Wouldn't you think kids who love to give hugs would be cute? I am seriously being hugged all day long. I love the hugs, it's when they won't let go that I get annoyed. They are the worst clingers!! And it's not unusual to have 5 kids hugging me at once. Then I can't move...and some of them tackle. After 'sit down' and 'be quiet,' the most common phrase I say throughout the day might be 'get off of me!' Although, today was hilarious. I ran out of copies of some stupid ass thing they were doing in preschool. So I went to the copy machine with 2 little followers/clingers. There was a left over birthday cake next to the copier, which I didn't know about or wouldn't have brought the kids. They stare at the cake for a couple seconds, then start poking it a little to try the frosting. All of a sudden, one of the kids just plants his face in it and starts chowing! It was the funniest thing I have seen. He looked up and was so happy! I tried to yell at him, but I was dying laughing. I was happy he did it, it gave me such a good laugh! I kinda shuffled him back to the classroom so he wouldn't get in trouble. Too cute!
I told a lot of people before coming here that my biggest fear teaching little kids was that they would cry. I thought they would cry sometimes. Nope, I don't think I have had a day without at least one crier. They cry all the fucking time! I don't even know what the fuck they are crying over! The stupidest shit makes them flip out. Yesterday, some kid had a full fledge spasm because I told him he needed to write more in his workbook. I thought he was dying or something. I was like, are you crying over the fucking workbook, and he's like yes! The Queen Bitch was crying today. I might have mentioned her before, she's in the bad preschool, and is catalyst for a lot of the problems. How it is possible for a 6 year old child to be so manipulative and vindictive, I do not know. I love when she cries, because it means she is not getting her way for once. She causes fights in the classroom, she isolates kids and gets the others to pick on them all day long, and is just straight up nasty. She is always making kids cry, so I love when she has a tantrum. Her birthday was this week and she came in with brand new highlites and a perm on Monday. She is 6!!! I refused to acknowledge it. That is another thing, these kids are beyond spoiled. The girls come in all the time dressed as princesses, wearing tu-tus and crowns. Many of them have highlited hair, and the boys all have perms!! It's ridiculous. Several of the preschool boys rock the permed hair / skinny jeans (and I mean skinny) / Burberry shirt look. They look like they just walked out of a Korean boy band music video. They are generally the brattiest and worst behaved.
I was busted today for stealing school lunch. Caught red handed with chopsticks. Here's the thing. We can get the lunch for $15 a week, but it sucks 3-4 of the days. It's taken right out of our paychecks, so whether you eat or not, you are still charged. Maybe the biggest problem is it is catered and gets delivered at 9am and we eat at 12pm, so it's ice cold. Normally when it's good, I stroll by, quickly fill a bowl, and scurry into the office to mow it down. I pulled my move today, and got nabbed! 15 mins later, the academic coordinator said, "the director wants to know if you have decided to join the lunch program." Give me a break! I just want some samples! I can't commit to eating random spongy fish/octopus medley 5 days a week. Not when there is a 4 Squares 2 blocks over!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
I ain't no holla back girl! (and fine literature)
Say whaaaaat?! Who dat be on dat fly flip phone?! Das right! You can now hit up yo girl on da celly cell at (82) 010-7713-7659. Holla! Yes, the phone is pink and has a giant heart hanging off of it, because no phone is complete here without a charm. I wanted a touch phone, but they were going to charge me a boat load because I am a foreigner, so I went with the free(ish) LG Ice Cream phone. I am just happy to have it at this point. So excited, I had to post a pic! And I get texts, too, so text me. Oh, and I got a debit card yesterday, all by myself! I went into the bank and told them how it's going to be! ATM is still not working though, so I am going to have to get the scoop on that tomorrow. Always something.
Peeps have been saying my posts are depressing lately, but I want to assure everyone that I am fine. I handle trying situations well. And, if nothing else, it gives me some writing material. If there's anything to be upset about, it's the fact that I still haven't joined the gym and am crossing the line into supreme chunkaaa, aka the highest class of chunkaaa. That's what's depressing! Anyway, to lighten things up, I am posting some essays written by my 2nd graders. This is the lowest level class I have. I copied them verbatim, please enjoy :-)
Topic: Write a story about a friendly robot. What can it do? Use details in your story.
Student #1:
The robot is play. Then the lion comes and eat the robot! The robot says. "pleas don't eat me!" robot says. "ok, but you nice to me." lion say. Then robot is run! The lion too. but lion is slow than the lion. The robot is happy ever after.
Student #2:
I need robot so I go to the robot store. so I buy great and friendly Smart robot. It's vary good. He help many work. He is good vary good.
"well can I help me?"
"yes,"
robot is vary kind so I have a happy smile. one day He was vary lasy so I have a upset. so I talking rodot I said.
"your vary lazy."
So He quickly sweep and look good. He is vary friendly robot.
Student #3:
In in the future I will buy friendly robot.
And play with him.
So I am very glad!
But I can't play with my friend because I think my friend to buy the friendly robot.
So I like my friend and friendly robo
t.
I can play and I do wii. But friendly robot can't do not know how to do game so I will program how to do wii.
But it is so many and I will just program in 2010 Vencuver winter olmimpic.
Because I just do the 2010 vencuver olmimpic.
Shit! Good thing I went to grad school! I definitely need a master's degree to decipher that blob of crazy! I have no idea what the fuck these kids are talking about, or how to grade them for that matter. I teach 18 different groups of kids, and these are the lowest level. However, of course I am going to post their essays bc they are the funny ones! Posting the good ones would be boring, obvs.
I'm sick again :-/ I was unsick for about a week, and now sick again. Ughhh, this means another trip to the pharmacy -- cough cough, sniffle sniffle, help me. Some people have told me you stay sick for your first year here! Please don't let this be me.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
A streak of bad luck.
Things are going badly. They say bad things happen in 3s, and I had 3 bad things happen this week. We already know about the lost camera. Yesterday, I attempted to rectify the banking situation, to no avail. I went to 3 different branches, thinking maybe only some are open on the weekends. Not the case, banks are all closed on the weekend. So I had no money. Thank goodness for Jullia who loaned me some money to get through the weekend. Today was really frustrating though...
My apartment doesn't have a traditional lock. It has a code you punch, which is awesome because I don't have to carry keys. Downside is this thing runs on batteries. Yes, batteries, like Duracel. Who ever heard of that?? I am always paranoid the batteries are going to die at some point. Yesterday, they started beeping at me and I think, they must be low on life, I better replace asap. I didn't think they would die right then! Legit, they start beeping, and then they are dead. I was locked inside the apartment. Luckily, I remembered I had a couple old batteries in this stupid portable speaker thing, so I put those in the lock. They worked, and I thought they prolly have enough juice to last til tomorrow when I come home and replace (I had no money so had to go to Jullia's -- who so thoughtfully had gotten me batteries at Costco. Worst part is if I did have money, I could have just replaced asap, the store in the building sells them!). I left and headed to Jullia's for the night - we just got dinner and hung out watching movies / Jerz Shore. Today I had a date with a coworker to see Avatar. She emails me saying she got tickets for the 6:45 showing. So I roll home this afternoon, equipped with 3 fresh packs of batteries and...you can prolly guess. I am locked out of the apartment. FUCK MY LIFE. It's 6:20 now, I run downstairs and tell the security guard. This type of thing prolly happens all the time, I'm thinking. He must have another way in and I will just replace the batteries and be on my way. Apparently, this type of thing doesn't happen all the time, just to me. We have to call the locksmith, who comes right away. He tries to recharge the batteries with this little thingy, and that doesn't work. Only thing I can think of is someone knocked on my door and one of the newly replaced batteries fell out. Basically, dude has to rip and tear out the entire unit and replace it. I'm like, uhhh, how much is that going to cost? Security guard (who speaks very very little English), says 30,000 - which is a little less than 30$. Score! Not so bad. Dude gets it fixed after about an hour. I go to pay. He looks at me like I am nuts. Security guard mis-translated. He meant to say 130,000! And another 30,000 just for the guy to come. 160,000 won (150 bucks) to get this shit fixed. Ruh roh! My bank account is still broken! I try asking for them to bill me, that's not working. To sum it up, I had to go with the dude to his shop and pay him on Bank of America card, just making it that much more money for an overseas transaction. And I stood up my friend, on her birthday weekend. She had emailed me saying, I don't know where you are, you must have gone straight to the theater, I will head over there to meet you :-( Grrrrrrrr. Add the cost of a couple movie tickets I will have to repay her for into the mix. This is the 4th time I have tried to see Avatar!!
I'm pretty upset, but trying not to get frustrated. I understand these things are going to happen - especially the way I am. It seems like there have been so many hurdles in the past 6 weeks. This week I should have my debit card and cell, which will make things better. Nothing has come easily. AND I am sick again! Trying to stay positive, trying to stay positive...
My apartment doesn't have a traditional lock. It has a code you punch, which is awesome because I don't have to carry keys. Downside is this thing runs on batteries. Yes, batteries, like Duracel. Who ever heard of that?? I am always paranoid the batteries are going to die at some point. Yesterday, they started beeping at me and I think, they must be low on life, I better replace asap. I didn't think they would die right then! Legit, they start beeping, and then they are dead. I was locked inside the apartment. Luckily, I remembered I had a couple old batteries in this stupid portable speaker thing, so I put those in the lock. They worked, and I thought they prolly have enough juice to last til tomorrow when I come home and replace (I had no money so had to go to Jullia's -- who so thoughtfully had gotten me batteries at Costco. Worst part is if I did have money, I could have just replaced asap, the store in the building sells them!). I left and headed to Jullia's for the night - we just got dinner and hung out watching movies / Jerz Shore. Today I had a date with a coworker to see Avatar. She emails me saying she got tickets for the 6:45 showing. So I roll home this afternoon, equipped with 3 fresh packs of batteries and...you can prolly guess. I am locked out of the apartment. FUCK MY LIFE. It's 6:20 now, I run downstairs and tell the security guard. This type of thing prolly happens all the time, I'm thinking. He must have another way in and I will just replace the batteries and be on my way. Apparently, this type of thing doesn't happen all the time, just to me. We have to call the locksmith, who comes right away. He tries to recharge the batteries with this little thingy, and that doesn't work. Only thing I can think of is someone knocked on my door and one of the newly replaced batteries fell out. Basically, dude has to rip and tear out the entire unit and replace it. I'm like, uhhh, how much is that going to cost? Security guard (who speaks very very little English), says 30,000 - which is a little less than 30$. Score! Not so bad. Dude gets it fixed after about an hour. I go to pay. He looks at me like I am nuts. Security guard mis-translated. He meant to say 130,000! And another 30,000 just for the guy to come. 160,000 won (150 bucks) to get this shit fixed. Ruh roh! My bank account is still broken! I try asking for them to bill me, that's not working. To sum it up, I had to go with the dude to his shop and pay him on Bank of America card, just making it that much more money for an overseas transaction. And I stood up my friend, on her birthday weekend. She had emailed me saying, I don't know where you are, you must have gone straight to the theater, I will head over there to meet you :-( Grrrrrrrr. Add the cost of a couple movie tickets I will have to repay her for into the mix. This is the 4th time I have tried to see Avatar!!
