F U ALLERGIES

I have determined my sickness is the result of allergies. From what I don't know. It could be anything. My nostrils are so big I could suck a softball up one and not even notice. So, I have been cleaning everything. My first thought was dust. I cleaned the dust away. Still sick. So, today, I cleared the plants out of my apartment. Goodbye you yellowish green pollen creators. Good riddance. It's for the better. I was killing you slowly anyway.

Even with my allergies this week has been a pretty fun week. In fact the last 2 weeks have been pretty good. I am becoming a better teacher slowly but surely. It's just a matter of creating material that works for you and your students. I'm not close to being able to teach them as effectively as possible. Maybe I never will. But I am getting better.

Part of the reason I think this is because I am not getting reamed as much at my weekly 'Beating.' That could be because they have 1) been so busy with the tests over the past 3 weeks that they haven't had the energy 2) The last 3 weeks have been fun oriented classes because of review for the tests (Jeopardy), post-midterm (Finding Nemo! And in class bowling!!!!), and Halloween (one of my kids brought me a Jack 0 Lantern mask, today. You can count on me teaching class with that on. Especially, because I look like shit with droopy eyes and a sniffling nose). Next week will be tougher. And, today is Wednesday my feedback day. So, this Wednesday and next Wednesday will be a good gauge of how far I've come through their feedback.

On the drama side of things, three of my teachers are having a bit of a feud. My 2nd grade substitute co-teacher, Mrs. Oh, has some issues with my main co-teacher, Ms. Yoo, and the Head of the English Teacher's, Mi Sun. To set the table, Mrs. Oh is a bit thick headed and very set in her ways. She has an older style of thinking. To appease her sentiments my lesson plans for the 2nd graders are BORING. B-O-R-I-N-G. They are so by the book you might as well bring a pillow to my class and have a snooze fest. Bring one for me, too.

Anyway, Mrs. Oh has an issue with Mi Sun because Mi Sun is younger than her but she holds a higher position in the school than her. So, Mrs. Oh, a substitute nonetheless, likes to go against what Mi Sun thinks even though she is the established head of the English teachers. When this originally happened, Ms. Yoo, who is older than both of them, supported Mi Sun. Mrs. Oh didn't appreciate it. So, Mrs. Oh has taken everything since then like salt to a wound. She took it far enough to complain to one of the head teachers of the school last night. Ms. Yoo was very upset last night because of what happened. Apparently, Mrs. Oh asked for help with her teaching from Ms. Yoo. However, Ms. Yoo didn't have time because she is so busy (in her defense she is usually at school from 8am to 7pm). So, Mrs. Oh complained (a bulpyeong) to the head teacher. And all 3 of the head teachers sided with Mrs. Oh.

GOTTA LOVE ME SOME DRAMA. Especially, when I'm not at the center. More to come as the story develops and my mind releases my sick hold.

Notes:
 They took my photo for the 3rd grade yearbook yesterday. Great timing. I was sick. So, I looked like garbage. On top of that I was so out of it that I forgot to wear my suit. Instead I wore my Sesame Street T-Shirt and my old man's Polo jacket. Classy. One hell of a way to remember me, huh, kids?

Should have gone like this:

Jack O' Largent

jimjilbang

There isn't anything exciting report about this weekend because I have been sick since Friday afternoon. So, no trips to palaces or exciting places. Just me, my video games, some tea and my sickness. I'm not talking swine. It's not much of a sickness. It started off as chills, sleeplessness and a sore throat. Now, it's just a mean, nasty sore throat. Damn you throat! No one likes you anyway. You're just a middle man between my savory mouth and my satisfying stomach. And you make me choke (see DeokJeokDo).

On one note, I did go to the jimjilbang (bath house) last night. It turns out it's right next to my apartment. You can count on me going there more often. It was very refreshing and relaxing. Except for when the old, drunk Korean guy was blatantly checking me out in the shower RIGHT NEXT TO ME. Take a photo next time. Geez.

I have a few stories to report about jimjilbangs......

Let's start with another strange Korean health custom. They like to take tree logs, char them into charcoal and use them in bath houses like in the hottest water. It's like taking a bath in a pool of cigarette age. They call it a soot bath. They believe breathing in the soot from the char coaled wood has medicinal qualities. They should have been in WA in 1980 when MT ST Helens erupted. Not like I was even on this Earth at that time. From what I'm told everything was covered in ash that May. There are multiple baths. All different temperatures and sizes. And a steam room. All for 5000 won. It's worth it.

Here is my favorite story. To keep the identity and dignity of this person a safe I will not use his name. This is not a story for the weak of heart or stomach. So.... Let's live vicariously....

When you go into the jimjilbang you put your shoes in a box in the ante room. You grab the key from that box/ Then you take that key to the attendant to get another key of the same number for your locker. You cannot see into the lockers from the anteroom. So, whatever locker you choose you don't know who else might be around you.

Greg (pseudonym) put his shoes away, turned in his key and walked into his assigned locker area. There, in front of his locker, was a bare naked man FAST ASLEEP laying with his back on the ground and his feet spread up in the air against Greg's locker. Just his luck. Now, it didn't occur to Greg to return his key for another one. So, he worked with what he was given. He didn't want to wake the man. He maneuvered his feet off of his locker. Still the man did not wake up. He fully undressed next to the man. He opened his locker to put away his clothes. Greg had forgotten about the loose change in his pocket. As he put away his jeans all the loose change in his pocket fell out onto the man's body. The change fell all around the sleeping man's crotch like there was a magnet there. Perfect.

My first thought was, 'No....tell me you didn't. You have to forget it, it's small change!' But Greg couldn't leave it behind. He thought, 'Look! Some 100 pieces! And two 500 won coins! I can't leave that behind. That's a kimbap!'  Greg carefully pulled the coins off the sleeping man's body. The man never budged an inch. All I have to say is, 1000 won is a small price to pay for your dignity, Greg. Especially, when one of those 500 pieces is 3 inches from a sleeping man's testicles. (Sorry Mom, so is life)



Notes:

LAN PARTY!!!!!!!!

For those of you who are NERDS out there, we are planning a Starcraft LAN party for sometime this week or next. NERD ALERT NERD ALERT NERD ALERT! But I am not inviting any Koreans to play with us. It's in their genes to be dominant at Starcraft.
I remember my first online experience with Starcraft a decade ago. All the sudden a bunch of Korean Hangeul symbols pop up in the chat box. And before I knew what was happening Korean Fan Death had consumed me.

Ok, more on FAN DEATH later. This might be the most ridiculous old wives' tale ever. And they believe it whole heartedly. I just asked my co-teacher, 'What happens if you sleep with a small electronic fan on in a closed room?'
'NoOoOOoooo~! Bad! You die!'

