Thursday, October 23, 2008


Defunct steps
Originally uploaded by schlitzy.
I stole this off of Fritz flickr site (that sounds really strange). Click on the photo to see his other pics.

This was taken a month or so ago in Danyang. There isn't much to do in Danyang but get a few plastic pitchers of beer, go down to river, chat, and see what comes about. In this pic we are sitting on some stairs that go nowhere. You may think that I am speaking metaphorically, but really, the stairs end at concrete wall. It was the perfect spot to lie back, stare at the lake, and chill out. Sometimes the path to nowhere ain't so bad.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

This video mixes two of my favorite loves, political satire and the muppets. As a kid I would try and imitate the Cookie Monster style of talking and eating. There are so many memorable lines in this clip:

"Me now know that cookie is sometimes food."

"Whoa, whoa. Hold on a second. Focus. Me been there. Me have crazy times in the seventies and eighties. Me like the Robert Downey Jr. of cookies."

"After you eat healthy food, you can show cookie pride by eating... Cookie!"

Honestly, I'm voting for whoever Cookie Monster endorses.

(The post says that the video is no longer available, but if you go directly to youtube, you can view it there. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rG0P_FONlg )

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Teacher, Teacher

I start all my classes the exact same way every day. I come in and say, "Good morning/ Good afternoon." Hopefully the kids all respond in kind, then I ask them to, "Show me the notebooks!" The kids all hold up their notebooks; I count the notebooks; and if all the they all have them, I give the class an extra English point. (Don't ask what English points are. It gets complicated.)

In my best class, class 6-4, there is always one kid who doesn't have a notebook. There is no excuse for not having a notebook. These flimsy Korean composition books cost the equivalent of 50 cents and there is a stationary store right outside of the school. Still, I wonder. Maybe this kid has really mean parents and they never cough up any money for school supplies. Maybe the kid lives with his ailing grandmother and saves every bit of money he can for medicine. Who knows, so I decide to give the kid a notebook. Kat and I have two extras floating around the place so I made a special point of bringing these notebooks to school. On this special day, before class starts, I ask the kid where his notebook is. He shrugs, and then with great dignity I present him with his new notebook. I have done it. I am super teacher. I have given the under-privileged, grandma saving-child an instrument of learning. I have also helped create unity in the class as the kid holds up his notebook with the rest of the students and they earn their "English Point".

So three days later, I do the proud call for notebooks only to realize that one student does not have a notebook. The little bastard lost it. Sorry to use such abusive language, but how does a kid loose a notebook that was given to him just three days ago? I thought the bequeathing of the notebook was such a momentous occasion. The kid isn't even supposed to take it home; it's supposed to stay in his desk. I fume, but then I start to think. Maybe some kids stole it. Maybe he took it home to practice his English and forgot it. Maybe he had to sell it for medicine to save his sick grandma. Then I realize, it doesn't matter. I tried, he tried. Maybe we'll try again. I would get angry, but honestly, this student reminds me too much of myself when I was a kid.

Rise Above it All


Rise Above it All
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
This is one of the cooler things I've seen around Seoul, the hermitage of Yeounju-dae. I had the day off on Monday. It was the birthday of the school I work at. Apparently, in Korea they celebrate the birthday of the school by not going to it. I went hiking instead. This was a tough hike but the view at the top was pretty rewarding.

Gwanak-San


Gwanak-San
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
This is a killer hike.

Andong


Andong
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
This is the mask festival in Andong, a pretty cool little festival. There were masks, dancing, food, booze, more masks. We hit up the festival, wandered around Andong when night fell, and ended up gambling with a bunch of Korean guys around two in the morning. The gambling consisted of throwing coins on to a gridded mat with different numbers on it. That's all I can say. We couldn't really figure out how it worked. Sometimes we won and sometimes we lost but there was always lots of yelling involved-- the good kind of yelling. Fun was had by all.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Mask Dancer 3


Mask Dancer 3
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Shuck and jive the traditional way.

Big Kite


Big Kite
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Big Kite= a lot of work.

Masks


Masks
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
As if we weren't scary before.

Pupils


Pupils
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Faces in faces.

Waygook-ens


Waygook-ens
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
So everything about this picture is fake; fake fruit, fake chickens, fake Koreans. Believe it or not, this is actually a fake wedding. Sorry to disappoint.

This photo was taken in Andong at one of those touristy booths where you can slap down 5000 won to get a taste of Korean culture. The both was empty when I first showed up, but when Kat and I started to get dressed, Koreans showed up by the boat load. It surprised me, the reaction the Korean public gave us. A lot of random people snapped my picture. Still, I'm happy to try and cross the cultural bridge.

Monday, October 06, 2008

Asan from a Car Window


Asan from a Car Window
Originally uploaded by karmking1111.
Just a random city in a random part of Korea.