...by blowing up a nuke.
Surely everybody has been paying attention to the news over the last few days. It's been a bad 5 days for South Korea, and for the whole world really, so I figured I'd give you some news from the front lines.
First of all, don't worry at all about North Korea. Nobody is in the least bit worried. Their country is a joke, and nobody is scared of them at all, just really annoyed. Life is carrying on here like nothing has happened. Some people in Seoul are protesting by burning NoKo flags and such, but that's about it. To be honest, they care a lot more about the fact that their former president committed suicide. They're actually really torn up about it. One of my drinking buddy co-workers didn't come out with the rest of the teaching staff on Monday because he said he was really sad and in no mood for a celebration (the celebration was for sports day, which our school had on Monday).
In addition, NoKo's nukes are not even as powerful as the ones dropped on Japan during WWII. In other words, they are more than 60 years behind the times. And their delivery systems are unreliable.
With this newest round of testing, NoKo has pissed off all of the few friends they had, namely China. China is really getting mad at Kim Jong Il for being stupid, and they are becoming less and less likely to protect North Korea from the UN security council.
All in all, I'm not real sure what's going to come of all this, but I'm not worried at all. NoKo knows that if it so much as looks at South Korea funny, the U.S. and Japan will squash it like a bug, so I'm sure they have no intention of causing trouble. Most likely they are just going to head back to the six party talks and demand more things in exchange for dismantling their nuke program, and all this will happen again in a year or two.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Grad School
Well, after carefully considering all of my options, I have officially decided to accept admission to the University of Chicago. If it were simply a matter of the quality of the program, I wouldn't have hesitated, but the cost of attendance at Chicago is so astronomical that I really had to consider if it was worth it. Luckily, U of C got me in touch with a current graduate student in the same program that I will be entering, and she must have answered over 20 of my questions. It really made me feel comfortable about my decision. All in all, the combination of quality, employment opportunities after graduation, location and campus made this a fairly easy decision for me. In addition, U of C has a cooperative program with Yonsei University here in Korea (Seoul), which would give me an opportunity to possibly return to Korea a couple years down the road as a student. Obviously I have not even thought about whether or not I would do this, but it's nice to have the option.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Updates
Well I know I don't post on my blog that much these days but that's really because there's not much for me to talk about. I'm in my fourth week of the new semester, and work is going very well, much better than last semester. That's actually saying a lot since last semester was already pretty good.
Last semester, my problems stemmed from the horrors of my first-graders; but now they are second-graders, and the problem classes have been broken up and reformed. They are much better behaved now, and I'm even starting to like many of them! My new first-graders are angels - I love them to death! They are nice and funny and smart and adorable.
On top of an easier teaching job, I also have 4 co-workers (none of them English teachers) who I go out with regularly after work. We usually go out maybe once per week. They are a lot of fun, and although their English level is extremely low, I still enjoy going out with them. I call each of them 형 - older brother. They're all around 30 years old.
I got a part-time job teaching a conversation class with elementary school English teachers. They seem nice and their English levels are all pretty high.
My laptop has been broken for over a month now. I gave it to my school last week to fix but it won't be fixed for maybe another week. It was really broken.
I guess the most significant news would be my adventures in grad school. I applied to 5 schools, and so far I am 3-1-1 (yes-no-pending). I am in the process of making a decision but I am heavily leaning towards going to the University of Chicago. The only problem is the cost...without any financial aid of any kind, I could expect to spend $100,000-110,000 for a 2 year program. Ridiculous. I am also considering American University, which is in Washington D.C., but I am not sure I'm going to be able to pass up the opportunity to go to a school like UChicago.
Overall, life is very good these days and I am very happy. I hope this note finds all of you equally well-off.
Last semester, my problems stemmed from the horrors of my first-graders; but now they are second-graders, and the problem classes have been broken up and reformed. They are much better behaved now, and I'm even starting to like many of them! My new first-graders are angels - I love them to death! They are nice and funny and smart and adorable.
On top of an easier teaching job, I also have 4 co-workers (none of them English teachers) who I go out with regularly after work. We usually go out maybe once per week. They are a lot of fun, and although their English level is extremely low, I still enjoy going out with them. I call each of them 형 - older brother. They're all around 30 years old.
