Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea

I've realized how much the weather has been affecting my mood here. Today is a particularly beautiful day, sun shining, fairly warm and I'm really feeling it. It's been really, really windy in the afternoons lately, but it's definitely warming up and the days are getting longer...so I'm enjoying it a lot more.
I had this morning off, don't have to go to work until 2:30, because my Kindergartens are graduating tonight and I will be at the festival and performance until 8pm or so. We've been practicing hard for the last month, so I hope everything turns out. My class will be presenting three plays: The Three Musketeers, Peter Pan and Romeo and Juliet. Two of which I have a narration part in. Romeo and Juliet required me to memorize the entire Shakespearean introduction...so anyways, I'll be doing that tonight.

This weekend is also a three day weekend because of Independence Movement Day on Monday, which is also really nice. On Tuesday, I'll be starting a new term, which also means overtime of 1.5 hours everyday. It's good for the extra money, but will take some getting used to for the first couple of weeks, since I'm used to being off at 5:30 everyday.

I've finally developed my two rolls of film from my last few days in Jeju-do, New Years and some nights out since then...so check out my photos off my website when you have some time...I updated the albums: Seoul, Gangneung, Jeju Island, New Year's and My Students...

Unfortunately, this week, CSI has been taken off Tuesday night on OCN and replaced by some entertainment show about young Hollywood stars. Those type of shows seem really popular here...fueling the Korean obsession with America. I only got to watch CSI on Monday night...so I'm a little disappointed, it was the one thing I'd look forward to on Mondays and Tuesdays....oh well what can you do.

I've also really got into this show called "Ed" about a small-town lawyer who after living in the big city, returned to his hometown, Stuckeyville, bought a bowling alley and runs his practice out of an office in the back. It's great, I really like the Ed character..he has some sort of appeal, one of those people you cannot not like....but god do I miss Seinfeld!!!!!!

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Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea

Friday night, opening night at the Warehouse, although it all seems just a blur to me now, a plethora of faces both korean and foreign...the bar was well lit, lots of cool spotlights and there was this kind of red aura glow everywhere...raswan calls it "blood red" but I prefer "crimson"...
I spent the first hour or so drinking at the bar with Soutthida, i felt bad about smoking because of the small children running around...Dominic showed up with a cigar and decided it was okay to smoke in front of the kids and lit up...yay! Then a whole slew of foreigners showed up, mingling, I was going from this table to that. First of all, I was at a table with some Koreans...the guy was a Voice Instructor and went every weekend to Seoul for business...then there was some teachers from Soutthida's school and then I parked myself with Kate and Glynn and their friend from Manchester...and I remember talking about Ali G and stuff I find...well english??
Today (Sunday) I decided to go downtown, hoping that Lost in Translation would be playing...of course, it wasn't, and I was as angry and disappointed as I was when I made the same trip to see Paycheck a month ago and it wasn't playing either. What the hell?!? There's no real way for me to check the movie listings and showtimes here, the paper I get, The Herald, only lists movie theatres in Seoul. It was raining and generally crappy out so I just took the bus back...
So I've started realizing how crappy it is that I can't see these movies here...or buy dental floss...or antiperspirant...and I'm missing my computer...

Dustin (from back home) is sending me a copy of our movie Dustin and Kiran Do Canada, all five episodes, along with the sixth episode of my Ste-Anne video...I'm really excited. He said he also burned a copy of a Jack Johnson CD, I've heard of him, but I don't think I've ever heard him...
I remember how everyone back home used to tell me "I think you'll like him...." when he was playing with Ben Harper at Thunderbird last summer. I wasn't ready to take on a new artist...I had four-thousand mp3's already...but I'm looking forward to hearing something new...

Here's some links to some other Korean Blog's I found online...if you're interested...
The first one has a list exactly the same as Soutthida's post..."You Know You Lived In Korea Too Long Now That You're Back Home" along with two other lists for actually being in Korea, which I found really funny...

http://www.theulsanweb.com/writings/2002/been_korea_too_long.htm
http://korealife.blogspot.com/

Oh yah and here's someones description of a meeting they had with a Korean landlord in Seoul. It made me laugh too, because it's typical:

I arrived at the subway station and Fred was not there. I called him and he acted shocked.

"You didn't call me one hour before the appointment!" he exclaimed. "I didn't think you come. You know this Korea. You have to call me one hour before. It's a common sense. I don't know why you didn't call me. I can go there now. I will go there now. Next time call me one hour before. I will go there now. Wait for me. I rush and be there 30 minutes. Bye!"
"Slow down I can't understand -"
"Wait for me. Exit 2. Wait for me now. I will go there now."

