Reprieve

For the past two weeks, I have had the luxury of staring at a glaring computer monitor with my butt firmly in place for hours on end. This may not seem like such a luxury to some of you whose entire lively hood is stuck behind the time-sucking machine and the tendinitis-inducing keyboard, and in fact at one point I thought of that scene as nothing worse than a horror scene from "Chucky" as a potential job. But for the time being I have changed my tune. Rather than the chain gang tunes plodding through my brain, I now wake up singing songs of glee. I am like a modern day Pollyanna. Every morning this week I have woken up thinking, THANK GOD I DON"T HAVE TO TEACH TODAY. The downtime for this exhausted teacher is a welcome reprieve. My raw throat appreciates the break from screaming for attention from 20 youngsters who would much rather be at home in front a computer game than listening to some strange, small-faced foreigner gab at them in a language they don't care to understand. My feet, calloused from hours of abuse from standing, jumping or stomping, are grateful for the chance to not have to support my body weight. And my sanity, my sanity most of all which has been dangling in the humid breeze at the tips of my frazzled hair. My sanity who might have leapt to it's harrowing death had it not been for this chance to lick it's wounds and replenish it's nutrients have cherished this time the most. I don't want to give you the impression that I don't like my job. I actually really love teaching. But the students we receive at the school are often less than enthusiastic, are behaviorally on the trouble side of the scale, and require buckets of energy just to maintain their deadpanned attention. I have had opportunities to teach students with interest, creativity and liveliness, and those experiences have really encouraged me on this path, but generally I find the students lack of human-ness draining. I spend so much time listening to crickets chirp and having to dance around like a clown, that when I was offered time to work on developing classes, I nearly broke glass with my shrill "yehaw!" After two weeks however, I think I will be ready to go back into a classroom. Computer screens can be quite draining as well, not to mention development. Development, that is what I have been doing in front of my brain machine. Development is probably one of my favorite aspects of teaching, when I am given proper time. It allows my creative juices to slosh around freely brewing all sorts of interesting (or crazy, depending on who you ask) concoctions. Currently, I am working on a sort of psychology class. I have spent at least a day on the brain storming aspect, and now I actually have to put into a workable structure. The trick is making it entertaining enough for a dull robot Korean students. As I was looking through the world wide web I came across a few things I thought you guys might be interested in seeing. Many of you are probably familiar with many of these, but for those of you who aren't- they are very interesting.

To see it at You tube click here, here and here.

Count the passes...

Who dunnit?

The Ballerina- which way does she turn?

I always see her turning clockwise, but occasionally I can get her to switch. Try pausing it and then starting it again. Sometimes it takes several minutes of long staring for it to work. Good luck.

Mudskipper vs crab

About a month ago we went to an area of Korea called Jellomnam-do. It is considered one of the most traditional areas of Korea. While we were there, we visited a National Reserve. The national reserve had bridges traversing long green blades of grass, some type of rice paddies. Within the inter-circles lived strange fish called mudskipper that have actually evolved to live amphibiously and walks on land. We spent hours just watching these bizarre creatures. Well... not hours, but we couldn't stop watching them. I had never seen a fish crawl with it's fins out of water. They were nothing short of fascinating. They lived amongst crabs, mostly in peace. If a passerby didn't but take a quick glance, they might see nothing but mud. A second glance demonstrated that the mud was moving. With further observation, one could see that it wasn't mud moving but these crabs and mud skippers habituating and caked in the wet dirt. At the bottom of the post, I have posted a short video of an interaction between the crab and mud skipper. The mud skipper who actually doesn't move a whole lot, flares his dorsal fin in aggression. It is quite exciting for nerds such as ourselves. I hope you enjoy. Also, if you want to learn more about the mud skippers, read below.

This info was taken from scienceray

The mudskipper holds water in its gills in order to “breathe” out of water. The fish’s pectoral fins act as arms that have well-developed muscles to carry the mudskipper’s body. Using the pectoral fins and tail, the mudskipper crawls and flaps its body across land in search of food. These fish eat spiders and insects – prey that is not usually found in the sea.