I'm pretty upset, but trying not to get frustrated. I understand these things are going to happen - especially the way I am. It seems like there have been so many hurdles in the past 6 weeks. This week I should have my debit card and cell, which will make things better. Nothing has come easily. AND I am sick again! Trying to stay positive, trying to stay positive...
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Give me my money!!!
Arghhhhh. Some days living abroad can be really frustrating. Like I mentioned before, I still don't have my alien registration card, so I don't have a debit card. I can still use the atm by putting my entire bank book into the machine. I did this once before, but a Korean speaker helped me. Tonight, I tried by myself, thinking there would be no problems. WHY did I think I wouldn't have a problem with this?? I have problems with everything! So I roll into atm trying to get money for dinner. I have zero dollars on me, all of my money is in my bank account. I can't figure out what the fuck I am doing. My director set up my bank account for me and the bank guy changed my pin number (he said it wasn't secure enough). I insert bank book, punch in pin, and then it prompts for some other number. I think, hmmm, I think I remember what this is and punch in other number. It asks me how many 50s or 10s I want, etc, and ends my transaction...I think successfully. I wait for cash to come out. 3 of us stare at machine for 2 mins wondering what happened. Try again, same result. So us geniuses come to the conclusion this machine is out of cash. Killed by a goomba, starting over at neighbor machine. I keep trying, no money is coming out. I have my paper that my pin is written on, but it is not working. I try about 7 times, surely deactivating my account at this point. This is like when you just get the magic mushroom to become big Mario and end up jumping off a cliff. Just when I thought I had some money!
So, now I don't know what the fuck I am going to do. I am going to roll into the bank tomorrow morning to try to fix this, but I might have a problem. Namely, immigration has my passport so I have no ID except for a California driver's license. Oh, and then there's the whole language barrier thing. Fucking A!!
Not having a camera totally sucks! I need the banking situation to get handled asap so I can hit up Digital World for a new one. I went out last night with a fellow teacher for some dinner and drinks. I just discovered there is a university neighborhood a couple blocks over, so we went exploring. We settled on some budae jjigae, which is a stew made out of tofu, onions, noodles, chili peppers, kimchi, beans, and sliced hot dogs!! It was pretty bomb. This was my first restaurant where you remove your shoes at the door and sit on the floor. Your table has a portable gas burner on it, and they simmer the huge bowl of stew right on the table. I loved it. They also gave us a great selection of kimchi snacks, including sesame mushrooms :) It was $14 total for both of us, including beer. I will def get a pic next time I am there. It's v close to my house, less than 10 mins walking, so I'll be back.
Then we went to a bar called "Gangster." Legit that's the name, written in English. The most impressive part of Gangster Bar was the toilet!! No joke. A little background on toilets in Korea: you never know what you are going to get when walking into the bathroom. There is the traditional toilet, which I have in my apartment and at school. Then there is "the hole." The hole is exactly that, a hole in the ground in a stall. Like a port-a-potty with no seat. You squat over the hole and go. It's disgusting. If the hole is the hooptie of toilets, the one at Gangster bar is the Cadillac. I walk in and think, hmm this is interesting, the toilet has an arm rest. Then I noticed it's actually a control unit to adjust the temperature of the heated seat. Say whaaaatt??! The toilet reminded me of the chairs you sit in for a pedicure. As I stare in amazement, I begin to wonder what the other buttons on the arm rest do. Of course I am going to press them all to find out! For once in my life, I had the correct instinct to step away from the toilet when pressing the buttons. I press one and out of nowhere a spout rises up from the side of the bowl and sprays a steady stream of water 3 feet into the air!!! Kinda like a bode (sp?) I guess, but right out of the seat! It was shocking. I made quite the mess in there because I couldn't figure out how to make it stop. That didn't stop me from pressing another button, which produced the same spout, but this time with a spray effect. By the time I left, there was a lake on the bathroom floor. Whoops. I come running out, so excited, and insist my male teacher friend go into the men's room and report back on toilet. Even more shocking! While the females have the luxurious heated, water spouting seat, the men's room had the hole! He was pretty pissed. Second time last night I was needing my camera.
I, of course, could go on and on with my nonsense, but it's time to call it a night. I have plenty of drama with the terds I could discuss, but I don't want to think about them. To sum it up, the school has officially banned word searches in the problem class bc the kids are beating each other up over them. Out of control.
Finally, here is an awesome video. This is my favorite song. It rules. Korean pop music rocks!
So, now I don't know what the fuck I am going to do. I am going to roll into the bank tomorrow morning to try to fix this, but I might have a problem. Namely, immigration has my passport so I have no ID except for a California driver's license. Oh, and then there's the whole language barrier thing. Fucking A!!
Not having a camera totally sucks! I need the banking situation to get handled asap so I can hit up Digital World for a new one. I went out last night with a fellow teacher for some dinner and drinks. I just discovered there is a university neighborhood a couple blocks over, so we went exploring. We settled on some budae jjigae, which is a stew made out of tofu, onions, noodles, chili peppers, kimchi, beans, and sliced hot dogs!! It was pretty bomb. This was my first restaurant where you remove your shoes at the door and sit on the floor. Your table has a portable gas burner on it, and they simmer the huge bowl of stew right on the table. I loved it. They also gave us a great selection of kimchi snacks, including sesame mushrooms :) It was $14 total for both of us, including beer. I will def get a pic next time I am there. It's v close to my house, less than 10 mins walking, so I'll be back.
Then we went to a bar called "Gangster." Legit that's the name, written in English. The most impressive part of Gangster Bar was the toilet!! No joke. A little background on toilets in Korea: you never know what you are going to get when walking into the bathroom. There is the traditional toilet, which I have in my apartment and at school. Then there is "the hole." The hole is exactly that, a hole in the ground in a stall. Like a port-a-potty with no seat. You squat over the hole and go. It's disgusting. If the hole is the hooptie of toilets, the one at Gangster bar is the Cadillac. I walk in and think, hmm this is interesting, the toilet has an arm rest. Then I noticed it's actually a control unit to adjust the temperature of the heated seat. Say whaaaatt??! The toilet reminded me of the chairs you sit in for a pedicure. As I stare in amazement, I begin to wonder what the other buttons on the arm rest do. Of course I am going to press them all to find out! For once in my life, I had the correct instinct to step away from the toilet when pressing the buttons. I press one and out of nowhere a spout rises up from the side of the bowl and sprays a steady stream of water 3 feet into the air!!! Kinda like a bode (sp?) I guess, but right out of the seat! It was shocking. I made quite the mess in there because I couldn't figure out how to make it stop. That didn't stop me from pressing another button, which produced the same spout, but this time with a spray effect. By the time I left, there was a lake on the bathroom floor. Whoops. I come running out, so excited, and insist my male teacher friend go into the men's room and report back on toilet. Even more shocking! While the females have the luxurious heated, water spouting seat, the men's room had the hole! He was pretty pissed. Second time last night I was needing my camera.
I, of course, could go on and on with my nonsense, but it's time to call it a night. I have plenty of drama with the terds I could discuss, but I don't want to think about them. To sum it up, the school has officially banned word searches in the problem class bc the kids are beating each other up over them. Out of control.
Finally, here is an awesome video. This is my favorite song. It rules. Korean pop music rocks!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Really?
Couple different topics to cover in today's post. First and foremost, what the fuck happened in Massachusetts yesterday?! I feel like I did when I found out my mom voted for Bush in the 04 election! I wasn't around for most of the campaign after the democratic primary, did Coakley really run that bad of a campaign? I wish everyone who is opposed to health care reform would wake up. Keeping my dad insured and avoiding getting my parents' home taken away has been the most challenging and complicated process my mom and I have ever incurred. It is both difficult and humiliating to have to beg (literally beg) for health care for your family. And if reform is ever to pass, it is also avoidable. My 2 cents!
Back to Korea stuff. I have to come to compare my first full month in Korea to old school Super Mario Brothers. I am Mario on a quest. I have to fight all these crazy goombas and koopa troopas, swim underwater, and try multiple tunnels to get to the flagpole at the end. Just when I think I have won and found the princess, she is in another castle. Yup, that's me. Level one was just getting here! I didn't experience any inclement weather, but somehow it still took me over 3 days to arrive! What do you mean there are no flights to Seoul this entire weekend?! Who ever heard of that?! Finally, I get here 2 days late, and my luggage is lost. No one can tell me where it even is, or what airline is in control of it. I missed my first day of work! Level 2, figuring out my neighborhood! Jullia's school was very helpful in showing her around. Mine was like, this is how you get to the subway station, good luck sucka! Uhhh, thanks? Good thing I came with a subway map from my lonely planet, bc it's impossible to find one (most people have them downloaded onto their phones, but guess what. I still don't have a phone!) I didn't even know where there was a bank to change my money. I just found the post office on Monday! Anyway, level 3 -- getting my health check. Most people get this the second day they are here. I got mine after 3 weeks. I guess because I came so close to the holidays? So I finally get the physical results back after another week, complete with high levels of cold medicine in my blood from the fuckin cold I had for 3 weeks. The director of my school says, "Don't worry, they are still going to issue your visa." I should hope so! Imagine getting deported for cold medicine? Would only happen to me! Level 4 - I take health check to Korean Immigration - only I can't find the stupid place. It's like being killed by Bowser when you are in the castle and have to start that level all over. So I repeat today, only this time I knew where I was going since I found it when it was way too late in the morning last week and I had to leave for class. I roll in at 845 this am, thinking I will be first. Not the case! By 9am, there are at least 50 people there. We are lined up outside the door, but when 9am comes around, the line is obsolete and the pushing has started. Luckily, I expected the pushing and managed to get number 15! When in Rome! LOL. My number is called and the quest continues. "Take all this stuff over to that window, pay, and come back." "Now go back over there and get an envelop and come back." "Now write your address down on this other envelop." Uhh, I can't write in Korean... "Fine, I write for you." Gee, thanks. When will I get my stuff back? (they kept my passport) "About one week." We'll see about that!
