11.23.2009

Hello -
It has been a few weeks since the last update, not a whole lot of new stories but I have a few.

First, this was a few weeks ago but I think that I forgot to write about it. I have to call each student and ask easy questions, it really is a waste of time, but I have to do it nonetheless. (Phone teaching) I called one student who I teach almost every day and I know her really well. She is actually one student that can have a conversation with me, or at least try to do so. I asked her, "Mary, what are you doing?" She said, "mmm mmm mmm (eating sound) dog." I laughed and said, "Mary, what? You are playing with your dog?" She said, "No, I am eating dog." It was just one of the funny phone teaching moments, and there have been many. I know how to say "Is ______ home?" or something like that. (Name) Pah Quaw Jew Say O. Then if the student isn't home the parents speaks in Korean and I say "Up Sow?" I think that means something like "None" but it seems to work. They say yes and I say thanks and hang up.

So, the only new story is that I went to a place called LotteWorld. It is kind of like a Disney-type place. The weird thing is that about 3/4 is inside. There are 4 floors and an ice-skating rink in the basement. It is almost like a huge arena with lots of rides and other things to do inside. The funny thing was that all of the rides were less than 2 minutes. It seemed like a lot of time was spent waiting in lines but it was a really good time. There were a few rollercoasters, some 'it's a small world'-type rides, and the typical other carnival rides. One of the highlights was a Christmas parade. There was classic Christmas music and the parade lasted about a half hour. There was a lot of foreign people in the parade, I was surprised that it wasn't all Korean's, but it was really entertaining. Another highlight of the place was a hot air balloon. They weren't real but they ran on a track along the whole top of the building. It was a really cool sight. The big inside room was lit by sunlight and when the sun went down it was lit up with lights and it looked really cool. You can see some of the sights in the pictures below. It was a really good experience and a great Saturday night.

I am getting really excited to be coming home in the next month, I think that it's almost exactly one month from today and I will be home for one week. Again, I still have the same money problems with my boss and things are the same at work. I took my camera to work today and took some pictures with a few of my classes, I hope to take it again and get some pictures with some more outgoing kids, but these are the ones that I teach on Monday. There are some pictures with 3 young kids (younger than the rest) This is a class that really doesn't speak English, they are in their first few months of classes. They are one of my favorites, the little girl in the pictures is probably my favorite student. Her name is Lily and she always comes to my desk and tries to talk (Do you like eraser? Do you like bathroom? Do you like Lily?) Ha, just a few examples. This class does not involve much teaching. The kids love to be picked up and they beg for it the whole class. There is one picture of me picking up a student named Ryan and another one of me and the other boy, Alex, flexing. They all think that I am so strong because I can pick up all 3 of them at the same time. It is quite funny but I have a good time with them. The kids didn't really like to be in pictures so I had to kind of sneak pictures but I have some more outgoing students throughout the week and I hope that works out a little bit better.

Anyways, Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hopefully I will have a chance to see a lot of you around X-mas time and thanks for keeping up with me.

































I don't know if you can read this but it says "Not allowed to pregnant" "Not allowed to medical sensitivity" and "No drunken ride"

11.5.09

Hello-
Today I have actually been out of the U.S. for 6 months, I have officially half way finished with my 1 year commitment. I just thought that I would write kind of a half way recap of the things I have been up to and the things that I have learned.

I guess one of the major things that I have done since I've been here is try many kinds of food that I never thought I would have. I have been writing about these in all the other posts but I'm not sure if I have forgot anything but I will just go through some of the things again.

1.Dog - probably the most weird thing that I have ever eaten but not because of the taste. The meat was actually more or less the same as beef roast and tasted well. It was steamed and we ate it with salad, chicken, and a few other side dishes. It just doesn't really seem right to eat an animal that most people keep as pets, but I kind of figured 'when in Rome' and I had to try it

2.Eel - I didn't even know it was possible to eat an eel but this was another thing that I had a chance to eat with some Korean friends and some other Americans. Eel is a lot like snake but it seemed to have some kind of tentacles, not really sure if that's true but that is what it looked like. We had one plate of barbeque eel and the other one with no spices or anything. The meat is a little bit chewy with little taste but it wasn't bad at all. I think that I could eat it again, but I think it may have been another thing where I can now say that I have tried it.

3.Pig Skin - I had pig skin recently. This actually takes a bit to get used to because the texture is so unique. It is the actual skin of the big and the thin layer of meat or whatever it is right under the skin. The skin is a bit chewy and the inside meaty part is a little bit like jelly. It doesn't really cook like regular meat and it always stays a bit chewy. This actually tastes really good once you can stomach the texture, it is quite spicy and very heavy. This is something that I think that I will probably have at least one other time.