Not only can mudskippers walk on land, they can also leap in the air to heights of half a meter (around two feet), by bending and suddenly straightening their bodies. The mudskipper is also known for climbing mangrove trees in search of food. Because of these unusual actions, mudskippers have also been called kangaroo fish, climbing fish, mudhopper and johnny jumpers.

Part of the mudskipper courtship ritual takes place on land, with the male doing ‘push-ups’ to reveal his golden chest and chin to the female.

Mudskippers take in oxygen through the water stored in the gill cavities and through the skin. Because they also breathe through the skin, mudskippers need to remain moist and will often roll in puddles while on land. Their eyes are particularly sensitive to drying out and the mudskipper use a wet fin to dampen them. Another method that the mudskipper uses to moisten its eyes is to retract the eyes into the eye-sockets.

During the Devonian period of evolution, the first fish evolved legs and crawled onto land. This rapid evolution allowed the fish to search for new homes when their previous residence threatened to dry up.

To watch the video click here.

Happy Birthday America!

Every year to celebrate our break up with daddy England, America collectively faces the roasting July heat to spend time with friends and family either around a pool and/or a BBQ pitt. Chlorine smells sting the nostrils, while colored lights illuminate the sky in radiant colors and flashes of semi-controlled fire. July fourth is not without consequences however. Scorched skin occurs not only from our yellow, ray bedecked star which enlivens our planet, but also from the mishandled fireworks that are a requirement for all Americans to partake in on this splendid celebration. Faces smeared in sugary and sticky watermelon juices coupled with BBQ sauce decorated fingertips makes for a delightful clean up.

How is July fourth celebrated in other countries you might wonder? Well, it's not, as it's an American holiday, unless of course there are Americans around to seize it by it's tail and share with other countries all its glory.

Our celebration was a last minute throw together. We had wavered on what to do, going back and fourth, and finally two days before sent out mass text messages for a BBQ. Unfortunately the school's pool, which only has 4 feet of water, but is a pool in Korea non-the-less, a novelty to be sure in this non-swimming country had yet to be opened. But a BBQ in our courtyard we did enjoy. Kyle and I ordered beef ribs from an online foreign food store. A suggestion for those in the future who cook beef ribs- marinate. The ribs are much more tough than pork and a dry rub, just doesn't cut it. The BBQ was close to perfection with everything from eggplant/mushroom kebabs, home style fries, to apple and cherry pies. What it lacked however was a watermelon. Yep, there was no watermelon at our feast. The problem is not that lack of watermelons in this country, but the price of these fruits. Not only are they half the size of the ones back home, but they also cost an arm and a leg. $15 for one watermelon is more than I am willing to put out for one of my favorite summer fruits. In reality, I refuse to buy just about any fruit except for bananas because of the prices. I just won't pay $5 for four apples. I'm spoiled by American food prices, and I just can't spend that much on food even if it is vital to my nutrition. In Japan I have heard there is such a thing as a square watermelon and its price make my whining about $15 to shame.

These watermelons go for near $100 or so I am told. I'm sorry, call me cheap, call me miserly, but "NO WAY Jose!" The novelty is not that great that I will spend a day's wages on a watermelon just because it has the shape of a square.

But I regress... where were we? Ah... yes, the BBQ, near perfection. We even had fireworks. Well, kind of. We got sparklers galore and Roman candles. I've mentioned before that we have a miniature, and slightly overweight statue of liberty in our school, so we thought it only fitting to fire the flames near our lady of freedom. A Canadian made that suggestion. By the by, did you know that Canada (their equivalent to July 4th) is on July 1st. Basically the queen or king whoever was in charge at that time patted Canada on the head and said, you can have your own government, but Mommy and Daddy England will still watch over you to make sure you are ok.

Here are a few pictures of our Korean July 4th celebration.