Mark was with me and we went down the street and had some a few sticks of O-daeng while we waited. Afterward we stood outside exit 2. Fred arrived, 5 minutes early. He wore a suit and carried a briefcase. He showed me his watch, grinning brightly.

"You see how fast I am. I told you 30 minutes, but it's only 25 minutes. Everybody gonna take 33 minutes to get here. But I only take 25. That's why I'm ahead of the game, you see?" He beamed another smile.
"Wow, amazing," I said, dryly. Mark bit his nails, shrugging.
"But you make me very many stress," Fred went on. "You didn't call me one hour before. Why didn't you? It's a common sense before appointment to confirmation."
"Well, we set a time. I didn't know -"
"You have to call me one hour before. It's Korean rule. Everyone knows that. Next time you have to call. I thought you cancel. I want you to remember. One hour before appointment call me. OK?"
"Yes, OK! OK!," I said, annoyed. Mark wrinkled his brow and gave me a look as if to say, "This guy's off his bloody rocker." I nodded in total agreement.

Fred began to walk. "Wait," I said. "How far is it from here to the apartment?"
"It's 7 minutes, let's go I'll show you it's only 7 minutes. It's not a problem. Not too far for you. Only 7 minutes."
"Exactly 7 minutes?" I laughed, wondering why he kept giving such specific times.
"Yes, yes, let's go. Come on now. I'll show you. Ready, 7 minutes here we go."

He started to walk very quickly. Mark and I followed. Every minute or two Fred checked his watch.
"It's not that important," I said. "There's no hurry." Fred ignored me and continued to speed up his pace. Eventually Mark and I fell behind. I couldn't see what the rush was about.

When Fred got too far ahead of us, I yelled, "Hey! Chun chun hi!, Slow down!" He stopped and looked at us, shaking his head in disblief.
"Slow down? Why you want? Even you have longer legs than me. And look - watch me. Watch me how fast I go. We can't slow down. This is Seoul. If you slowly, you lose. Always fast. It's best."
"Do you some kind of an appointment later?" I called out. He was aleady far ahead again.
"No, no appointment. Only this appointment. You are my appointment. Almost there now."

Fifteen minutes later we arrived at the apartment. It was quite a walk and up a lot of hills. Fred looked at his watch, and didn't say anything else about the time. It was a nice room, clean and new as he said. It was hot though. Very hot, and there was no air conditioner. Fred watched me carefully as I wiped the sweat off my face.

"Are you hot? This is not hot. Look at me. I'm not hot. I'm wearing long pants. You're wearing short pants. Look at me. I'm not hot. This is the fourth floor. Fifth floor above us is more hot. Fourth floor not too hot for you. Anyway, if you're too hot I will install aircon. I will put that here for you, Right here in the wall. Aircon, no problem."
"That would be nice," I said. "I'm more worried about the location. It's all the way west in Seoul and we just walked fifteen -"
"It's not far. This is good location. This is best location for you. Here are many schools for you to work at. You will like it here. Everybody likes it here. It's not too far. So we have a deal? Let's sign the contract now."
"Slow down, killer," I said. Mark bit his nails, giving me looks as if to say "This guy's a bloody wanker."
"Why slow down? You always slow down. You can take this now. Right now! No problem. Sign now, move in tomorrow. Everything finished. Everybody happy. Deal is finished. OK?"
"I didn't even bring the money with me."
"That's no problem. You can use cash machine. Let's go to the cash machine now."
"No, I'm not ready. Stop pressuring me."
"Yes, OK! OK! This is good place for you. Good location. I will make aircon for you. No pressure, no pressure. Slow down, OK! OK!"
"I'll think about it and let you know."
"What's there to think about? This is perfect deal for you. Anybody will want this. The deposit is too small. I can get 10,000,000 won for this no problem."
"Is that so? How long you been trying to rent it?"
"Just two months now."
"Two months? If it's such a great deal, why hasn't somebody rented it?"
"Um. You know. There is no reason. This will rent very fast now, I'm sure. You can have it now. I said that. You want it?"
"Not now," I said.

Okay, so in the end, she didn't take the apartment due to Fred's "fast" tactics, keeping him "ahead of the game."

--later

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Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea

I've just stumbled onto a link where you can download or stream one of my favourite short animated films: Don Hertzfeldt's "Rejected"

It'll make you crap your pants...the genius of it...

http://www.brennanclan.com/rejected.html

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Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea

What is going on with the weather in Gangneung today? It's warmer than it's been in months, but every twenty seconds I'm bombarded by this freezing wind that forces me to walk on an angle to keep from being knocked over and it's snowing....But the snow isn't sticking...