Fan Death is real people :P

OH! I bought a new Kodak digital camera, yesterday, for 230,000 won. Not too shabby. You can expect more photos from here on.

The Package

'Are you a teenage boy?' The first question out of my co-teacher's mouth after she saw the contents of my package. After all that excited build up for the package the contents did not excite her one bit. She had that disappointed look on her face. Her voice laden with disapproval. 'They sent you video games....?'

'Yup!'

'What are all these games?' They are picking up and laughing at the video games I had sent over. Not that laughing with you. That laughing at your pathetic child musings. Like sleeping with your blanky or Teddy, or a bad ass Husky named after Napolean Kaufman. 'Justin......' she disgracefully shakes her head, 'Did your mommy send you these?'

'Naw,' I reply giddily while unwrapping the massive bubble wrap surround a controller, 'I sent my dad the money to purchase and send them.' Oh, you child, Justin. You child.

'Are these.... games.... all you got?'

'No, no, not just video games. I got a pair of jeans, too.'  I say to make myself look better. That didn't help one bit. 'And this movie!' I hold up the Big Lebowski, a classic. It goes unnoticed.

'Justin, you can buy these here! All of these things!' All of them in unison.

'No,' I plead, 'you can't buy designer jeans like those in my size for that price in Korea.'

'What size?'

'Way too big American size. I got hips like a woman. Plus they are super cheap designer jeans' I reply.

'No.....wait,' she checks the tags. ' These are designer jeans (a good pair of Lucky's) for 35 dollars? Oh.....No, nevermind. You cannot find these here in Itaewon for that cheap.' I may have won this small battle but I definitely lost the war.....

'You can buy the PS3 here.'

'No,' I try to explain, 'I can't play certain regional American games if I buy it here......' NERD ALERT! NERD ALERT! NERD ALERT! 'Nevermind. I never should've opened the package here.'

I think to myself, 'This is a lost cause.'

They laugh pathetically. They look at each other. I miss what one of them says in Korean. I catch the response in English 'What are you talking about? He is still a teenage boy!' Cue the laugh of disappointment and shame for their new teenage Native teacher. Too bad I'm not teaching middle school boys, I'd fit right in. I am pretty sure by tomorrow all the teachers in the school will know thank to my main co-teacher. Her other nickname is 'Broadcasting.' Fitting. Trust me.

No cultural difference this time around. The same thing would happen anywhere.

At least the cute card my mom sent me took their minds off my giant box of electronics for a little while.

Thanks again, MOM AND DAD!!!!

Notes: 

The hair is getting cut. Possibly this weekend. Since there was a tie for first with 5 votes, I get to choose. When it all comes down to it, I am the dictator of my hair. No G-Dragon this time.

Halloween is next week. I am dressing up at superman.....and maybe Harry Potter if I can find a good mantle (cape) to wear.

I am hoping Drake, another native teacher, still wants to go looking for insane suits. Particularly an orange one and baby blue one if you get the movie reference. Plus, I just want a ridiculously colored suit.

Bukbu English Festival

A few weeks back, the school told me I will be participating as a judge and working at an English Festival on Saturday, October 17th. I was not really looking forward to sitting around on my off day at a speech contest. Luckily, it was paid work and not volunteering. Even better it turned out to be a blast. I would've done it for substantially less than they paid me (I got a free lunch, too!). But don't tell them that I would work for less!

Festivals involving ESL students and teachers has a strong inclination towards ridiculous unintentional humor. We were given a front row seat to all the students' speeches. But the day kicked off with a speech from one of the higher ups in the Incheon school district. Apparently, he makes quite a few Conglish speeches like this. Because I was clued in on his speech's conclusion routine by the seasoned native teacher next to me. 'Pay attention. He always ends his speech with 'Thank you, native teachers. I love you.'" No way, right? Sure enough he concludes with his patented phrase, 'Thrank you, native teachurs. I rove you.' That's an endearing way to end your speech. But he wouldn't be the last awesomely feminine speaker.

A few of the speeches were even a little controversial like the 'Sexual Abuse in our Society.' Even though I did garner an immature giggle from that speech. And I quote, 'Sexual abuse occurs in animals, too. It is even felt by big elephants, and into the small flies.' Not the speech you wanted to laugh at. Now, most of the girls speeches were essentially about how they were going to rule the world one day. A few, like my student Su Yeon, wrote about becoming translators. But it wasn't a girl who had the most shockingly feminine speech. It was a guy.

It was during one of the final speeches in the contest (#27 of 30) and the boy up on stage is putting me to sleep with his monotone voice. His speech 'Things I Would Like to Change' was lulling us all into a deep morning glaze. He's talking about how he wants to be a singer. Cool kid. Great. Whatever. He wonders what it's like to be a Korean woman. He talks about how he thinks that being a Korean woman instead of a Korean man forced into the army must help them train their voices for singing. A sentence or two more about the advantages of being a Korean woman. Then he comes out on stage, 'Overall, I think becoming a woman would be really a excitiing experience for me.' .....WAIT?! WHAT?! What did he just say?! All the native teachers look at each other in disbelief. Everyone check the speech packet. 'Things I Would Like to Change'.... my gender. This boy basically just came out of the closet in front of our very eyes. It was his 'COMING OUT DAY' (more on this later). This boy has got kahunas. If he ever goes through with the operation they are going to need a swimming pool to store those in. I give him a lot of respect for having the courage to say something like that in front of everyone. Here's to you kid.

My student Su Yeon didn't have a controversial speech like him. She didn't win any awards. But I am very proud of her. She had the courage to stand up on stage and recite her memorized speech in front of 200 people. She was really nervous. I gave her some encouragement before and after. She stole a couple hugs and called me 'her man.' Luckily, 25 of my students showed up to watch and support her. A pretty good turn out. Anyway, she really impresses me. Her English speaking pronunciation and writing ability are very impressive. It doesn't come naturally either. She is very studious.

 After the speeches concluded she showed me a number of pictures of her at the English camp displayed on poster boards. She won the 'Best Overall' award at the camp over the summer. Confirmed by the native teacher who gave me the lowdown on the 'I love you' speech. He knew her by name. So, it's not like my teaching and coaching helped any. I just wish I had done something like this before so I could have been more help on the topic of choice. Speeches and debates aren't mine thing. Unless I am making an improptu cheers or talking myself out of trouble. Or into it....