Jazz Festival

We went to a Jazz Festival about a month ago. I like jazz more than Kyle does, but even I can't listen to it unless it is live, especially the non-melodic spouts that go on for eternity moving, swirling and circling but never actually going anywhere. When we arrived at the festival, the boys were starved. Well, everyone was hungry, but the boys might have begun envisioning our arms as large steaks had we not sent them off to fetch food. I assumed, wrongly, there would be vendors nearby or at least a kimbap (sushi roll) place, but as there was not, there was only one thing to do- send the boys- who might have turned King Kong on us had we not. But instead of finding somewhere nearby, they were gone for forty-five minutes and brought back Pho. Now I love pho (vietnamese soup with noddles), but I don't consider it an excellent picnic food. And I was frustrated because they were gone so long they missed, in my opinion, the best band at the festival. They arrived in time for the crazy sprouting, winding, thorny jazz which drives Kyle mad. Because Kyle missed the French jazz band with a melody, I recorded one of their songs. I hope you enjoy it. And I wish I could tell you the name of the band, but I can't because I don't know it. If anyone happens to know, I would love to look them up.

Korean Island Beach trip (part duex)

lunch time: After setting up our camps, smearing beacoups of sunscreen over our pasty bodies, we begin preparations for lunch- hamburgers. It has been so long since I have had a hamburger. Heaven does exist and it is called grilled hamburger.

After lunch: Laying around soaking up the suns rays and watching the tide slink away was obviously the next step after stuffing our stomachs so full of meaty goodness. I have never seen a tide recede as far as this one. When does it stop?




Later: Clam digging! Someone hands me a small pick and says that we are clam digging?
"how can we tell where to dig?" I ask
"Look for holes." I am told
"Any hole?"
"I guess, no one really knows."

I aimlessly walk around looking for holes in the sand for about thirty minutes . Some people are digging massive holes as they don't know how to find these ellusive clams.

One guy brings us four clams he has just dug up.

The rest of us who have been wandering around hopelessly stare aghast!
"how?" we stammer

He shows us his method and within a minute he has yet another clam!
"Amazing!" we exclaim like small children dumbfounded by a magic trick.

Once the trick is mastered, I feel like a detective on the hunt. One, two three clams. Spot a microscopic hole. Dig like a dog burring it's bone until the water spills in. Feel around for the squirmy fella. Gotcha! Another in the bucket. I am now a clam digging aficionado! Four, five, six. I have lost count by now.

Nap time: I crawl under the shade of my tent and take my siesta. Kyle is off finding firewood for tonight's bonfire.

Wakey wakey time: The sun is having a hard time keeping it's golden eyes open by the time I wake. After searching for the hubs, we walk towards the designated sunset cliff. It's beautiful!


Din din: Spaghetti in my tum tum is delish!

Bonfire: The fire is untamed, but the heat has escaped into the vacuum with the sun. Frosty air has taken it's place. The temperature on this island is like night and day... oh wait... it changed with the night and day. Hee hee...I made a funny.

We go to bed earlier than normal, not without peeing behind the rocks in the designated pee spot. I wonder how many people have peed back here. I hope I'm not standing in someone's pee right now. Ewwwww..

Morning: Breakfast of champions... pancakes and sausage. I make mine into a pig in a blanket. AND we have REAL maple syrup! Heaven!


Hike time: Kyle and I go exploring the beach, but we are deterred in our mission by jagged rocks and our unwillingness to climb them all. So we attempt a photo shoot. 30 pictures later and very few "good" shots later, we walk back towards our camp site.

Around 2pm: We have to leave now. Boo! I don't want to leave. I don't want to go back to work! You can't make me!!

Unfortunately however, I am not writing this post from the beach. In fact, we did have to return. But this is not the last the beach will hear from us. We are on a break for the time being while I perform my responsible duty as a teacher, but soon, we will be back. Expect us at every turn!

In case you didn't see the video: You can watch it here.

Korean Island Beach trip

Friday evening
8:00 pm- We are packing anxiously for our beach get-a-way this weekend. I am pumped. Ecstatic. Deliriously jumping for the stars. Sometimes I feel like this place is tearing into me, shredding my sanity slowly like fajita shredded chicken. I am afraid one day Kyle will wake up one day next to I a crazed monkey and wont understand what happened to his wife. This weekend is a much needed escape. Only one more hour till we leave.

9:00 We are waiting on the doorsteps of our co-worker/friend's steps waiting for her to arrive back home so we can VAMANOS already. Is that her footsteps I hear? No, it is the children playing around the corner. Wait, wait, I hear heels. Pack is on, I am ready!

