throwing the whole thing off a high rise building and moving to Alaska. You know what I mean. Those times you start it up and some error pops up on the screen. You get online and find the solution which requires 35 steps, one of which you completely can't understand inevetibally you create 5 other problems until you end up so frustrated you reinstall the entire operating system while cursing at Bill Gates and at yourself for not having backed up your files.
Back to my story. I'll break it down into steps:
1. I have the movie About Schmidt which I got off Overnet. I love that movie and want to watch it with Julie. We need subtitles.
2. 10:00 PM. I get online and figure out there are in fact such things as subtitle files. Great! Julie calls her brother and he told her some websites where she can find them in Korean. Julie tries, there are subtitles but mostly for big name movies like Lord of the Rings.
3. Now I try. (Then she tries again, then me, then she for a good hour...)
Despite the fact Korean displayed properly on my computer, reading and typing, it wouldn't display on Overnet. All the Korean characters looked like this: $%!%^!??!?. Even so, I was able to find the Korean subtitle file for About Schmidt and downloaded! Unfortunately they too were garbled. Why won't the damn Korean display! I shouted. However, when I opened the file in notepad, I used select all and changed the font, presto: Korean! I danced around joyfully, startled by my own genius. I woke up Julie and started the movie. Unfortunately, now the changed files wouldn't play in the subtitle player. I overwrote the orginals and had to find them again on Overnet. Why won't the original files display in Korean? I shouted again! I searched online for a solution until my face is blue. Julie started to fall asleep again, as you probably are by now.
4. I try installing new Korean fonts. They don't work. I try downloading Hangul Word, nothing changes. Next I engage in a step by step process of deleting Korean from my computer and reinstalling the language packs from the net and off the XP CD. Restart! To my astonishment, it works! Korean displays in Overnet and in the About Schmidt file without changing the font! YES! Excited I wake up Julie again. Unfortunately, for some reason, the subtitles are too small. Julie suggests we just see the movie in a DVD bang the next day in Seoul or something. Forget that, by this time it's become an obsession on my part to get this working properly. Not only for this movie, but for all the other movies I've downloaded.
5. Julie goes back to sleep. I try several more players until I find one that allows you to adjust the size of the subtitles. At last I find one but it won't play the files. After a lot of cursing to myself, I finally figure out the problem: this particular player won't play .smi subtitle files. I need to convert them to .sub. I find a free converter and download it. Success, the file converts. The subtitles work! I'm jumping around again and wake up Julie. "I'm a little tired," she says. It's near 1:00 AM now. No, no, I reply, shaking her awake. Come on! She agrees. I set the computer monitor up on top of TV and get the movie going.
6. Finally now, 2:30 AM everything is working, it seems. I enlarge the font so that she can see better, but the the extra size shrinks the already small, widecreen formatted movie. We give up watching from the bed and lay on the floor now. The movie starts. The subtitles are working - but they lag by 30 seconds. At this point I want to scream but instead we both start laughing and can't stop.
7. Julie convinces me it's OK and watches the movie from start to finish and enjoys it, even though she laughs 30 seconds after every funny part. Sigh...
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written by shawn matthews
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4/11/2004
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Korea Life Blog - Fashion Fraud on the Bus
Now that the weather is getting nice again, been spending less time on the computer. Quite a few updates to come about this past weekend though and will add more to the Geoje-do story as well. For starters get a load of these shots of fashion fraud, live on the bus:
This guy sat down right next to Julie and I. We couldn't believe it. I cursed myself againing for not buying a smaller camera but was able to convince Julie to take his picture by pretending to photograph me. Even though it was extremely obvious, the guy didn't seem to notice. Not a bad pic, though it's a little hard to see his gelled up hair and ultra-groovy sunglasses. Using flash would have been just too obvious. Good work, nonetheless, Julie. Maybe you can be a KLB field reporter.
Oops, you forgot to get a shot of his shoes, try again. Another picture of me. Snap, snap...wow, nice shot of my arm, leg and bag - a true professional. Now that I see this picture again, I wouldn't mind a pair of shoes like that actually, hmm...
It was so funny I had to give it a try. This girl was standing way up front. While pretending to view old pics on the LCD display, I zoomed in and was able to get off this not-so-great shot. I must get a smaller, more secretive camera someday. I guess it's better than no shot though and you can see what I'm talking about as far as fashion this year. Those socks are hideous! Anytime, but especially with those shoes.
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written by shawn matthews
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4/8/2004
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Korea Life Blog - Drawing Time Again
Since the kids have been using the same three English books for 2 years, I don't know what I'd do without online handouts. They have been an enormous help. After a brief lesson in which the kids repeat some words, they have the rest of the class to write, draw, color, do puzzles, read their comic books, whatever. Let's see what we've been up to this week:
It's time to learn the months and seasons again. This worksheet is a wonderful activity and has gotten me through the entire week so far. Some kids in the past would, if given this sort of activity, draw something as quickly as possible and then shout "da haseyo!" (I've finished everything) They know now if they do that they will get no talent sticker and that their classmates will have more than them on "Talent Market Day." As you can see, the system works well. This example was drawn by one of my previously terrible students. Not too bad anymore. I especially like Fall. Looks like someone is having some trouble with that rake.
Another cute example. I don't know why these scenes make me feel good. I guess they bring back memories of being a kid myself. I want to make a snowman again and be that happy.
