Day 77: Kids Stuff

So it was a bit of sad morning today. It's Friday and it's the last day of teaching for the kindergartens. The whole morning was saddening, yet anti-climatic at the same time. There was no goodbye party, no presents to send the kids off, no formal 'good luck at your next school' shindig. Just regular classes, and that was it. I'm not even sure if all of them know (or understand) that on Monday they'll be at a new school with new teachers, because none of them seemed upset by today's significance. Maybe it's better that way - it would be harder for me to say goodbye if they were all in tears and stuff.... I'm really going to miss those kids... :-(

One of my elementary students, James, is always bringing 'interesting' things to class to share with everybody. And it's always some strange creature. Last week he brought in a jar that had this GIANT BEETLE in it! The thing was huge and gross-looking and smelled so bad, but he was so excited to show it off to everybody. I have no idea where he got the thing from (it's certainly not a 'local' beetle - it's far too large) but the whole time I was teaching, and watching that giant insect press itself against the plastic, I just kept hoping that it wouldn't get out.... There's no way in hell I'm going to go and pick up that thing if it gets out! ;-) This week he brought in a pet snail...just a tiny one....but still odd to bring to school anyways. I imagine him being the kind of boy that his room full of bugs and other odd creatures - a mini little 'zoo' full of stuff brought home from science class, and stuff found in the park across the street. His Mom must love* cleaning out his room and finding all these little treasures** that James brings home.

* = be continually horrified and is currently seeking therapy for it
** = disgusting things she won't touch with a ten-foot pole or even her SuperPowerVac3000

Anyways Monday is the first day of all the new changes. The schedule is still being sorted out, but I don't start my day now until the Grade 1 class, at 1:30pm! Even though some adults have signed up already for the super early morning classes, Steven is taking care of them, it seems. Maybe I won't be asked to get up at some ungodly hour to teach? I don't know if the evening classes have been put together yet, but I'd be much more receptive to those.
I guess I'll find out who and when I teach on Monday. Should be interesting!

Day 76: My Sister, Celine

So another new pop song was introduced this week here at school, and yes, it was the internationally loved and loathed Quebec chanteuse, Miss Celine Dion. Even before Steven told me what song of hers had been chosen, I already had the sickening feeling in my stomach that I already knew which one...

Yes, you're right, it's My Heart Will Go On.

...and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on....

That song probably wins the title of the most overplayed song in radio history, so having it come back to haunt me here in Korea is like uncovering an audio skeleton in my Canadian closet. (Actually, according to VH1, My Heart Will Go On is the second-most played song in the history of radio. Any guesses as to which song is the first? I'll give you a clue - it's a song from the 80's, sung by a British band who's lead singer later went solo - and is still producing albums today - and a remake of this song was done in 1997 by Puff Daddy. You should be able to guess it now...)

Anyways, the kids were thrilled that this song had been chosen. I guess Titanic was as huge in Korea as it was in North America and they were all very excited to watch the video. The funny thing was that most of them already knew all the words to the song, even though all of them would have been between the ages of 1 and 6 when that movie came out, back in 1997. I guess Titanic's (and Celine's) success has been going on and on, well past 97!

Anyways, while watching the video I told them that Celine Dion was Canadian, and this also got the kids very excited. Their next question was whether or not I knew her. I told them she was my sister...and the funny thing is they all believed it!!! The entire class went absolutely hysterical when I told them this (especially the girls) and if I had virtual celebrity status before, well I definitely had super stardom celebrity status after this 'secret' was revealed to them!

I let this joke go for about two days and then I started to feel a little bit guilty for messing with their heads, so I told them that no she wasn't my sister, but actually....my ex-girlfriend!!! Once again, they bought it (hook, line, and sinker! Wow these kids are so trusting and gullible!) and I had celebrity status for another day. Well yesterday I finally confessed that she's not related to me at all, and that I've never met (nor dated) her. This was a bit surprising for the kids, but they didn't seem too disappointed over it anyways. It actually caused a good laugh amongst the class!

Another thing amusing about this song, is in the video there's clips from the movie, and one of the clips is a brief flash of when Leo and Kate were getting it on in the car on the boat. Well all my kids are still at the age where anything remotely sexy sends them into a fit where they cover their eyes, hide their faces, and squeal out in protest! Every time this part of the video comes on, it's the same high-pitched feverish reaction - every single time. I get a kick out it anyways, watching them squirm.

Too funny!

Day 75: Plan B

So with all the upcoming changes at REI I've been busy in my free moments sorting out in my head what options may lay ahead, how I may approach both the good and the bad that will come about with the new education plan, and what to do if the worst-case scenarios do come about.

Basically one of two things could happen with this new education plan. It either ends up saving the school and I don't lose my job (but I may have to work shitty hours or have really long days) or it fails, and the school ends up closing and I lose my job. I've been thinking a lot about what would happen if the school closed and I lost my job, or if things became so bad at work that I had to quit. I really don't want to quit, but if I feel the new plan screws me over I'm prepared to walk away from this job. I don't want to do that, and will consider that a last-resort option, but it *is* a possibility. I can only be patient and reasonable to a degree, and after that I'm just not willing to budge. I'd feel guilty for walking away and leaving Steven high and dry, but hey it's not really my fault. We agreed to certain conditions in the contract, and so technically he's breaking the contract FIRST by bringing about all these changes. Again, as mentioned before, I know he's only trying to do what's best for the school and is not intentionally trying to screw me over, but there just might not be a future for me here at REI. This potential has meant that I have to come up with a good solid Plan B in case this proves true.

If I had to quit, or lost my job, there's a few options out there. The most obvious one is to just get a new teaching job here in Korea. That should not prove to be difficult at all, as there's SO MANY jobs here that I could find something easily. And plus I'm already in Korea, so that would save a future employer from having to pay to fly me over. And I also have experience now (as brief as it is) which would look attractive on a resume. However...there's a major catch to getting a new job in Korea. Actually there's several...

Firstly, I'd lose my current work visa and would have to get a new one. This is not a huge deal in terms of paperwork, but the thing is, you can only get a work visa from OUTSIDE of Korea. I'd have to do what many other teachers have done before when they switch employers, which is to fly to Japan for the day and get a new work visa. This is actually more regular and routine than one would imagine, but it's still something I'd like to avoid. Some employers will pay for your day trip to Japan and others will not. That could be a major cost to me, one I really can't afford.

Secondly, pretty much every single employer in Korea only wants to hire teachers for a minimum of a one-year contract. Anything less is, from what I've gathered, almost unheard of here. This would mean that I'd be starting back at Day 1 again. It's not that I don't like Korea (I really am having a blast here and love the country) but I came here with the idea that I'd only be here for one year. I've already formulated plans for what I want to do after next February when my current contract is up. I was hoping to spend a few months backpacking in Asia, and then return home to Canada for a brief visit before, ideally, moving to Europe to teach English there. Any extension of my time in Korea affects all my plans after. And I really don't want that!

There's two things that I could do to get around this time restriction. One, is to sign on for a one-year contract, and then just leave mid-contract, like 8 or 9 months into it. Many teachers have done this before so I wouldn't be the first one, but I hate the idea of being dishonest or screwing over an employer. And plus, if you leave your contract early you don't get the plane ticket home (not a big deal, as since I'm going travelling in Asia I'm effectively throwing it away anyways) and you don't get the bonus (equivalent to one month's pay - a huge incentive to finish your contract.) It is the loss of that bonus that makes me reconsider doing this...

Or, I could look at teaching in another country until February or March of next year. Some other countries are much more flexible with your contract length (China being a prime example) and so this is an option I'm seriously considering if I have to quit/the school closes. I don't know if Taiwan, Japan, or Thailand have less than one-year contracts but I'm going to try and find out as I would certainly consider moving to one of those countries to teach for a few months. The only downside to this is that most other countries don't pay as well as Korean schools do, so switching to another school in another country would probably (but not definitely) mean less income generated in the long run (even if you consider the loss of a bonus here in Korea.)

It's all so very complicated! I haven't hit the automatic eject button yet, and am trying to remain positive and level-headed, but am prepared to do just that if need be. Really, I just want to make sure that I have options if indeed the shit does hit the fan. No matter what it won't be an easy or simple decision, so I really have to be careful with what I choose in the end. But I mean hey maybe these new changes will actually make things *better* at work and I may end up liking them. And then all of this uncertainty and stress will just be a distant memory. I just want to make sure that I'm prepared for whatever comes my way.

Any suggestions? I'd love to hear any advice you may have...

Day 74: Fragile

So I can't express to you enough how frustrating it is not being able to use the internet at home! This fucking virus has rendered my computer near useless and I feel so helpless about it. I'm not very good with computers myself but have tried numerous options to try and get it up and running again. The fact that everything is in Korean makes it especially difficult. Trying to figure stuff out is like trying to feel your way out of a dark room, at best.

Last night I somehow managed to get Messenger working briefly, and it was on there I ran into my dear friend Cindy in Thunder Bay. Her and I spent a good 2 hours plus fiddling around with stuff (she guided me on what to try via our conversation on Messenger, and I also had her on the phone!) Well no matter what we tried we couldn't seem to get things back up and running. The virus has apparently been quarantined in my computer, but Explorer is still royally fucked up. We even tried re-installing Explorer...but nothing seems to work. :-(

At this point I've given up on the damn thing. It's obvious that I'm not going to be able to fix the situation myself (even with the guidance of a computer expert, from thousands of kilometres away.) I'll have to go to Steven and ask him for help, which will probably mean either having someone professional come in and fix it, or have the computer sent somewhere. I'm hoping for a quick solution but chances are I'll be without home internet access for quite some time.

I FEEL SO PARALYZED WITHOUT MY COMPUTER!!!

This is both extremely stressful and amusing to me. Having internet at home gives me access to my email, my friends online, my blog....it's my connection to the outside world. Having that removed leaves me feeling disconnected, disenchanted, and downright bored at home! I've been having to use the computer at the office after school hours and it's been a real pain in the ass. I've been stressed lately because of what's going on at work and having no computer just compounds everything! Argh!