After lunch I ended up working a Speed Time booth with one of my co-teacher and another native teacher and his co-teacher. Out of pure luck I scored an awesome booth. The line for our booth was huge. Kids wanted to do it twice. The game was simply 'Taboo'. You have a ring with laminated English words attached and you have to describe the words to the other person. You 60 seconds and getting a certain number right gets you money to buy candy. It was an absolutely riot. The words that were in there were usually tame. But then there were ones like 'BEER' 'WHISKEY' 'RUCKSACK'. How are they suppose to know that! And the kids who know beer and whiskey need to be monitored more closely!!! Let me set up a just a few of the scenarios:

First, you have the kid who looks at a word and thinks aloud, 'AW SHIT!'

Next, the girl comes to the word milk. 'It's drink!' She makes an arm motion touching both arms then motions like she is drinking. Then points to her bicep as she flexes. The girl guesses 'drunk!'

'No! A Drink!'

'Beer!'

'No!'

'Whiskey'

'Nooooo~! White.'

'Soju!'

'No! White!'

'makegoli'

'No! White from cow!'

'Oooohhhh. Milk!'
The entire time we are all dying. How could this girl know all this!? You could hear us laughing up and down the tents.

Let me end on this one.

These two boys have been struggling to get one word the entire round. The speaker is passing everything. And the ones he tries the other boy can't answer. Finally, he stops on one, beach. Gives it a quick thought. 'OH! SON OF.......'

Without any hesitation, 'BEETCH!'



Notes:

Recently, someone I know celebrated his 'Coming Out Day.' What do you get someone for that? I mean, do you get them a gift like it's Christmas or your birthday? Where does it fall in the line of personal holidays? Do you give them a well wishing phone call like, 'I hope all is well. I hope you're not hiding anymore secrets that could land you more attention.' Maybe you're suppose to get fireworks to celebrate and blow things up. Or have a scavenger hunt and hide everything in closets. Or make like its the holidays and just send him a fruit cake. Apparently, whatever it is I should probably send a card to that boy who came out Saturday, October 17th, 2009. Mark your calendars for that one boys and girls.

Let's 'One Shot' to you and me, Principal

My school has a lot of new teacher's this year, 9 total including

myself and the new principal. As is customary, all of the teachers go

out to dinner to welcome the new teachers to the school. It was,

especially, significant because they were welcoming my principal to

the school. They went around introducing each teacher. Stand up. Bow.

Cue the applause. Sit Down. Then the shots started coming.

Out of nowhere, shots of this liquor Cheongju (a sweeter tasting sake
or flat out better than soju) start appearing. 'Oh, this is for you.'

'For me? From where?'

'From there.' Points in the direction of every other teacher.

'Thank you!' Down it.

This all taking place while I am pouring myself soju. I like to drink
soju with my dinner or with salty foods. But if you give me soju
without any food while we are out drinking I will pretty much be
offended. It means you probably want me to hate my life tomorrow.
Unless you are a Korean citizen then I will be forced to accept your
offering of this 'Subtle Killer.' So, I'm sitting there eating this
delicious roast duck and drinking soju (all the native teachers you
must go here with me). After I take one soju another shot of Cheongju
is passed over my shoulder into my eating area. All the while, my
co-teacher is calling me an alcoholic. And the other co-teachers are
ribbing me about it, too. None of them like to drink soju. So, every
time a shot appears Ms. Yoo hands it to me and gasps 'Ohhhh,
alcoholic.' Michelle is giving me a hard time about the color of my
face. I am dehydrated so my cheeks and forehead are red like a
'Phantom of the Opera' mask. (She had 'never seen this side of me')
It's like I am performing to the tune of 'You're an Alcoholic. Here you go!' Talk about masking your intentions. Cheongju and soju sure are good with this duck. The duck that I am forcing into my mouth because I am sharing the table with only one small Korean woman instead of four total people. 'Oh, there's so much food, Justin.
We are worried that you don't like. Eat more.' Stuff. Drink. Stuff. Random shot. Stuff. Then the moment arrives.

During the orientation they warn you how you will have to exchange
drinks with your principal. And you cannot refuse a drink from your
principal of all people. (I suggest you google 'Korean drinking
manners') When you receive the drink hold your glass with both hands.
Place the glass in your right hand and place your left hand on the
glass or anywhere from your wrist to your elbow. When you pour the
drink do the same but with the bottle. Now, at the time I had
forgotten which showed more respect: higher on the arm toward the
elbow or lower to the wrist. It had been a month since I had even
thought about this. I assumed that I wouldn't have to do this since it
didn't happen during the first month and a half. With all that time I
should have been planning a clever cheers. Like 'To your health and
prosperity as principal!' Instead I was ill prepared and trying to
remember where my left hand goes.

When the Vice Principal approached my teacher, she told her that she
wanted me to pour and receive a drink 'KOREAN STYLE' with the
principal. So, I finished my bite of duck and stood up.I sat down
across from the Principal. And the Vice Principal elated, 'Ohhh!
Korean Style!' as I picked up the bottle and poured the soju for my
Principal. All the while, I'm thinking 'How far up or down do I put my
left hand? I hope I'm not disrespecting him.' Then he corrects me. My
left hand is on my wrist. Too high. So, I lower it to my elbow. His
left arm is all the way on his tricep. Now, I'm thinking I messed up
big time. He takes the glass and downs it in 'One Shot' much to the
elation or the Vice Principal and the other teacher sitting next to
her. 'Korean Style! ONE SHOT!' The principal returns the same glass to me and pours me a drink. I was a little shocked that he wanted to use the same glass (that's an older tradition outdated because of Hep A and H1N1, definitely not
hygienic). But I gladly accepted the glass. And once he was done
pouring I downed it in 'One Shot.' My Principal laughed. He was elated
that I took it down in 'One Shot.' The other teachers were applauding
both of us. 'One SHOTuh! Korean Style!!' I've never taken such a celebrated shot
even in a basketball game.

I was still worried I didn't show the proper amount of respect. So, I
clarified with my co-teacher. She is fairly informal herself but she
asked around and found out I showed the proper amount of respect. I
was right to think the closer to your wrist the more respect you are
showing. And the higher up your arm the less respect you are showing.
All these women I work with don't know anything about the procedure of
drinking man to man. They say the most important thing is that you USE
BOTH HANDS. At least I know when he corrected me I was giving him too
much respect. Phew. Pass the duck and the soju, please.

Notes:

One table of female teachers got drunk! It was pretty funny. They were
headed out to sing but my Ms Yoo wanted to go to this 'prestigious
coffee shop.' Usually, I don't like coffee. But the coffee was
actually pretty good. I could have shown off my English vocals though.
Shucks.

South Koreans love to ignore anything to do with North Korea. It's
just the way they live their lives. More on this later.