Saturday mornings...for some reason, I wake earlier than during the week, despite my 2am bedtime on Friday nights. I drink instant coffee, smoke cigarettes and flip the Herald Tribune for hours. I cancelled my subscription (selon moi, c'est un journal terrible, "internationally acclaimed" but riddled with spelling mistakes, i can't stand it) so, instead, this morning I read, cover-to-cover, for the first time, my 7-month old copy of the Johnny Knoxville GQ. There was a story about a man who calls himself Sir Alfred and has been living in Terminal 1 of Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris for the last fifteen years. He's a citizen of no country....well more like he's denounced his citizenship, and is now content to live on a red bench surrounded by stacked newspapers, eating McDonald's and living off the generosity of strangers. I now have this bizarre desire to find him and talk to him...like the homeless I've found in my travels. Most notably, Devon, a tall, disheveled red haired monstrosity, with horrible teeth. You know, he has that pale orange build-up between them, a wild beard and flailing hair. He used to chat with me at Starbucks on Granville and West Broadway and always convince me, somehow, to give him money. Once I learned his name, and he learned mine, it was harder to say no, and I took to avoiding him by walking the alleys to work and scanning the horizon for any signs of him before I sat down for a coffee...I got sick of him. He told me once how he had gotten a job at Red Robins as a server...and I was suddenly disgusted that they would hire someone like this, until I realized it was a lie. He needed a loan to get him by until pay-day. I didn't give him anything. Two weeks later, he told me he now had a new apartment in South Granville, and hit me up for some more money, which he "promised to pay back," again I left him high and dry and again it was a lie. Devon is probably still wandering those streets...

Then there's the crazy older man, kind of pudgy who always wears wrap-around sunglasses and carries a backpacker's pack. He sits outside Restoration Hardware with a plastic fish on the end of a hand-made fishing pole and a sign that says "Fishing for money."

There's the old Asian woman who sits at the same corner, day-in, day-out, bobbing back and forth, even in the winter. She just stares at the ground and has a little cigar-box that's usually littered with loonies.

There's the crazy street kid, who looks like he's 15, but is probably 30, and told us that he has done heroin, but won't use the money for that. He begs people in the lines outside nightclubs for change and is a regular fixture on Granville Street. He'll do one fingered push-ups, let people kick him in the junk or shout obscenities at him for change. I've seen him beg until he's almost in tears.

There's the weird man, with two puppets (I think they are supposed to be dogs) on Robson. He's in a motorized wheel-chair and sits there all day, mumbling and making absolutely no sense, pretending these puppets are talking to each other.

There's the hobbit, an old crippled midget woman, who walks along with a hand-carved, twisted wooden cane, scaring small children. She's just taller than my knee...right off the set of LOTR, I swear...

There's Seagal, a bald, perpetually paranoid wanderer, who likes to tell stories about how he hooks up people on the streets. Like he's a match-maker. Apparently, he "matched" a couple who are now getting married...and they came by one day to thank him for introducing them to each other.

There's the Indian man who spends his days down at the south end of Granville, before the bridge, and constantly says "Please sir....please sir, I will pray for you, please sir, please sir..." and follows people for blocks until they yell at him. He's relentless...

And the bum in Newfoundland....who described himself as a "hobo" and not a "bum." When asked, "What's the difference between the two?" He replies, "A bum stays in one place, a hobo...mooooooves!!!" An amazingly well-put definition, yes! He told me that he travels on the "railrides..." and calls the rest of Canada "the mainland, baby!" He stopped mid-sentence numerous times to point at large women and giggle...and even asked a young girl if she was willing to "give him a hundred dollars and a hand-job." Needless to say, she said no....

So there they are, a few of the bright faces of the streets...

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Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea

I found this article on the use of English in English-teaching materials in Korea:
(The article was taken from the JoongAng Daily and yes, these excerpts are from actual English textbooks in Korea.)

The dialogue is meant to show the meaning of the word "eye." The conversation swiftly moves into the realm of the bizarre. The teacher asks a student: "Have you ever seen a one-eyed man?"
The student answers: "Yes, Mrs. Kim. I've seen him."
Teacher: "What do we call a man not to see anything?"
Student: "We call him blind."

Now, that's more like the kind of Konglish my students would produce. But shouldn't the teacher be speaking better English?
Anyhow, the dialogue continues, reaching new and ever more surreal heights.
Teacher: "What about the three-eyed man, if any?"
Student: "Well, I don't know what I can say, for he is a monster among the two-eyed men."

Here's another dialogue meant to illustrate the word "baby."
Teacher: "What's the skill of babies?"
Student: "Their only skill is crying."
Teacher: "Who is the most beautiful baby in the world?"
Student: "A smiling baby."
Teacher: "What is the baby's main job?"
Student: "It's crying, sleeping, smiling and laying on the bed."

Ahh classic.

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