9:45 Amy has packed, we took our taxi to the station, and we are on this train. I am so sleepy. I'm worried we aren't going to make it to our destination before the subways stop running. Kyle's lap is as inviting as a down feather pillow. Gravity is pulling me down, I can't resist the urge to sleep any longer.

11:29 -Well, my fears have come true. We missed our connecting subway by a skimpy 15 minutes. WHY!!! Why do the subways stop running SO EARLY!!

12:00 am Without too much of a hitch we luckily find a jimjilbang to sleep at, Dragon Hill jimjilbang.

Saturday

5:00 am- I have looked at my phone about a 20 times by now from paranoia that we will sleep past the alarm. Amy got up at 4:20am complaining that the woman next to her was speaking Korean in her sleep. This pillow is about as comfortable as a boulder. We need to be on the subway by 5:48, should I get up? I am lying in a pool of my own sweat, but I am not one for rising before an alarm.

5:50 am We are on the subway, thank God. I wish I drank coffee right about now.

7:30 am McDonalds breakfast makes it all worth it.


8:30 We are on the ferry. We had a little problem finding the group, but we have settled down now. This ferry might be identical to a Western ferry except for the small fact there are zero chairs. Asians sit on the floor. Inside the Koreans have taken off their shoes and have either settled down for a nap, are having a picnic breakfast of kimchi and seaweed soup or have already drunk enough soju to kill a horse and are currently playing a Korean gambling game. After some seagull picture taking and minimal socializing, I have settled down for my nap.



Fun Fact: The longest bridge in Korea, Incheon Bridge, is a cable-stayed bridge structure with 800m main span length. This main span length means the distance between two pylons, and it is the 5th longest in the World.
10:30ish Time is sprouting wings. Soon, we will go our separate ways, and wont find each other again until the finale of the weekend. We get off our ferry onto a small speed boat with holes on the sides allowing frigid ocean water to lick our feet with it's icy tongue. For some reason, we all receive adjuma (old lady) hats. They are called this because there is a VERY particular way the adjumas in Korea dress and act. The hats are extremely long and they often wear them completely covering their face when they go on walks or hikes. Don't get in their way either, they will shove you. They own this country. I feel like I should go weld some metal wearing this clown hat.

11:30 ish- we arrive on our deserted island beach. What feels like miles to my sleep deprived body is about a fifteen minute walk to our camping ground. The sand is deep and loose. My feet sink deep into the sand like quicksand. Despite the unexpected workout, the sand between my toes enlivens me. This is why I came this weekend. This is why I woke up before the sun, to feel the grains of the earth tickle my toes.

Time has flown off with the seagulls. It is beach time now..
Stay tuned for part 2!

Park Ji-sung poll

Park Ji-sung is the Korean soccer (or football depending one what area of the world you live in) player who plays for Manchester United making avid fans of this particular English team of just about every Korean. However, in the World Cup Park Ji-sung plays proudly for his native Korea. He is, in the minds of just about every Korean, a hero or maybe a god. He and Kim Yuna could take over Korea in a military coup and rule as King and Queen without a hiccup they are worshiped so spiritedly. Koreans speak their names either in reverence barely allowing the names of the beloveds to touch their lips, the sound is as light as a feather hitting the floor or in an all out scream once a goal has been scored. While watching the World Cup game #1 against Greece, his name was chanted for nearly five minutes like a battle call.

But despite this apotheosis, Park Ji-sung is considered ugly by nearly all Koreans. Were it not for his magnificent talent, his looks might get him in trouble. Shockingly I have heard these phrases and others like them uttered many times, "if it weren't for his looks," or "He is just so ugly." I look at Park Ji-sung and see an average looking Korean guy. I wouldn't necessarily describe him as a modern day Fabio (not that I find him attractive either) but I don't think he looks like the scum floating on a stagnant pond on whih Koreans seem to concur whole-heartedly.

