an interesting day

Having my first Friday off that didn't require a hospital visit. I moved my gear into my friend Ed's place for a few days. With days now clicking off my visa. I have to score the job for GEPIK public schools. I am ready. Woke up 6 am. Got my gear out of the apartment. Left it clean and severed ties with my old hogwan. Saw a movie partially set in NYC. Sam and Tanya scored me a new cellphone. I have been master of the local poke game where a mechanical device pokes prizes out of a target box. I have managed to win a new lighter, a gift certificate, MP3 player, about a dosen toys for my kids, and a few (4) tickets for jeju island (the korean hawaii)for myself and friends. I gave the first ticket to my korean friend Moon Bu. Since he is from there and being paid monthly. An emergency trip can be a hardship. He was very grateful. Now he has it just in case.
So today being Saturday a regular day off. I played with the kids in the park and watched my local choku ( soccer volleyball ) team play. The un sool is type of recreational spurting fountain where the number and height of the water spurting out changes. But the priceless moment today came with me speaking with a very old korean lady they are called ajima, essentially grandmother. So she decides to talk to me. And she was very impressed with my hard won Korean. I told her that it was funny that ajima (grandmother) and hajima ( stop that!) sound the same. She smile and said We take care of children grandmother and "stop that" are the same. We laughed. It was a good moment.

still alive

well after many months of my boss trying everything in his power to get me to break contract. He severed contract which gives me money. Although he stiffed me for ten days. Again not unexpected. I have enough cash living frugally to try for a public school job on wednesday. I'm crashing with my buddy ed. If I get the public school job. I am covered for a short contract. I'll keep you all posted.

fields of dreams and lights of hope

my boss, severed the contract today, he has been making my working life hell ( 9 cass days no break ) for two months trying to get me to quit. I stuck it out. He broke the contract so he owes me 1 month salary, plus my savings I can get home. Now a choice stay in korea and find a job in the ten day period before my visa expires and I get deported. There is a public schoo job open in Osan. I should interview for next week. I can get a short contract and be home as early as novermber. I don't know

mountains. waterfalls and flying

So I went to the big bhuudist site in Soraksam this weekend. Started early Saturday morning looking , climbing a mountain in the pouring rain and reaching the summit. As the fog rose and covered the landscape. I will post pics soon. Gods it was beautiful. Then I saw the argest stone bhudda in Korea. Walked and hiked.
Sunday I went to the beach, played beach soccer, swam in the eastern sea, and few. The watersport is a big infatable raft pulled by a boat which you straddle ike a horse. The raft has enough drift to take you off the water and into the air. Will post vid soon.

English is Milk

Some good things that happened this week as my boss was spying on my classes through CCTV.

Taught a unit on Shakespeare to my advanced class, very good. My boss who the day before said I was bad teacher. Saw his precious advanced class. Watch me mesmerized. My boss was watching. I smiled and went on with the lesson.

A common question in Korea, "How old are you " My answer today to my students 106. The shock was priceless, as they did the math. Then one of my smart alecs asked. "What year you born?" I answered "1903." They talked amongst themselves in confused Korean. " Teacher joke right." I smiled and went on with the lesson

Chin Te, my Korean co worker and I saw my Kiwi buddy on the way back from work. So we picked him up. I'm sure my foreigner friends who have never met CHin Te thought he was my imaginary friend. One I conjured in my first two months. I like making Chin Te laugh. He responds " I'm real" , I was teaching him more English in the car. He has gotten so much better. I smiled and went on with the lesson.

Now as for the title of this entry. My students after saying Wei (Why?) and stretching it to ten syllables. I was teaching a unit on Rome. And we hit the section on food, especially wine. One of my whiniest students said " Teacher "I am wine." My response " No you are whiney." I went on after the confused gaze went away. But we got to a section on pizza and the eternally hungry chidren of Korea started complaining about food. " Buy us food." They started asking questions one asked "Teacher why you tall. All weigookin tall?" My response " English " There were many gasps. " English is like Milk, it makes you tall, your teeth white your bones strong, you muscles big." There was a muttering. I knew in my heart that some of my students woud practice English at home for a coupe of centimeters of height. " Teacher joke right? I smiled and went on with the lesson.

