Friday, July 29, 2005

Long Time, No Blog

The last week or so has been pretty busy. A new month at work means new syllabi to make and this month we are teaching a new intensive class. The time we go to work has also changed for this month as well. Instead going 1:30-9pm, we've started arriving at 9am and leaving at 5:45pm. It's been hard for me to get adjusted so far. I've only slept a few hours each night.

We have a week off, so we're heading to Seoul today. We're staying in Itaewon for five days. Just trying to get to the bus terminal should be interesting. I'll give more of a proper update after the trip.

-insomniac out.

Monday, July 18, 2005


I went for a walk by myself today and decided to take the camera with me. I didn't get any great shots, but this one shows a little of the city. There have been Korean flags hung up all over the last couple days. I had to do an intertron search to find out July 17th is Constitution Day in Korea. Trying to get C to go for walks has been like pulling teeth. I don't really blame her. The combination of her asthma and the humidity has her breathing hard after a trip to the supermarket some days. I probably walked somewhere between 3 and 5 km today. It was probably 31 degrees and cloudy, but by the time i got to the apartment i was drenched in sweat.

On Saturday we went for a jaunt downtown. After finding out we missed the English movie by 10 minutes we did one small lap and headed back due to the heat. We had four kids and one adult say "Hi" to us in English in just over an hour on the street. The same thing happen last weekend as we stepped out of the cab at E-Mart. Being white is like being a mini celebrity. People want to say hello to you for no reason. I don't mind the kids. They get to use a little English and are really cute. It's a little weird sometimes when the adults do it. I think i probably prefer some of them just staring. Next time i'll try and write about the staring thing if it isn't six in the morning.
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I'd like to make a withdrawal. The term "hair bank" seems kind of funny to me. Every time we go to the supermarket we pass this place.
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Saturday, July 16, 2005

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

What a week it's been. It started out pretty good and quickly went downhill. We had a good day on Sunday. It was cloudy all day, but never rained. We managed to catch a taxi to E-Mart and back all by ourselves and both drivers understood what our destination was without me having to repeat myself. The taxi drivers here seem to drive by there own set of rules. Hell, the whole country does, but taxi drivers even more so. At the intersection at E-Mart there must have been thirty cars waiting in the left lane to turn. Our driver just pulled in front of the first car and made a u-turn. We arrived with a sense of accomplishment. It was nice to know that we're able to get in a taxi and get to at least one place by ourselves.

Wednesday started out good, but turn bad quickly. C has a conversation class every Wednesday with a parent of one of the children from school. Her student invited us out for lunch that day which we enjoyed. I felt a little bad when she insisted on paying for the meal when i'm pretty sure she was also still paying for the conversation class. From the little i know about Korean culture i think it is rude not to accept food or a gift.

C had been having problems with her first (everyday) class not listening and always bitching about how the other teacher was better. I think some of the girls have even called her fat to her face. On Wednesday she had too much of the them and she started to cry at work. It's not her fault she's sensitive. She has two really good supportive parents. If she had two selfish assholes that seem to go out of there way to make you feel like shit, like i have had for 27 years, she would be able to let it roll off her back or dish it back. Everyone at the school was supportive of C, but the problem wasn't solved for her. She said that night that if she was here by herself she would have headed back to Canada that night. I've had several kids make fun of my nose, my balding head, or called me "golem". At first i ignored it, but it happened so frequently that i've started to dish it back at the little brats. Since then it's started to calm down for me. Now they do it in Korean.

It ended up getting pretty ugly today. Classes hadn't even started and the shit hit the fan. Some kids show up to class over an hour early and just hang out (free babysitting) and pester the teachers. C had the two troublemakers in her bad class show up. While i was in her class talking to C the two girls started tag teaming her. One little bitch started calling her ugly and pointed and laughed. Then they said she was a pig. I had seen enough and attempted to step in between them without getting physical so C could get away from the abuse, but they were like hyenas trying to get in her face. When they finally stepped out of the room i locked the door. I could see on C's face something had to be done, even though she didn't want to admit defeat. Instead of throwing the spoiled little bastards out the window i decided to talk to the head teacher in private. He talked to the kids and told them it would have to stop or they would either have to leave the school or have their parents come in and apologize. After the little bastards had their lecture C had a much better day than Wednesday. If they do it again i'll physically remove the girls if it come to that. C didn't sign up for that shit.