They all look the same to me

We all know that Asian stereotypical joke that all Asians look the
same to us white people. And vise versa. Ever since I arrived here I
feel like I am seeing double. All these Mr. and Ms. Kims must be
related. I swear. At the same time I can't tell how old they are.
Asians, or in this case Korean girls and women, look so young at times
it is hard to guess their age. Remember when I mentioned that crazy
thief when I first arrived at the airport here? She looked like she
was anywhere from 15-20 but she was really closer to 35. I know all
races have people with baby faces. For instance, take a look at me.
I'm 24. I l don't look a day over 19. The Chinese couple on the
airplane insistently kept asking me (4 times) if I was old enough to
drink. I even broke out my ID to show her. But in Korea the tides are
turned. I am completely thrown for a loop. If you are between the ages
of 18 and 70 you look years younger than you really are (old women
here look absolutely decrepit. They walk around in the shape of the
Hangul letter ㄱ(k). I mean where are their canes and walkers!!!!).. It
must be an ancient Asian secret! Kimchi?!

In all seriousness, I had kids in different classes who looked so
alike I thought they might be sneaking in to attend my class. I didn't
want to ask my co-teacher about this because I didn't want her to
think that I was stereotyping my kids. I thought, 'How am I growing to
phrase this without looking like a complete jackass?'

On the way back from getting my new TV in Ilsan I posed this question
to her, 'Ms. Yoo, at our school.... do a lot of the students have
sisters who, also, attend the school?' Brief pause....

Yoo ----- 'Yes, there are many twins.' She's got to be messing with me.

Me ---- 'Really....?'

Yoo--- 'Yes! Every grade has twins. 1st, 2nd, 3rd.'

Impossible. 'No way. Really? The odds of that are staggering!'

Yoo ----- 'Yes~. Because, now, so many parents use....the.....
(struggling for the words).'

Me ----- 'Artificial insemination processes?'

Yoo----- 'Yes~! Thank you. There are many students' sisters who attend
the school.'

I was shocked and relieved at the same time. I couldn't believe there
were 3 sets of twins at my school. 3?! That's insane. I might know
three sets of twins over my lifespan. Let alone identical twins. At
the same time I was so relieved not to come off as that stupid, white
American who thinks all Asians look the same. Good thing I didn't
phrase the question this way, 'You know, all the kids look so alike. I
can't tell if they are the same kids or not. Must be an Asian thing.
Oh, just out of curiosity, do any of them have sisters who go to
Buil?' ....

Notes:
My main co-teacher, YOO EUN SOOK, has accepted the Krispy Kreme
challenge. I explained the rules to her and everything. And she is
still confident. 'Not a problem. My nickname is the Korean word for
'bread.'' My other co-teacher, Mi Sun, and I cannot wait to see this.


SK's ignore NK. more on this later.

She's a MILF and you're a Cougar

When I walked into the office today, I really thought it was going to be one of those long, tiring days. I had only gotten a few hours of sleep thanks to some god awful singing taking place in the Bupyeong market area somewhere last night. On top of that I had six 45-minute classes, today. Luckily, my students came prepared to pick me up with quite a few laughs to bring me out of my zombie-like state.

Jeopardy is the name of the review game. And I have been letting the students make their own group names. Most of them are pretty cute and non-suggestive like 'Pretty Princesses,' the letter A, Apple, Pig, Big Bang. But some of them are downright noteworthy Conglish Classics. Like 'Diarrhea.' I shit you not (my first curse!) they wanted to be called poop. Then they thought about it more and checked with the co-teacher to reform their name into what they were grotesquely trying to express, 'diarrhea.' The co-teacher seemed fine with it. So, I just ran with it.

I kind of enjoyed it. I made a couple poop jokes whenever I called their group like 'Team diarrhea, stop running your mouth and make your pick.' or 'Hey! Diarrhea! Don't spread yourself everywhere just make a solid choice.' But no one got any of the puns. Probably for the better. Good thing that wasn't a popular team name choice.

As it turns out the most popular team name is my name, Justin. There had been various uses of it. But one class got creative. One group made their name 'Justin' first. Then the next team said they wanted to be 'I Love Justin.' And the third team wanted to be 'Justin Forever.' The first team was outraged and wanted a 'changee' to 'Original Justin.' I tried to explain that I was the original Justin. That was unimportant to them. So, out of the 6 teams there was Yellow Duck, Original Justin, Justin Forever, I Love Justin, 2AM and 2PM. I can't buy love like this in the states.

When the game actually starts, it gets even more competitive. And occasionally words slip out by accident. The first 3rd (8-9th U.S.) grade class I had today really got into the Jeopardy review. At one point, one team was accusing another of cheating. I asked the team under attack if they were in fact cheating and this is the response I got from one girl, 'No, no, Teacher. They are just fucking.'

'What?!' My eyes are like saucers in my sockets. 'What did you say?' This little 14 year old girl with a cute, innocent face and braces just dropped an F-Bomb in my class. Of course, I'm not scolding her. I'm laughing hysterically. I'm trying to hide my big grin behind my paper questionnaire.

'No, no, teacher, I didn't.' She is covering her mouth in shock. The students around her are laughing. The rest of the class is laughing at me because at this point I'm hitting my leg in laughter (great example I am). And my co-teacher is just rolling with the punches. I say, better to laugh than to scold. Then every student would know how bad it really was. Plus, it was simply a riot.


On the other end of the Korean school conversation scale I had quite an interesting conversation at lunch, today, about the difference between Cougars and MILFs. At lunch in the teacher's cafeteria room I am eating with my 3 main co-teachers. We are talking about how old Ms. Yoo's car is. And I crack a joke about how she might want to consider going out looking for a younger one and maybe not just a car. Ms. Yoo then drops a super word bomb, the word Cougar. I almost dropped the food right out of my mouth. Mi Sun sees me and she starts laughing, 'Are you going to be alright?'

'Yeah, I'm fine. What did you just say? You know what a cougar is?!'

'Yes, why wouldn't we?'

I'm thinking how did the term make it all the way over here already?!
'So, what does it mean to you?'

'An older woman who goes out looking for younger men.' DING!

Or as the urban dictionary defines it:

• An attractive woman in her 30's or 40's who is on the hunt once again. She may be found in the usual hunting grounds: nightclubs, bars, beaches, etc.

'Wow.' Still covering my laugh to keep food from spewing. 'So....um....do you know what a MILF is then?'

All three of them, 'No. What's that?'

'Um....let me spell it out this way. Mom I would Like to F....'

'F?'

'You know, F. Like F you.'

'Ohhhh.'