4.Raw Fish - I had a whole post about this earlier but we picked out some fish at a fish market that were alive and they were killed as we sat down. The fish was served raw. This was another thing that I thought would make me sick but it tasted just fine. I didn't know that it was even possible to eat uncooked fish but I guess that it is. Also, along with the fish were raw squid and a lot of other things that I don't even know they were. I guess just other random sea creatures that were served raw.

5.Jelly Fish - I am not a huge fan of jelly fish. I'm pretty sure that it is the cap part of the jellyfish. It is kind of a clear looking circle that is impossible to cut with chopsticks so you kind of have to eat the whole thing at one time. There is absolutely no taste and it is yet again another thing that I can say I have tried.

6.Shell Fish - This isn't really weird but I have never had it at home. This is probably one of my favorite seafood things. Usually you get a big bowl of the shellfish and you go through and eat them. They are the best with cheese...

7.Lunch Boxes - every day at work I get a little lunch box with some kind of meat and 4 other little side dishes. I wish I knew what I was eating so I could give names but I actually have no idea. Sometimes it's quite good but a lot of times I only eat a few bites and the rice that comes with it. I just remembered one thing as an example. We got these tiny lobsters that had hardly any any meat on them and I wasn't sure how to eat them. I asked my teachers and they said that you just eat the whole thing, shell and everything. I tried one bite and that was it. The would take the lobsters and it looked like they would just cut them with a scissors in random ways and throw them into the boxes. It still tasted like lobster but the crunchiness was not at all appealing.

8.This food is not the norm, I have been eating great food most of the time and they also have many fast food restaurants and also grocery stores where you can buy food if you can read the packages. I haven't really been doing too much shopping because eating out is not very expensive.


Life
I have had a lot of experiences, especially when I first got here. I guess I'm starting to feel a bit old now because I'm really starting to settle into life just working everyday and a steady decline in the level of excitement. Generally I go to work during the week and that's pretty much it. I work from 1:30 to about 9:30. After work it is usually back home to watch TV or go on the computer, and that's about all the excitement for the weekdays. The weekends are still quite fun, there are still experiences but most of the time it is staying around my town or going to one of the close towns around me. The first few months I went to Hong Wan Doe (spelling?), a traditional Korean town, Itaewon two times (big town in Seoul where there are tons of soldiers and people from all over the world), and also Japan on a trip to get my visa. I am going to be headed home for Christmas and New Years for one week and I will have 3 more days of vacation left when I come back to Korea. I'm trying to think about where to go but I am thinking about somewhere like Thailand or the Philippines. The only other thing that I have planned for sure is a skiing trip or trips. I guess there are quite a few different places to ski that are within a few hours and several Korean friends want to go so I think we are going to make a weekend of it. I guess the mountains here are quite a bit better than Bittersweet and Canonsburg in GR, and I'm really excited because I have never been skiing at a big place like somewhere out West.

School
I think that when I started teaching I would have to say that I was not a very good teacher. I have never been a teacher and I was kind of expecting some training but my boss just threw me into class for my 2 day "training" which wasn't any different than what I do now. I had no training or anything, I was by myself and didn't get any hints or suggestions. The only reason it was called training is because that meant that the boss didn't have to pay me for it, which gives you a bit of an idea about how my boss is. There are many other stories about him, most involving pay. I have never gotten paid on time, the last month was the latest which was 16 days late. Other things include taking over 2 months to get the internet at home, no insurance, and also no bank account yet. My boss seems to just be happy that he has a foreign teacher and that is about it. He doesn't do a whole lot to keep any of the teachers happy and it's very frustrating. I have had 3 teachers quit so far, there is one left from when I started 6 months ago. I am not treated well but the Korean teachers get it much worse than I do. Last year Mandi (the foreign teacher before me) said that they had 16 different teachers in one year so I guess I have it pretty good.
The students are good for the most part. They make me really frustrated because they don't listen and they talk to each other in Korean throughout the entire class but it seems that the older they get the more they listen. I have a few favorites and I am hoping to get a few pictures of them to put on the website soon. Last week we had a little Halloween party and in my classes I took balloons and told them about how we carve pumpkins. We blew up balloons and then cut out mouths, eyes, etc. and glued them on the balloons like they were pumpkins. I wish that was my idea but I actually found it on the internet... The last thing is that over the past few months we have had quite a few students quitting. Some of them just would come to school and when they were behind a few months in payments they just took their kids out of school without paying. I think that my school is having some cash flow problems and I'm hoping that the things work out and there are no money issues. It is really weird because there are so many different hogwan's and there are always people coming and going. It seems like the parents always believe their children and you can't say anything bad about their children. Even if you question their behavior and tell the parents they just will take their kids out of the school and send them to a new one. This means that when you fill out their report cards you have to write all positives, I have the same set of comments for everyone regardless of their attitude, behavior, and skill level. Doesn't make much sense to me but I have had to re-do a few because they were not positive enough so now I realize that honestly does not really matter so it's "______ is a great student. They have a great attitude and their reading and writing skills are constantly improving. I really enjoy having _______ in my class. Keep up the good work!" I wish I had a stamp. ha Regardless of these things, I still am enjoying myself even though it may not sound like it. It has been a good experience getting to spend time with the little kids and rewarding to see some of them improve, even if it's a small amount.