It's amusing to me at the same time because it so clearly illustrates how dependent we silly humans are on these fickle machines. One little virus has left me with no computer access at all and makes me feel so frustrated I'm foaming at the mouth. It sort of reminds me of last summer when one little overheated electrical switch in Ohio left half of North America without power for several days.

We really do live in a fragile world. Our technological creations are amazing and brilliant and have given us so many luxuries and possibilities in life, but their failure leaves us completely helpless and lost. It really is a knife that cuts both ways. We are so dependent upon these stupid/wonderful machines for carrying out our day-to-day lives that we can barely function without them. It's an amusing and frustrating situation at its smallest scale, extremely disruptive and potentially dangerous at the largest scale.

Anyway, in the meantime please be patient with me. The blog will likely be sporadic for the next little while, and it may take me a while to get back to personal emails. And I also apologize to everyone who's conversation on Messenger I may have abandoned suddenly in the last few days. Really, it's not my fault!!!

Argh!!!

Day 73: Preparation

Well the changes at school are happening already...

I walked into work today, and saw that all the tables in one of the classrooms have been changed from 'kiddie tables' to individual adult-sized tables. Yes, soon my kindergartens will be gone and in their place will be adults. This school is going to be so different afterwards...

Steven tracked me down in the afternoon and we had another long chat during my one hour mid-day coffee break. The changes we mentioned last week are definitely happening, he confirmed everything. This is my last week with my lil kinders and they will be gone at the end of the week. Again, knowing this made me really sad! Yes, they can drive a teacher up the wall occasionally (last Friday being a PRIME example!) but I really do love 'em and they're my favourites. I look forward to teaching them everyday - unlike my elementary classes which can sometimes be dull, my kinders are never boring!

So apparently we're going to have two different types of adult classes - one for housewives, and one for business men/nurses/office workers. There's a lot of both in this part of the city and according to Steven no other nearby schools cater to them, so there should be lots of potential. He even said that a few adults have signed up already, which makes things sound really promising. I'm kinda curious to see what it will be like teaching adults, but the one thing I am concerned about is hours.

Right now my work day is from 10am-6pm, and I only teach about 5-6 hours a day. This is what was agreed upon in my contract and it's been a *great* schedule so far. Well it looks like that may change... No official schedule has been set yet, but in order to cater to the various groups of adults we have to split the classes into a morning group and an evening group. Steven mentioned that the morning group may start as early as 7:30am and the evening classes may run from 7-9pmish. Hearing this DID NOT impress me!
One of the reasons that I took this particular job was because it had an attractive schedule. I am NOT a morning person at all (even after 4 years at Delany's, I still *hated* getting up early) and I'll pretty much refuse to work anything earlier than 9am or so. As for the evening classes, well I don't mind those so much because it's not like I do anything at night anyways - I'm just at home watching TV.

I guess what I need to express to Steven is that I'll work morning adult classes (as long as they're not at some ungodly hour like what he mentioned) OR I'll work the evening classes, but certainly NOT both. I am NOT going to work from 7:30am - 9pm, even if there are large breaks in between. That would be annoying, frustrating, and downright inconsiderate of my life outside of work, if you ask me! I don't want THE WHOLE DAY to be teaching. Steven seemed to reassure me that I wasn't going to get some horrible schedule, and that we'd work out one together that was pleasing for all, but I'm really skeptical at this point. Argh!!!! All of this is making me NOT a happy camper!

It's hard to be mad at Steven because in so many other ways he's been the ideal boss. Him and his family have been so unbelievably nice to me and have really gone out of their way to make me feel welcome and comfortable here in Korea. After hearing lots of horror stories about bosses who leave their foreign teachers pretty much to fend for themselves regarding anything and everything outside of work, I know I've been really lucky with my bosses in that regard. However, I am only flexible/patient to a certain degree, and I have to remember to take care of my needs as well - not just those of Steven, the school, and the kids. We agreed to certain terms in the contract before I came here, and it looks like many of them are no longer being held. Again, I can't really be mad at him for this because it's all been circumstances that is sorta out of everyone's hands (ie: the financial situation at school is largely reflective of the fact that Korea has been in a recession for the last few years and many hagwons have been having money problems.) He's not a bad boss and he's not malicious or out to take advantage of me. Things are shitty for him too and he's just trying his best to keep things afloat. That's why it's been really hard for me to be upset or inflexible with the changes.

I really don't know what to do at this point. I feel so torn! I guess right now, because nothing has really happened yet, all I can do is just see how it all plays out. The next few weeks and the next month will really tell if things are going to work out in the end. The school may recover but if it comes at the expense of me working crazy hours, I am willing to walk away. I don't want to, but that's just may what have to happen. I hate being put in this sort of position, but that's just how life operates sometimes. I just need to make sure that I stay level-headed and make smart choices. Wish me luck!

Day 72: And It's One More Day Up In The Canyon

(bonus points if you can name the next line in this Counting Crows song!)

After our long sleep, we felt really alive and energized today and wanted to spend more time outdoors again. Steve suggested that we all go and hang out in Bukhansan National Park again for the day and we thought that sounded like a great idea! (Bukhansan is the park that we went hiking in about a month and a half ago.) We packed up a picnic lunch and the 5 of us went to the park (me, Brad, Steve, Andrea, and Megan also came along.)

It was another sunny clear day and Bukhansan was looking as spectacular as ever. The park actually looked even more beautiful this visit because of the fact that things are green now thanks to spring. Last time we were there it was all rather brown, but this day it was unbelievable green and lush and the colours were all so vivid! The trees are just SO GREEN it's hard to explain. It was almost how I imagined tropical Vietnam to look or something.

We hiked into the park and made our way down into the canyon/river bed that runs off one of the mountain peaks. We camped down next to this small waterfall and babbling brook and it was a perfect place for our picnic lunch. We ate lunch and then spent the afternoon reading in the sun (we all brought books, yeah we're geeks!) and playing frisbee (which is quite a challenge to play in a rocky riverbed!) Both Steve and Brad are avid rock climbers, so they entertained us with several climbing stunts on local rocks and even up the waterfall! What a wonderful afternoon just hanging out with friends in nature! It's almost hard to believe that we're right next door to Seoul, the park feels so removed...

We spent ALL DAY next to the river and then hiked back down in the early evening after we ran out of food. We went back to Insadong and had a delicious dinner at this restaurant called Torros, located at the LaFesta mall near where they live. I ordered this gourmet shrimp and prawn cream sauce spaghetti dish and it was HEAVENLY! The flavours were unbelievable and it was quite possibly my best restaurant meal yet here in Korea!

After dinner it was time to head back to my corner of suburbia. I said goodbye to all my buds and it was back on the bus for me (yah, MORE time on the bus, just what I was dreaming about!) My weekends here are awesome, but they go way too fast! I wish I could freeze time! At least I felt really rested after this weekend, and after such a shitty week last week I really needed to have a good weekend. Luckily it came through! Let's hope I can survive the next week....oh boy....

Day 71: I Can Breathe!

First off, I want to apologize for the severe delay in updating my blog. The evil computer virus that has entered my helpless computer has taken it over completely, rendering it pretty much useless. I have no computer at the moment! I am at work right now and will have have to restrict my computer time to such until I am able to get my computer repaired. I have no idea how long this will take (I'm going to ask Steven about it) but please bare with me in the meantime!

This past weekend turned out to be one of my best yet here in Korea! On Friday night I made my way over to Brad's place again to spend the weekend there (seems like I'm a regular houseguest there now!) I've been really impressed that I've been able to shorten my travel time down to just over 2 hours, from my door to his. Considering that the journey used to take 3 hours, this is quite a significant improvement! And now I only take 2 busses, and 1 train, whereas before it was 1 bus, 4 trains, and a taxi. Whew...living in a megacity can be exhausting sometimes! We spent Friday night with all of us just hanging out at Brad's watching movies and pigging out on junk food. Good times!

We woke up really early on Saturday because we had plans to travel to Gangwha Island which is just off shore, close to Incheon. We all thought that a day out in nature outside of the city would be nice, and plus it would be cool to see the ocean. I was really excited for this because not only have I not seen the ocean since when I arrived at the airport, but I haven't been outside of the city yet either.

The journey to the island took MUCH longer than we thought it would. Our final destination was actually another smaller island accessed only by ferry from Gangwha Island, and it was not all that far in distance but traffic in the city was slow-moving and we had to keep transferring busses. It took 4 busses, one ferry ride, and about 3 hours to get there! God in that time we could've hopped on the KTX high speed train in Seoul and have been at the *other end of the country* in the same amount of time! It was a long gruelling journey but it was well worth it in the end.

Both islands were really pretty - lots of green hillsides, farmland, and beautiful views of the West Sea. When we got off that last bus I just stopped and took a deep breath....ahhhhh.....I can breathe now! After 2.5 months of breathing nothing but Seoul's polluted city air it was such a pleasure to be out in the fresh air. (My lungs were thanking me!) And it was lush and green and just so *quiet* out there - really lovely! We had lunch at this nearby Korean restaurant and then made our way to the island's temple.

The temple is really the only thing to see on this island, but it's a beautiful temple in a spectacular location so it draws flocks of people from the city every weekend. To get to the temple you have to walk up this long, STEEP road up the side of the mountain. At the top is the temple complex, consisting of one large and 3 small temples. The view of the ocean and surrounding forests from this point is breathtaking! In the complex there was also a grotto - the first one I've ever seen. It was originally a natural cave in the rock but it's been enlarged so that they've been able to build a small temple *inside* the cave, all lit aglow with hundreds of tiny candles. I would've loved to have taken a photo so you could see but because it's a religious centre, with many people inside praying, it would have been extremely disrespectful to have done so.