It's just too bad so many are lactose intolerant.

the blowout

So I finally had a sit down with my boss which turned into an arguement. He's added even more classes to my workload. Has changed the lesson plan that I had been adhereing to. Totally changed my schedule. To make a long story short. I am going to try to jump ship. Find another place with a shorter time period so I can go home on time. It may mean a short trip to Japan to redo my visa. Which will kill my savings. Or I may just go back to the states.

A rant

Well you have all heard me complain about the cultural pathological aversion to giving pertinent information that some of the Koreans have. But it often comes out as rudeness. And the Koreans say that we as foreigners just don't understnad the culture. We Weigookin couldn't possibly speak the language or comprehend the culture. That is where they are wrong. All of us who have lived here have a good idea about the culture. We study it. We live it. Most of us are polite to the extreme. And many Koreans reciprocate. But sometimes rudeness is just that. It's not a cultural thing to withold information. It's not a linguisitc thing. It's a blatant lack of common human courtesy. My boss today was saying in mostly Korean that " Korean is a superior language than English. " I argued back that the very idea of one language being superior to another is completely ludicrous. Then I had to explain that in Korean. Just the very idea behind that statement was the exclamation point to the core problem. My boss had me study Korean like a madman to speak it ( as well as study it on my own time ) and now won't let me speak it in class. He doesn't like the fact that I have Korean friends. I just think he doesn't like the idea of me knowing what is going on. But I have eyes and experience. Just treat me like you would a Korean. The same way I would treat a person of any nationality in the states. I lived in new york most of my adult life. It is a refugee camp with good coffee and great pizza. I guess sometimes you just want to be treated like a human being. It's alot to ask I know.

cultural plans

Plans for future travels in Korea going to Soraksom next week.

DMZ
War Museum
Korean National Museum
Kyopusa Tempe
The monuments of Seoul
White Water Rafting
Mud Fest
Jeju Island

For my vacation I may not be able to travel out of country, so I may just spend the week in Seoul a hotel is cheaper than a flight. A few people I want to meet will find me there. A dragon that needs slaying.

and a sweet little bit from work

I was really missing home today. Just wished I was home and I was feeling a little blue. It's had when you miss something like a country that can't communicate with you directly. But as Damon put it " Miss not that which can communicate."
Oscar one of my youngest is a very sweet kid, and speaks little English. Fridays are my review days where I pretty much get to do what I want in the classes. I usually blast out vocabulary and pronunciation. Towards the end of the class. I sat down to do their blessed coupons. He sat on my lap and gave me this huge hug and said in a mix of korean and english. "Kang Jhang Goon don't be sad. You good teacher. Good Korean" I thanked him. Tell you it made my day.

a pirates poem; again from the story

sailing the seas of unknown lands
full of spite and treachery
in this world slow runs times' sands
and I live through piracy

that in the waters I find a home
and in these timbers I am free
this house comes where I roam
and plots courses for my destiny

live, love, fight and be free I said
and these worlds still ring true
as long as my name causes dread
my real name known to a few

so I seek many other treasures
the fight is great succession
and indulge in freedoms pleasures
as I relieve them of possession

so I plot where the ship will steer
with a full hull of bounty fair won
a pirate or perhaps a privateer
my work is never done

so when you see my black sails
hanging from my mast
that when brave mens' courage fails
thank the gods my ship is fast

even though I rarely kill
and take what's not my rite
it is the mind and the will
that guards me in this flight

just a little poem from the new story

Ki Sa Do

( ki sa do is the korean word for chivalry, broken down furhter = ki is tall, sa is four and /or death, do is spirit borrowed from the chinese. The spirit of a knight)


I was sitting and thinking
with memories seasons to taste
to stare at my enemy winking
that love is never a waste

Over the twilight time between
the word thats said and the deed
I find pulled by hands unseen
and often yield to epitaphs creed

then in time of sorrow and delight
long ago and forever far
I never lose that of the night
when my blade doth the stars scar

I have walked with many ghosts
and listen to their tales be told
given my good share of toasts
and poems these arms enfold

so on honor my mind besets
and valour my soul commands
my heart endures past regrets
I follow loves' demands

I face the challenge with fist and blade
and give in to the waters' flow
when these thoughts of past pain invade
my shield and armor is ki sa do

escrima and days unsettling news

I love my wednesdays, training and teaching escrima. I have a good crew and it is one of the things I really look foward too. As far as news more sabre rattling from the North has gotten many jumpy.

