"Manly Men"

What a great Tuesday it was!

Due to the preparations for exams, I only had to teach 2 classes (we watched a Mr. Bean video for most of it too).

After school I had been invited to play in a male faculty vs. male student soccer game. I was actually looking forward to it a few weeks ago when they scheduled it, (even though I'm not very good at soccer). Since I injured my back, I decided it would be best not to play. I was a good spectator and got the students who were watching to do cheers in English.

Following the match, the male teachers all got together and set up an outdoor grill next to the school. A handful of guys brought out a slew of side dishes, and the main dish: grilled eel (구장어 이) and pork-neck (목살).

I was a bit wary at first about the eel, but it was FANTASTIC. If you add a little salt or some spicy pepper paste it's even better!

We even kicked back some beers and soju, while some of the men broke out their cigarettes for dessert. Add another reason I love Korea. If this happened in the US someone would be fired, and a parent would sue the school. Yet, the bad side of it -- some of the teachers were a little drunk and then started talking with the taekwondo students who got out of practice late. I'm sure the kids are used to seeing some teachers a little drunk - it's no better than the majority of their fathers.

Even my principal made a comment about how Koreans love to drink. He said: "Russia numbah-one drunken, then Korea, then Canada, then America."  He's pretty much right with that one.

After the dinner we piled into a van and drove the 1/4 mile to downtown Sanbon to a bar to finish off a couple pitchers. Surprisingly, I did not get drunk at all in this escapade like last year, but was probably the most sober person there.

It was really great to bond with some of the teachers, particularly a new teacher who is about my age and loves baseball. I have a feeling we'll be good friends, and can't wait to go to a game with him this spring.

My principal and one of the head teachers later challenged Jordan and I to a game of "pocketball" (pool) where the losing team would have to pay for the time. Luckily, I was the most sober and made a lot of my shots. We beat them both times and further proved how awesome us westerners are.

The rest of this week will be pretty slow. The 1st and 2nd graders are away for a 3 day field trip to go hiking and traveling to a traditional Korean village a couple hours away. I watched them load up the fleet of 10 buses and had to take a photo on my cell phone:

I wished I was going to see some amazing places, but then I remembered I would have to help babysit 500+ students on a field trip for 3 days! Now, I'm so happy I'm NOT going!

"Gift"

Here are a bunch of videos worth watching.

I'm refraining from only posting K-Pop as there are some other great videos out there:

Enjoy!

K.Will - Gift (ft. G-One, U-Kiss, B2ST, Mblaq)

Outsider - Acquaintance 

He is the fastest rapper in South Korea

Now for some amazing western singing:

AHMIR: The Climb (Miley Cyrus)

Sam Tsui - Nothin On You & Hey Soul Sister (ft. AHMIR)

And just for fun: 

Simon and Martina - Korean Subtitle Fail.

"Blossom Smile Some Sunshine Down My Way "

Wow, what an eventful week it has been!

We're gearing up for mid-terms in a week, and the Korean teachers have been hard at work. As for us conversation teachers, we are looking forward to the next few weeks. When exam time comes around, our classes are usually taken over by the co-teachers whose classes are less prepared for the exams. This is usually about half of them, and I get a lot more free time to do lesson planning and fool around online.

I've also taken on an extra 2 classes a week after school to earn some extra cash, but the student attendance has slowly been dwindling and I've actually had to cancel the next 2 weeks of classes because the kids told me they were not coming because the need to study. Thank you diligent students!

In other news...

I threw out my back about 3 weeks ago after a rather intense game of badminton. I have thrown my back out before, but I have usually just rested and the pain has dissipated into oblivion. Also, ever since my second year of college, I have had lower back pain which I mainly attributed to my being overweight. I've dropped about 30 pounds this year, and the pain is still there.

I also visited my girlfriend's blind acupuncture doctor (click here for my January post if you need a refresher) and he told me that my spine is twisting and should be fixed as soon as possible so I don't look like this guy when I'm older:

I thought about visiting her doctor for treatment, but his office is over an hour away on the subway, and I would have to visit 2-3 times a week. He also closes his office at 6pm, and I get out of work around 4:30-5:00. This would NOT be ideal...

Instead, we found a local chiropractor about a 1 minute walk from my apartment. (Top Chiropractor) The chiropractor is also blind, but handles only a small portion of the treatment. The main treatment is done by a physical therapist who has the hands of a God. I laid on a heated bed as this small Korean man worked miracles. I could feel the pain in my back being pushed out my shoulders, then my arms and out through my fingers. The treatment is not exactly cheap. Either $50 per visit, or $700 for 20 visits. (I have to do the 20 visits of course). I also have to do some small exercises every day to strenghten some muscles. Also, I am supposed to sleep straight like a corpse. This will not happen easily, as I tend to move a lot in my sleep and usually sleep on my side or stomach. The day after my first treatment I felt super sore from the massage, but hopefully it will go away as the treatments progress.

heated beds

 

This is my blind chiropractor (and obviously not me)

 

 

On Saturday night... 

We celebrated Hwayoung's birthday. She was away in Saipan with her company on her real birthday so I helped plan an outing at our new favorite restaurant - Pasha (the Turkish place we went for our 100 day anniversary a few months ago if you recall).

 

Good friends, good times.

and good food!

The food was amazing as usual, although it is overpriced and they are pretty strict on some of their policies. (like everyone at the table must order a main dish in order to be able to use the salad bar. Sorry, not everyone wants to pay $20 for a main dish!) All in all, it was still a good time, and I got to see our Korean friends, and meet some other friends of hers as well.