Ms. Yoo needs it spelled out for her. 'Ms. Yoo, it's a four letter word. The first letter is F, the last is K. There's a U and a C that fall in there somewhere.' Thank god the other teachers don't know enough English to spell.

'So, what's the difference between a cougar and a MILF?'

'Well, a MILF is a mother and often times married.' I'm treading in dangerous waters here with my co-teachers. Tread lightly. 'And a cougar is an older, single woman looking for younger men.'

Ms Yoo--- 'Oh, so, Mi Sun and Michelle you're MILFuhs. I don't have any kids. So, I could be a cougar but not a MILF?'

Me --- 'Correct. But Mi Sun could be a cougar, too, if she wasn't married.'

Ms Yoo 'Ah, I see....... Thank you.'

I emailed all these urban dictionary definitions to Ms Yoo after lunch. I can't wait until she starts using the Urban Dictionary.


NOTES: 

• I am beginning to see who are the funniest kids in my classes. A rare few of them even pick up on my passing insults and jokes.

• I can tell the future.

Upcoming:

I'm cooking dinner for the co-teachers at my apartment this week. Hilarity should ensue.


Past:

Read the past 4 posts.

You have 5 more days to vote on my new hairdo.

Feast on hair

These blogs are coming at an erratic pace. Feast or famine. Well, feast your eyes upon this post.
Alright, alright. It was a really unproductive Sunday ok?

First let me give a shout out to the DAWGS! GO HUSKIES! That win today was UNBELIEVABLE. For those who didn't see the final touchdown let me indulge you with Husky lore. Mason Foster intercepted a pass deflected off of Arizona WR Dean's shoe. And he ran it back for a TD with less than 3 minutes left in the game. Unbelievable. The play itself symbolizes the way things are turning around this year from the gutter to glory. Yeah I know, I am reading way to into this. So, let's just name the play and LET THE TURNAROUND CONTINUE! I hearby dub that epic play the 'Shoestring Sensation.' Mason Foster you are my shoestring hero!!!

Second, I went to this bar called 'KEY WEST' last night. It was a pretty swanky little place. There really isn't much surfing in Key West but they gave it the old stereotypical beach look. Minus one random little part. A framed tourist map of Seattle smack dab right in the middle of the framed picture wall. The same map I passed out at the Hotel Deca when I worked there for a year. (I wish my camera wasn't broken so I could show you. I'll get a photo of it eventually.) These are the iconic maps you can get that have all the good spots to hit up in Seattle if you are a tourist. Like the waterfront (Argosy Cruises, Crab Pot), the Space Needle, the yellow area marking the ride free bus area in downtown, etc. I couldn't help but laugh at this. Wrong part of the country, wrong climate for a beach bar. (WTF A LITTLE ANT IS CRAWLING ACROSS MY SCREEN. I better look for these buggers). Still it's almost needless to say I have a new favorite bar in Bupyeong.

Now, that I've gloated a little about the Dawgs and repped Seattle, let's talk about Korean haircuts.

Mainly, how I'm scared to get one. So scared that I am considering growing out the mop again. I figure I can donate it to cancer patients when I get back. I really don't want to go to the barbershop (not the shady, blacked out windows postitute barbershops) and have them butcher my haircut. It was hard enough to find a good barber in the U.S. Now, I'm in a foreign land and I don't want to look like G-Dragon (google him). I don't know how I am suppose to tell this person not to give me the Korean cut. Print a picture of Clark Kent and bring it to them? But then they might save an 'S' into the back of my head.

A few people have gone to get their haircuts already. There have been some success stories like Tony (Drake got a good cut but he's Korean so he doesn't count in this case). And there have been FAILS like Jason. Jason got the Korean cut. The sides are nice and tight. But the top is pouffy. You know it looks like a little like a radish top or a Korean Friar. It's depressing. I don't want to look like that. If I did I would've joined a missionary. No offense Jason. It really doesn't look that bad. It could be worse. They could've drawn a tic-tac-toe board in there. After seeing what the haircutter did to Jason's hair I am even more worried.

This isn't like home, where you could go to a friend's place and have him shave it down with a number 8 guard. But even they had caveats. Like 'I'll cut your hair for you. Buuuuut only if I can shave you a mohawk. You have to keep it for at least the weekend if I do this for you.' I did it. Admittedly, it actually wasn't that bad. I kind of liked it. Thanks Swoll Cat Migs. Oh, and I showed my mom. She freaked. I laughed.

So, I think it's time I put up or shut up. But I am going to leave it for you to decide. Should I let it grow back out to Frodo style? Or should I quit being a panzy and go get your first Korean cut?

Go! Vote!


Notes:

Jason it's really not that bad. But don't go to that hair stylist again.

Women have it great here when it comes to haircuts and styling. They hook it up for you. It's like prom night for you.

Co-teachers are funny, too

I have been cutting it pretty close with death lately. I swear the reaper is following me around like a little Korean student on your first day. Just as obsessed with me but with a more sinister intent (shitstabs can be pretty brutal, too). So, let's get away from that. And let's talk about something else. Let's laugh at my co-teachers' amusing antics and sayings!!!!

Your co-teachers can be a lot of things. Bitter, sweet, blunt, very blunt, helpful, useless, understanding (maybe not that so much) and funny. Really funny. Most of the time they may not even know they are funny. Sometimes, they laugh at you. Sometimes, you can laugh together. Personally, I got a pretty good deal. I know I complain about my weekly verbal abuse but I have a pretty good relationship with my co-teachers. Particularly, the ones I share the office with. Michelle, Mii Sun, and Ms. Yoo.

They are each very funny in their own way. Michelle is very intelligent and very kind. She loves to talk to me. (Her and MS. Yoo were the ones complaining about my Facebook use) She always talks about her kids. They are a couple of pretty amusing sons, too. The youngest wants to play me in Starcraft. I tried to get her to tell him that I am awful at Starcraft. And that he would beat me. Badly. She speaks excellent English. She laughs at most of my jokes.

Mii Sun is the most intelligent and the only one who really understand sarcasm and caustic humor. And she's good at it. Very good at it. When I ask her questions. She likes to slip in a little two faced sarcasm behind the comment. She has that cold, calculating humor that laces every sentence like a spider's web. It subtly encases you. Unless she wants to make you feel it. But she understands almost all of my jokes. She is on top of it whenever I tease Ms. Yoo.

