Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Just Me Being Random

- Yesterday I finally sent home a BIG box of some of the crap I've accumulated. It was so cheap I may send home another!
- Today we have a grade four class in. This means total anarchy and a lot of "mulaiyo's" (I don't understand), but the cuteness factor cancels it out.
- On the weekend, a foreigner (meaning a non-Korean) came up to me in Club Vanilla and started talking to me. He asked me if I was his sister, and I said "Ummmm... yes." I realized how un-hip I am.
- Did you know that "westerners" only eat sandwiches? It's a little known fact. I'm munching on a big sandwich as I write this.
- The humidity over here is sucking my will to live.
- Yesterday our computers were all shut down because my entire school's network got some sort of virus. 1) I have no idea what to do with myself at work without internet. 2) Mrs. Lee let me read her "Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul" (in English) to pass the time. It only reinforced my hatred of teenagers.; well, perhaps not hatred so much as some sort of fear. 3) I don't handle sentimentality well.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Sajik Party and Other Disasters (not that the Sajik Party was a Disaster...)

Last week seemed to progress pretty slowly, so by the time the weekend arrived it felt more than due. On Friday night Alex came to visit Naju, so Alex, Monique and myself went out on the town in Naju. Of course we had to go to the Golden Kettle aka Sience 96, which is our own little hang-out place. The owner is a freindly ajumma who laughs at everything we say and likes to give us service-uh (which means discounts and stuff for free!). Then the next day it was off to Gwang-ju to catch an open-mic type night in Sajik Park. We got there early so we decided to see a movie called Lobe Troubles (Love and Other Disasters to those in Canada/States). It was really bad, but in English so I enjoyed it. Then we met up with Jessica and it was off to dinner at a restaurant serving Shabu Shabu (사부 사부), a delicious Japanese style meal. Everyone shares a big red pepper soup with lots of veggies, and throughout the meal you can add meat and noodles. At the end the server fries some rice and veggies up then you eat that as well. Delicious and filling.

After that we met up with more friends and it was off to Sajik Park to watch some people sing and play guitar etc, and they were all really good. After watching a bunch of performances, we all went to Club Banilla (hahahaha.. Club Vanilla), where we proceeded to dance to some hip-hop music and get stared at a lot. THEN we went to the WA Bar (not sure what WA stands for...) and sat around eating snacks for a while and people watching. After that everyone was ready to head back to the motel to get some sleep.

I guess Virginia got mad at me at one point... but Jessica's looking angelic in the background.Monique and former Najuite Stu. What a deserter he is!There are three types of Korean beer (well, I've only seen three...) Hite, OB (which makes me think of tampons), and Cass.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Layer of Wetness

Monsoon season has officially begun. I just went to the bank to pay some bills and it wasn't raining so much as just... misting. By the time I got back into the English town I had a layer of wetness everywhere (even though I was using an umbrella). Apparently this "rainy season" is going to last for about a month, then it will just be "so damn unbearably hot". Yeesh.

Not much happening in the English Town at the moment. Pretty much just waiting for the day to end. I had an funny (not funny ha ha)/angry moment in the classroom today. Whilst the class was in the middle of learning dialogues, I was asked to pronounce a word. She did this by pressing an imaginary button and looking at me, saying "play". Needless to say I was not amused.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday Dad!! And Pat as well!! (both upcoming, both getting pretty OLD, muahahahahaha). Seriously, love you guys, please help me find a car when I get back to Canada.