On Sunday...

We visited Yeoido, a spot known for it's park on the Han River which neighbors the National Assembly Building (Seoul's Capital building). This spot is also particularly known for it's cherry blossoms. And they were beautiful! Check out the photos!

Cherry blossoms

and more...

and more...

and more!

 

Just the two of us..

National Assembly Building

A Bridge Over River Han

A night view of Seoul and the National Assembly Building (far right)

"Paint it Black"

Happy Black Day!  (솔로부대) "solo boodae"

Black Day (opposite of White Day) is a day for single people to wallow in their loneliness and get together and eat jajangmyeon (A Chinese dish of noodles with black bean sauce - and is pretty good!).

 

This is day is reserved for those who did not give or receive gifts on Valentine's Day or White Day - (the holiday held on March 14 where men give candy to women).

"The Easter Parade"

I've never been the type of person who is comfortable in doctor offices. (those who are practicing internal medicine that is.) I've spent plenty of time around MD/PhD's!

I had come down with some symptoms last week, and was afraid I was going to catch the flu. (Low energy, felt feverish, sore throat, and congestion.) After talking with my girlfriend on my way home from work Friday, she asked, "Are you finished at work? I got off early and am taking you to the doctor. I already made an appointment and you have no choice!" About an hour later, I was sitting in a clinic across from my apartment. I met with the doctor, who simply asked my symptoms as he typed them into his database. He examined my temperature, breathing and throat, and after about 30 seconds told me, "You have no fever but your throat is inflamed. I'm writing you a prescription for these following drugs: Sudafed, Tylenol, and another decongestant."

In Korea you can't buy any of this stuff in the local store. You have to go to a pharmacy. You don't need a prescription for my drugs though. You can get them over the counter. I think he was just making sure I got what I needed by writing it down.

I was interested to see how much this cost though. 3 drugs for a cold? What's my co-pay in Korea since I have National Health Insurance?

Here's the rundown:
5-10 minute exam by the doctor: 1,700won
Sudafed, Tylenol and other drug: 3,600won
Total: 5,300won

Let's convert that...

$4.71

Take that America! National Health Insurance rules!

********************************************************************************************************

This weekend wasn't too exciting due to my taking it easy with my cold.

Here's a quick rundown:

First off, my girlfriend and I celebrated 6 months - couldn't be happier! We even bought a citron and pumpkin rice cake to celebrate. The bakery even gives you a big plastic knife, matches, and as many candles as you need.

We also walked around town just to get some fresh air. I found some dollar stores (finally!) and a cheaper market to buy fresh fruit and veggies. However, it opens at 9am, closes at 6pm, and isn't open on weekends. What kind of crap is that?

Also, Easter was celebrated around Sanbon. I could tell because as we were walking around we kept seeing bits and pieces of boiled eggs around. It seems the local churches give out the eggs to the parish, and then they walk around town eating them and discarding the shells in the streets -- sometimes along with the white and yolk too. I thought the Easter Bunny exploded there were pieces of egg everywhere!

That's it for now. Happy holidays all!

"What Kind of Fool Am I?"

오늘은 만우절!

(O-nul un manojul!)

Translated: Today is April Fool's Day!

Korean children do celebrate April Fool's Day, (만우절) - or simply put: Liar day.
One of my co-teachers warned me beforehand that my students may try to play a prank on me. I was surprised because they were relatively tame. Only a handful of kids tried anything. I had a couple of students try the classic: What's on your shirt? look-down-boinks-nose bit. It doesn't work on me because: 1. I'm not 8 years old, and B. It's the oldest, lamest prank in the book.

Which is why I wasn't surprised when some students tried this highly original gem: "Teacher!....pants zipper!...down!"

They, on the other hand, were surprised when I had a PowerPoint slide on the board that said:

TEST DAY!

Did you remember to study?

I told them some crap about how I informed them last class to study for a test. They were worried and asked how difficult and how many questions it would be.

April Fool's suckers!

Some of the 3rd grade boys played a good little prank. They stole some of the classroom number signs that hang above the doorways and switched them around with other classrooms in the building. This would have confused the hell out of me as I don't remember where all the rooms are still. Neither did some of the Korean teachers - especially the new ones, so it caused a little confusion. 

The school's janitor wasn't happy about it. When he discovered who one of the students was, he apparently hit him in the face and gave him a bloody nose. They sent the poor boy to the hospital because he kept bleeding.

Also, some boys played some more pranks on each other and they started horsing around that 2 more boys got hurt.

I'm serious.



.....or am I?


No, I really am. Sad but true.

I'm pretty sure this is staged, but maybe you'll still enjoy it:

Korean Girls Creepy Synchronized Disobedience

"Run, Devil, Run"

Ok boys and girls, it's time for more K-Pop!

I realized I haven't posted music videos in a while, so maybe you'll enjoy what the kids are listening to these days.  -- or perhaps not.

SNSD (Girls' Generation) "Run, Devil, Run"

T-Ara "Crazy Because of You"

Kara "Lupin"

K.Will "Present"

T-Ara "Bo Peep Bo Peep" (one of the most annoying songs ever)


and for your added entertainment:

Adjumma (name for an older married korean woman) elbows past the bride!
Adjumma's are known for being super persistant and pushy yet they are also sweet and generous. However, be aware! When you are waiting for an elevator, on a subway, or even walking in the grocery store, they tend to always push by you to get where they are going.



She must have really wanted that seat!