Basically, I still have not found the princess, which is my damn alien registration card -- the key to being legitimate in Korea! Until I have this fucking card, I can't get a cell phone or a debit card! Besides my ipod and laptop, I don't use anything more than those 2 items in my normal life in the US. Once I have the card, I can roll into the cell phone place and attempt to get a plan. I went with the other new teacher last week while he attempted to get his. No one speaks English there, so they have to call someone and have them translate over the phone (this happens a lot). After a half hour, the only thing we find out is that they don't activate phones after 8pm and come back another time. Just killed by a koopa troopa! Stomp! The funny thing about Korea is so many things are written in English, but for the most part, people don't speak it. For example, the cell phone store sign is in English, the posters inside are all English, the names of the phones are in English, but no one speaks it. Bizarre. Soon I will post pictures of odd things in English written on walls. This is especially bad in coffee shops. You think they would have someone proofread. Random example, "We hope this to bring you coffee joy and happy." Ok!
Another interesting day at school today. One kid ran into another in my kindergarten and almost knocked a loose tooth out. There was blood, and of course crying. As usual, a fight and lots of tattling in the problematic preschool class. There is one pretty evil child in there. She chooses a target of the day, and convinces the others in the class not to play with him/her. This girl just turned 6 (Koreans are a year older than American counterparts), and is already so vindictive. I try to yell at her as frequently as possible. And 2 kids called me fat. Well, one said, as he says everyday, "Alexandra Teacher, I know you don't have baby, but you look like you do." That was the one who was kicking on the floor last week. Another said, "Alexandra Teacher, you look fat today." Thanks, kid. Funny thing is, when I looked in the mirror this morning, I thought, I look fat in this sweater. Well, I guess I was right! Seriously, don't teach kids in Korea if you have self esteem issues, because they will point out every flaw you have. All the time. Nothing goes unnoticed. "Alexandra Teacher, what is that thing on your face?!" Grrrrr.
Another long post! How do I have this much to say all the time? I need to get a life!
Back to Korea stuff. I have to come to compare my first full month in Korea to old school Super Mario Brothers. I am Mario on a quest. I have to fight all these crazy goombas and koopa troopas, swim underwater, and try multiple tunnels to get to the flagpole at the end. Just when I think I have won and found the princess, she is in another castle. Yup, that's me. Level one was just getting here! I didn't experience any inclement weather, but somehow it still took me over 3 days to arrive! What do you mean there are no flights to Seoul this entire weekend?! Who ever heard of that?! Finally, I get here 2 days late, and my luggage is lost. No one can tell me where it even is, or what airline is in control of it. I missed my first day of work! Level 2, figuring out my neighborhood! Jullia's school was very helpful in showing her around. Mine was like, this is how you get to the subway station, good luck sucka! Uhhh, thanks? Good thing I came with a subway map from my lonely planet, bc it's impossible to find one (most people have them downloaded onto their phones, but guess what. I still don't have a phone!) I didn't even know where there was a bank to change my money. I just found the post office on Monday! Anyway, level 3 -- getting my health check. Most people get this the second day they are here. I got mine after 3 weeks. I guess because I came so close to the holidays? So I finally get the physical results back after another week, complete with high levels of cold medicine in my blood from the fuckin cold I had for 3 weeks. The director of my school says, "Don't worry, they are still going to issue your visa." I should hope so! Imagine getting deported for cold medicine? Would only happen to me! Level 4 - I take health check to Korean Immigration - only I can't find the stupid place. It's like being killed by Bowser when you are in the castle and have to start that level all over. So I repeat today, only this time I knew where I was going since I found it when it was way too late in the morning last week and I had to leave for class. I roll in at 845 this am, thinking I will be first. Not the case! By 9am, there are at least 50 people there. We are lined up outside the door, but when 9am comes around, the line is obsolete and the pushing has started. Luckily, I expected the pushing and managed to get number 15! When in Rome! LOL. My number is called and the quest continues. "Take all this stuff over to that window, pay, and come back." "Now go back over there and get an envelop and come back." "Now write your address down on this other envelop." Uhh, I can't write in Korean... "Fine, I write for you." Gee, thanks. When will I get my stuff back? (they kept my passport) "About one week." We'll see about that!
Basically, I still have not found the princess, which is my damn alien registration card -- the key to being legitimate in Korea! Until I have this fucking card, I can't get a cell phone or a debit card! Besides my ipod and laptop, I don't use anything more than those 2 items in my normal life in the US. Once I have the card, I can roll into the cell phone place and attempt to get a plan. I went with the other new teacher last week while he attempted to get his. No one speaks English there, so they have to call someone and have them translate over the phone (this happens a lot). After a half hour, the only thing we find out is that they don't activate phones after 8pm and come back another time. Just killed by a koopa troopa! Stomp! The funny thing about Korea is so many things are written in English, but for the most part, people don't speak it. For example, the cell phone store sign is in English, the posters inside are all English, the names of the phones are in English, but no one speaks it. Bizarre. Soon I will post pictures of odd things in English written on walls. This is especially bad in coffee shops. You think they would have someone proofread. Random example, "We hope this to bring you coffee joy and happy." Ok!
Another interesting day at school today. One kid ran into another in my kindergarten and almost knocked a loose tooth out. There was blood, and of course crying. As usual, a fight and lots of tattling in the problematic preschool class. There is one pretty evil child in there. She chooses a target of the day, and convinces the others in the class not to play with him/her. This girl just turned 6 (Koreans are a year older than American counterparts), and is already so vindictive. I try to yell at her as frequently as possible. And 2 kids called me fat. Well, one said, as he says everyday, "Alexandra Teacher, I know you don't have baby, but you look like you do." That was the one who was kicking on the floor last week. Another said, "Alexandra Teacher, you look fat today." Thanks, kid. Funny thing is, when I looked in the mirror this morning, I thought, I look fat in this sweater. Well, I guess I was right! Seriously, don't teach kids in Korea if you have self esteem issues, because they will point out every flaw you have. All the time. Nothing goes unnoticed. "Alexandra Teacher, what is that thing on your face?!" Grrrrr.
Another long post! How do I have this much to say all the time? I need to get a life!
Monday, January 18, 2010
How long before I lose it?
52.5 hours a week, 145 screaming kids. 10 classes a day. That's what's up. I think the most surprising thing is that I am actually learning most of their names. I never thought this would be possible. I figure I will have totally learned everyone's name by March 1st - just in time for the students to move up a grade (school year starts in March, not Sept). Most of them will still be the same school, just in all different classes.
As promised, here is the run down of the preschool brawls from last week. These both occurred in the same class, different days. This is the same class that brawled over the penguin hat. These kids aren't afraid to throw down. On Thursday, there was full scale war. One kid was having a bad day and was in one of those I-am-not-listening-to-the-teacher moods. He wouldn't sit in his chair (even though I physically lift the kids and put them in their chairs most days), kept writing on the board, and wouldn't take out his reading book. I wish I could write the way they do the Korean whine. The last syllable of every word is elongated by like 8x's. "Teachererererererrrr!" Even the adults do it. It is the most annoying thing ever to listen to all day. ALL DAY. Anyway, this kid is clearly going to cause a problem. I am trying to get him to relax, but I see it's not going to happen. When I am not looking, he takes his book and throws it across the table at another boy, which also spills a cup of water onto the other kid's book. I was like, oh shit, please tell me that did not just happen! Now the whole class is fighting, everyone's running around, kid won't apologize, anarchy. Kid then has a full scale tantrum and lies on the floor kicking and crying. WTF?! I look at the kid's book and 2 pages are clearly ruined. Great, this kid's mom is totally going to be calling (the moms call ALL THE TIME). Now the kids are freaking out, I have to send one of them to get the Korean teacher because I can't get the kid out of the classroom, he is laying on the floor grasping onto my foot while I try to pick him up. That evening, of course, kid who had his book ruined's mom is there...for an hour and a half. The kids tell their moms EVERYTHING.
Next day (Friday), I dread walking into this class. They know they are getting a word search on this day (they DIE for word searches). I tell them we have to read the story once through before I will give it to them - yes, I bribe them to read and be quiet. Kid who had the tantrum the day before is being v good, and I think today might be a good day. Ha! The fun hasn't even started yet. We read the story together and like vultures they are knocking me down for the word search. Pretty soon, a fight breaks out. How the whole class always manages to get involved in every fight is beyond me. The fight is, of course, over the word search. The kid with the water on the book was picking and choosing who could look at his (he is the smartest kid in the class), and of course, the ones who couldn't see were feeling left out. Pretty soon, a fist fight (no joke) breaks out. I jump in the middle to break it up, one kid starts crying. He is apparently the one who threw the first punch. They won't apologize to each other. "Mommy says I don't have to apologize." "My mommy says I don't have to share my word search," says the smart kid. Eventually I just give up and put the Lion King on the tv to watch while they finish - that at least takes their mind off things. That evening, guess who's mom is back...oh yeah, the smart/not sharing kid again! This time meeting with the director and crying. Give me a break! This mom was there 3 days a in a row!! Her kid, of course, has to wear a swine flu mask - which they all wear around their chins.