Weather
The weather here during the summer was absolutely brutal. There was no sun throughout the whole summer and it was incredibly hot/humid. I never really checked the temperature but I just know it was insanely hot. I would walk outside to walk to the store or bus stop and the air was just heavy. There was no wind and you could walk and be semi-comfortable but when you would stop sweat would just be pouring out of every different area on the body. The worst thing about it is that the Koreans do not sweat so it made me kind of feel like the freak just dripping sweat when they seem to be just fine. The other weird thing about the summer is that the weather wouldn't really cool down. You could walk outside at like 1 or 2 Am and still walk around and sweat. I have never felt weather like this before, it is crazy. Then came Fall, which is the rainy season. I heard many stories about the crazy amount of rain that they get but it wasn't really all that bad. When it rained the rain was really heavy, many times it was raining sideways but it only rained maybe one time each week or so. We actually have gotten quite a bit of rain in the last few weeks but the intensity has just lowered. The temperature has actually been perfect for the past month or month and a half. It has been sunny with no humidity. It was really weird because one day it was just beautiful and the sun came out and the humidity and heat was just gone. The weather has been beautiful and then this Monday I woke up freezing and had to finally shut the windows for the first time since I've been here. Monday I went outside and it was frigid. I couldn't believe how cold it had gotten in one day when it was pleasant the day before. I was at work and the teachers said that it was -2 degrees C and windy. The next day was supposed to be -3 and now the weather is back to being quite pleasant. I think that the cold is going to be right around the corner and based on that one day I think that it is going to be extreme. I thought the weather in Michigan was crazy but I think that here takes the cake for crazy weather. It may not be sunny one day and then snowing the next day but the temperature differences are like nothing I've ever seen/felt.

I think this is about it for the halfway point update. I am sitting here drinking my coffee and watching game 6 of the World Series on TV. I have been trying to catch the games but they are on in the morning here live. I appreciate people reading this and I also enjoy getting e-mails from people. I don't know how to see people's e-mail addresses if they post a comment to one of these posts, so I can't reply. If you post a comment if you could put your e-mail address along with the comment I would appreciate it or you can write me at KevVP@hotmail.com

Language
Oops, forgot to talk about the language issues. I these are some of the words I have learned so far
On Yo Ha Say O - hello
On Yo Knee Kah Say O - good-bye
Nail My O - see you tomorrow
Kam Sah Hahm Knee Dah - thank you
Peh Goo Pah - hungry
Mashisto? - Delicious?
Mashisto - Delicious
Nah Do - me too
Babo - crazy
Me Gook - American

The language is really difficult, there are some sounds that I cannot say so it is very difficult. I still can't understand a word of it when I hear it spoken but I just know some basic verbs that I can say when I go to the store or some other place like that.

Okay, I think that is finally the last thing, hope to hear from you soon.

Kevin

10.19.2009

Hello -

This weekend I went to the Incheon Global Festival. It has been going on for almost 3 months and this is the 2nd to last weekend. We went on Saturday at about 6:00 and it was freezing cold and very windy. The festival is a bunch of big tents and buildings with little exhibits. One building (pictures below) had different booths from different countries and cities in Korea. Each one had a display and some information about the different places. Another big tent we went in was full of flowers (also, pictures below). This was pretty cool, there were a lot of different flowers and many different arrangement shapes. There was a cheap little carnival ride, The Viking. I don't know if anyone knows that this is, but it's a boat type thing and it just swings from side to side. Also, there was a batting cage so I did one round of hitting baseballs. It was really fun to hit baseballs, I missed playing softball this summer so it has been a long time. There was also a really cool fountain in the middle of the complex. The main attraction of the festival is 3-D movie type things, but the lines were too long and we didn't feel like waiting in lines in the cold. (just uploaded the pictures, I forgot about the lego booth. There are also several pictures of a lego city and some lego people)

The next pictures are of dinner after the festival. I had my first unique food in quite some time. We ordered some regular meat and also pig skin (pictures below). The pig skin actually tasted pretty good but the texture was a bit disturbing. It was a lot like chewy jello. One side (the skin part) is more chewy and the inside is the part that feels like jello. It is really weird but once you get used to it the taste is quite good.

The weather is getting much colder. I am sitting here in sweatpants and a sweatshirt drinking my coffee and the wind is actually still a bit chilly. We have also had some really big thunderstorms this weekend and one during the week last week. Things are still good, my students are still quite a handful but time is going really fast. I just got a trip home OK'd for around Christmas. I am getting excited for that and but the dates are not yet set in stone. That's all for now,

Kevin