Behind the large temple we found a staircase leading way way WAY up the side of the mountain. Making our way to the top was quite a strenuous journey but it was so scenic that we didn't mind. All along the staircase are hundreds of colourful lanters which must look absolutely incredible when they're all lit up at night! When we got to the top of the stairs, what lay in waiting made it all worth while!

At the top was a very large image of Buddha carved into the side of the mountain! It's under a large rock overhang that looks like it's going to break off any second, and to get to it you have to walk very carefully along this narrow path. The image is the largest Buddha image I've ever seen, and all along his feet are many candles and presents left for him by the many worshippers who come up to pray and chant. Buddha stares out over the island out to the ocean and it really is a most magical setting for such a sacred site.

We made our way back down to the bottom after this, and even though we had only been at the site for about 2 or 3 hours, we decided that we should head back home because of the long travel time. When we got back down to the temple complex we ran into a class of about 15 kids who were all *absolutely enthralled* to see us foreigners on the island. They surrounded us and stared in amazement, and giggled whenever we attempted Korean or said "Hello!" to them. A few of them spoke a few words of English, and they laughed hysterically when we made funny faces to entertain them. Ahhh, the life of a rock star....er, I mean English Teacher. :-)

It took EVEN LONGER to get home if you can believe it! Traffic on the highways were terrible and it took more than 3 hours just to get back into Seoul (never mind to Insandong!) We all had a nap on the bus hoping that when we woke up we'd be almost in the city. Well we slept for about an hour or so but were so disappointed when we woke up to see that we had barely moved! Gridlock on the highways in Korea can be a real pain the ass!

By the time we got into Seoul we were all very hungry, so we made a b-line to a nearby Outback Steakhouse cause we were all craving a giant fatty Western meal. Outbacks are *extremely popular* in Korea (as are all Tony Romas, TGI Friday's, and any major Western chain) and the wait for a table was an hour.
To kill time we hung out and walked around, and checked out the really cool shopping to be found in Shinchon (the local neighbourhood.) The streets were really busy and alive, and filled with young people as there are at least 3 major universities nearby here. By the time we had dinner we were famished, so it tasted REALLY GOOD!

By the time we got back to Brad's it wasn't even all that late, but we were all pretty tired from our long day travelling so we decided just to have another 'night in.' We watched TV, jammed on the guitar for a bit (well, Brad and Steve did), ate more ice cream (what else is new!) and then went to bed.
I slept like the dead that night - guess my body's not used to breathing fresh clean air anymore!

Day 70: TGIF

All I can say is THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY!!!

Next to my week when I first arrived in Korea, this week has probably been my most stressful. Between trying to track down my boss for a few days, and then finally being able to sit down with him only to find out about the big changes coming up, and basically deducing that the coffers are close to running dry here at REI, and then my HELLISH morning with the kindergartens this morning, I am *SO READY* for the weekend! And a stiff drink on top of that! Oh bartender, where art thou?

Here's what happened this morning with the kindergartens. My class with the 7's were all fine and dandy, and then came my class with the 5's. Now as much as I love my 5's, they are certainly a handful even on the best of days. They're SO YOUNG that their attention span barely lasts more than a minute, and they rarely understand anything I say to them. (a: they understand VERY little English, and b: they just don't want to listen) so because of this there is *always* a Korean in the room with me. Laura is the kindergarten teacher at my school who is always there to help me with the 5's, both with translating what I'm saying, and also just to take care of the class. She is like a mother to the little darlings/hellions in that class and I really depend on her. Trust me, you do need two teachers to run this class even though there's only four students in it.

Well when I walked into the class today Laura was nowhere to be found. Thinking that she was just busy with something at the moment, I waited a few minutes for her to show up, but she never did. So, not wanting to distract her with whatever she was doing, and confident that she would show up 'any minute' - and also wanting to prove that I could run this class on my own - I started it without her. It was a rocky start right off the bat. The kids' prior class to this one is a colouring one, and you should try and separate a 5 year-old from their crayons when they *really* don't want to! It ain't easy! Three of them complied but one of them broke out into a screaming/bawling fit and began to throw her papers around. Lovely. She calmed down a few minutes later though and in less than five minutes she was happily placing her coloured stickers in the right spots for my lesson. All seemed to be going well at this point - I was holding things together alright.

Well it was all a very precarious balance and about 2/3 of the way into the class all hell broke loose. The kids just seemed to telepathically unite and decide that they had had enough of this lesson and that it would be more fun to run amok in the classroom. Billy (the girl who had pulled the Mariah Carey breakdown when I took away her crayons earlier) bolted out of the classroom and I had to chase her down the hall and drag her back in. She just seemed to think this was a big game and it was a struggle to get her back in the class (they may be little, but they're fast and squirmy, those 5 years olds!) I attempted to calm things down, and did manage to get them all to sit in their chairs again, but trying to restart the lesson was like trying to start a car engine in -45 C weather. It just wasn't going to happen, try as I may.

This is when things got REALLY BAD. Billy made another bolt for the door, but this time I managed to grab her and prevent her from escaping out into the hall again. She was protesting profusely in Korean (meaningless to me, but it's all she can communicate in) and I thought she just didn't want to come back to class. Turns out that she *REALLY* had to go to the bathroom and was mere seconds away from peeing her pants. If it wasn't for the lucky timing of another teacher who just happened to be walking by, and heard her pleas for the bathroom, she probably would've peed her pants right there on the spot. At this moment I turned and looked back into the class to see Terry bawling his eyes out for no apparent reason, and Fred and Chris chasing each other around the room running and screaming....

Seriously, at that moment I just about lost it...

WHERE THE FUCK WAS LAURA!!!???

I took two seconds to take a deep breath, calm myself down, and just plunged right into damage control. I comforted Terry and he stopped crying (never did find out what caused the tragedy) and managed to at least slow down Fred and Chris, who weren't going to return to their seats for love or money or candy or stickers. Billy returned a minute later, (dry, thank god!) and basically at that point I realized that returning to the lesson was a lost cause. I was pretty pissed off that I was left on my own in the one class where the students understand me the least. The rest of the class was then just spent 'killing time' until that elusive bell finally rang....

That class was the longest half hour of my life!

On my way out to lunch (right after this class) I passed by the office to see Laura in there doing...photocopying!!!??? *THIS* is the dire emergency that kept her out of my classroom and left me abandoned against the 5 year old savages? What the fuck!? In all honesty I actually wasn't mad at her - Laura is super nice and always extremely helpful in classes. If she was in that office doing photocopying I'm sure it's because she *had* to (most likely an order from higher up, ie: Steven) It was another example though of how stretched things are becoming at my school. Another episode like this and I'll be ready to tear a strip off of someone. This is no way to run a school. What the hell is going on at REI this week? My once-awesome school just seems to be falling apart at the seems in the last two weeks!

Again, all I can say is Thank God It's The Fucking Weekend!

AND WHERE'S MY DAMN DRINK???

:-)

Day 69: Don't Steal My Baby!

One thing about not understanding Korean and therefore never *really* knowing what's going on at your school is that sometimes you get wonderful surprises. I walked into work this morning all expecting to jump right into classes, but was told there's be no teaching this morning. Instead we'd have a half-day birthday party! They organized a big birthday celebration for 4 of our students who all have birthdays that are close together - Paul, Lina, Mandy, and Billy. So cool!

A big fuss was made over the birthday kids and the playroom had been transformed into a birthday party room with balloons and a big birthday sign and cake and goodies and all sorts of good stuff. The 4 birthday kids were also dressed up in costume - Paul was in a suit and the 3 girls were in these traditional Korean dresses and they all looked SO CUTE!!! They were parading themselves around the school showing off their fancy clothes and had the biggest smile on their faces. We all played games and watched videos and horsed around together having fun.

I made up another game today that the kids instantly loved - The 'Don't Steal My Baby' Game. I shoved a balloon under my shirt to make it look like I was pregnant and then rubbed my stomach exclaiming how much I 'love my baby' in this feminine motherly voice that made the kids giggle. Well the game became to chase me around the room and try to yank the balloon out from under my shirt. I would pretend to be frantic and frightened and would clutch my stomach screaming (still in the motherly voice) "Don't steal my baby!" Eventually one of them would get the balloon out and I'd pretend to be horrified and devestated. The kids ate it up like candy and laughed their asses off - this was the biggest hit by far since the introduction of 'The Claw'. They absolutely loved it! (and yes, I'm weird!)

We then had a bit of a 'formal' birthday celebration - each of the birthday kids had to stand and sing this song for the classes, and then several of the students would give them a present. It was so cute! Then it was lunch time - and we had quite the birthday feast today. There was bananas and strawberries, Korean rice cake, fried chicken, kimbok (sorta a Korean version of sushi) and a giant chocolate birthday cake. YUM! It was fun to sit and eat with all the kids and we all had such fun this morning! Gotta love birthday parties, eh? :-)

Day 68: Big Changes On The Horizon

So in the last week or so Steven has been really inaccessible and not overly friendly at work. I wasn't sure if it was because maybe I've done something wrong, or I've unknowingly offended him in some way, or that he wasn't pleased with my performance as a teacher, or maybe just because he's perpetually over-worked and stressed out and so busy keeping the school running. Well after trying unsuccessfully to have a chat with him in the last few days (he's always coming and going, never around, always busy with something else that I don't want to interrupt) I finally got the chance to chat with him over coffee this morning at the office before work started. And I didn't even have to bring it up - he initiated the conversation all on his own....

So there's good news and there's bad news....

The good news is that everything is fine with me! (ie: he's not upset with me, thinks I'm doing great in the classroom, etc.) He apologized for being so busy lately and for not being around to help me teach the afternoon classes which I had been pretty much doing all on my own for the last week and a half. He also apologized for being late (again!) with my pay. Payday was last Thursday (the 15th) and he's promised to pay me *in full* next Friday...here's hoping he comes through with that promise! It's not that I'm desperate for money or starving at home or anything, but I'm just not comfortable with the informality of pay around here. I'm used to getting paid exactly on the same day every single time - I don't know if it's just my school or maybe Korea in general but they seem to be a lot more lax about pay schedules and stuff around here...