I got a part-time job teaching a conversation class with elementary school English teachers. They seem nice and their English levels are all pretty high.
My laptop has been broken for over a month now. I gave it to my school last week to fix but it won't be fixed for maybe another week. It was really broken.
I guess the most significant news would be my adventures in grad school. I applied to 5 schools, and so far I am 3-1-1 (yes-no-pending). I am in the process of making a decision but I am heavily leaning towards going to the University of Chicago. The only problem is the cost...without any financial aid of any kind, I could expect to spend $100,000-110,000 for a 2 year program. Ridiculous. I am also considering American University, which is in Washington D.C., but I am not sure I'm going to be able to pass up the opportunity to go to a school like UChicago.
Overall, life is very good these days and I am very happy. I hope this note finds all of you equally well-off.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Pictures
Okay pictures are up. I have posted links to pictures within each blog section which should correspond to what is being talked about in each section. Bangkok pictures are being developed right now, so hopefully they will be up for you to view tomorrow.
A note about pictures: I have set it up so that the links will open (in a new window) the pictures in a slide-show format. The downside to this is that the pictures are a little small. If you want to see any of the pictures in their large, high quality size, you can select the "main" button at the top right of the slide show page. This will take you to the main page of the album where you can select pictures individually to view in their high quality formats.
Enjoy
A note about pictures: I have set it up so that the links will open (in a new window) the pictures in a slide-show format. The downside to this is that the pictures are a little small. If you want to see any of the pictures in their large, high quality size, you can select the "main" button at the top right of the slide show page. This will take you to the main page of the album where you can select pictures individually to view in their high quality formats.
Enjoy
Saturday, February 28, 2009
My Southeast Asia Adventure - Introduction
Some of you have been complaining that I don't update my blog enough. Well, you all are going to be sorry you complained, because the following is what can only be described as the most obnoxiously detailed description of a mere 9-day journey. If I were to print it out and bind it into a book, one would probably be able to kill a horse with it. So I hope you have about an hour to kill reading this, not to mention a hot cup of coffee sitting next to you. I will do my best to tell you which pictures correspond to their respective blog entries. Enjoy.
The Journey from Bangkok to Siem Reap
The first leg of our journey begins upon arriving in Bangkok around 2AM Saturday morning. Bangkok's main airport is really top-notch: it was built fairly recently to accommodate the booming tourism industry and unlike certain airports (like Detroit metro for example) its layout actually makes sense. Plus, it's architecture is just plain cool to look at.
After passing through immigration, we hitched a taxi over to Hua Lampong Train Station, a facility which is really a blemish on the rest of the city of Bangkok. It's run-down and full of beggars and otherwise poor people waiting for a cheap train to wherever life takes them. The trains themselves are extremely basic: wooden benches and windows that (thankfully) slide open with no regard for safety. The train leaves at 6AM, so the girls grabbed a couple hours of sleep while I stood guard over the backpacks. At 6AM the train arrived, and we were off on our 6 hour ride to Aranyaprathet, a small town on the border between Thailand and Cambodia.
Aranyaprathet is a lawless territory. It is one of the shadiest places I have ever, and (most likely) will ever, visit. The journey we were undertaking is not uncommon, so many tuk-tuk drivers were waiting for us at the train stop. For future reference, a tuk-tuk is like a motorcycle that has been retrofitted to serve as a taxi. They are extremely popular in Thailand and Cambodia, and other places too I'm sure. Anyways, the driver takes us to a tour agency not far from the station. They tell us that they can get us a Cambodian visa for 1200 Baht, which took me by surprise because A) tour agencies can't issue visas and B) I have only heard of people getting them either online through the Cambodian government or at the border. Additionally, that was an exorbitant price to pay for the visa.
So I call the guy on this saying that random tour agencies aren't legally authorized to issue visas, ESPECIALLY when the tour agency isn't even located in the country that it is issuing a visa for! The man gets a little pissed that I called shenanigans, and he angrily takes away the forms we had been filling out. He piles us into the back of a tuk-tuk and we are driven about 10 feet to the building next door.
Lo-and-behold, this building is the Cambodian consulate, which we couldn't see before due to a strategically placed wall covered in fauna. Here, they only charge 1000 baht, and being the consulate, they are indeed authorized to issue visas.