I'm far too lazy to speak in full sentences and remember things in chronological order. Thus:

- The apartment above mine has some leaky pipes happening which has caused a section of my wallpaper to get all wet and moldy and nasty. Of course I couldn't just talk to my upstairs neighbour, so I had to enlist the help of Mrs. Lee, who called the owners and we arranged a meeting. The only thing I understood was the man saying "chiosonghamnida", which means sorry. Apparently he's going to fix whatevers wrong. Wow, that's sort of a boring story. Sorry bout that!
- This weekend I'm going to go about getting a visa in order, so I can go to Beijing for a week!! (Aug. 4-11). Great Wall, here I come!
- Mrs. Lee is getting administration to pay for my flight home directly (instead of me paying then being reimbursed), which is awesome!! I'll be arriving in Canada the evening of August 21st.
- It's getting HOT over here. Monsoon season is supposed to be starting next week as well, which will make things interesting. HUMID. Weather here is pretty predictable compared to Canada. But I guess it's not a fair comparison since the weather in Canada is always insane.
- Today I started thinking about all of the photos of myself there are floating around the greater Jeolla area right now. Kids take pictures of me on their cell phones; people on the street will try to (and suceed in) taking pictures of me since I'm such an oddity; all of the teachers who bring their classes in make sure to get the waygook monster (i.e. me) into every shot; and I must admit there have been many times that I've wanted pictures with Hangookin (Korean) people, and then they end up taking pictures of me as well. So I was trying to think of how many pictures of me there are out there. Hundreds! Literally hundreds! *shudder* There goes my soul.
- Everyone who's contract is ending in August has begun to talk about "reverse culture shock". The theory is that when we go back to Canada, we're all going to wonder why the food is so bland, and wish we didn't have to understand EVERY SINGLE CONVERSATION. I have to say, for the most part I kind of enjoy not understanding conversations. Then I can zone out and spend some time in my own little Cathy world, and later someone can explain a half hour conversation in two sentences. Of course this doesn't always go well and I get some mixed messages, but, meh.
- Spending time in Cathy world. Sigh. It's not such a great place for others, but for me it's a joyous occasion. I have great conversations with random people and find myself winning every argument. Everyone tells me how witty I am; I react with humour and humility when complimented etc. etc.
- Ha! Funny story. Last night I get a call on my home phone. Most of the time it's a random person with the wrong number, and this was the case again. In response to my "Hello", I got the usual "ahhh... yoboseyo?" (Korean phone greeting). At this point I gave my usual "I'm sorry, you have the wrong number" and hung up. He called right back, but at this point I was thinking he might realize he was calling the wrong number so I decided not to answer. After letting it ring for a looonnngg time, he gave up. Then directly after I get a THIRD call which I pick up and he starts trying to talk to me in English, apparently convinced that the person he wants to talk to has just made some waygook answer the phone as an elabourate joke. After saying hello again and telling him I'm a "waygook saram" he asks "You... in Korea?" At this point I could only laugh. Did he think he was accidently calling a foreign country (three times!!)? Did he think that he had accidently called another dimension where all people in Korea had been forced to learn English (maybe that is more of a "future" than an "alternate dimension" thing, if you get my drift)?
- I am the queen of digression.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Wave Index Finger in a Circular Motion Beside My Head, Indicating CRAZY

My Extra Class today:

Me: Students! Listen!!
Students: (talking amongst themselves, completely ignoring me).
Me: Me!! (pointing at myself) You!! (pointing at students) You make Cathy teacher, make Me, CRAZY! (wave index finger in a circular motion beside my head, indicating crazy) Crazy!!
Students: (not listening, some are writing on the whiteboard thinking I don't notice what they're doing)
Me: YOU make ME want to kill myself!! (makes motions of tying a rope around my neck and killing myself)
Students: (still chatting. Maybe one or two students are attempting to decipher what Candy Teacher has said)
Me: (gives a desperate/resigned laugh, moves on to making the kids talk about what time they get up in the morning)


Enough said about those little punks! This weekend I went off to Mokpo yet again, to check out an island called Waydaldo. It was a fun afternoon of beach, gossip and cooking a couple of hotdogs on a stick. After a rainstorm I got a sweet picture of the sun breaking through the clouds in a very picturesque and aesthetically pleasing fashion. More pics can be viewed on my flickr site, which is linked to the right!