Unfortunately the World Cup is finished for Korea as it is for the United States, and there will be few chances that you will see pictures of him flashing across your TV set unless you are an avid Manchester United fan. Therefore, I have decided to take a poll. I want to know if Koreans standard of beauty/handsomeness is comparable to ours, or if they have drastic differences like I hypothesis. Please, (if you wish to participate) look to the right of the screen and take the short poll.

Disaster not avoided (at all!)

Walking out of the auditorium with 10 waggling Russian children high from the spirit of theater practice on an actual stage, I stagger towards the sunlight blinded by it's ferocity. The spirals of radiant light penetrate my bat-adjusted eyes so much more mercilessly after being enclosed in a cave like space I couldn't be sure of what my eyes were transmitting.
A crowd of Russian students hovered around the fountain like seagulls going in for the steal of breadcrumbs. I wanted to avert my eyes and avoid what looked like what might be a scene brewing as I was tired from yelling at my students to stop acting like monkeys while practicing their play. All I desired was my ten minute break. Just ten minutes. But then I saw it. I couldn’t tell if what I was seeing was an illusion from the sudden brightness of light or reality. One of the girls in the group we call “the glam girls” (nicknamed such for the way they dress and are constantly modeling as if anyone of us might take out our camera and start snapping away) stood in what appeared from a distance, her bathing suite next to the pond surrounding our miniature version of the Statue of Liberty in the middle of the courtyard. As if repelled by an opposing end magnet my exhaustion told me to run; run far far away and not look back, but my conscious dragged me kicking and screaming towards the scene.

It turned out that she was not in her bathing suite, but in her bra and underwear holding her dress in front of her. Her hair dripping with fountain water, her face hard, stoic even.

Baffled at this unexpected soap opera, I asked what happened.
"He pushed me in!" she exclaimed tears, whether true or no poured down her face. I followed her index finger pointing to a blond headed boy lounging smugly on the bank of the pond. (I don't really know what to call the water surrounding the statue as it stagnant so isn't actually a fountain, but it isn't a natural enclosure so it really isn't a pond either.) I took my sweater off, put it around her shoulders and walked her back towards the dorms.

The truth (or what we could gather): The two are in the high level class. They either love each other ardently and don't know any other way of expressing love except through vicious fighting, or they hate each other with the vehemence of a cobra and a mongoose and want to see each other die a long painful death, preferably by the other's hand. Simply said, they haven't stopped bickering and battling since they arrived in Korea. This particular feud ended with a punch in the face to the boy, and a splash in the statue of liberty pond. How her dress came completely off, I don't know, nor will I probably ever know. What I do know is that their punishment was to help clean dishes in the cafeteria. And despite the girl's insistence that she didn't deserve this kind of treatment for only a punch, the dishes were clean the next day and there wasn't anyone standing naked in the middle of the courtyard for all to gawk at. We shall see what tomorrow holds. One thing is for sure, these Russians sure are entertaining.

Pictures as promised!
(disclaimer: non of the girls in the pictures are in the story above)

This girl is what I imagine Russians looking like. (The girl in white in the back is in my class. She is very cute and enthusiastic)

These two lovely ladies are calm collected, but always participate. It is an interesting mix for I normally don't find all of those qualities in my students at the same time.

My boys who are always laughing.

My Peter Pan in the play. Look at the length of her hair.

More on my Russian program

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I am teaching a two week Russian program. It has been very intensive and a bit stress inducing, but on the whole, I am thoroughly enjoying my class. Here is what my daily schedule looks like.

An intensive schedule:
9:00-11:00 We have basic learning with a focus on vocabulary practice. For example, today we learned about hobbies. We played a game where we all stood in a circle and passed a ball around. If you got passed the ball you had a few seconds to think of a hobby that hasn't already been said. My kids, desperate not to get out thought up some pretty crazy hobbies.