Anyways, here's the bad news (although it may turn out to be good news in the end...) REI, I believe, is having financial problems. Steven didn't say this himself, but I've pieced this together based on what's happened in the last few weeks, and what he announced today (I'll get to that in a minute.) When I first arrived at REI there were 4 Korean teachers and me teaching the kids. We're now down to 2 Korean teachers and me, have merged our 6's and 7's together into one classroom (a pain in the ass, as they each have separate lessons still but the fact that the two tables are right next to each other means they're constantly distracting each other - it makes classroom management that much more difficult) and we've lost about 1/4 of our students it seems in the last 2 months. Our classes are getting smaller, and this, I assume, is why they've been letting teachers go. And they've been late for both of my paydays so far which leads me to believe that the school is seriously short on cash these days.

So the big announcement is that REI is going to change it's education program in the mornings. We're losing our kindergarten classes completely and will instead begin to teach adults in the morning. Afternoon elementary classes will stay the same (I assume.) All our kindergartens will be sent to another school in May, and the school will begin advertising it's new program for parents/adults immediately. This is both sad news and possibly good news. If it means a better financial situation for the school (and as a result, for me as well) then it's good news for sure. But in the process both our remaining kindergarten teachers will be let go, and I'll have to say goodbye to all my kinders!!! I've really grown attached to them and even though they can be quite difficult to teach at times, they're absolutely adorable and I still love 'em to pieces! I'm honestly going to be really sad to have to say goodbye to all of them knowing that I'll probably never see any of them again.

But, like I said, if this improves the financial situation for the school then I guess in the big picture this is a good thing. Teaching adults will be *very* different for me, but I'm kinda looking forward to it at the same time. When teaching adults, you get to focus 100% of your time on teaching English, not trying to balance lessons with 'baby-sitting'. The adults will be there because they *want* to learn and are paying for it themselves, and I'll no longer have to deal with crying, fighting, marker/cookie/pencil stealing, name-calling, or just trying to get the kids to sit and LISTEN. But, I will no longer have students running up and giving me hugs every morning, drawing me pictures, giving me little candies as presents, sitting on my lap or cuddling during movie or reading time, or fun little games where I get to see their eyes light up.

There's nothing really that I can do other than to just 'roll with the changes' and hope that things work out for our school. I've been considering the worst case scenario which is that the school has to close and I therefore lose my job. As much as this would suck, I'm actually not too worried about it. There's TONS of teaching jobs here in Korea, and between Steven's connections and all those schools that my friends work at, I'm pretty sure I could find a new job quite quickly. Still, I want to avoid that as it would be a big paperwork hassle, and I'd have to move, and start all over again, and I just really like being at my school with my students.

I'm going to stay positive though and hope that all of this works out. Steven seems pretty confident it will, and I have faith in him that he has my best interests at heart and is looking out for me too. Still, I'm going to be mentally prepared in case the worst case scenario does occur. With all luck, this new education program will bring in lots of adult students and therefore lots of income for the school. Who knows - perhaps in a month or two from now all of this worry will be a distant memory and things will be flourishing at REI. Until then, I'm just handling it all one day at a time.

Day 67: Box From Heaven

So I got the best mail delivery EVER today!!!

A CARE PACKAGE FROM HOME!!!

Courtesy of the wonderful and amazing Ginny & Ron Strey! You guys are my heroes and totally made my week!!! You have no idea how excited getting this in the mail made me feel! haha! The timing was absolutely perfect! I had just finished talking to my Mom and Dad on the phone back in Thunder Bay about how surprised we all were that the care package hadn't arrived yet. (Ginny & Ron had told me they had mailed it in March so I knew it was coming - talk about 6 weeks of anticipation!) No more than 10 minutes or so after I had gotten off the phone with them there was a knock at my door. Sure enough I opened it to see Mr. Mail Man there with a big box with my name on it!!

I ripped it open like a savage beast immediately and started to drool when I saw the contents - it was all my favourite foods that I have been missing! My uber-awesome care package included:

-4 boxes of Kraft Dinner
-NutriGrain bars
-Swiss Cheese Crackers
-RitzBitz Sandwiches with cheese
-3 packages of Lipton Sidekicks instant noodles
-a package of Lipton Sidekicks scalloped potatoes
-a package of Mexican rice seasoning mix
-a package of Ranch Salad dressing mix
-2 OhHenry! Easter eggs
-AND 2 PACKAGES OF CADBURY MINI EGGS!!!!

MY GOD!!! WHAT MORE COULD A MAN ASK FOR!!! :-)

This wave of ecstacy that has washed over me must feel exactly what it's like for the participants on Survivor when they win a food challenge! You *crave* certain foods like you can't imagine as soon as you're removed from them, and the fact that you just can't get them is enough to fuel food dreams at night of eating all your favourites. I've never been so excited to eat! All afternoon at work I couldn't wait to get home and have dinner. When I finally got home I made myself some Kraft Dinner and it was the best fucking Kraft Dinner that I've ever had! Dear God I never knew something could taste so good!

And it's just beginning...I have enough treats here to last me a while, and I'm going to savour and seduce oh-so-slowly and thoroughly every last morsel that came in that Box From Heaven. Yay!!! God, to think of all those *thousands of kilometres* that those little food boxes and packages travelled just to get to me! A huge car-ride across North America and then a long, LONG boat ride across the giant Pacific... Wow! (Those boxes of KD travelled further than what most people venture in their lifetimes!)

Thank you again Ginny & Ron! You guys totally made my week and you're my new favourite AllStars! One day when I'm rich and famous you guys can be sure that you will not be forgotten! ;-)

HOORAY FOR CARE PACKAGES!

Day 66: Adbusters

Adbusters is probably the coolest magazine in the entire world. It's a magazine that publishes articles and photography regarding the state of the world in regards to critiquing mass media, the environment, corportations, governments and politicians, and the lives of everyday citizens. It's a magazine that empowers and challenges, that criticizes and supports, that tears down and gives birth, that essentially changes the way you see the world. It's shocking and it's provocative and it's controversial and it's brilliant. It's the kind of magazine that everyone in the world needs to read.

Anyways, while hanging out at Brad's this weekend I came across the Nov/Dec 2003 issue and was thrilled to have the chance to read it as it's been many months since I've seen one. Brad let me borrow it, and while reading it today during my afternoon break I came across a really interesting opinion article that someone, who's living in South Korea, wrote in describing the state of life here in Korea. It sums up very succinctly (sp?) and eloquently a cross-section of Korean society. It's not exactly a happy article, but pretty much everything he writes is true, or so it seems to me. It really struck a chord with me and so I wanted to share it with you. Enjoy, and ponder.

"In South Korea we have a dynamic western-capitalist economy mixed up with, amont other things: pervasive corporate power, geopolitical merit, a beligerent enemy-brother to the north, megacity centrism, 37,000 American GI's, retreating labor unions, Confucian customs, a national inferiority complex, CNN, Budweiser, Tommy Hilfiger and an absolute (American) English obsession.

Just outside every crammed apartment complex: drafted soldiers in fatigues with brand name boutique bags, miniature mannequins and all the same coats, $8.00 cappuccino, sidewalk fish half price and everyone's eating from the same dish. Drunkenness is fashionable (is an art form). Jaywalking's a mortal sin, computer games are careers. Digital countdowns at pedestrian crosswalks and everybody's late. Five thousand years of history, five years to western conversion. Family may come first, but corporate juggernauts make sure every last member gives what they've got to keep the ship afloat. Every male over 21 is deadly with an assault rifle and red neon crosses bless half the buildings on the block since Buddha was gunned down by steel-and-glass Christianity.

The Korean language, however ingenious, draws secondary ad space, making way for poorly-understood English slogans. Products and retail outlets have English names. Ingredients, directions, manufacturers, warnings, assembly instructions and menus are necessarily Korean; brand names are always English.

And one more thing: in South Korea, golf's not a game; it's a style and a business obligation. In America, vice-presidents play golf.

Get your clubs, son."

-Gregg Blakey, South Korea

Day 65: More Lazy Days

Another wonderful lazy day! Andrea cooked french toast for Steve, Brad and I this morning and it was really yummy - another Western treat that I have not had in ages. Steve then went and met up with Megan (I've recently been informed that they're secretly dating - hehe!) and we all made plans to meet up in Seoul later on. Brad, Andrea and I got showered and packed up and then took the bus back into the city.

We went to Yeouido Island to just go and hang out and watch Jess play ultimate frisbee with her team. Steve and Megan were already there when we got there, and Kelsey joined us later on as well. It was kinda dark today from clouds and a lot of air pollution but it was still really warm outside. Brad, Steve and I played several hours of frisbee and it was awesome! One of the girls from the practicing ultimate teams tried to recruit us to come and play with them but we were all too self-conscious to go and play 'with the pros' so we just had our own fun on the sides. I actually think it would be kinda fun to join the Seoul Ultimate Frisbee League but as much as I enjoy tossing around a frisbee, I've never actually played 'Ultimate' before and aren't exactly the most athletic sporty kinda guy. Still, it does look like fun...

It was a great afternoon just hanging out in the park and chatting with everyone, and playing frisbee with the boys. Before we knew it it was late afternoon, so we all headed on over to Kyobo Bookshop to browse around there for a while. Kyobo is one of our favourite places in the city and it's the kind of store that you can visit often because you always find something new there. It's probably the biggest book store that I've ever seen in my life, but the Foreign Books section is quite small - the rest are all in Korean. After the bookstore it was time for - you guessed it! - ice cream and we wandered through this really cool outdoor art exhibit. Some artist has taken scarp pieces of metal and constructed giant 'warriors' based on the animals of all the Chinese Zodiac signs - really neat looking!!!