Ughhh, I can't believe I think about this stuff during the few hours of my day I don't have to see them. In Al related news, I have decided I am not cooking a damn thing this whole year. As you know, this is shocking news. I love to cook. But I fucking hate my kitchen, and really I can't be bothered. Going out to eat is the same price as grocery shopping, without the aggravation of dishes or grocery shopping. My kitchen is so small, there is barely room for a cutting board, so I will be eating at 4 Squares everyday (4 Squares is a chain of restaurants here run by little old ladies. I have no idea what the name of it is, no one speaks English, and everything is in Korean. It's the bomb, and there is one in my apartment building and one next to school It's called 4 Squares bc there are 4 squares on the sign The most expensive thing on the menu is $6.). And it's all super healthy - although I've eaten more kimchee lately than I can handle! Kimchee everyday, whether I need it or not!! But I enjoy eating there because it forces me to step outside my comfort zone and eat more Korean food. I also hate the fact my stove is legit 10 feet from my bed, too close for comfort.
Joining the gym tomorrow - at least I plan to! We'll see how that goes! Oh, and I watched Twilight and New Moon twice this weekend, jealous?
As promised, here is the run down of the preschool brawls from last week. These both occurred in the same class, different days. This is the same class that brawled over the penguin hat. These kids aren't afraid to throw down. On Thursday, there was full scale war. One kid was having a bad day and was in one of those I-am-not-listening-to-the-teacher moods. He wouldn't sit in his chair (even though I physically lift the kids and put them in their chairs most days), kept writing on the board, and wouldn't take out his reading book. I wish I could write the way they do the Korean whine. The last syllable of every word is elongated by like 8x's. "Teachererererererrrr!" Even the adults do it. It is the most annoying thing ever to listen to all day. ALL DAY. Anyway, this kid is clearly going to cause a problem. I am trying to get him to relax, but I see it's not going to happen. When I am not looking, he takes his book and throws it across the table at another boy, which also spills a cup of water onto the other kid's book. I was like, oh shit, please tell me that did not just happen! Now the whole class is fighting, everyone's running around, kid won't apologize, anarchy. Kid then has a full scale tantrum and lies on the floor kicking and crying. WTF?! I look at the kid's book and 2 pages are clearly ruined. Great, this kid's mom is totally going to be calling (the moms call ALL THE TIME). Now the kids are freaking out, I have to send one of them to get the Korean teacher because I can't get the kid out of the classroom, he is laying on the floor grasping onto my foot while I try to pick him up. That evening, of course, kid who had his book ruined's mom is there...for an hour and a half. The kids tell their moms EVERYTHING.
Next day (Friday), I dread walking into this class. They know they are getting a word search on this day (they DIE for word searches). I tell them we have to read the story once through before I will give it to them - yes, I bribe them to read and be quiet. Kid who had the tantrum the day before is being v good, and I think today might be a good day. Ha! The fun hasn't even started yet. We read the story together and like vultures they are knocking me down for the word search. Pretty soon, a fight breaks out. How the whole class always manages to get involved in every fight is beyond me. The fight is, of course, over the word search. The kid with the water on the book was picking and choosing who could look at his (he is the smartest kid in the class), and of course, the ones who couldn't see were feeling left out. Pretty soon, a fist fight (no joke) breaks out. I jump in the middle to break it up, one kid starts crying. He is apparently the one who threw the first punch. They won't apologize to each other. "Mommy says I don't have to apologize." "My mommy says I don't have to share my word search," says the smart kid. Eventually I just give up and put the Lion King on the tv to watch while they finish - that at least takes their mind off things. That evening, guess who's mom is back...oh yeah, the smart/not sharing kid again! This time meeting with the director and crying. Give me a break! This mom was there 3 days a in a row!! Her kid, of course, has to wear a swine flu mask - which they all wear around their chins.
Ughhh, I can't believe I think about this stuff during the few hours of my day I don't have to see them. In Al related news, I have decided I am not cooking a damn thing this whole year. As you know, this is shocking news. I love to cook. But I fucking hate my kitchen, and really I can't be bothered. Going out to eat is the same price as grocery shopping, without the aggravation of dishes or grocery shopping. My kitchen is so small, there is barely room for a cutting board, so I will be eating at 4 Squares everyday (4 Squares is a chain of restaurants here run by little old ladies. I have no idea what the name of it is, no one speaks English, and everything is in Korean. It's the bomb, and there is one in my apartment building and one next to school It's called 4 Squares bc there are 4 squares on the sign The most expensive thing on the menu is $6.). And it's all super healthy - although I've eaten more kimchee lately than I can handle! Kimchee everyday, whether I need it or not!! But I enjoy eating there because it forces me to step outside my comfort zone and eat more Korean food. I also hate the fact my stove is legit 10 feet from my bed, too close for comfort.
Joining the gym tomorrow - at least I plan to! We'll see how that goes! Oh, and I watched Twilight and New Moon twice this weekend, jealous?
Sunday, January 17, 2010
I hate you, Soju!!!!
Hours of my life are missing. Gone, never to be heard from again. Not to mention my Sunday, all my money, and camera. WTF happened last night?! Our friend Tara is leaving Seoul for a month to go home and then coming back and starting a new job. Last night was her going away. I remember very little of it! Very, very little. I feel like The Hangoever, trying to piece together the night from things I find in my purse. I wouldn't be surprised if I had woke up on the roof! What I know: Jullia and I went to galbi for dinner, I had beer and soju. Then we went over to meet the rest of the group at Fish and Grill (place with the frozen tuna). This is where the hours disappear (yes, already). We took a cab to Gangnam (ritzy part of town), which means it was past 12 at this point because the subway was closed. Yes, it definitely was because I remember going into the subway station and getting denied. Then we went to this club in the Ritz Carlton. I feel like we were only here for 5 minutes, but I know that's not true. I def brought in my own bottle of soju and added it to my drinks (I thought this was a GREAT idea! I was like, how did I not think of this before?!), and there were tequila shots. This place was packed, and there were tons of American models there -- like I don't feel bad enough about myself always being one of the biggest people everywhere, you have to add models into the mix! I think this is where I lost my camera, which SUCKS! I just got it in August :( I have no idea what happened next. We ended up on the exact opposite side of Seoul at a bar called GoGo's (I know the name because I am still wearing a wristband from there). I think it was only Jullia and I there, but really I have no idea. I recall opening my purse and realizing I had no more money. But we were having a great time there, so I didn't care. I went to take a picture and didn't have my camera, and freaked the fuck out! So we left because I was spazzing. Get back to Jullia's, I'm so upset about the camera and want to go home. Jullia says, well the subway is running again, so you can take that. I'm like, huh? It is? IT WAS 6:30 IN THE MORNING!! HOW did that happen?!?!
So I storm off all pissy just wanting my camera and to be home. I get on the train in the wrong direction, don't realize it and am thinking to myself, shit, this is taking a long ass time. The line I need intersects with the one I was on twice, so I see it and get on, not realizing I am pretty much at the end of the subway. I get on purple line, mine, and pass out! Yes, I was one of those!!! Some lady wakes me up over an hour later telling me I am at the last stop. I rode the fucking subway from one side of Seoul to the other!! I stumble off train, leave my purse, same lady has to get it for me. Finally I come to, and realize where I am -- I missed my stop by 20 stops. WHO DOES THAT?! I didn't get home til 10:30 in the morning, I rode the subway for 4 fucking hours!!!
Basically, Korea kicked my ass last night. Soju plus bars that don't close should not be allowed in any country!! I miss Lowell, where they don't even let you come in past 1am! I am laying off the soj for a while, and definitely the tequila. Was there vodka last night? I have no idea. I would bet yes though! Better yet, I am never drinking again! Oh, and my knee is killing, so I had to have fallen at some point, shocking. Everyone that has lived in Korea for a while warned me about Soju. They all say, have you had a bad experience with it yet? And I look at them like they are nuts. What? A bad experience with soj? Impos! NOT the case. Shit is lethal, and should be against the law! I feel like Snookie after she got punched in the face!
So now I have to buy a new camera. FML.
So I storm off all pissy just wanting my camera and to be home. I get on the train in the wrong direction, don't realize it and am thinking to myself, shit, this is taking a long ass time. The line I need intersects with the one I was on twice, so I see it and get on, not realizing I am pretty much at the end of the subway. I get on purple line, mine, and pass out! Yes, I was one of those!!! Some lady wakes me up over an hour later telling me I am at the last stop. I rode the fucking subway from one side of Seoul to the other!! I stumble off train, leave my purse, same lady has to get it for me. Finally I come to, and realize where I am -- I missed my stop by 20 stops. WHO DOES THAT?! I didn't get home til 10:30 in the morning, I rode the subway for 4 fucking hours!!!
Basically, Korea kicked my ass last night. Soju plus bars that don't close should not be allowed in any country!! I miss Lowell, where they don't even let you come in past 1am! I am laying off the soj for a while, and definitely the tequila. Was there vodka last night? I have no idea. I would bet yes though! Better yet, I am never drinking again! Oh, and my knee is killing, so I had to have fallen at some point, shocking. Everyone that has lived in Korea for a while warned me about Soju. They all say, have you had a bad experience with it yet? And I look at them like they are nuts. What? A bad experience with soj? Impos! NOT the case. Shit is lethal, and should be against the law! I feel like Snookie after she got punched in the face!
So now I have to buy a new camera. FML.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
"Teacher! Americans are fat!"
Last weekend I saw 3 fat Koreans in one day, which was mind blowing, because I had previously seen about 5 in the entire time I've been here. And they weren't obese, they were just chubby. It's amazing really, how an entire population seems to have no issues with obesity. Especially given the variety of delicious foods sold everywhere! I mean, corn dogs practically haunt you. Not to mention the most delicious looking treat - which I am yet to try - the fruit and ice cream covered waffle. They sell them everywhere, from fancy (like the downstairs cafe of my school where they come topped with banana, kiwi, your choice of gelato, and fresh whipped cream), to ghetto ($1 tasty treat in the subway). The school lunch is nothing at all like American school lunch - I'm thinking tater tots, fish sticks, burgers, chicken nuggets, etc. Kids here don't eat kid food, they eat the same things the adults eat. School lunch is typically some sort of meat (usually pork) and vegetables, some type of squid dish, greens (often from the sea), an egg something or other, a light soup, rice, and kimchi. And some of the food can be spicy as shit! Can you imagine American kids eating that?! I would have DIED if I saw something that looked like an octopus on my plate! They like pizza and stuff too, but they don't have it often.