• collecting doors
• collecting windows
• walking your snake
• walking your cat
• walking your parrot
• collecting shoes

Yesterday we played restaurant. Kyle gave me the suggestion of allowing some of the customers and waiters to be rude while others were told to be polite, to liven things up. And boy did it liven the activity up. One boy rolled a paper and pretended to smoke even though he was told it was a non-smoking area. Security (me) was called several times insisting I escort the guest out. The boys wanted me to allow pretend guns and weapons to be used but I thought that would be taking the activity in the wrong direction. Never-the-less, it was a success, and they even used English almost entirely to express all of these ideas., but a welcome reprieve from active teaching.
11:00- 12:00 Reading and comprehension... Not very interesting
Lunch (seriously lacking in veggies)
1:30- Listening activities. The first day we listened to "You are my sunshine" which my Russian students had never heard before, but they requested to hear again and again, singing along with the music. Yesterday we listened to Lemon Tree by Fool's Garden (a German band) which is an extremely well known and popular song in Korea. I had never heard it in America, but we may be the only ones, as the Russians all knew the song as well. Interesting what we don't know about in our little isolated corner in the world.

2:30-3:30 Theme class. They love theme class because there is always some type of fun activity such as making and flying paper airplanes, making key chains, learning how to draw, etc.

3:30-4:30 Drama practice. The play they have picked is called "Pirates of English Village" written by an ex-teacher here. Characters include Captain Hook, Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, crocodile, and Jack Sparrow from "Pirates of the Caribbean" and another Captain. Tinkerbell marries Jack Sparrow and Wendy marries the captain of the ship. Peter pan and the crocodile become allies to win Wendy back. It is a very silly play and the kids are so into it. I love that they are self-motivated and willing to be silly. I don't know if all Russian kids are like this, but if it weren't a massive icicle for 10 months of the year, I would consider working there.

4:30-5:00 time with the teacher. We are watching Kung Fu Panda- which they love!!

Interesting tidbits about the Russians:

• They have a very different fashion sense. Koreans besides wearing extremely short skirts (outside of school) are very conservative dressers. The style in fact is what you might see on a baby doll, loose, flowing, and showing very little chest. Russians on the other hand, have a very liberal sense of clothing. One little girl has worn swimsuit shorts for two days. One girl wore a tube top dress. Clothing that would be considered inappropriate in any school in the US, but typical summer wear. Maybe it is because they never see the sun or maybe it is because it just much more accepted in their culture to wear this type of clothing in school. Either way, it is an interesting hodgepodge considering that the Koreans and Russians are going to school side by side.
  
• The girls almost all have long hair. Really, they have some of the longest hair of girls I have seen in a long time.
  

p.s. I took pics of my kids today, but didn't have time to upload them. They will come soon, so I don't want to hear any gripping :)

The Russians are coming!!

Oh wait, they are already here. You read that correctly, I wrote Russians, as in the people originating from the largest country in the world. That icicle country that is both part of Europe and Asia. We have Russian students ranging from ten years old to 15 years old this week and next week. They have come to South Korea to learn English. Makes since right? When you think of South Korea, one naturally thinks of the hot spot of the world to learn English!

Last week was preparation week. You would think that less than a week to plan for two weeks of classes would be sufficient, but I assure you, my brain did somersaults attempting to organize and file away all that needed to be printed, copied, created etc for this upcoming group. The Russian program is very different than the normal weekly program. In a normal week, we have our classes basically prepared. There is still prep work to be done, but the difference is that this program had to be created basically from the ground up. I am thankful at least we had books available, and the internet is the best thing since butter as far as I am concerned. Most English teachers are familiar with this site but for those who are not; Dave's esl cafe is a LIFE saver. This site's entire purpose in life is to assist those who teach English with games, lesson plans, advice and those who want to find an English teaching job.

When I teach students, one of my main goals is to help them find the fun in learning English. According to the zombie students, sometimes actually having fun while learning seems less like actual fun and more like having open heart surgery. But I still try, regardless of the protests and their unwillingness to be moved by anything but a bulldozer. While preparing for the students, we weren't given a clear picture as to what their levels would be and although I was told to prepare low-intermediate, I couldn't be positive that these kids even knew how to read English.

When they arrived this morning, my jaw bounced a few times like a bouncy ball on the linoleum floor. It has been a while since I have seen so many Westerners, but not only that, they were all blond-haired, blue eye beauties. No joke! You could probably enter 80% of our students into "Russia's next top model" reality TV series (if they have a show like ours.) Who knew Russians were so breath-taking?