It turns out that the "tour company" was just a bunch of guys dressed in nice clothes scamming people out of an extra 200 baht. They would have the people fill out the necessary forms, and then take their passports and 1200 baht to the consulate next door and purchase the visas for 1000 baht. Now 200 baht is only about 6 dollars, but in Thailand and Cambodia it goes a long way. So we successfully avoid this scam and move on to the border crossing. The border is really shady as well, but it's easy to avoid the shade and remain where the light is if you just don't talk to anybody who isn't a westerner. Our border crossing went fairly smoothly, and we eventually hitched a taxi to Siem Reap, the town just outside of Angkor Wat park.
The road from the border town of Poiphet to Siem Reap is very very bad, in that it is largely unpaved and very bumpy. The reason is because there is only one airline that flies a route between Siem Reap and Bangkok: Bangkok Air. They have been bribing the Cambodian government for years to keep the road unpaved to discourage anybody from taking the land route to Siem Reap. Then they charge huge amounts of money for their tickets. Most flights cost us around $60 or $70 USdollars, but this one cost us about $175. But we were unwilling to waste an entire day taking the exhausting land route back the other way, so we took the hit and flew back to Bangkok a couple days after arriving.
Pictures
(Be sure to read any comments in the pictures so you know what is going on.)
More Pictures
After passing through immigration, we hitched a taxi over to Hua Lampong Train Station, a facility which is really a blemish on the rest of the city of Bangkok. It's run-down and full of beggars and otherwise poor people waiting for a cheap train to wherever life takes them. The trains themselves are extremely basic: wooden benches and windows that (thankfully) slide open with no regard for safety. The train leaves at 6AM, so the girls grabbed a couple hours of sleep while I stood guard over the backpacks. At 6AM the train arrived, and we were off on our 6 hour ride to Aranyaprathet, a small town on the border between Thailand and Cambodia.
Aranyaprathet is a lawless territory. It is one of the shadiest places I have ever, and (most likely) will ever, visit. The journey we were undertaking is not uncommon, so many tuk-tuk drivers were waiting for us at the train stop. For future reference, a tuk-tuk is like a motorcycle that has been retrofitted to serve as a taxi. They are extremely popular in Thailand and Cambodia, and other places too I'm sure. Anyways, the driver takes us to a tour agency not far from the station. They tell us that they can get us a Cambodian visa for 1200 Baht, which took me by surprise because A) tour agencies can't issue visas and B) I have only heard of people getting them either online through the Cambodian government or at the border. Additionally, that was an exorbitant price to pay for the visa.
So I call the guy on this saying that random tour agencies aren't legally authorized to issue visas, ESPECIALLY when the tour agency isn't even located in the country that it is issuing a visa for! The man gets a little pissed that I called shenanigans, and he angrily takes away the forms we had been filling out. He piles us into the back of a tuk-tuk and we are driven about 10 feet to the building next door.
Lo-and-behold, this building is the Cambodian consulate, which we couldn't see before due to a strategically placed wall covered in fauna. Here, they only charge 1000 baht, and being the consulate, they are indeed authorized to issue visas.
It turns out that the "tour company" was just a bunch of guys dressed in nice clothes scamming people out of an extra 200 baht. They would have the people fill out the necessary forms, and then take their passports and 1200 baht to the consulate next door and purchase the visas for 1000 baht. Now 200 baht is only about 6 dollars, but in Thailand and Cambodia it goes a long way. So we successfully avoid this scam and move on to the border crossing. The border is really shady as well, but it's easy to avoid the shade and remain where the light is if you just don't talk to anybody who isn't a westerner. Our border crossing went fairly smoothly, and we eventually hitched a taxi to Siem Reap, the town just outside of Angkor Wat park.
The road from the border town of Poiphet to Siem Reap is very very bad, in that it is largely unpaved and very bumpy. The reason is because there is only one airline that flies a route between Siem Reap and Bangkok: Bangkok Air. They have been bribing the Cambodian government for years to keep the road unpaved to discourage anybody from taking the land route to Siem Reap. Then they charge huge amounts of money for their tickets. Most flights cost us around $60 or $70 USdollars, but this one cost us about $175. But we were unwilling to waste an entire day taking the exhausting land route back the other way, so we took the hit and flew back to Bangkok a couple days after arriving.