The kids are obsessed with fat people. They talk about it all the time. I was doing an exercise with my second graders where you were given four points and they had to come up with the topic sentence. The points in the book were: "My mom packed me a tuna sandwich. Then I had chocolate cake. I drank my chocolate milk and soda. For dessert, I had cookies." We decided the topic was about lunch and I asked them what they thought of this array of food. One girl said, "Alexandra Teacher, this was definitely a fat American kid. They should have some carrot sticks or cucumbers." Then they all drew what fat people look like, complete with stomach rolls. I also teach the same reading assignment to 4 classes. It's about a boy named David who takes a field trip to a fire station. Every single class says the same 2 things. When seeing the pictures, someone will always raise their hand and say, "Teacher, David is black faced," in a very concerned voice. I don't know where they all have learned this term "black faced," but they all say it. Then they turn the page and see a woman fire fighter who is kinda a chunkaaa, and they DIE laughing. "Teacher!! She is fat!! She carry a baby?! She carries 100 babies!!" The whole class gets in an uproar. One kid even got on the floor and imitated how he (a 9 year old), could fit in her stomach. Fucking terds! But anyway, these kids are taught from very young how to eat healthy, and clearly, they have a negative view of overweight people. "Teacher! Americans are so fat!!" It still boggles my mind how they stay so thin, but I think the way the kids are taught to eat like adults could be part of it. That combined with the fact that they are obsessed with how they look (will talk about this in another post)...
I have been seriously lost in Seoul 3 times in the last 24 hours. Once was last night. I took a cab home around 1:30 from Itaewon - 15 mins away tops. I can't say my address in Korean and I didn't have my paper that it's written on. So I told the cab driver my subway station (this normally works) and he headed to my direction. But then he passed it, and kept going. I was like, no turn around, which he did, but too late and I was totally lost. I jumped out of cab who knows where and had to find my way home. Not happy. This morning, I had to go to the immigration office so I can register as an alien (btw, health check came out fine, although I had high levels of cold medicine in my blood! ha!). I had never been to this part of Seoul before, but I got to see a lot of it because I was so fucking lost trying to find this damn building! Neighborhood is awesome, and I am def going back there asap. It's right near the mountains, and there are Buddhists temples everywhere, a couple palaces, and tons of art galleries. Pretty cool. Kinda ironic though that I was storming through the temple areas swearing profusely under my breath because I couldn't find the place. It's very frustrating to not be able to ask for directions! I finally get there, and there is a long ass line. I have to leave bc I have class in 15 mins, awesome. So that didn't get done. And finally, I got lost in the mall tonight (I know this sounds crazy, but the malls here are insane. You can't even tell what store you are in). There is a kiosk in the mall that sells bootleg dvds (hello! this is Asia!), which was my purpose of being there. Found the stupid place after 40 mins of being trapped in "Digital World, which is 3 floors - every floor identical). But for $13 I got Twilight, New Moon, Precious, Lovely Bones, This is It, and Up! Holla!! We'll see how the quality is...
I have tons more to talk about, but it is def bed time and this is already a long post. There have been several brawls in preschool this week -- remind me to talk about these! Is it wrong to say I hate a 5 year old? Because there are several that I do. Ha!
The kids are obsessed with fat people. They talk about it all the time. I was doing an exercise with my second graders where you were given four points and they had to come up with the topic sentence. The points in the book were: "My mom packed me a tuna sandwich. Then I had chocolate cake. I drank my chocolate milk and soda. For dessert, I had cookies." We decided the topic was about lunch and I asked them what they thought of this array of food. One girl said, "Alexandra Teacher, this was definitely a fat American kid. They should have some carrot sticks or cucumbers." Then they all drew what fat people look like, complete with stomach rolls. I also teach the same reading assignment to 4 classes. It's about a boy named David who takes a field trip to a fire station. Every single class says the same 2 things. When seeing the pictures, someone will always raise their hand and say, "Teacher, David is black faced," in a very concerned voice. I don't know where they all have learned this term "black faced," but they all say it. Then they turn the page and see a woman fire fighter who is kinda a chunkaaa, and they DIE laughing. "Teacher!! She is fat!! She carry a baby?! She carries 100 babies!!" The whole class gets in an uproar. One kid even got on the floor and imitated how he (a 9 year old), could fit in her stomach. Fucking terds! But anyway, these kids are taught from very young how to eat healthy, and clearly, they have a negative view of overweight people. "Teacher! Americans are so fat!!" It still boggles my mind how they stay so thin, but I think the way the kids are taught to eat like adults could be part of it. That combined with the fact that they are obsessed with how they look (will talk about this in another post)...
I have been seriously lost in Seoul 3 times in the last 24 hours. Once was last night. I took a cab home around 1:30 from Itaewon - 15 mins away tops. I can't say my address in Korean and I didn't have my paper that it's written on. So I told the cab driver my subway station (this normally works) and he headed to my direction. But then he passed it, and kept going. I was like, no turn around, which he did, but too late and I was totally lost. I jumped out of cab who knows where and had to find my way home. Not happy. This morning, I had to go to the immigration office so I can register as an alien (btw, health check came out fine, although I had high levels of cold medicine in my blood! ha!). I had never been to this part of Seoul before, but I got to see a lot of it because I was so fucking lost trying to find this damn building! Neighborhood is awesome, and I am def going back there asap. It's right near the mountains, and there are Buddhists temples everywhere, a couple palaces, and tons of art galleries. Pretty cool. Kinda ironic though that I was storming through the temple areas swearing profusely under my breath because I couldn't find the place. It's very frustrating to not be able to ask for directions! I finally get there, and there is a long ass line. I have to leave bc I have class in 15 mins, awesome. So that didn't get done. And finally, I got lost in the mall tonight (I know this sounds crazy, but the malls here are insane. You can't even tell what store you are in). There is a kiosk in the mall that sells bootleg dvds (hello! this is Asia!), which was my purpose of being there. Found the stupid place after 40 mins of being trapped in "Digital World, which is 3 floors - every floor identical). But for $13 I got Twilight, New Moon, Precious, Lovely Bones, This is It, and Up! Holla!! We'll see how the quality is...
I have tons more to talk about, but it is def bed time and this is already a long post. There have been several brawls in preschool this week -- remind me to talk about these! Is it wrong to say I hate a 5 year old? Because there are several that I do. Ha!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
It's happening sooner than I thought...
I knew it would happen at some point, but I didn't think I would be waking up from dreams (ok, nightmares) about the kids this soon. Yelling, hitting, running, jumping, crying, whining, tattling -- this is what every morning is like. And me, "Stop that! Be quiet! Don't hit her! Knock it off! Stand up! Sit down! Stop barking! Say you're sorry! Pay attention!" Oh my fucking head! And some of them touch all the time, places they shouldn't touch, like trying to go up your dress. Then I sound like them, "Stop touching me!!" I've heard that typically, Korean children are not really disciplined until they are in elementary school. Therefore, my mornings can be challenging...yeah, challenging, that's a good word. By challenging I mean out of fucking control. The smallest thing can happen and all hell breaks loose. For example, this morning, my worst preschool class was behaving very well. They were all doing a color by numbers thing when there was a fight over a hat (mind you, this hat is the same Baskin Robbins penguin hat I want -- I should have confiscated the damn hat for myself). Next thing I know, the entire class is arguing about this fucking hat! I think the kids could sense that I had lost control and went buck wild! I am finding a kid in the coat cubby, under the computer desk, trying to run out the door, everything. Oh, and their parents were there today for open house, so they had to behave for 2 hours before I got to them. Maybe they needed to blow off some steam... The other teachers seem to deal with it better, but I leave with my head spinning. I have a hard time being stern, mostly because they're kids and I don't want to make them feel bad, but I have to find a way to get these terds under control. I can't even get them to stop writing on the board! I walked into a kindergarten class today and one of them had written on the board, "Alexandra Teacher is a fat chicken and a mom and I love her. Love, Kelly." Fat chicken is the phrase of choice in that class, don't ask.
The afternoons are calmer - don't get me wrong. I said calmer, not to be confused with calm. These kids are older and are terrified of their parents, so I am at least able to put a little fear in them by threatening to send a behavior note home. Yesterday, I felt so bad for one of my first graders -- she didn't think we had a vocab quiz that week and didn't study. She did fine, an 80%, but was so worried about it I was tempted to give her the answers! She kept saying, "I'm the worst! I did so bad, my mom is going to kill me! I can't believe I didn't study!" Poor thing, she is a lil cutie too. Total terd, but cute enough to get away with it.
Enough about those rugrats, on to weird food news. Most bars here give bar snacks. In general, they are one of 3 things: delicious dried sheets of salted seaweed (so good), some type of Korean cheerio/fruit loop thing, or a big ass sheet of dried squid. At last night's bar (called Beer Plus -- many bars are named Beer and a random word. Always reminds me of Beer Works, would totally fit in here!!) we received the cereal at first and a plate of the squid treat after we had finished eating. Squid jerky! It's not terrible, but it's not good either. Apparently, the one I had was not the best kind -- it's supposed to be a little sweet and salty, mine was just fishy. And I hear it comes in peanut butter flavor too! Everyone likes it, like kimchi. Oh, that reminds me, one of my first graders would rather have a kimchi party than a pizza party in a couple weeks. Kid, are you nuts? (for those not in the know about Korean food, kimchi is fermented, pickled napa cabbage with a shit load of spices in it. It's served with everything at every meal.)
So I am watching this Russian based news channel right no; it's one of the two English speaking channels I get. The current headline is: "Journalist: Obama had to prove he could kill like a white man." They are interviewing this wacko now, they always have nutcases on here. PS More of my kids can name the President of the US than the president of their own country. Every single kid knows Obama, but only a handful could tell me the president of Korea. One kid answered, 'North Korea!"