In Korea, Russian is synonomis with prostitute. For some reason, there are many Russian prostitutes here. I don't know why. But I do know, that if you are asked "Are you Russian?" by a Korean, they are basically asking if you are a prostitute, and yes, I have been asked that question. There are even t-shirts people wear that have printed in the Korean language, "No, I am not Russian," to keep people from asking.

And the way my students interact, I can never tell if they are yelling at each other or just speaking Russian the way Russians speak. The language which sounds to my unqualified ears to be a mixture of German and French, is spoken with such passion, it is difficult to distinguish the anger from typical speech pattern.

So far I like my class. We have had a short afternoon together and already we have had events:

• Daniel is pronounced differently in Russian. Daniel (my student) does not, I repeat, DOES NOT like the English pronunciation of Daniel. So he chose the English name Parker after yelling at me for my ignorance and mispronunciation.
• I thought I was going to have to break up a fight between Korean students and my Russian students, but when I reached the circle, I found the Korean students and Russian students trying unsuccessfully to communicate in English. The Russian students wanted to teach the Korean students some Russian words. Kind of sweet actually.
  
• Russian students have hobbies. It's amazing. If you ask a Korean student what their hobbies are, you are 99.99% likely to hear either or all of the following; computer games, sleeping and TV. Occasionally soccer is tossed in there for good measure. The Russians hobbies ranged from graffiti art, to scuba diving to stamp collecting. Amazing! Children with time to have hobbies outside of studying.

I don't have pictures of my class yet, but I will post some as soon as I do.

Dragon Hill in Yongsan

The jimjilbang in Korea is a unique experience not to be missed. A jimjilbang is a public bathhouse in which women and men separate into their respective bath-rooms to soak in a variety of pools and rooms ranging from cool to HOT. It is comparable to a sauna or a spa, offering a variety of services and a variety of options for washing/relaxing except that instead of wearing a bathing suite, the only attire required or allowed really is your birthday suite. And Koreans, unlike Westerners have no rule in the official unwritten handbook of rules guidelines about staring. Koreans like to stare, and for them, it is absolutely acceptable. "Yes, I am from America, and no I don't have three breasts. Please stop staring!" is what I want to say when they stare at me like a purple alien with horns and a tail. It is already shocking enough to be stark naked in front of strangers, but to have them blatantly stare at you inch by inch is another story. For the most part is the older generation who behaves this way. The younger generations are less obvious. The nakedness shock wears away after ten minutes, and once it does, it is a wonderfully relaxing atomosphere.

It is strange to think of bathing together as a familial event, but in Korea, it is a regular family outing. Koreans use the jimjilbang to clean and scrub enthusiasticly every inch of their body until every organism, bacteria, or speck of dirt on their bodies has either abandoned ship or been bludgeoned to death. I use it mostly as a means to relax. Recently, however, we went to a jimjilbang for the sole purpose of sleeping. Jimjilbangs are not hotels, but they do allow guests to sleep the night away if they so choose for cheap. There are rooms set aside with mats lining the floor and square, rock like pillows for sleeping. The heat is kept at such a temperature, that even I, who ALWAYS eternally must have a blanket, even in the death-throws of summer, didn't want for any extra material, be it as thin as a butterfly's wing, to touch my sweat speckled body.

The first time we tried to sleep at a jimjilbang, we weren't sure how it worked. We thought maybe we could drop off our bags and come back but they kept insisting that we couldn't leave so we didn't stay there. But a few weekends ago, we went on our deserted island beach trip, and we had planned on meeting the group at a jimjilbang near the ferry that we were to take at the crack of dawn, but because of a series of unfortunate events that will be discussed at a later time, we didn't make it, and had to find an alternative. We landed in Yongsan station and were directed to Dragon Hill, the mecca of all jimjilbangs. This jimjilbang is like Schlitterban (the largest water park in Texas) to the baby pool at your local neighborhood pool. In fact, it is so unlike other jimjilbang, it is almost on par with a mini-amusement park. Boasting 7 floors, this jimjilbang offers entertainment, food, spa treatment, and snuggle room for those couples who have no where else to be "alone" all in one. We were handed clothes, informed of which floors were designated for males, females and mixed floors and instructed to change into our hideous uniforms.
( I didn't take any of these pictures. I found them all online, but this is the ballroom like room I was talking about. This angle isn't very ballroom-esque but it was very grand and gold.)