Ah, Yoo Eun Sook, Ms. Yoo. The name itself is funny. She is my favorite patsy. Because she is a lot like my Mom. In the case that they both are fun and easy to tease. And they take it really well. She has the hardest time catching up to some of my humor. I feel kind of bad. But Ms. Yoo is really catching on to giving me a hard time, too. She says I am inseparable from the internet. It's my 'wife or more like your lover.' And she likes to poke fun at my Korean pronunciations. For example, today, she told me my 'thank you' in Korean sounds more like the word for 'chip.' I already know I am going to call somebody important like my principal a 'MR. STICKY FISH FACE.' Or Principal Salty Chip in this case. But that's only half the reason about why I think she is the funniest.

The other half is that she is the most unintentionally humorous person I know. Her meticulous nature mixed with her ajuma (the most used name for a middle aged to senior Korean woman) absent minded tendencies makes her an absolute riot. My favorite being this one:

She was speaking in English to Michelle in the office the other day telling her about students who were going back and forth telling Ms. Yoo that this girl takes a shower once a year. And that girl only takes a shower maybe every 10 years. That's not even the funny part. Ms. Yoo then stopped to ask me what the difference was between a shower and a bath. I told her a shower is when the water is poured on you from above. And a bath is when you soak in a bathtub. She let out the 'Ms. Yoo Sigh,' the one she lets out when Mii Sun translates my teasing jokes to her or when she realizes she made a mistake. She explained that she had told her students that a shower was when you washed in only water without soap. And a bath was when you washed with soap.

The three of us, Michelle, Mii Sun, and I, all start laughing. Ms. Yoo sits there perplexed and worried about her students. She asks Michelle how she taught her students about the words shower and bath. Michelle tells her she told them my way. Ms. Yoo lets out that patented 'Ms. Yoo sigh.' And she exclaims that she must check with all the teachers to learn if they did it her way like it was a common misconception. (I told you she was meticulous) None of the other teachers made the same funny mistake. But in all fairness you will find there are common misconceptions.

In example, somehow we got talking about hips. I was talking about my hip and pointing to it on my front side. And all my co-teachers are looking at me like I'm crazy. 'Hip?? That's not your hip.'

Hip right? H-I-P? Hip?

'Yeah, you're Hip(puh) is back here.' They grab their butts

Noooo, that's not your hip. That's your butt. Your hips are up here. You know, where you rest your pants.

We went back and forth a couple times over this. Particularly, since I am outnumbered 6 to 1. It can be very difficult to teach against a united front of myBUTTismyHIP. I had to end up googling a picture to show them. Once they were convinced, they had to spread the word of where your HIP was.

All in all my co-teachers can be a riot. I have meshed pretty well with them. My personality definitely goes a long way here. And I gotta admit I have a pretty sweet set up.


NOTES:

Shout out to all the people who read this in the Campus Point office. Although, it's probably just Suzie reading this. She is a huge facebook perv. :D

A pretty good week for a pretty awful teacher

This was a pretty damn good week. First, I put together a few decent lesson plans for the kids. Second, the teachers are so busy putting together the questions for the midterms they didn't even reem me during our weekly Wednesday beating. So, it's been smoooooth sailing all week. Until last night. . . . . .

Friday, October 9th, 2009, the day I got stuck in an elevator for the first time. Yay...!

A group of about 30 native teachers met up at the Arts Center south of Bupyeong. It's a pretty cool place. To give you an idea of what it looks like imagine a big concrete, decorated courtyard surrounded by restaurants, bars, and cool little shops. It's a sweet spot. And a lot of Koreans my age hang out there and eat fried chicken and drink beer. The perfect mix. I think I'll have some myself. :D

After round 1 of Chicken and Beer, we got together in this bar quite a few stories up above the Arts center square. It was a pretty big bar with plenty of seating and quite empty when we got there. We took up 3 separate tables. Ordered beer and soju. Soju Cocktail. Soju and OJ. I'm sippin and telling stories about this and that. We're all crackin jokes and havin' a pretty good time. Next to me Si-Khoa was getting pretty hungry. So, he suggested Fried Chicken and beer ROUND 2. Of course, fried chicken my second ultimate weakness so I had to oblige. (The first weakness is COSTCO!!!! Which I hit up again today. 2000 WON HOT DOGS BABY!)

So, we take the elevator down. And I'm so excited I am jumping up and down. Hawin' and hemmin' about fried chicken. When I jumped into the door and BOOM. We're stopped. You've got to be kidding me. I try the buttons. No way. I'm in complete disbelief. Si-Khoa has to tell me I stopped the elevator. I'm an idiot.

So, What do we do? Well, since I don't know the Korean for 'HELP! GET ME THE HELL OUT OF THIS ELEVATOR!' We start yelling in English! 'HEY!!! SOMEBODY! ANYBODY WHO SPEAKS ENGLISH HELP! WE'RE STUCK!' Thank God Deborah was with our party because she speaks Korean. She got us help. But they couldn't get us out for 2-3 hours. So, what did I do? I slept. I don't know what Si-Khoa did for that time. I think he watched TV on his new phone (the last one went the way of the ocean like mine). I had a pretty good nap though.

When they finally released us from our vertically movement challenged tomb, I wasn't taking the elevator again. I ran down those stairs to the solid ground. I almost kissed that solid ground. Until I remembered every Korean man, woman and child spits whenever, wherever. I'm not saying they are spewing like facets. But they will hock a lugie at any moment.

The other Native Teachers rejoiced at our rebirth. And they bought us two Phoenixes chicken and beer. Hey, anytime I get chicken and beer for free I'm happy. But poor Si-Khoa. I almost positive I am his unlucky charm. For him I am the bringer of bad fortune. I better buy him a rabbit's foot to carry when I'm around.

Big Rad Brad

Big Rad Brad


I rode with Brad, a ~40 year old bald, with a sizeable belly Canadian native teacher, a pretty good guy who has been here for years but has a pretty dirty mind. When we were waiting for the van, this husky fellow is trying to teach me Muay Thai. He has me trying to kick him in the head. And he is grappling with me and trying to teach me all these different moves. I'm no expert, yet. But I think I'm going to try and train with him later. This guy is all over the place.

When we got into the van, I was quickly introduced to his dirty mind on the ride back. Basically, I am almost positive this guy has been to the massage parlors. Let me reiterate he is still a good guy. He's just a little perverse. For example, on the way back he asked Mary, a cute, well endowed filipina girl, to cram in the van and sit on his lap. She obliged and road the bumpy, windy road back to the docks on his lap. When she got off, he told her, 'Hey, Mary, don't take this the wrong way, but that was probably the most fun I have had all trip."

......................................................................wow, is there a right way to take this?

In all fairness, Brad helped us out a lot on the trip. And fed a few of us. Good guy.
He, also, came up with the 'Hit by a Bongo' tradition. Every year a newbie has too much soju and gets 'HIT BY THE BONGO.' This year it was Devin. You gotta be careful with the soju. Let's keep this a secret because almost everyone still thinks he did. Let the legend grow!