The afternoons are calmer - don't get me wrong. I said calmer, not to be confused with calm. These kids are older and are terrified of their parents, so I am at least able to put a little fear in them by threatening to send a behavior note home. Yesterday, I felt so bad for one of my first graders -- she didn't think we had a vocab quiz that week and didn't study. She did fine, an 80%, but was so worried about it I was tempted to give her the answers! She kept saying, "I'm the worst! I did so bad, my mom is going to kill me! I can't believe I didn't study!" Poor thing, she is a lil cutie too. Total terd, but cute enough to get away with it.
Enough about those rugrats, on to weird food news. Most bars here give bar snacks. In general, they are one of 3 things: delicious dried sheets of salted seaweed (so good), some type of Korean cheerio/fruit loop thing, or a big ass sheet of dried squid. At last night's bar (called Beer Plus -- many bars are named Beer and a random word. Always reminds me of Beer Works, would totally fit in here!!) we received the cereal at first and a plate of the squid treat after we had finished eating. Squid jerky! It's not terrible, but it's not good either. Apparently, the one I had was not the best kind -- it's supposed to be a little sweet and salty, mine was just fishy. And I hear it comes in peanut butter flavor too! Everyone likes it, like kimchi. Oh, that reminds me, one of my first graders would rather have a kimchi party than a pizza party in a couple weeks. Kid, are you nuts? (for those not in the know about Korean food, kimchi is fermented, pickled napa cabbage with a shit load of spices in it. It's served with everything at every meal.)
So I am watching this Russian based news channel right no; it's one of the two English speaking channels I get. The current headline is: "Journalist: Obama had to prove he could kill like a white man." They are interviewing this wacko now, they always have nutcases on here. PS More of my kids can name the President of the US than the president of their own country. Every single kid knows Obama, but only a handful could tell me the president of Korea. One kid answered, 'North Korea!"
Monday, January 11, 2010
You make me happy when skies are gray
You know that website Cute Overload? I swear my kids could be on there (if you catch them at the right moment, and stop taping as soon as the cuteness stops). One of my preschool classes will randomly bust out "You Are my Sunshine" at any given time. They will be doing their workbooks, and all of a sudden one of the girls up front will say, "You Are my Sunshine on 3! 1,2,3!" and they will all start singing together. It's so friggin cute. Another favorite of their's is "Walking in a Winter Wonderland," which they also do a little dance to. Cute overload, fo sho. Two minutes later, they will be hitting and telling on each other, but it's fun while it lasts.
Like I said before, the school follows a completely American curriculum. Which is weird. Today in social studies, my 1st and 2nd graders learned about the early settlers, including Native Americans, pilgrims, and Columbus. One of their essay questions was, "Do you agree with Deb that Thanksgiving is the best holiday and why?" These kids don't have Thanksgiving! They were all like, "Nooooo! We don't even like Thanksgiving, we still have school on that day!" Right on, kids! Another thing that is hilarious - and I can't remember if I have talked about this before - is the kids all have American names. They are not their real names, obvs, but in English school they use western names - unless they really don't want to, then they keep their Korean name. There are only a handful that don't change. They get to pick their names, or their parents pick them out for them. Some of the names are so funny. The most popular names are Lucy, Grace, Eric, Alex, Sunny, Amy, etc, but then there are several interesting ones. I have a Claude, Stephano, Sebastian, Beverly (who is one of my favorites - when's the last time you heard of a kid named Beverly?!), Rei, and of course, Junie B. (named after the Junie B. Jones books, who is a girl, but our Junie B. is a boy -- irrelevant). Although, Junie B. is now going by "Stan." That is another thing, the kids can go to the front desk and request to change their names. Junie B. was going to wait until he turned 6 to change to Stan, but apparently he's decided to expedite the process. Man, I wish I could have changed my name when I was 6!
Ok, I apologize about the influx of posts to your inbox. I promise to calm down on the updates. Can you tell I don't have tv??
Like I said before, the school follows a completely American curriculum. Which is weird. Today in social studies, my 1st and 2nd graders learned about the early settlers, including Native Americans, pilgrims, and Columbus. One of their essay questions was, "Do you agree with Deb that Thanksgiving is the best holiday and why?" These kids don't have Thanksgiving! They were all like, "Nooooo! We don't even like Thanksgiving, we still have school on that day!" Right on, kids! Another thing that is hilarious - and I can't remember if I have talked about this before - is the kids all have American names. They are not their real names, obvs, but in English school they use western names - unless they really don't want to, then they keep their Korean name. There are only a handful that don't change. They get to pick their names, or their parents pick them out for them. Some of the names are so funny. The most popular names are Lucy, Grace, Eric, Alex, Sunny, Amy, etc, but then there are several interesting ones. I have a Claude, Stephano, Sebastian, Beverly (who is one of my favorites - when's the last time you heard of a kid named Beverly?!), Rei, and of course, Junie B. (named after the Junie B. Jones books, who is a girl, but our Junie B. is a boy -- irrelevant). Although, Junie B. is now going by "Stan." That is another thing, the kids can go to the front desk and request to change their names. Junie B. was going to wait until he turned 6 to change to Stan, but apparently he's decided to expedite the process. Man, I wish I could have changed my name when I was 6!
Ok, I apologize about the influx of posts to your inbox. I promise to calm down on the updates. Can you tell I don't have tv??
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Pure Creep Mode
Hung-ov-er. That is the understatement of the year. I woke up this morning feeling like I am going to die. Legit. It's 10:30 at night and I still feel like dying. Weekend got off to a pretty low key start. Grabbed some sandwiches with a couple teachers after work on Friday night, drank thera flu, and hit the hay early. I am still fighting the same cold I have had since coming here. Had a hard time getting motivated on Saturday and eventually made it over to Jullia's around 4:30. We went for dinner at 7, which was interesting. I ordered smoked ahi tuna and salad. Well, it came out and it was frozen - like I couldn't even bite into it. I had to complain to the owner, but he had no idea what I was saying. I was showing him it was frozen, but he still didn't get it. So he put me on his cell phone with his wife, who spoke a little English. I explained to her that the fish was like a block of ice, so they cooked it on the grill. Not what I wanted, but ok. The salad it came with was just shaved onions and a side of dried fish flakes. Needless to say, this dinner did not provide me with a good base for the night of drinking that ensued.
At dinner, I had my favorite beer and soju combo. Then we went to our friend's place bc she was having a little birthday gathering before going out for the night. Here, I drank a small cup of beer and a glass of wine. Jullia, our new friend Tara, and myself then head to Hongdae, where we will later be meeting up with the rest of the birthday partiers. We go to Ho Bar 3 again (we've been here every week!). I can't remember if this is the bar where the tequila shots started (all of a sudden, Jullia has become all about ordering tequila shots. Terrible!), but it's def the bar where I started drinking vodka. Ughh, things got a little fuzzy. The photo below is me attempting to get up to be in a picture. I had been sitting in the booth, and scooted over for the pic and fell out. I swear it was a wrap around booth! Appparently not.
At dinner, I had my favorite beer and soju combo. Then we went to our friend's place bc she was having a little birthday gathering before going out for the night. Here, I drank a small cup of beer and a glass of wine. Jullia, our new friend Tara, and myself then head to Hongdae, where we will later be meeting up with the rest of the birthday partiers. We go to Ho Bar 3 again (we've been here every week!). I can't remember if this is the bar where the tequila shots started (all of a sudden, Jullia has become all about ordering tequila shots. Terrible!), but it's def the bar where I started drinking vodka. Ughh, things got a little fuzzy. The photo below is me attempting to get up to be in a picture. I had been sitting in the booth, and scooted over for the pic and fell out. I swear it was a wrap around booth! Appparently not.
Somehow, we ended up going to a club again! This experience was def less traumatic than the first one. Much less crowded, no grinding, but mostly Korean hip hop, which was disappointing because I didn't get to sing out to my jams. It certainly looks like I was happy here, and fist pumping!
In true Al fashion, I manage to befriend the coolest guy there!
So, just to quickly recap, I drank beer, soju, wine, vokda, and tequila all in the same evening. Washed that down with same late night BK to make up for the less than adequate dinner. Oh, and some girl sat at our table in BK and started a fight with us! Just sat down next to Jullia and started arguing. I was like WTF is this?! So we bounced without even finishing all our fries! And I wonder why I woke up feeling awful this am. We didn't even make our 1pm brunch plans.
The physical on Friday was interesting. The most interesting part was that the nurse didn't wear gloves when she took my blood. I sat in an office chair at her desk, put my arm out, and she took the blood right there. She filled a tube, and dispersed it into 3 separate viles, WITH NO GLOVES! Shocking. She told me to throw away the gauze I used to blot my blood into a card board box that looked more like office recycling than hazardous waste. Weird, very strange.
PS There are a lot more photos on my FB page, if you are interested.
Friday, January 8, 2010
You just got yourself excluded from ravioli night
I've had a lot of jobs. Last year, I had 5 jobs in one year. This is def my first job to require an HIV test. Tomorrow I go for my complete physical exam, which determines whether or not I am allowed to remain in Korea. On the agenda: eye exam, dental exam, urine test, blood work, and chest x-ray. What, no MRI? If I fail any of these tests, test positive for any diseases or drug use, I am outta here! Obvs I think I will pass, but what if I don't?! I keep thinking of that Seinfeld episode where Elaine fails the drug test because of the poppy seed muffin. Try explaining that in Korean.
Went to dinner tonight with a fellow teacher at Poly. Korean restaurants can be very intimidating. First off, you are expected to know what you want to order upon walking through the entrance. They ask you in Korean right away, before you are at your table, before you have removed all your layers of outerwear. If you don't know, you're screwed. The menu is written in Korean on the wall, so looking at the picture and pointing is not an option. Second, if you don't order right away, they don't come back to you. Some tables have buzzers, but in the smaller places, you just yell when you are ready. Bibimbap is the only thing we are sure they serve, so we yell for two. You help yourself to the water cooler and drink out of tiny cups. There is usually a box on your table that has chopsticks (they use metal chopsticks, hard to get used to) and tablespoons. You get your food as it is ready, they don't wait for the entire order to come up. Soup is served boiling, and Koreans can down it that hot! You don't get a check, you just pay on your way out the door. Our meal tonight was $7 total. And you don't hang out after, you eat and get the fuck out.