It was almost dinner time by then and the gang all had to head back to Ilsan. I said my goodbyes and decided to slowly make my way home by walking all the way to Seoul Station to catch my Line 1 train instead of just hopping on the nearest subway train. It was so pleasant to be outside and with all the blooming flowers and lilac trees it actually *smelled really nice* to be downtown! (This is something I almost never say as the smells of Korea tend to be...well...let's just say less pleasant than lilacs!) I walked down the street through the heart of downtown and it was fun just to take in all the hustle and bustle of Seoul. All the cars, the tall buildings, the historic statues and monuments, and the giant TV screen billboards make it exciting to just walk around. The TV screens are especially mesmerizing! They're bright and dazzling and constantly changing like a video game and are just so completely MASSIVE! At one intersection, while waiting for the light, I could actually see FOUR of these giant electronic media advertising phenomenas! It's like being in 'Back To The Future' or something!

When I got to Seoul Station I was starving for dinner so I went and had some rice and vegetables from the food court there (a full healthy delicious meal for only 5000Won - about $6 CDN!) and then took the train home. My weekends always go by SO FAST! I wish they lasted longer! It's not that I don't like my job or anything, but it's just that I have so much fun on the weekends that I really do live for them. This work week coming up is a full 5-dayer too - no holidays this week! Bleh! ;-)

Day 64: Lazy Days

Okay, so I'm starting, or let me say re-starting, this blog entry by saying how much I HATE COMPUTERS!!!
My computer has a fucking virus in it and it's been causing some havoc and pissing me off big time. I just finished typing out a nice detailed entry for this day only to have the computer fuck up and lose it all!!!! I WAS SO MAD!!!!!!! And trying to get rid of this virus is going to be a pain in the ass because my entire computer (and I do mean EVERYTHING) is in Korean so it's like trying to feel your way through the dark. Even so I'm pretty useless when it comes to computers so even if this was in English I'd still have problems trying to fix it. Argh!!!!!!!!!!!

Well on that happy note, let me return to RETYPE OUT AGAIN my weekend adventures. This weekend was a really lazy one, but a really nice kind of lazy. I met up with Brad, Andrea, Amy, and Pauline for lunch at the Subway in Itaewon, but because we all live so far out of the city by the time we all got down there it was 3pm! Half the day gone already! We then spent the afternoon just hanging out in Itaewon doing some window-shopping and eating ice cream - our current obsession.

I have to say that it's always *very* disorienting being in Itaewon because of all the foreigners there. Everywhere you look there's Caucasians walking around and it always causes me to do a double-take, and think "Where am I? What country is this?" I'm just not used to seeing so many white people together any more! I can wander around Shihung for days and not ever see a foreigner. Hell, the amount of times I've seen foreigners in Shihung during the whole time I've been here I can count on one hand! 90% of the foreigners in Itaewon are GI's (army guys) from the nearby base and believe me when I say that they sure make their presence known. Most of us teachers (and most non-military foreigners in Korea) dislike the GI's - they're loud, rude, obnoxious, arrogant, are always causing a scene on the street, and I hate to say it, but they seem to embody and exemplify every single bad stereotype of Americans that you can think of. Honestly, you can hear them coming down the street before you see them. And this is when they're sober! You should see what Itaewon is like at night during the weekends! The whole area becomes this giant frat party filled with GI's who are running around absolutely shittered and causing a ruckus. It's like when they're drunk they have the intellect and maturity of a 16 year-old who's gotten drunk for the very first time on his parent's stash of booze stolen from the cupboard. I'm sure many of them are nice guys, but their behavior can often be just so obnoxious and so embarrassing that it's enough to make you THANK GOD that you're not American and associated with them.

So the weather has been absolutely beautiful lately! I don't know what the temperatures have been, but this Saturday it felt like it was at least 20 C outside. It was the perfect weather to be out and about in the sun and I love it. It's funny to think that just 2 weekends ago when I was at the Cherry Blossom Festival I wore a touque in the afternoon because it was kind of chilly that day, and now you can get away with just wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals! What a massive and rapid change in weather! I wish I could 'put a cap' on the rising temps because I know in just a month or so summer will be here, along with the supposed disgustingly hot and humid weather that Korea is known for. Right now the weather is perfect though and I plan on enjoying it while it's still comfortable to be outside.

We decided to go on over to the Jonggak area so we hopped in a cab and made our way over to that part of Seoul. When we got there the taxi driver let us out right in front of Chongo Tower - that crazy unusual futuristic Dr.Evil headquarters skyscraper that I've mentioned before. Brad informed us that you can actually go up to the lobby of the restaurant at the very top and enjoy the view for free, so that's what we did! The view was amazing but it was so freaky being up there! The restaurant is literally suspended between 3 support beams that rise up a good 10 stories or so above the 'roof' of the building. Criss-crossing the 'hole' of the circular restaurant are these mid-air walkways that allow you to look out and down to the city way below - SO SCARY!!! It honestly feels as if the entire thing could collapse any second! And ladies, if you ever go up to the top of Chongo Tower, be sure to make a pit stop in the washroom up there. Apparently in the ladies room one whole wall of the washroom is glass, so that you can actually enjoy a magnificent view of the city WHILE YOU'RE SITTING ON THE CAN! Wow! How cool is that!?

We killed some time hanging out around there before Brad and Andrea went to go and see their movie. They were going to see 'The Passion of the Christ' and I was invited to join them but I have no interest whatsoever in seeing that film. It's not because of the religious content, I'd actually be quite curious to see it just for 'historical interests' but I've heard that it's very graphic and violent and I'm just too squeamish when it comes to stuff like that. Watching nails being driven through Jesus' hands just doesn't sound like a fun way to spend 2 hours, if you ask me. I, instead, headed over to the Starbucks to sit and read until they finished the film. I was all prepared to be by myself for a few hours, but I wasn't alone for very long...

I had only been sitting there for maybe half an hour or so, when this this 20-something Korean girl came up and sat next to me. I wasn't sure what she wanted at first so I just sat there and waited for her to do something. She kept trying to catch my eye and then she finally broke the ice by asking me what I was reading. Well anyways she was super nice and we spent the next hour and a half just chatting away! It's not uncommon for Korean strangers to come up and speak to you cause they want to practice their English, but this was the longest conversation I've had with a Korean stranger by far! She wanted to hear all about life in Canada so I told her all about the beautiful wonders and splendour of Vancouver and she sat there wide-eyed, 'oohhing' and 'ahhing' at all my vivid descriptions. We both had the same tastes in cheesy pop music, so since I had my discman with me, I suggested that we listen to some music. She thought this was a great idea! We totally got into and were rockin' out and singing along to my music, attracting many a strange looks from other patrons but having too much fun to care.

Brad, Andrea, Steve, and their friends Megan and Jess showed up later on and were quite surprised to see me boppin' away with some strange Korean girl! haha! It was time for dinner so I said goodbyes to my new friend Hyung-Kyung and we headed out. The 6 of us went to a nearby Bennigan's and had a really yummy dinner. I had never been to Bennigan's before (a US chain?) and was thrilled to be presented with a menu filled with dozens of choices - all food that I recognized! This was only my second time eating at a proper sit-down Western restaurant since arriving and it was sooooo good! After dinner we all took the bus back to Ilsan to play Scrabble at Brad's but by the time we got there everyone was so tired. Megan and Jess went home and Brad, Andrea, Steve and I watched 'Jackie Brown', but we all fell asleep during the film. Bedtime ensued shortly after that!

P.S. HAVE I MENTIONED HOW MUCH I FUCKING HATE COMPUTERS!!!!!!!!!!! ;-) (Sorry - I need to vent and I live alone so there's no one here to listen to me rant! Just had to get it out one last time.)

Day 63: Picnic In The Park

It was kinda weird going back to work this morning after being off for a day - but hey it's only one day of work and then it's the weekend again! Well, it turned out to only be a half-day and then it's the weekend again... When I arrived at REI this morning Steven informed me with some great news - I wouldn't be teaching the kids that morning. Instead, I'd be joining all the kindergarten students in a picnic at Incheon Grand Park! COOL! Steven had to stay behind to get work done, so myself, Laura (one of the Korean kindergarten teachers) and Susan hopped in the REI van, along with our 10 kindies (a few were missing today) and it was off to the park.

And we could not have picked a nicer day for a picnic! It was sunny, warm, and the sky was clear and blue. And the park was stunning! The leaves are finally coming out on the trees, the flowers are blooming, and the park was filled with beautiful cherry blossom trees in full splendour! I wish I had my camera!!! Incheon Grand Park deserves its name because it's ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE!!! Apparently every single other kindergarten school in the province had the same idea as we did because the park was FULL of literally DOZENS of other schools! Was this pure coincidence or was today 'Take Your Kindergarten Kids To Incheon Grand Park Day?' I have no idea... It was really crowded and we had difficulty finding a spot of our own in the grassy fields. It was really cool though to see all the other schools with all the kids decked out in their school colours - little armies of kids all marching together hand-in-hand!

There was a small children's zoo in the park so we took all the kids there and they loved it! There were goats and sheep and monkeys and geese and domestic dogs (???) and ostriches in the mini-zoo and the kids were able to pet a few of the animals. You'd think only having 10 kids would be easy to look after (especially with 3 adults) but it was a challenge to keep track of all 10 of them as they ran around excitedly looking at all the animals. Every time we reached a new animal exhibit I did a head count and it was a good idea cause at one point I noticed that we only had 9... I looked around and couldn't find Chris - one of our small and very shy 5 year-old girls. I looked across the zoo and saw her way at the other end, frantically running around looking for us, but heading in the wrong direction. I had to go and chase after her (Scotty to the rescue!) and she was SO GLAD to see me when I found her!