The first floor was a playground/ arcade/ PC room. I am not joking. I am still referring to the sauna. Also attached, in case you got hungry, a restaurant with fried, processed, greasy, calorie maniacal goodness all waiting to be devoured. I don't know about you, but that's not exactly the image I conjur up when I imagine a spa. The next room looked like at one time it might have been an Asian ballroom, except for the big screen TV and the people lounging on the floor watching the movie dance across it's screen. I lost track of what was on what floor and I am doubtful that I saw the entirity of the mamoth-like sauna, but of what I saw, there were also several swimming pools, a fitness center, and a roof-top terrace with another restaurant serving $6 french fries (a steal of a price in Korea). We cut into our sleep time just exploring each floor, but not partaking in the funess to be had. Already, we only would be able to sleep five hours, and although we were enticed we decided the responsible thing to do would be sleep. If you get the chance, visit this jimjilbang. We definitely have plans to return!

(I have never been in a jimjilbang so crowded before, but this picture is a great example of how they use these outings as recreational)

World Cup FEVER

(The horns are for the RED DEVILS, the Korean mascot)

It has taken over like a furious insupressible virus. Its contagious factor is nearly 100% and all that is required to contract this dangerous virus is to be near a television. It has leaked into every pore and each blood line of this country. That's right, I am talking about the World Cup Fever. And I am as sick as pup with a gimp leg and a lazy eye with the sickness.

I've never really been one for sports. In high school, I attended football games, but never really understood the rules. I might have been able to comprehend the rules had I actually kept my eyes on the field instead of socializing like a fluttering butterfly. I might have learned the dynamics of that barbaric sport had I had an inkling of a care. I could tell you the shape of the ball and that there were two goal posts and a touch down was 7 points, but other than that, football was like an uninteresting puzzle that I didn't plan on untangling.

Leading up to the Korean game, all anyone could talk about was the World cup. Specifically the Korean game and where they planned on watching it. Every inch of Korea with a population over 10 had something planned for the opening game. For our part, we debated on what to do and where to go, finally deciding to head into Seoul for the ultimate Korean experience. Walking into the crowd of red, devil horned, rain soaked Koreans, the electricity jumping off of one person's horns to the next created streets upon streets full of pure ecstatic energy. It was enough electricity to enliven the dead to rise from their graves to see what all the ruckus was about.

We met up with some friends who had painted their faces not only for the Korean game, but also for the USA vs. England game. An exciting night indeed. We would have loved to stay and watch that game at 3:30 am Korea time, however we had to head home, as Kyle had overtime work the following morning. One great thing about the World Cup is that it instills a sense of national pride only paralleled by the Olympics. In spite of the fact that the number of tickets purchased this year by Americans was second only to South Africa, Americans still don't cherish soccer like the rest of the world does. Cherish really isn't the correct word. It is a mania bordering on religious for many countries. I had an English friend once tell me that soccer was a basic necessity for him next to food, water and shelter and without soccer his body would shrivel into a pile of decaying sadness. America has many sports that it cherishes- football, baseball, basketball, and in the north at least, hockey. Soccer just doesn't have a lot of leeway room to squeeze into the hearts of anyone but children looking to burn some energy on league teams.

I still don't really like sports and to be honest I don't really WATCH watch the game. I mean, I pay attention if I hear cue noises from the crowd, but the rules once again allude me. We plan on watching as many games as we can however because the excitement grows as the Argentina/Korea game nears. For anyone interested in results of the games:

• Korea beat Greece 2:0 (They were evenly matched so a 2:0 score was more than the Koreans could hope for)
• USA and England by some miracle tied 1:1 (yes, they have ties in soccer. I know what is up with that?)
• North Korea scored once on Brazil. Brazil which is one of the best teams in the tournament should have spanked those sheltered crazies in the butt, but somehow, the score was close. 1:2
• Mexico and South Africa tied. I know this because I was surrounded by South Africans this weekend.