Everyone works out here. Even my kids write in their essays how important it is to be healthy and exercise everyday -- and that walking to school is better than the bus because it is exercise. One would think this is a plus. Not me, I am pissed. This means the gyms in my neighborhood charge whatever the hell they want. Gym in my building is like $60 a month with a year contract and has nothing fancy! No pools, no sauna, def no steam room. The ghetto gym down the street is $40, but they only have treadmills (with no incline) and weight machines from 1975. Pics of Arnold Schwarzenegger hang on the wall... Yeah, so that's my current dilemma. Because, you know, I'm at the gym for like a hour and a half...workin on my fitness :-) (you may have noticed I am trying to incorporate as many Jersey Shore references as possible in every post).
Not sure what we are up to this weekend. We plan to do some more exploring on Saturday, so I am certain something entertaining will come from that!
Went to dinner tonight with a fellow teacher at Poly. Korean restaurants can be very intimidating. First off, you are expected to know what you want to order upon walking through the entrance. They ask you in Korean right away, before you are at your table, before you have removed all your layers of outerwear. If you don't know, you're screwed. The menu is written in Korean on the wall, so looking at the picture and pointing is not an option. Second, if you don't order right away, they don't come back to you. Some tables have buzzers, but in the smaller places, you just yell when you are ready. Bibimbap is the only thing we are sure they serve, so we yell for two. You help yourself to the water cooler and drink out of tiny cups. There is usually a box on your table that has chopsticks (they use metal chopsticks, hard to get used to) and tablespoons. You get your food as it is ready, they don't wait for the entire order to come up. Soup is served boiling, and Koreans can down it that hot! You don't get a check, you just pay on your way out the door. Our meal tonight was $7 total. And you don't hang out after, you eat and get the fuck out.
Everyone works out here. Even my kids write in their essays how important it is to be healthy and exercise everyday -- and that walking to school is better than the bus because it is exercise. One would think this is a plus. Not me, I am pissed. This means the gyms in my neighborhood charge whatever the hell they want. Gym in my building is like $60 a month with a year contract and has nothing fancy! No pools, no sauna, def no steam room. The ghetto gym down the street is $40, but they only have treadmills (with no incline) and weight machines from 1975. Pics of Arnold Schwarzenegger hang on the wall... Yeah, so that's my current dilemma. Because, you know, I'm at the gym for like a hour and a half...workin on my fitness :-) (you may have noticed I am trying to incorporate as many Jersey Shore references as possible in every post).
Not sure what we are up to this weekend. We plan to do some more exploring on Saturday, so I am certain something entertaining will come from that!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Is that a ... fish?!
New England is cold, but Seoul is colder. I feel like I am living with the March of the Penguins. It's -14 C out right now. That's 7 degrees; the high today was 13. The side walks are not salted here, so you can imagine how many times I almost ate it to and from work today. Monday was Seoul's biggest snow storm in over 100 years. 25.2 centimeters of snow, the kids keep saying. So basically, like 10 inches. In MA, no problem. Here, mass chaos. There are no snow plows, which I guess makes sense since despite the frigidness, the city doesn't experience snow very often. But not being able to plow almost a foot of snow in a city of 11 million, basically caused the roads to shut down for 2 days. The kids couldn't come to school for a day and a half because the buses couldn't make it up the hill we are on. Which is funny because the kids were all on the bus and had to be brought home. Around 2 we got to go home as well, and don't have to make the day up because the school was technically open, just no kids, score!
Teaching is going really well. The kids are so freaking funny. They have questions about everything. "Alexandra Teacher! (that is what they call me) Do you live in Korea? Do you have a house? Do you have a phone? Do you eat kimchee? Are you married? Why do you have yellow hair? Do you a drive a car? Do you eat octopus? Do you play Nintendo Wii?" and on and on. And you never know what their answers could be. We talked about Abraham Lincoln today with my 1st graders. One girl says "Abraham Lincoln was shot with a gun for trying to help the black faced people." I said, uh ok. And all black people are Obama, of course.
My school is set up differently than a lot of other academies. The kids are pretty good in English, so we teach a curriculum that is identical to American schools, except with a lot more homework. I teach reading to preschoolers and an immersion class to kindergarteners, basically watch videos and test their comprehension. In the afternoon, I teach a variety of subjects to grades 1-5. Most of these kids have lived in the US before, or another English speaking country. I teach everything from grammar to debate. I had debate class tonight, the kids had to tell me how to teach it. It's crazy how honest they are compared to American kids. They will never lie about anything. They immediately fess up if they didn't do their homework or study for their lesson. They even remind me to check homework. Teaching 10 classes a day is definitely tiring. Luckily, some of them are repeats. Today I taught the same reading lesson to 3 preschool classes, they all hated it. "Alexandra Teacher! This story is boring! Nothing happens!" Even more boring when you have to listen to it 3 times in a row, kid.
On to weird food. I bought a package of cashews at the convenience store in the school building today. I ate one and thought, hmmm, tastes fishy. I open the bag, and there are little dried fish in there. Well, that would explain the taste. I should have taken a picture.
Teaching is going really well. The kids are so freaking funny. They have questions about everything. "Alexandra Teacher! (that is what they call me) Do you live in Korea? Do you have a house? Do you have a phone? Do you eat kimchee? Are you married? Why do you have yellow hair? Do you a drive a car? Do you eat octopus? Do you play Nintendo Wii?" and on and on. And you never know what their answers could be. We talked about Abraham Lincoln today with my 1st graders. One girl says "Abraham Lincoln was shot with a gun for trying to help the black faced people." I said, uh ok. And all black people are Obama, of course.
My school is set up differently than a lot of other academies. The kids are pretty good in English, so we teach a curriculum that is identical to American schools, except with a lot more homework. I teach reading to preschoolers and an immersion class to kindergarteners, basically watch videos and test their comprehension. In the afternoon, I teach a variety of subjects to grades 1-5. Most of these kids have lived in the US before, or another English speaking country. I teach everything from grammar to debate. I had debate class tonight, the kids had to tell me how to teach it. It's crazy how honest they are compared to American kids. They will never lie about anything. They immediately fess up if they didn't do their homework or study for their lesson. They even remind me to check homework. Teaching 10 classes a day is definitely tiring. Luckily, some of them are repeats. Today I taught the same reading lesson to 3 preschool classes, they all hated it. "Alexandra Teacher! This story is boring! Nothing happens!" Even more boring when you have to listen to it 3 times in a row, kid.
On to weird food. I bought a package of cashews at the convenience store in the school building today. I ate one and thought, hmmm, tastes fishy. I open the bag, and there are little dried fish in there. Well, that would explain the taste. I should have taken a picture.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
up in da club
Last night I had my first and last SoKo clubbing experience. OMG, never again! Jullia and I tried to see Avatar AGAIN yesterday! Shit is out of control. We got to the movies around 4pm and it was sold out until "26:30." Yes, as in 2:30 in the morning. This is the third time we attempted - unsuccessfully - to go to the movies this week. Who knew it would be so damn difficult to see a movie that's been out for 2 weeks??? Ughh. Later on in the evening we ran into a girl from Jullia's apartment building who said you have to have someone who speaks Korean buy the tickets on a Wednesday if you plan to go on a Saturday. Riiiight.
We had planned to go out for dinner in Itaewon (foreigner land) after the movie, but now we had so much time to kill. We wandered around some giant mall for a little bit and got some food. We decided to just head to Itaewon early and browse - there's a lot of shopping there. Knock offs of everything possible. There is also an American bookstore, which is really cool. Finally, we are freezing and head into a bar for a drink. On the way in, we meet the most annoying man possible. I, of course, talk to him talk to him for about an hour - with the exception of the 15 mins he was gone to "bring the browns to the superbowl." But he did buy us drinks, so that was good. After the shitter leaves, we meet a group of teachers out celebrating a birthday. They were pretty cool and invited us to go to Hongdae with them. So we tag along. We started off at a bar, which is the same bar we were at on Christmas Eve. Then, we go to the club... **UGHHHH** I should have peaced right when we walked in, but didn't want to be the party pooper. FML, this place sucked. First, we had to pay a cover to get in, it was 15 and it included a drink at the bar, so not too bad. We get inside and the place is PACKED. All asians - you can imagine the shoving. It's 3 floors, and there are fucking people everywhere. The stairs are packed with people pushing their way through. Stairs leading to the dance floor are not kept clear, so you drop bows to get down there. I get to the dance floor, I can't bust my moves in that confined environment! Never mind beat up the beat! Peeps are coming from behind trying to grind. I've lost Jullia now and seriously feel like crying. One of the dudes we came with looks at me and says "just go find a man." That's it, get me the fuck out of here!!!
Leaving is no easy task. First, I have to find the girl who has the coat check pass. Then I have to find Jullia. Finally, we have to find the coats. When you check the coats, they just give you a bag and you stuff as much shit as possible it in and turn it in. The coat check line was like a mosh pit. There are no real lines here. For example, when you go to the bank, you take a number and sit and wait. Same thing at the movies. At the coat check, apparently you just shove your way to the front. I got shoved into a wall and almost got knocked over just trying to get out of there! So, yeah, I am all set with that scene. 2 weeks down, 50 to go.
Back to school tomorrow after vacation! That should be interesting. It's my first real teaching day, and I haven't even met observed some of the classes I will be teaching, so we'll see how that goes.