Compared to the boys, my girl students are angels. They're almost always quiet and never complain and they always draw the cutest pictures. Sometimes when I'm sitting there twiddling my thumbs watching them draw and color, I fantasize about having a daughter. There are a couple I've considered kidnapping back to America.
This one cracked me up. I'm not sure what's going on with winter and summer. Is the sun taking a dump? I like the fall scene too. That girl looks cool with her sunglasses and vampire coat. Sure is windy out there.
This is the activity sheet I used last week. They didn't have time to color because the follow-up word search puzzle was a little harder than usual and required more time. Nothing too special about this example, yet I like the watching TV scene. What is she watching? Is that kickboxing or Zombie High School Part 2? Also, they can be so creative when they draw. Look at the overhead shot of the swimmer.
There's always the kid who draws his friend as a horrible monster. It cracks me up because I'd be sure to do the same if I were a kid doing this. Classic example here. The best part is the portrait on the top left.
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written by shawn matthews
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4/6/2004
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Korea Life Blog - Schedule Change Again!
Went into the hagwon again today, prepared for my first class (copying worksheets and puzzles), headed off to the classroom. No students. A Korean teacher is sitting there and tells me once again, "Schedule change! First class cancelled!" They always say it as if by some cosmic force I should have already known. I just smiled and shook my head. It's at least the fifth time this has happened in the last month or two. Oh well, I'm certainly not complaining about one less class.
With the extra time I decide to go back home across the street. Just as I'm leaving, the Korean middle school teacher, Ken, takes me aside. Because midterms are coming up in the public schools, he has to teach the kids each Friday for this month. He tells me this apologetically, as if I'm going to feel bad I don't have to teach them for 4 weeks. "I see," I said, shaking my head as if terribly dissapointed. Inside I was cheering. That leaves just 2 classes on Friday. Having only two classes on Monday, I'm getting close to a 4 day weekend!
Well, time to make lunch and do some exercises. Then I will teach from 3:30-6:00, have an hour for dinner, then listen to Windy and Peter from 7 until 8. Phew, tough day, tough week, tough job. If only I could get this kind of situation in Seoul!
[Update] The joy was short lived. I noticed a bunch of new classes pencilled in on my schedule for Monday, but I'm really not sure what's going on. There are so many crossouts and things pencilled in I finally asked the boss's wife to make me a new one. Hopefully she will.
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written by shawn matthews
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4/5/2004
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Korea Life Blog - Fashion Fraud
Julie and I stopped into Migliore over the weekend. The lastest spring fashions have arrived and they aren't pretty. Plain and simple is out; bright and obnoxiously colorful are in. What is going on this year? Julie couldn't believe it and neither could I. Take a look at this mind boggling collection of women's clothes:
Here we go. I just love that puke green and orange shirt with the purple jeans. Come on, Julie, that'll look great on you.
It's a toss up between the far off green dress and the outfit on the dummy to the right.
I thought these were clothes for old women but judging from the shirt on the right apparently not. Are young people really dressing like this nowadays?
A perfectly matching flowery outfit. Even my grandmother would scowl at something like this and she's been known to dress a little oddly.
Julie just stared at this store, shocked and unable to comprehend who would buy anything here. Not as bad as some of the other shops, I thought, but still bad, sure.
Julie really wanted this outfit but I told her forget it. She was very sad and hurt. She cried the rest of the weekend. Maybe I'll buy it for her birthday later this month...
Still a little weird but I think I've seen a few ajummas wearing these outfits around my town.
Even the shoes are outlandish. Check out that bright yellow pair on the end. Those would go well with the green shirt and red pants that Julie liked.
The kids clothes are even worse. Look at these! Would any kid be caught dead wearing such things to Kindergarten? Actually these are minature hanbok, traditional Korean clothes, for children. Pretty darn cute. There was nothing here in my size unfortunately.
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written by shawn matthews
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4/3/2004
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Korea Life Blog - Friday Night
It's almost 2:00 AM. I'm hanging out here at my apartment with Julie. We just got done eating Pelicana fried chicken and now she's watching Resident Evil on the Super Action channel. I took some time to write up the next section of Geoje-do part 6. Hope you enjoy it.
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written by shawn matthews
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4/1/2004
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Korea Life Blog - Curtain Call
Well, this is it, the last post on my blog. It's been a lot of fun but it's too much work for little in return. I have decided as well to take it offline tomorrow and it won't be back. Re-read your favorite parts while you can. Thanks for the memories and so long.
-------------------- April Fool's Day
Guess I wasn't fooling anybody anyway, hehehe. Thanks for the outpouring of grief everyone. I feel more and more guilty not updating more often, but I've been addicted to Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. The good news is I'm almost through the game and won't be starting a new one any time soon. I get crazy and obsessed with every game, especially RPGs. I wonder how many guys in Korea have lost girlfriends to Diablo 2 and Star Craft. Luckily Julie is somewhat patient...
Speaking of Julie I got her on a joke. Around 4PM I sent her a text message: "Sorry, I can't keep it a secret anymore. I'm gay. I'm sorry to hurt you."
Now I didn't think she would fall for that, but she did. She freaked out, almost crying in front of her Kindergarten kids and calling me up yelling, "WHAT! Why? Why didn't you tell me this before?" It was pretty funny, I thought...yet it's a little worrisome how easily she believed me...I'd better throw away my flowery pink blanket. (The exact link is broken but you can see it somewhere on this page.)
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written by shawn matthews
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