DEVIN AND A BONGO

The weekend I almost died.....TWICE

I know what you're thinking. HA HA very funny. Don't over exaggerate. I'm not. I came about this close ( ______ ) to dying. And it was a blast! ....minus the part where I almost choked to death.

I traveled with 20 other native teachers on Cheosuk, the Korean Thanksgiving, to the island of DeokJeok-do (you can find links to the island in the notes below). It's a gorgeous island off the coast of Incheon by about an hour and twenty minutes by boat. The ride there was fantastic. You ride a Victoria Clipper like boat to the island. You go under the Incheon Bridge and out into the sea.

That's a real photo not a postcard. Although I didn't take it. Fastbreak Drake did.

When we got to the island the hotel provided a van to transport us across the island to Seopori beach. It was a pretty interesting ride. I rode with a guy named Brad. I'm going to give him a separate post. You can check it out below this post.

So, when I arrived at the hotel my roommates, Sam, Racine, and Seo Hee, saved me a spot in the room. It was a nice room and a good group. I got to know each of them pretty well over the course of this short trip. My new homeboy Sam --- the hilarious Brit who has done a lot of traveling who is leaning on me fast asleep right now. Racine --- An artistic South African gal who is very sweet and very tough as I found out on the trip. A real monkey climber. Finally, Seo-Hee. She has dual citizenship in South Africa and South Korea, which is actually illegal because you have to tell the South Korean government around 20 which one you will choose. Shh….she hasn’t told them. Anyway, she speaks fluent English and Korean and is quite cynical at times. She’s a doll though. We shared a bed for two nights if you can call it sharing. Don't worry Mom and Dad you know I do not share a bed.

For those of you who have “shared” a bed with me you know it’s not sharing at all. I dominate all aspects of sleeping. I sleep diagonally, on the covers, under all the covers. Elbows are flying everywhere. Knees spring up from hell to wake you up on Earth. It’s like sleeping with a ufc fighter. Sorry, Seo-Hee, I owe you dinner.

Anyway, I got some really good photos. Until I woke up the next morning and my camera was broken. Sand infiltrated the lens and is preventing the lens from retracting in and out. So, half the trip is going undocumented. Deokjeok-do: 1 ; Justin's electronics: 0

TO THE DEATH!

On the way to the island we met Jeremy and Mii Jin, the married couple who set up the entire trip for us. Jeremy is pretty adventurous. He asked us to go on a pretty tough "hike" around the island on the second day. The word hike conjures up thoughts of walking up hills and over somewhat tough terrain. That word is not a word I would use to describe any part of this adventure except the part where we hitchhiked. I prefer the words rock climbing, swimming, bleeding, hidden beaches, and gorgeous views. We put survivor man to shame at some points. In fact you can just call me Mr. Bear Grylls.

Jemery tried his best to describe this trek to everyone but you couldn't appreciate how difficult it was until you took part in it. When we started there were nine of us. After the first 30 minutes of climbing steep rocks over a watery grave 3 people dropped out. And props to them for making it that far. They are no less of a man or a woman for making it as far as they did. I actually have more respect for them. But it only got worse from there.

We would climb up and down steep and sometimes very sharp rocks. There were some drops inbetween and off the rocks that would have broken your brittle bones and left the group in a bind. And when we came to a ridge we couldn't cross we would have to swim around the rocks in open sea water next to the rocks. We did this for about a 2 and a half to 3 hours. I can't really describe how tough and somewhat scary it was at times. When one of the 6, Sean, fell I really thought he was going to be seriously injured. Luckily, he escaped with only a slight muscle tear in his shoulder. When we climbed over the last series of rocks we were all elated to be on solid, flat ground. Luckily, no one died. And everyone escaped with only scratches and bruises on their arms and legs (mine are on my stomach). BUT IT WAS A BLAST! I haven't done anything like that before. And I don't think I'll ever do it again.

I brought my phone on this trek. Needless to say it didn't make it. It's drying out in a DRY bag of rice right now. Deokjeok: 2 ; Justin's electronics: 0

When we got back to the main road we were going to have to HIKE back over the mountain on the road. Lucky for us, a bongo truck showed up. And Jeremy and Racine flagged it down. I was the last one into the back of the truck and the driver hit the gas before I got my second leg in. I had to grab the side of the truck and pull myself back into the moving truck.

When the endorphines and andreline wore off, I was dead tired. I lounged around for a few hours to refresh myself. And watched the thunder and lightning storm from my room. Too bad my camera was broken.

Anyway, after another night of meeting people from all over the world and making friends with the local restaurant owner, we went to breakfast at his local restaurant. They served toast, eggs, and sausages. But it takes forever to cook. And we were in a serious rush. I was telling the others that when the food arrived I was going to inhale it in less than 30 seconds.

When, the food finally arrived I stuffed half a toast sandwich in my mouth and tried to swallow more than I could chew. Literally. It got stuck in my throat. It hurt. I tried to choke it down and down. But it wouldn't budge. I am panicking. I don't know if I can breathe. The other members at the table were disgusted by how much.I stuffed in my mouth. Sam's laughing at me. And I'm choking! I'm pointing to my back. Like HELP HELP! My eyes are bugged out. They aren't going to help me. I've given up on trying to choke it down. I'm trying to throw it back up. When I finally get half of it back up and the other half drops into my abyss, I am struggling for air. I'm trying to explain to them I was choking. They are laughing at me. Bastards. And Sam who was in a rush as well already finished his meal before I could get back to eating mine. That was a meal I really didn't want to have choke down again.

DeokJeok put me to shame. But I will definitely go back. All the beautiful views, bonfires and exploring made this trip worth it.

The Photos:

The random, stone carved putt-putt course.

The gang at dinner Friday night:

The gorgeous sunset on Seopori beach

Throw up your gang signs and make your best Thizz face:

NOTES:

Deok Jeok-do LINKS (do means island for those of you who don't know)

Wikipedia page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deokjeokdo

Photos of the island and a little info
http://english.visitincheon.org/travel/view.jsp?tour_id=74&c_page=1&class_id=A

Thanks

I owe a lot of thanks to Jon, a native teacher from Seattle who helped get this together.

But all the native teachers owe a bigger thanks to MII JIN, Jeremy's wife, who made this trip possible by fronting the money and booking all of this. We owe her big time. Thankfully, she got all the money back.