-insomniac out.

Sunday, July 10, 2005

Happy Birthday From The Other Side Of The Earth

Right now in Canada it is July 9th, which means it's my sister's 25th birthday. I want to wish her a good one. I wish i could be there to visit with her and my niece, and the niece on the way.

It looks like another crappy weekend. It rained all day yesterday and is supposed to rain all day today. Yesterday i had a few language barrier problems, but everything worked out alright. We went to the video store and attempted to rent a movie with no success. Once we finally found one, we took the case up to the counter and the girl shook the case and said "nothing." I guess they keep the movies in the cases unlike back home. We walked out a little amused at our failure. Later, i went to get some fried chicken from a place down the street we've had a few times. I took a flyer with me and pointed at what i wanted. The delivery guy kept trying to ask me something in Korean. The old woman who cooks came around the counter and said something. I managed to catch the name of our apartment complex. I nodded, but then realized i had no idea how to tell her what apartment number. After a few frustrating moments i tapped my chest and motioned that i would take it home. After that everything was fine. To my disappointment the rest of the day was spent indoors. I want to be able to get out and explore more.

It looks like today will be more of the same. We'll probably spend most of the day indoors. Sooooooo boring, i know. We might try to catch a taxi to E-Mart if we manage to get a taxi driver that understands what the hell we're trying to say. If i'm stuck indoors i might try to post some more pictures later.

-insomniac out.

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

All I Can Say Is That My Life Is Pretty Plain...

...I like watching the puddles gather rain.

This weekend was a wash-out. It's apparently "Monsoon Season" here which means it has rained almost constantly lately. We spent the entire weekend indoors. Our big excursion was to the supermarket on Saturday. On the way home a guy was selling blankets on the street outside the bank. The only sign we saw said some were 7000 won. We looked for a bit and found one we liked. When he told us the price and we had no idea how much he wanted. We found out he spoke at least a little English, and the blanket was 50,000 won. We decided against the blanket by smiling and walking away. That day some Korean lady showed up at our door and wanted inside. A few days prior we got something in our mailbox in Korean about some pest control or testing for pests they wanted to do. She said something in Korean and i said i didn't speak any Korean. She said something again and i just stepped back from the door and she walked inside. She went into our kitchen and pulled our scissors out of a drawer, all the while babbling on in Korean. She left some pieces of paper with dabs of what looks like some kind of glue in our cupboards and left after i signed something.

It looks like our trip to Japan is postponed for now. The timing just isn't right. We don't have the time or money to plan a worthwhile trip. We'll try to hit it on the way back to Canada, or maybe try to teach there after this gig is over. Instead we're planning on spending a week in Seoul since we haven't really seen it yet. We found a decent hotel located in the middle of Seoul that should work. While we're there we're planning on seeing the DMZ. The USO has a tour that seems pretty good for $40 American. You get to see Panmunjeom and one of the tunnels the North has dug into the South. Any tourist attraction where you have to sign a waiver absolving the UN of any responsibility in the event of your death as a result of an international incident has to be good. We'll have to remember to pack some good clothes so we pass the dress code. I'm not kidding.

-insomniac out.

Friday, July 01, 2005


I saw this package at the supermarket the other day and bought it on a whim, not knowing what may await me inside. I think i might turn it into a game for myself. I shall call it "Mystery Snack". Ok, so the title needs some work. Maybe once a week i'll buy some random thing if it catches my eye. I found the colours and the cupid baby with disproportionately large head interesting. I think it cost me 800 won, or about $1 Canadian.
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When i attempt to translate the side of the package i get "cho ko peek", i think. I'm still trying to learn Korean. I didn't attempt translation until after i opened the package.
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Opening up the package i find some bread-like dipping sticks, chocolate icing, and multi-coloured sprinkles. It turned out to be not a bad surprise this time. It could have been much worse i'm sure.
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