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 23, 2008
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.
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
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.
Andong
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
Waygook-ens
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.
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
Friday, September 26, 2008
Us
So I've been really bad about this blogging thing lately. I used to be Johnny on the spot with posting random stuff that had happened. Now it takes me three days to write about something that I did two weeks ago. That's what happens as you get older--time just keeps expanding. Amazing.
Anywhoo-- the occasion that leads us to this picture, standing next to a marker in Chinese on a Korean mountaintop, is that wonderful Korean fall holiday--Chu-sok. It's the equivalent of Korean Thanksgiving and for each of my three Chu-Soks here I've gone camping and hiking. This one was no different. My version of camping since I've come to Korea has been greatly modified, so cramming in a small hotel room with Fritz, Jason and Sarah will count as camping this time. Sarah has actually documented enduring a small hotel room with three guys better than I can: Here and Now. It was fruitful and joyous time. It's nice to know, being so far from home, that Thanksgiving/Chu-suk is universal. Happy Chu-sok everyone.
Anywhoo-- the occasion that leads us to this picture, standing next to a marker in Chinese on a Korean mountaintop, is that wonderful Korean fall holiday--Chu-sok. It's the equivalent of Korean Thanksgiving and for each of my three Chu-Soks here I've gone camping and hiking. This one was no different. My version of camping since I've come to Korea has been greatly modified, so cramming in a small hotel room with Fritz, Jason and Sarah will count as camping this time. Sarah has actually documented enduring a small hotel room with three guys better than I can: Here and Now. It was fruitful and joyous time. It's nice to know, being so far from home, that Thanksgiving/Chu-suk is universal. Happy Chu-sok everyone.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Peace and Solitude of the Outdoors
Ah, the peaceful summit of Birobong peak. After 3 hours of hiking we got to the top of the mountain where we were greeted by a low flying helicopter. The guy in this picture looks like he is about to be gunned down. Shortly after the helicopter left, a family with a eight year old boy showed up. The boy took great delight in practicing some form of Korean yodeling which was basically screaming at the top of his lungs. One or two yells is tolerable, but the boy went on and on and on and on. I almost lost it. In my classroom, if a kid is being a pain in the ass, I have a means to deal with that. In public I just have to wait and see if the parents will do anything. The boy on the mountain must have been the first born son as the father was content, and seemed to encourage his boy to yell and yell and yell. After about five minutes the family trooped on down the mountain, and I took great delight in passing them and their child, the child crying as he was too tired to hike.
The Decision
Pictured is Fritz. Fritz is new to Korea, been here for about two weeks. I love the new people because they remind how strange Korea can actually be. Ah, the naive innocence and all the new experiences. In this picture Fritz is experiencing Korean cheese in a tube. He eventually decided it was not to his liking. Not to worry Fritz, there are plenty of other food products in tubes here. I'm sure we'll find one that suits you.
Blood Sucking Fiend 2
One night in our hotel room, we got torn apart by these suckers. In the morning it was my turn to extract vengeance. I slapped this one down, took it's picture, and then squished the bastard when it got vicious. See the red belly? That's my blood in there. I want it back. Let this be a warning to all mosquitoes.
(Bonus points if you can figure out what the bug is standing on.)
(Bonus points if you can figure out what the bug is standing on.)
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