The news is censored here, so keep me posted.

a walk in the rain

I love to walk in the rain in Byeonjeom at night, glistening neon, makes the streets look newborn. The rain continues to pour and in it's flow I always find mine.

Classes were good today except for my last period ill behaved nightmare class. But the classes leading up to it were good. I kind of broke my bosses rule about me not speaking Korean in class. The books that we have been teaching are innane and hardly enough for 10 minutes let alone forty.

A typical day - Mondays and Wednesdays six to seven classes
Tuesdays and Thurdays seven to eight classes - my last classes these days are with my most advanced kids.
Fridays six classes

My first classes are my young ones which I adore. They all want to learn and I have fun. Rex my colors boy always likes to say "Teacher eyes blue" and my brilliant girl Pink ( she picked that name ) loves to write and draw and always corrects the others. Then there is Kevin who I swear has a better English vocabulary than I do. I had to teach a unit on Math today for my little ones. Which they tore into, funny I never thought I'd have to teach math.
Then the storyville books which are dreadful and give kids huge vocabulary words and no korean to help them build the circuit. My middle classes are full of boys. But I am teaching about a parakeet named Tiki, That hurts my brain. Then to one of my favorite classes with Ana, Luna, Arvid, Thom, and Jack. They are great, always funny and polite. I was helping them with real hard vocabulary for ten year old English speakers let alone ESL students. The last class is 16 or so thirteen year olds. Who don't even try. I feel bad for the few good students in that class, that work hard and have to fight to hear me. I finally got the class calmed down. But it takes work, without me being allowed to use my Korean.

Thank the gods it's going to rain again tonight.

six months in halfway home and su hyun's cat

On Saturday I was officially here six months, and it has been a hard struggle at times. The shine hasn't gone off the apple. I managed to learn a passable amount the language, train, help people and heal a bit. So now after acending this mountain, I have to think on the descent. Been looking for work teaching in the states and getting my accredations. I have managed to survive and sometimes thrive. My students most are great some are horrible. My days long and greuling, My nights fillied with poetry and the occasional pangs of longing. My novel Glass Mountain is going slowly . I've got to go to a Samsung store to see if they can get a hundred or so pictures off my phone. And for part of this week I am watching Tanya's bird Soju. This will give me my much needed news infusion. I plan on doing the more cultural things this month. There are museums to go to. I still want to get to Soraksam and Kyobusa temples before I go. But the are days I so miss the ocean and the sky. Sky and ocean always touch. This weekend was fun. It ended on a high note when I got mauled by a friends cat. Su Hyun is this nice math teacher who speaks passable English and she brought her cat out for me to pet, something startled it and the little beast clawed me. All I could do was laugh. Su Hyun an absolute doll fetched a band aide and some antibiotic ointment, that cat's fur matched my hair color, except for the few grays that have been popping in. I think the cat knew I was a foreigner. Fear of war is on many faces. I night I hear the combat jets fly overhead. So as my old man would say. "Be Safe"

addendum

I really like coloring days with my little ones. Rex who is thrilled when he gets colors. "Scott Teacher Blue Eyes " one of his favorite things to say. Was coloring yesterday and colored one of the girls in the pictures hair a vivid red. Most of the others made fun of him. No saram have red hair. Essentially. Then I showed them a picture I have of my girl, Jen. They stood corrected. And Rex beaming said " Scott teacher red hair. " You take your victories where you can.

the three old korean ladies

the sit at the bus stop while I wait for my bus. And they gossip. They will occasionally talk to me and when I answer in Korean. They study me perplexed and go contentedly back to gossiping.

my back is hurting because one of my worst students came barreling into class and the door cracked me right in the back. I finally let him have it in Korean. The class froze with the suddeness of unexpected thunder.

a remade my decision to thrive today.

well - trying to be positive

Try to mix the bitter with the sweet and needed to vent. Finally got a good night sleep minus migraine and insomnia. As for good news I went to the Korean folk village and had some interesting pics taken. I look foward to my wednesday night Escrima class and try to pull myself to payday.

a bad day

Today the insanity was out of control. My gods the hogwan needs to learn to give damn information. It was a bad day at the school. Had a bad case of loneliness. Just exhausted to the soul. Days like this make me want to go home. I'll be fine. But grrrrrrrr. I aways wanted english only classes. Now after six months I lose the ability to use Korean in class. So damn annoyed. The new books came in today. Ten minutes of material for a 40 min class. Just irritated.