After the zoo we enjoyed our picnic lunch and then had some time for 'horse-play' in the grass. I enjoyed being a human toy for the kids - piggyback, baby-in-my-arms, tag, hide and go seek, who's-covering-my-eyes are just a few of the many games that the kids LOVE to play with me and I must admit that I love play-time as much as they do! After lunch the photographer lady showed up and it was time for the class photo shoot. We went over to this really pretty area by all the cherry blossom trees and got a couple class group shots in, then it was time for me to be the Foreign Teacher Star. I got to sit and have my photo taken with each individual student in these really cutesey poses on this lovely park bench under the trees that I know that their parents are going to *LOVE*. Hell, I'm gonna love seeing them once they're developed! My kindergarten kids really are the cutest kids in the entire world! If I get copies of all these photos from the picnic today I'll get them scanned and pass them along to you. There's some great shots in there, I know, for sure!

The afternoon was sooo quiet today. The classes seemed to fly by and then next thing I knew it was time to go home. I got home and puttered around the house for a while, undecided as to what I should do for dinner and whether or not I should head into the city tonight. My 'pizza party for one' last Friday wasn't as much fun as I thought it was going to be, and so I didn't want to spend another night at home just sitting around my apartment. I went into Seoul and had some dinner and then headed over to my Starbucks (man I'm having Starbucks at least twice a week it seems now! My ol' Delany's gang would kill me if they knew how much I've been supporting the Evil Green Empire over here in Korea! That S'bux Mermaid Bitch really has me hooked!) I sat and read for a while and just enjoyed the busyness (I forget how to spell this word!) and activity of the coffee house, and then it was time to head on home.

No plans as of yet for this weekend, but I'm sure something fun will come up. If not, I'll just make my own fun plans! :-)

Day 62: The Perfect Care Package

So I stayed up way too late last night chatting away on Messenger but it was so worth it! It seemed like *everybody* was online last night and it was great to catch up with old friends back home. The highlight of the night was being able to chat for a while with my friend Sharon back in Thunder Bay! We've been friends since Grade 4 (many lifetimes ago it seems now!) and have stayed in touch over all those years. I hadn't been able to chat with her since arriving in Korea so it was such an awesome surprise to run into her online.
I MISS YOU SHARON!!! :-)

I slept in pretty late today, and it felt great that I was able to do that on a THURSDAY! Hooray for holidays!
I met up with Kevin again and he showed me a bit around his hometown - Incheon. Other than my arrival at the airport, and an hour at the Immigration Office about a month or so ago, I haven't seen anything of Incheon. And I've learned there's a lot more to that city than what I thought! There's lots of great shopping and some nice parks and because it's on the ocean there's some cool waterfront areas to explore as well. There's also boats leading to offshore islands! I'll *definitely* have to devote more time to riding west on the subway to Incheon instead of always heading east into Seoul.

Kevin and I did some shopping and he took me to this really cool department store near his sister's house. Koreans are all about department stores here! They love 'em! I had never been a fan of them myself prior to coming to Korea, but I think I'm being slowly converted! It's kinda cool being in a store with 10 floors selling everything from clothes to food to household supplies to shoes to music and books. The ubiquitious underground food courts and grocery stores are always cool to explore as well. I'm *always* on the hunt for familiar foods that I can't find in my local city. There's always the hope that I'll find some wonderful long-lost treat from back home that I can add to my dull weekdays' diet. I made two great discoveries today - multi-grain bread and emmenthal cheese!!! Mmmm...!! I've been SO SICK of white bread which is all you find in the bakeries around my house, and cheese is a RARE TREASURE (block cheese, that is) anywhere in Korea. It was going to cost me 13,000 bloody Won to buy the cheese - I gasped when I saw the price (about $15 CDN for a small block) but god dammit I've been DYING for cheese so I bought it anyways. Luckily Kevin had some vouchers for this department store that he needed to use up before leaving back to London so he actually paid for most of it. I'm SO EXCITED to have this cheese and I can't wait for lunch tomorrow!!! It's funny how much joy one gets out of the simplest discoveries here!!! :-)

We tried to find me some English magazines, but alas, no luck there! Korea is full of familiar magazines - Vogue, Cosmo, Newsweek, National Geographic, GQ...all the big popular ones we're used to seeing in North America, but they're all 'Korean editions' so I can look through them, but not read any of the articles. If any of you kind souls back in Canada (or America!) were to perhaps send me a mag or two from home to read, I'd love you forever and ever!!! (And hey it's a guaranteed way to get your name into my internationally-read and renowned blog!)

Actually, while we're on the topic, there's a few things that I've been missing from home that I would LOVE to receive in the mail (hint hint Mom and Dad!) To get anything in the mail is wonderful, but the perfect care package would include:

- a GQ and Rolling Stone magazine
- Cadbury mini-eggs (buy the leftovers from Easter now before they're gone!)
- black socks (all the socks here are either too small for my feet - size 12 - or are those annoying 'short' socks that people like to wear here)
- Clinique Happy For Men shower gel
- Kraft Dinner
- Campbell's Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup
- Lipton Sidekicks Noodles - Garlic Raefello
- Uncle Ben's Broccoli & Cheddar Instant Rice
- Lipton Iced Tea (blue lid!) and
- Garnier Fructisse Normal Hair Shampoo (Korean shampoo is shitty on my hair!)

There's probably quite a few other things that I'd love to get in a care package (like all the food items I mentioned in my earlier blog entry - Day 18) Hey man I just like getting mail! Send me anything and I'm thrilled to bits! But I thought I'd write this up since a few people have asked for suggestions. Well here ya go!!! (Now comes the part where I anxiously await the mail everyday....hoping....waiting...) hehe!

;-)

Day 61: Holiday Fever

So I may not get much in the way of vacation here in Korea (only 2 weeks off for my whole year here!) but I think I make up for it with days off because of holidays! Korea has *a lot* of national holidays, and I get every one off (and yet still get paid for it - yah!!!) I've had two long weekends so far since I've arrived, and have a whole other line-up of holidays quickly approaching! For example, I have tomorrow off because it's Election Day! Kinda strange to have a day off mid-week, but hey it breaks up the week and I do love my time-off so I'm not going to complain!

It's really cool being able to experience holidays that I'm not familiar with, while holidays that I'm used to celebrating go completely unnoticed here. St. Patrick's Day and Easter were non-events here (surprising with the latter considering the amount of Christians there are in Korea,) yet Arbor Day (Tree Day) and Election Day (where no one actually votes, it's an internal government thing) warrant days off from work! Next month is full of holidays that are new to me and I'm quite excited about it. Children's Day, Teacher's Day, and Buddha's Birthday all take place in May, and we get days off for all of them! Right on!!! Buddhist holidays here are the legal ones, not the Christian ones, but that's because Korea was traditionally a Buddhist country for centuries. The government holidays have yet to reflect the change in the spiritual beliefs of Koreans, but they're tradition now so I don't think the Buddhist holidays are going anywhere.

Either way, having random days off here and there sounds great to me! I'm not gonna complain! Bring on the holidays!!! :-)

Day 60: Only In Korea - Part 2

Here's Part 2 of those unusual/hilarious/odd/surprising sights that you'll only see here in lovely Korea. Enjoy!


6) Where in the world are you if you see politicians promoting their campaign for becoming alderman/senator/president by getting all their friends together to hang out on random street corners, stand in front of billboard-sized posters of their faces...and do the macarena....all in the hopes of gaining...voters? Music blaring, wind blowing through their hair, traffic racing past, and there they are - usually 4 or 5 middle-aged citizens, dancing and shaking their booties for passerby, all so that you'll look their way and think "Wow! Those people *really* do know how to shake their asses! I think I'll vote for this politician now! Who cares that he stands against everything I believe in! His supporters can do the Hokey Pokey like no one else can! He's getting my vote, man!"

Only in Korea...

7) Where in the world are you if you're walking to work and pass by a truck waiting at the light transporting chicken breasts to some store or market? But wait - you think this is a sanitized truck carrying boxes of frozen chicken that have all been carefully freeze-dried and air-sealed in protective plastic and then placed in cardboxes, all being driven around town in a truck that keeps a minimum -15 C temperature in order to prevent E.Coli and other nasty diseases from finding a new home in that chicken, right? Hahaha...oh you poor naive little thing, you! This is just some dude's truck, carrying some other dude's chicken - stacks and stacks and stacks...of OPEN UNCOVERED CHICKEN PIECES! No lid, no ice, no protective tarp even - just a big pile of stacked chicken and the open road... Mmmm...yummy.....

Only in Korea...

8) Where in the world are you if you're stuck in a traffic jam on the streets...because some old bitty is holding up traffic with her giant-ass cart full of cardboard that she's pulling through the city? 18 miles of gridlock cause Ol' Granny doesn't feel taking her cart o' cardboard treasures onto the sidewalk or a side street. Nope - she's been collecting icky cardboard all day from streets and yards so she can recycle it and make a few Won and dammit she's tired and cranky! If she wants to drag that cart down Main Street the whole way home, then hell she's gonna do it!!! Come to think of it, that 18 miles of gridlock is in HER way! Watch out!

Only in Korea....

9) Where in the world are you if you're out in the city doing some shopping, and then look across the street to see a HUGE LINE of people waiting outside a department store cause they're giving away free stuff? You stroll over to check it out, and see that not only does the line stretch down THE ENTIRE CITY BLOCK, but that people near the front of the line have been waiting for over an hour to get their freebee item. Wow! It must be something really amazing and awesome and *expensive* to have that many people waiting that long outside in the cold!!! And then you find out that these people are willingly spending their Saturday afternoon waiting for hours in line cause they're giving out...free bags of popcorn... What the *#@^....???!!!!

Only in Korea....