Wow, sorry, a week has passed since the last post

I've been meaning to get to my computer to post but over the past week a lot has been going on. So, we will start chronologically beginning with last Friday.
Last Friday, a group of us native teachers ventured about 40 minutes South on the subway to the Song-Do district where one of the teacher's lives. We had to go another 20 minutes by bus to get to her apartment. It was quite an adventure.
It began once we got off the subway. We were waiting for Deborah, the teacher who lives in Song-Do, to meet us at the subway gate. When we saw this guy:

He was so hammered drunk he couldn't get out of the subway gate. He kept walking up to the toll and would place his Subway pass on the machine then try to walk through ONLY to be denied every time. That right gate would close on him. He would stand there. Back up. Then try to do it again. And again. Then he would try the machine next to it. He was infuriated. He would curse and try the other machine. If it wasn't so funny it would have been painful to watch.

Anyway, this whole fiasco infuriated the drunk so he took it out on the floor next to the machine. After he finally decides to hop the gate he takes the water bottle in his hand and drains every last drop next to the machine. He is scowling at the machine the entire time he is draining every last drop. Once the bottle is empty, he spikes it like a football and marches off.

This poor subway attendent:

She came over to clean up the pond he left behind. After she tossed the bottle the drunk came back regretting leaving his bottle. Steaming mad he stomped out of the station.

With this said, Koreans don't have a lot of patience when they are traveling or drinking for that matter. They like to drink fast, walk fast, and drive fast. Men and women kill bottles of Soju like water. They don't dillydally around waiting for the buzz to hit. They are trying to kill all their brain cells before you can figure out what hit you. I always thought it was a marathon not a race. Koreans think otherwise. Especially, taxi drivers.

My first late night ride

Let me start this off with a number. 160. That is the speed in KM per hour the taxi driver was doing for a couple minutes on the freeway. For those of you who don't know the coversion of KPH to MPH that's about 100.4 MPH. I was gawking at the speedometer as he sped past every car on the freeway save one other taxi. We averaged about 60 mph on the sidestreets and 90 on the freeway. It was like every car experience I've had here but faster. muuuuch faster. Mario Lee Kim Andretti was pushin the pedal to the metal. It was like a video game. Weaving this way then that way across traffic. I couldn't do anything but laugh.

Koreans do not like to wait. (Random old men will flat tire you if you don't walk fast enough. And, no, they won't apologize.)

I made it home in one piece that's all that matters. Except it cost me 20 bucks. Lame.

To sum up the rest of the week (so you don't have to read a book) I am going to make a list.

SATURDAY

so exhausted from the week I stayed in and bummed around

same thing sunday. Still terrible internet at my place

MONDAY

Began tutoring 3 kids for the English festival coming up

Got home at 6 30 from work. Dead.

TUESDAY

GOT MY BLAZING FAST 100 MB/S INTERNET
Made tacos for the boys
Saw a Star Wars bar (more on this when I actually go inside with my rockin' star wars t-shirt)
Walked around K-Vegas (Behind Bupyeong Market). It's crazy in there. It's everything you imagine about Asian food, booze, flashing lights, bars on top of other bars, batting cages, bazaars and Norae Bang (karaoke!).

Wednesday

I don't call this day Wednesday anymore. We have our teacher's 'meeting' every Wednesday. I don't think of it as a meeting at all. It has become my weeking verbal BEATING. I walk in expecting to get chewed apart by 6 Korean co-teachers. They laughed when I told them I thought it was more of a beating than a meeting. Maybe more like a hate parade. It helps me get to know them though.

After school 5 of us met up by my place and walked down to the outdoor basketball courts. I was pleasantly surprised by how good one of the Korean basketball players was. He could speak and understand English pretty well. I called him the Korean LeBron. I am beginning to think up nicknames for all the Native teachers as well. One of the native teachers, Ryan my roommate at the hotel, called me 'The Train.' I am still a one man fast break especially since these hoops are all 9 ft 6 inches. Yeah. All of them. And I still don't pass on the fast break. I'm a dick.

Anyway, someone else came up with FASTBREAK DRAKE. He is this super quick, tiny Speedy Gonzales type who is the only other teacher who will even get out on the break with me. He is the only other teacher I've played with who knows the game well. Sadly, the Koreans were still dominating him in the post. Sorry Drake.

Tenacious Ton(y) yells everytime he gets a rebound. Even the Koreans were laughing.

'Jumpin Down on Himself' John. He is so funny because whenever he shoots he is praying for it to go in and if it doesn't he is so disappointed.

'Wrap my Eyes on this' Ryan. Ryan is pretty solid offensively. He is fairly smart but he is very deliberate. The reason I call him 'Wrap my Eyes on this' Ryan is because he watches the ball not his man on defense. It was pretty funny. I think he got beat 3 or 4 times by ball watching in one game. Drake was warning him not to stand and gawk.

And then you have the Koreans. Like Korean LeBron. Oh, and Dirk and Tony Parker. The guys who wear the jerseys when they play. Korean LeBron didn't have a jersey in fact he was wearing sweats but his game was pretty nice. Good passes. Good shooting. Good moves. All the younger Korean guys would face break and cherry pick like crazy and he would dish it to them. The younger guys will get nicknames later. Let me tell you about their rituals.

They have a weird way of playing. Play to 11 first game. Break. Switch sides. Run it back to 21.

In between games many of them sit and smokes. How or why, I don't know. It's crazy. I'm drinking gatorade and they are havin' a cig.

They only play zone defense during 5 on 5. The only people I know to ever do this consistently are the Hawaiians. It must be an Asian size thing. I think they had this planned out from the start. 'Oh, foreigners (Waegoks). Let's play zone and cherry pick them.' In a sentence that is exactly was Korean basketball is about. And it was killing us at first. Most of the teachers can't break a zone. And the court isn't that wide. So, the zone is hard to break. But the court is long. So, they fast breaked on us all day. The same two guys would leak out everytime.

I took the ball I found in my apartment to the park. It disappeared. No more ball for me. :(

I wonder what I'm going to do for basketball or exercise once the weather gets cold.....




I didn't get much sleep last night. I couldn't fall asleep hours after basketball. So, I'm whiped. I need a nap to get myself ready for the trip tomorrow. A couple teachers are crashing at my place. I gotta go meet them soon.

We are going to DeokJeok for a couple days over our 4 day Cheosuk (Korean Thanksgiving) holiday. Expect some stories.


NOTES:

Played 5 on 5 basketball. Native teachers vs Native Koreans.
Record: 2-1


I made a wire transfer via the ATM today. You can transfer domestically and within your accounts not just checking and savings at the ATM. It's crazy. You can choose another domestic bank to wire money to. So, if you have bills you can pay them at the ATM.


Still on the honeymoon.


It's officially been 1 month today. 11 to go.