Oh, if you are getting these posts in your email and don't want to, just let me know and I will take you off :-)
We had planned to go out for dinner in Itaewon (foreigner land) after the movie, but now we had so much time to kill. We wandered around some giant mall for a little bit and got some food. We decided to just head to Itaewon early and browse - there's a lot of shopping there. Knock offs of everything possible. There is also an American bookstore, which is really cool. Finally, we are freezing and head into a bar for a drink. On the way in, we meet the most annoying man possible. I, of course, talk to him talk to him for about an hour - with the exception of the 15 mins he was gone to "bring the browns to the superbowl." But he did buy us drinks, so that was good. After the shitter leaves, we meet a group of teachers out celebrating a birthday. They were pretty cool and invited us to go to Hongdae with them. So we tag along. We started off at a bar, which is the same bar we were at on Christmas Eve. Then, we go to the club... **UGHHHH** I should have peaced right when we walked in, but didn't want to be the party pooper. FML, this place sucked. First, we had to pay a cover to get in, it was 15 and it included a drink at the bar, so not too bad. We get inside and the place is PACKED. All asians - you can imagine the shoving. It's 3 floors, and there are fucking people everywhere. The stairs are packed with people pushing their way through. Stairs leading to the dance floor are not kept clear, so you drop bows to get down there. I get to the dance floor, I can't bust my moves in that confined environment! Never mind beat up the beat! Peeps are coming from behind trying to grind. I've lost Jullia now and seriously feel like crying. One of the dudes we came with looks at me and says "just go find a man." That's it, get me the fuck out of here!!!
Leaving is no easy task. First, I have to find the girl who has the coat check pass. Then I have to find Jullia. Finally, we have to find the coats. When you check the coats, they just give you a bag and you stuff as much shit as possible it in and turn it in. The coat check line was like a mosh pit. There are no real lines here. For example, when you go to the bank, you take a number and sit and wait. Same thing at the movies. At the coat check, apparently you just shove your way to the front. I got shoved into a wall and almost got knocked over just trying to get out of there! So, yeah, I am all set with that scene. 2 weeks down, 50 to go.
Back to school tomorrow after vacation! That should be interesting. It's my first real teaching day, and I haven't even met observed some of the classes I will be teaching, so we'll see how that goes.
Oh, if you are getting these posts in your email and don't want to, just let me know and I will take you off :-)
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Mas Gringos!
Interesting couple of days in SoKo! We are STILL sick! It's crazy. I think part of it is because the Korean cold meds do NOTHING! You feel no difference at all when taking them. Luckily, a friend of Jullia who is going home soon had an excess supply of Dayquil, so she hooked us up. Mom is going to send me a package of cold meds from home. I never thought I would need to pack this stuff with me!
Anyway, since we are still sick, we thought it would be more beneficial to have a quiet New Year's. We wanted to go out for a non-Korean dinner and maybe a beer or two. We subwayed it over to Sinchon (cool area with shopping, bars, TONS of cafes, Red Mango, etc), with no real destination in mind. We just felt like some beer and junk food. It took us about a half hour in the freezing cold to find the general area where the bars/restaurants are. We were turned down by the first one because it was too late, like 11pm (mind you, this restaurant was On the Border, lol, but a margarita sounded sooo good!). Then we found "Beer Factory." I'm thinking "score!" this place is totally going to have good beer and nachos, exactly what we want. Well, not so much. Beer was good, I ordered a dunkel and Jullia had a hefe. They were 20 oz, so that was nice. The menu was all in Korean, even though it wasn't Korean food. Not sure what kind of food it was really. Everything in Korea comes in sets. At Coffee Bean, set one is a latte and a bagel, set two is an americano and a muffin, a box of Special K comes with a scarf, etc. So we ordered set one at Beer Factory, which looked like nachos (or cheese fries) and a small pizza for 25 bucks. Hmmm. Food was horrifying! After about 5 minutes of debate, we determined one thing to be a BBQ chicken pizza with kidney beans on it. It was v difficult to identify the beans! They were microwaved beyond all recognition. Pizza was topped with shredded cabbage, ketchup posing as salsa, and a whipped something that might have been sour cream - neither of us dared to try it. The other dish (aka the nachos or fries) was something on a whole other field! We were able to identify the following ingredients: lima beans, corn, onions, sausage that we initially thought was mushrooms, thick rice cakes, rice noodles, peppers, carrots, cheese, scallions, and prolly more, all in a red spicy sauce. We gave up on this dish pretty quickly, It was nasty! I wish we had a camera. At the end of the night, we went home with no dinner and about 80 bucks poorer :-( Yikes!
We woke up starving on New Year's Day. My bed still totally sucks, so we went shopping for a mattress pad next to Jullia's house, then took the 45 min subway ride to my neighborhood for Mexican food - we were determined to get our junk! Lugging the damn mattress pad around, we busted through the mall to the Mexi place. Now, I thought LA was a crowded city, but I have never seen so many people in my life than the mall near my house. Place is out of control -- ALL THE TIME (more on this to come). We roll into Mexican, all Koreans cooking burritos. I order "quesadia", Jullia gets burrito, we are sharing. That's as far as we can get really, Food comes, "quesadia" has chicken and ground beef in it, disgusting! Another foiled attempt at eating.
We decide at this point to see Avatar at the Imax theater. Not happening. It's 2:30 and the movie is sold out until 10pm, it's not even opening weekend, this shit's been out! There are people EVERYWHERE, pushing and shoving of course. We take a number to buy our tickets, we are 725 and they are calling 605. WTF?! We peaced. That was our second attempt to go to the movies this week, we might try again today...
Now we are determined to get our junk food meal! We research online and find another place in Sinchon called "Beer O'Clock." Menu is online, has pizza, burgers, fries, this is our place! We roll in there around 7pm, someone yells out hello, and my jaw dropped. It's all foreigners! Even the people that work there! Like a meeting place for gringos! Idk why I was so surprised, it was just weird to see unexpectedly. The place turned out to be pretty cool, and might be a good place to meet some other teachers from different schools. As Pauly D says, we lit some fires, but we will have to go back and see what pans out. We finally got pizza, and it was really good. Plus, they have Max, which must be the Korean PBR for 3,000 won, like 2.50. You know I was downing that! In the next post, I will discuss the massive amounts of white guys with Korean girlfriends, it's all the rage here.
Since Pauly D has been mentioned (obvs), thoughts on The Situation just chillin when Snookie got knocked the fuck out? Then trying to creep on some girl outside the bar? HA! We can't watch Jerz Shore online, so we have to buy every episode on Itunes, it's worth it though. Will The Sitch ever get laid?? Doubt it!
Anyway, since we are still sick, we thought it would be more beneficial to have a quiet New Year's. We wanted to go out for a non-Korean dinner and maybe a beer or two. We subwayed it over to Sinchon (cool area with shopping, bars, TONS of cafes, Red Mango, etc), with no real destination in mind. We just felt like some beer and junk food. It took us about a half hour in the freezing cold to find the general area where the bars/restaurants are. We were turned down by the first one because it was too late, like 11pm (mind you, this restaurant was On the Border, lol, but a margarita sounded sooo good!). Then we found "Beer Factory." I'm thinking "score!" this place is totally going to have good beer and nachos, exactly what we want. Well, not so much. Beer was good, I ordered a dunkel and Jullia had a hefe. They were 20 oz, so that was nice. The menu was all in Korean, even though it wasn't Korean food. Not sure what kind of food it was really. Everything in Korea comes in sets. At Coffee Bean, set one is a latte and a bagel, set two is an americano and a muffin, a box of Special K comes with a scarf, etc. So we ordered set one at Beer Factory, which looked like nachos (or cheese fries) and a small pizza for 25 bucks. Hmmm. Food was horrifying! After about 5 minutes of debate, we determined one thing to be a BBQ chicken pizza with kidney beans on it. It was v difficult to identify the beans! They were microwaved beyond all recognition. Pizza was topped with shredded cabbage, ketchup posing as salsa, and a whipped something that might have been sour cream - neither of us dared to try it. The other dish (aka the nachos or fries) was something on a whole other field! We were able to identify the following ingredients: lima beans, corn, onions, sausage that we initially thought was mushrooms, thick rice cakes, rice noodles, peppers, carrots, cheese, scallions, and prolly more, all in a red spicy sauce. We gave up on this dish pretty quickly, It was nasty! I wish we had a camera. At the end of the night, we went home with no dinner and about 80 bucks poorer :-( Yikes!
We woke up starving on New Year's Day. My bed still totally sucks, so we went shopping for a mattress pad next to Jullia's house, then took the 45 min subway ride to my neighborhood for Mexican food - we were determined to get our junk! Lugging the damn mattress pad around, we busted through the mall to the Mexi place. Now, I thought LA was a crowded city, but I have never seen so many people in my life than the mall near my house. Place is out of control -- ALL THE TIME (more on this to come). We roll into Mexican, all Koreans cooking burritos. I order "quesadia", Jullia gets burrito, we are sharing. That's as far as we can get really, Food comes, "quesadia" has chicken and ground beef in it, disgusting! Another foiled attempt at eating.
We decide at this point to see Avatar at the Imax theater. Not happening. It's 2:30 and the movie is sold out until 10pm, it's not even opening weekend, this shit's been out! There are people EVERYWHERE, pushing and shoving of course. We take a number to buy our tickets, we are 725 and they are calling 605. WTF?! We peaced. That was our second attempt to go to the movies this week, we might try again today...
Now we are determined to get our junk food meal! We research online and find another place in Sinchon called "Beer O'Clock." Menu is online, has pizza, burgers, fries, this is our place! We roll in there around 7pm, someone yells out hello, and my jaw dropped. It's all foreigners! Even the people that work there! Like a meeting place for gringos! Idk why I was so surprised, it was just weird to see unexpectedly. The place turned out to be pretty cool, and might be a good place to meet some other teachers from different schools. As Pauly D says, we lit some fires, but we will have to go back and see what pans out. We finally got pizza, and it was really good. Plus, they have Max, which must be the Korean PBR for 3,000 won, like 2.50. You know I was downing that! In the next post, I will discuss the massive amounts of white guys with Korean girlfriends, it's all the rage here.
Since Pauly D has been mentioned (obvs), thoughts on The Situation just chillin when Snookie got knocked the fuck out? Then trying to creep on some girl outside the bar? HA! We can't watch Jerz Shore online, so we have to buy every episode on Itunes, it's worth it though. Will The Sitch ever get laid?? Doubt it!
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