10) Where in the world are you if you're walking down the street and then get to an intersection with a red light so you have to wait... and you keep waiting for that light to turn green... and you still you wait even more.... Seasons come and go, the Himalayas rise and fall, ice ages sweep over the planet and melt again...and yet you're still waiting for that god damn ff......oh finally it changed! GREEN! God it takes *FOREVER* for traffic light cycles to go through. And because of this incredibly long wait, which frustrates even Koreans, you're nearly across the street when all of a sudden you hear a commotion behind you....what's that racing across the crosswalk coming right at you? Why, it's a Korean Mom and her kids, racing madly to try and desperately make it <*oh please god can they make it before that motorcycle racing at Mach 4 that's coming right at them hits them?*> before the light changes red again, baby carriage in one hand, box of rotting anemic toxic chicken in the other, giant rack of meat strapped to her back, dodging the Cardboard Cart Lady and almost getting burned by a mini explosion from that old man's pile of burning garbage on the street corner, praying to the high heavens that she'll make it down to the Lotte Department Store, only 27 blocks away, that's giving away free popcorn before it's all gone!
Watch out foreign boy! This woman's on a mission from God and nothing ain't gonna separate her and her hungry kids from that free popcorn so you better get out of her path!!! RIGHT NOW!!!!

Only in Korea...

:-)

Day 59: Only In Korea - Part 1

Here's a list of unusual/hilarious/odd/surprising things that I've seen during my 2 months here. They're things that I've seen at some point or another that made me stop, chuckle to myself, and think "Only in Korea!" Enjoy!

1) Where in the world are you if you're strolling through a movie theatre, and are greeted in the lobby by ARMED MILITIA!!! Yep, Korean soldiers decked out in full camouflage, guns in hand, just chillin' out in the movie theatre. Who exactly are they protecting us from? Rogue North Korean spies who are stopping for a quick movie break before returning to their recconnaissance spy missions? Queue jumpers too anxious to wait any more in line for tickets, that need to be put back in their place? Patrons who are taking just a few too many napkins from the condiment stand and need a severe attitude adjustment?

Only in Korea...

2) Where in the world are you if you're strolling through a busy market place, and see a guy walking through the crowds with a GIANT EIGHT-FOOT RACK OF MEAT on his back!!! No wrapping, no cellophane, no bag, just a big hunk of bloody juicy ribs, up and over his head, slapped onto his back. What the hell do you need that much meat for? Who are you cooking dinner for tonight? Afghanistan? Where does one even go to purchase a hunk of meat that big?

Only in Korea...

3) Where in the world are you if your beautiful perfect sleep is rudely interrupted at an ungodly early hour by propaganda trucks cruising through your local neighbourhood? Yep, you know the ones - those pick-up trucks with GIANT LOUDSPEAKERS on the roof (the kind that any rock band would sell their own mother for to get a hold of) blasting out messages about how great their fruit or meat or squid or whatever it is that they're selling in the back of the truck. These propaganda trucks literally cruise up and down every single street in the city, blaring away at a volume that disturbs birds in Japan, hoping for customers to buy their fermented seaweed at 7:22am on a Tuesday.

Only in Korea...

4) Where in the world are you if you're driving down a busy street right in the middle of central Seoul (you know, that megacity of 20 million), surrounded by the hustle and bustle of skyscrapers, subway trains, crowds of shoppers, and 8.2 billion other cars, only to look outside your window and see....some old man burning random piles of garbage in giant flaming heaps...right in the middle of the city. He's not in a garbage dump, he's not in his yard, he's not in an empty desolate suburban parking lot - he's just hanging out downtown, just chillin' out on the sidewalk all by himself. And oh yeah, he's burning a pile of stinking shit the size of the SkyDome. Huge flames and black smoke shooting up into the sky....while passerby walk by oh so casually....

Only in Korea...

5) Where in the world are you if you're on a city bus that suddenly has to break and swerve to avoid an oncoming motorcyclist...who's driving at least 100 km/hour....up the street....in the wrong lanes...against the flow of traffic....inbetween streams of oncoming traffic... And every time you look to see who it is who's on the bike, it's never who you think - (some Korean punk perhaps? an Asian Hell's Angels? a cop on a bike racing to save a baby trapped in a burning overturned propaganda truck?) Nope - it's some old man...with a young pretty thing sitting behind him, arms wrapped tightly around Gramps, holding on for dear life, laughing and screaming at the top of her lungs....

Only in Korea...

Day 58: He Found Me!!!

We all slept in really late today and it felt wonderful! When Brad and I woke up and went outside the apartment, we discovered a really special surprise waiting for us outside the door. There, sitting in the hall next to Brad's apartment doorway, were two little baskets of Easter treats left for us! WOW!!! Here I am, thousands of kilometres from home, in a country where people don't ever give out Easter candy, and staying at a friend's house out in Seoul suburbia, and somehow the Easter Bunny found me!!! :-) AMAZING! (Maybe Santa will find me this December too!)

Andrea later confessed to being the Easter Bunny, but I was thrilled nonetheless at the surprise! My little basket was cool cause it contained both Western and Korean treats - chocolates, skittles, mentos, a small toy rocket, and dried roasted butter squid! (Definitely the first time the Easter Bunny has left me...seafood...in my basket!) :-)

We were originally supposed to go biking in Seoul today but it was so hot outside and we were all feeling really mellow (ie: lazy) that we instead decided to just hang out in Ilsan. Brad, Andrea, Steve and I went to the grocery store to buy ourselves all the ingredients for the ultimate picnic lunch, and then headed to the nearby Lake Park. Lake Park is a huge park right in the middle of the New Town built around one of the largest artificial lakes in all of Asia. The park has fields and trees and flowers and public art and playgrounds and is just a really perfect place to spend a hot Korean afternoon. Lake Park, well actually all of Ilsandong, has a very 'SimCity' feel to it - it's a completely planned city that's only about 20 years old. Before that it was just farmer's fields on the edge of the city - now it's home to tens of thousands of Koreans and has its own subway line leading out to it. We camped out and chowed down on our decadent lunch - baguettes with havarti cheese and roasted chicken, watermelon, and M&M's! YUM!

The park was packed with Korean couples and families out enjoying the perfect spring weather - such a beautiful day. Brad had brought along his frisbee so after lunch we tossed it around for a while, trying very hard not hit passing baby carriages, old ladies, and dozens of small children running left, right and centre! We almost took out some stray children with a rogue frisbee shot a couple of times, but luckily avoided any direct hits!

After our time in the park we went and got some ice cream from Baskin Robbins (there's one on *every* street corner all across Korea) and then wandered around LaFesta for a while where we ran into Kesley. LaFesta is a large outdoor mall - it has a very 'Southern California' feel due to its open-airiness and free-flow design. After the mall we all took a cab back to Brad's for dinner. Andrea made caesar salad (the first I've had in Korea - god I was missing it!) and then ordered some pizzas. We pigged out on our awesome dinner and sat and chilled and watched TV together. It was then sadly after 9pm and time for me to make the great trek back to Shihung City. I said my goodbyes to the gang and then made the 2-hour trip home on the bus and subway. It actually went by fairly quickly, all my connections worked out perfectly, I had a seat the whole way home, and best of all had Fleetwood Mac and Boney M to rock out to on my discman. Most excellent!

Day 57: Priceless Precious Palace

(Try saying that five times fast!)

I woke up today and it was so sunny and SO WARM outside! It was such a beautiful day I couldn't wait to get outside and be in the sunshine and fresh air. I wanted to do something 'touristy' in the city, but couldn't find any of my friends who were free, so I thought 'to hell with it!' I'm just gonna go and play tourist all on my own. I have had several friends rave about this one palace in Seoul that's supposed to be the most spectacular of all the ancient palaces, so I thought today would be a perfect day to go and check it out. I hopped on the train and made my way into the city.

By the time I got into Seoul and had lunch, and then made my way over to the famous Changdeokgung Palace, it was already 3pm! Luckily for me there was an English tour of the palace beginning at 3:30pm so it really was perfect timing. Changdeokgung is the largest and best preserved of all of Seoul's palaces, and has even been deemed with the much-coveted status of being a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Because of how priceless this palace is to Korea, well to all of humanity actually, you are not allowed to wander through it freely like you can at the other palaces. The *only* way to see Changdeokgung is through an organized tour.

The tour began with the Changing of the Guards ceremony which just happened to be right before our tour, and that was really cool to watch. The costumes worn by the guards back then are brilliant and ornate, reflecting the wealth, prosperity, and unequalled status of the ancient Korean Royal Family. The tour was about 90 minutes long and was absolutely breathtaking. I can see why this palace is so treasured and beloved. Even though the many buildings that make up the palace have been burned down at least 4 times over the centuries, they've always been rebuilt and restored exactly to their original splendour. Wandering through the palace grounds literally feels like you're being transported back in time to a period centuries ago. Changdeokgung is massive in size, and is especially maginificent because it still has all of its original palace grounds and 'secret gardens', which are at least as big as the actual palace grounds themselves. The entire site is the size of a small town with its own private forest, and its beauty is absolutely stunning. I took tons of pictures but I know that when I see them they just won't do it justice at all.

I would have loved to have been able to just wander and explore through the palace and the gardens on my own for a whole day, but alas, the fear of damage caused by foot traffic or fire is so high that you really are restricted in what you can touch and see. Most of the buildings you can only look into, (not enter), and most of the forest is off limits to the public. Even with these limitations, one is still swept off their feet with Changdeokgung. A flight all the way across the Pacific is truly worth it just to see the magnificence of this place. I feel so blessed just to have been able to see it with my own eyes. To think of all the kings and royalty that have lived and died here, all the generations that have come and gone, all the fires and wars and storms that this palace has weathered, all the centuries that have flown by like the wind....and yet it's still here, still almost perfectly intact....it just blows me away.

After the palace tour, I went and strolled through Insadong, then did some shopping at MusicLand. I bought myself two CD's that I'm very excited to own - Fleetwood Mac's 'Greatest Hits', and Boney M's 'Gold! - 20 Super Hits!' Two excellent albums indded - gotta love impulse shopping!!! I wandered down to Kyobo Bookshop and browsed through all the titles there for a while as well. Such a nice relaxing afternoon!!!