Friday, June 15, 2007

Butt

A student that came in today was wearing a shirt that said "BUTT" in big red letters. I tried to explain what it means but she just gave me a confused look and walked off. Sigh.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Better Than Christmas

I was sitting in my apartment last night watching some horrible reality show when I hear this god awful noise below. I look out my balcony window and there's this truck in the parking lot with a man sitting in the bed with what looks like a big huge gun!! Being the alarmist I am, my mind immediately goes to all sorts of crazy situations, then he presses a button and an engine starts up. It sounds sort of like a REALLY loud lawnmower and the man presses the trigger. Out flies a HUGE cloud of white smoke and I realize it's the MOGGY MAN!!! (Moggy is the Korean word for Mosquito). He was spraying bug repellent all over the place! I was inordinantly excited.
The best thing about it is that a bunch of the kids were running after the truck and playing in the toxic fumes. Mmmmm... healthy!!

Monday, June 11, 2007

I've Just Gotten Used to Everything

I kind of feel like my blogs are lacking in the stories I usually have. It's not because nothing ever happens to me now, it's just that nothing seems strange here anymore! I've gotten used to the mountains, the ajummas, the stares; and I have mastered a sort of "Survival Korean" that includes gesturing, pointing, one word responses and smiling, which has begun to serve me quite well. One day I had just gotten onto my elevator and an old woman got on with me. In Korean, she asked me what floor I lived on and I responded in Korean. Then she asked my how much I had spent to acquire the watermelon in my hand, and again I was able to tell her in Korean (chil chun or $7, which is pretty cheap in Korea). As I'm walking along the Naju river kids walk past me, talking about me and I can always understand what they're saying. It's either "Hey, it's Candy the English teacher at Naju English Town!" or "Look!! An American/foreign person!!".

Enough of that. Virginia, a new Mokpoer had a "Housewarming-Rooftop-BBQ-get-together" on Saturday night. The theme: dress up as a song title. So Alex and I joined forces and came up with "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robot(s)" by the flaming lips.

Lyrics:

Her name is Yoshimi
she's a black belt in karate
working for the city
she has to discipline her body'
Cause she knows that
it's demanding
to defeat those evil machines
I know she can beat them
Oh Yoshimi, they don't believe me
but you won't let those robots eat me
Yoshimi, they don't believe me
but you won't let those robots defeat me
Those evil-natured robots
they're programmed to destroy us
she's gotta be strong to fight them
so she's taking lots of vitamins... (and so on)


If you look closely you can see that I'm holding a case that says "VITAMIN", I'm wearing a black belt, and I have chopsticks (from Japan!!) in my hair, AND I"m wearing a pair of Yen boxers (which you can't see). I have WAAAAYYY too much time on my hands, but my costume pales in comparison to Alex's. He had to paint a bunch of boxes pink, and whined about it a lot.

I just had my extra class. The evil ringleader and his cronies showed up half way through the class so I locked them out of the room. It was awesome. I'm well aware that they didn't learn their lesson but for once I didn't have to spend half the class trying to make them shut their pie-holes, so it was a positively blissful class.

Friday, June 08, 2007

This Morning's Dream

I'm eating a big bowl of this weird iridescent soup (but that's not the weird part). It's sitting on my lap, and for some reason I'm bent right over it, eating away. My hair is down, and hanging right above the soup as I eat, so I notice one of my hairs has gotten into the soup. I pick it out, but since it's my hair, I'm not too disturbed, so I keep eating. All of the sudden there are ten more hairs (apparently from my head) in the soup, and I have to painstakingly fish out these big long thick curly hairs. Just as I've put the last hair in the garbage (conveniently sitting next to me) I look back at my soup and there is literally half of my hair (and that's a lot of hair) in the soup. So I gave up on the soup and awoke feeling hungry.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Facebook is an EVIL little program.

Monday, June 04, 2007

Gettin' on in years...

Sometimes I feel so very old.
If someone had told me in high school that I'd end up teaching, I would have laughed scornfully at them. "Me? Teaching? I hate teachers. I hate school. Impossible." But here I am yelling at kids and trying to teach them to say sentences like "Birds eat bugs" (taught my extra class kids about food today).