I then went and met Kevin for dinner at 7pm at Jonggak Subway Station. Kevin is Michael's friend that I met last week and is a really nice Korean guy. Of all the Koreans I've met here so far, his English probably is the best. We went and had a really delicious dinner at a Korean restaurant. The restaurant was in Insadong and was super cool - the area that we ate in had a roof SO LOW that everybody who enters has to crouch down to get to their table - it's probably no higher than 5'8" I'm guessing! Makes for a really cool cozy atmosphere for sure! We ordered bibimbap which is my *most favourite* Korean dish by far!! It's a boiling hot stone bowl full of rice and various steaming veggies (most of which I can't identify but that's okay.) They then crack open an egg and throw it on top - it's so hot in the bowl that the egg cooks right there on top of your food before your eyes. You then add some spicy red paste hot sauce, mix it all together, and chow down. IT'S SO GOOD!!!! After dinner we went and had some chocolate brownie dessert at Starbucks and just chilled for a while.

It was then getting a bit late and I had a party to head off so I said my goodbyes to Kevin and then hopped on the subway. Brad's friend Jeremy was having a housewarming party at his new apartment and I was invited along to the party and then to crash at Brad's. I took the train all the way out to Ilsandong which is the new town that Brad and all of them live in. (Note the difference between Insadong - the historic shopping street in Seoul, and Ilsandong, the suburban New Town NW of Seoul.) The party was nice and mellow and sociable - I had met Jeremy and his girlfriend Jill before and they're really friendly people. All the gang was there - Brad, Andrea, Steve, Amy, Emily, Kelsey, and plus a few new faces too. It was cool to just to chat with everybody, enjoy a few beers, and enjoy the view of Ilsan from 15 floors up. About 2 hours later or so Brad, Andrea, Steve and myself left the party and went over to Brad's place. We rented a movie ('Bruce Almighty' - an okay film) and sat and ate cookies and chocolate-covered strawberries that Brad whipped up for us. YUMMY!!!! Steve and Andrea left after the movie and Brad and I stayed up pretty late just chatting about all sorts of things, and then finally went to bed around 4am.

Another wonderful amazing day here in Korea!

Day 56: Now Taking Appointments...

So I think I've made peace with my hair. I've stopped crying myself to sleep every night, and I think the daily group therapy sessions have been really helpful. I've made great progress in just 7 days and am only 5 more steps away from being Non-Hair-Traumatized! Wish me luck with those final 5 steps - I don't wanna fall off the bandwagon again, I've been doing so well this week. Your support through these tough times really gives me strength and inspires me to be a more resilient man. Together we can get through these horrible hair lows - we just gotta keep the faith that my hair *is* growing back, and someday, in the not too distant future, we can both look at my hair, and smile once again.

Haha! Gotta love sarcasm, eh?

But I have come to terms with my hair for real - it's not all that bad I guess. All of my female students have complimented me on it this week, so if 16 12-year old girls like it, how bad can it be? ;-)

I was gonna head into the city tonight for some dinner like I usually do at the end of the week, but tonight I just didn't feel like it. Even though I've stayed home every night this week I just wasn't in the mood for going out anywhere tonight. So, I decided to stay in and have my own little pizza party! I ordered a pizza (well, technically Steven ordered it for me cause I don't speak Korean, but whatever) and sat and ate on my bed while watching way too much reality TV. I ate SO MUCH food though - I feel like I'm going to explode! Good times! Lazy nights like this are really nice actually, and everyone deserves a night of gluttony once in a while. (One of the 7 deadly sins? Who cares! It tastes great! haha!)

So most of the cultural differences between Canadians and Koreans, I find, are either really amusing or interesting or even outright entertaining at times, but there are a few differences that frustrate me. And one of these is the tendency of Koreans to announce/make/change plans at the LAST MINUTE! This probably wouldn't annoy a normal, regular, sane person, but I must admit that I'm near obsessive-compulsive when it comes to my day planner. I'm all about making plans *well* in advance, and love to have an entire week's worth of plans already set out by the time Monday or Tuesday rolls around. Yes I do love my spontanaeity as well, and I don't plan *every single minute*, but generally I do like to know what I'm going to be doing on what nights. Mostly it's just cause my weekends are so short and I love 'em so much that I always try to make the most of those short 2 days off.

Well anyways, a prime example of this frustrating Korean habit arose tonight. I just got off the phone about 15 minutes ago with Hye-Young (you'd remember her as the woman I found in my apartment when I came home on the night of the snowstorm.) Anyways we had our usual little small talk where I speak and she understands about 22% of what I say, and she says random comments that only make sense in the context of the conversation about 22% of the time. Well she invited me out with her friends to go out clubbing tonight in this are of town called Hondai, but I politely turned the offer down. I had already sorta settled in for the night and wasn't in the mood for a night of clubbing. Besides, even if I had wanted to go, I wouldn't have been able to meet up with them in time!!! The subways stop running around 11:30pm, and it would probably take at least 1.5 - 2 hours to get there on transit. And that's assuming that I was dressed and groomed up and ready to leave AT THAT INSTANT. It seems totally illogical to me to phone someone up and invite them out that late, knowing full well exactly where I live and how long it takes to get places in this city! If she wanted me to come out with her and her friends, why not call me EARLIER tonight or even a day or two in advance? Well, most likely the plans just sorta 'came together' at the last minute with her and her buddies. Ahhh well. I don't mean to sound judgemental - I'm not meaning to criticize her polite offer to invite me out - it's just that the delivery is just not what I'm used to. It goes against every well-organized, agenda-book-lovin', obsessive-planner gene in my body.

(Better start adjusting Scotty, you're the *weird* one in these parts of the world! haha!)

Day 55: 27

"Hi! I'm Scott. I'm 27 years old!"

Is this a false statement?

Not in Korea...

You may be interested to learn that Koreans measure age differently than Westerners. When a baby is born in Korea, it comes out as one year old. Unlike in North America where we don't start counting age until the baby has emerged from the womb, Koreans count the 9 months from conception to birth as one year of age. So right off the bat their babies are one year older than ours.

So where does the second extra year come from?

Although Korea now follows the Gregorian calendar like the rest of the world, traditionally it used to be a nation strongly influenced by Buddhist/Confucian-ideologies. A lot of Asian cultures celebrate the New Year differently than we do, which instead follows a Lunar calendar, and that is why Asian New Year is celebrated in February (and occasionally late January.) Koreans believe that when a baby experiences its first New Year's, it also gains another year then. After that they measure age the same way that we do. So in other words, two babies could be born, one in Canada, one in Korea, both in December, but just two months later the Korean baby would be considered to be two years old, while the Canadian baby wouldn't have even reached one year yet.

Fascinating!

So, technically, since I am living in Korea, I am considered by many of my colleagues to be 27 years old. And that means this August I'll be turning...28!!?? Wow! Where did all those years go! How come I have no recollection of my 26th or 27th birthday? Was I that drunk? How long was I passed out for?
Haha!! It's an interesting cultural difference, for sure!

Day 54: Connectivity

Writing.

Why do I write? Why does it mean so much to me? Why do I feel so compelled, as much now as when I was a child and a teenager, to write down my thoughts? Why do I spend so much time every day in keeping up this blog? To what purpose does it serve? What is it about writing that makes me feel so...alive, so human?

The answer to all those questions comes down to one thing - connectivity.

For as long as I can remember, ever since I was old enough to hold a pen in my hand, I have felt a love towards writing. I remember being placed in the Young Authors Club when I was in elementary school which was a club for kids who enjoyed writing so much that they took on extra work and assignments so that they could do even more. I wrote my own birthday/Mother's Day/Father's Day cards for all my family during my entire childhood with poems that always seemed to make them cry. I wrote speeches for public speaking contests - placing second and third place in two different years at Sherbrooke. I wrote dozens upon dozens of letters to penpals all around the world during my teen years. At one point I even had over 20 penpals! I wrote poetry and short stories all throughout high school and beyond, and have saved much of it over the years. I wrote occasional editorial pieces and opinion articles for SFU's student newspaper. I've written speeches for all sorts of important events - an 'Ode To My Parents' for their 25th wedding anniversary, a eulogy for my grandpa's funeral, a best man's congratulatory wishes at my best friend's wedding. I've kept a diary for the last two and a half years leading up to Korea, and now, I have this - my daily blog.

And again, what do they all have in common? What was the single reason why I feel such a yearning to write all my thoughts down on paper, many of them personal and private, and share with others? Why does all of this writing release feel like it nourishes my soul?

Connectivity.

For all of my life I have felt such an insatiable need, a desire, a yearning, a lust, an emotion, a passion, a love, for communicating and connecting with other people. It makes me feel alive. It allows me to show the people in my life how much they mean to me. It makes me feel like I matter to others. To reach out to others, and to be able to evoke a response or an emotion, is one of the simplest yet most beautiful things of all that is to be human. To write is my way of reaching out. I may not be the world's best writer, but as long as I am alive, then in some form or another I will never stop writing. The form and delivery may change over the years, but the outlet will always exist. Some pieces of writing are meant to be shared with only one person, and some with many, but they all serve the same purpose, they all accomplish the same mission, they all result in the same feeling of....peace.

I can't imagine my life without writing. I wouldn't know how to live if I couldn't. Writing is how I relate to the world, how I process my emotions and feelings, how I get over hardship and pain, how I express love, how I reach out to...whoever is listening... To feel connected to others is the ultimate high, and it's a drug that I just can't get enough of. I'm addicted, through and through, and just can't ever seem to get enough. It's not a matter of never being satisfied, it's a matter of knowing that there's no limits to how connected I can feel with those in my life.

Thank you for reading my blog. Whether it's one person or a million who's reading this, it means more to me than you'll ever know. This blog also serves as a way for me to keep 'historical records' of all my experiences here in Korea, something that I know I'll truly cherish for years to come in the future. But, more importantly (at least in the present time) it's my way of communicating with all the wonderful friends and family that I have scattered around this world. I may be thousands of kilometres from you in physical space, but writing this helps me feel like you're right here with me. Thanks for being on the receiving end. Let's keep the high going. (I don't ever wanna come down.)

:-)