Pictures
(Be sure to read any comments in the pictures so you know what is going on.)
More Pictures
Angkor Wat
The entire reason for us going to Cambodia was to see Angkor Wat, a series of temples (around 40 I think) ranging in size from small to huge. And I have to say, everything we endured on the way to and from Cambodia was completely worth it. Angkor Wat is simply amazing. We left for the temples around 5:15AM so that we could catch the sunrise over the main temple. Unfortunately, I was not able to get any good pictures of the sunrise itself, but I got some really great shots of all the temples we went to.
The amount of people who were there before sunrise was staggering. But despite the all the people who came to visit, the place didn't lose its authenticity. And by that I mean that it didn't feel like some inane gimmick whose sole purpose was to draw in money. The temples were very tranquil, very surreal. I did my best to capture this in some of my pictures, but I still don't think anything but one's own eyes will ever do it justice.
Pictures
More Pics
More Pics
We hired a tuk-tuk driver for the day. He picked us up in the morning and chauffeured us around to all the temples. He was a really nice guy named Tana, and he charged a reasonable rate. He was very friendly and very professional, always exactly where he said he was going to be and always on time. We spent a little less than 20 dollars per person for a full day of him taking us around to places as well as a ride to the airport the next day.
Our flight left around 5PM so we had some time to kill. We walked around Siem Reap for awhile, and lounged by our hotel's pool for a couple hours. I was in the pool while the girls were off doing god knows what when I heard the two kids who were also in the pool talking French. I was intrigued because they were very dark skinned and almost looked Mexican, and French people very rarely appear this way. So I started talking to them and it turns out that they were actually half Canadian, half Cambodian. Their mother was a Cambodian woman who fled the country during the genocide of the Khmer Rouge. She fled to Canada, ended up in Quebec, learned French and married a Quebecois man. They were visiting the woman's family, and it was her first time back in her home country in almost 30 years. She didn't speak any English, but she was obviously a very nice woman and clearly had very mixed emotions about being back. To use her exact words: "Je me sens perdu" - I feel lost. I was very happy to have met them.
Pictures of Siem Reap
(This album is half Siem Reap, half Phuket. Pay attention to comments for which is which.)
The amount of people who were there before sunrise was staggering. But despite the all the people who came to visit, the place didn't lose its authenticity. And by that I mean that it didn't feel like some inane gimmick whose sole purpose was to draw in money. The temples were very tranquil, very surreal. I did my best to capture this in some of my pictures, but I still don't think anything but one's own eyes will ever do it justice.
Pictures
More Pics
More Pics
We hired a tuk-tuk driver for the day. He picked us up in the morning and chauffeured us around to all the temples. He was a really nice guy named Tana, and he charged a reasonable rate. He was very friendly and very professional, always exactly where he said he was going to be and always on time. We spent a little less than 20 dollars per person for a full day of him taking us around to places as well as a ride to the airport the next day.
Our flight left around 5PM so we had some time to kill. We walked around Siem Reap for awhile, and lounged by our hotel's pool for a couple hours. I was in the pool while the girls were off doing god knows what when I heard the two kids who were also in the pool talking French. I was intrigued because they were very dark skinned and almost looked Mexican, and French people very rarely appear this way. So I started talking to them and it turns out that they were actually half Canadian, half Cambodian. Their mother was a Cambodian woman who fled the country during the genocide of the Khmer Rouge. She fled to Canada, ended up in Quebec, learned French and married a Quebecois man. They were visiting the woman's family, and it was her first time back in her home country in almost 30 years. She didn't speak any English, but she was obviously a very nice woman and clearly had very mixed emotions about being back. To use her exact words: "Je me sens perdu" - I feel lost. I was very happy to have met them.
Pictures of Siem Reap
(This album is half Siem Reap, half Phuket. Pay attention to comments for which is which.)
Phuket
The journey from Siem Reap to Phuket went fairly smoothly. Phuket is a large island just barely off the coast of southwestern Thailand. Its baby blue waters and abundant palm trees make it one of the most tropical places on earth. Unfortunately, it is slowly becoming more and more commercialized, but it was nonetheless amazing.
After taking two flights and an hour-long taxi ride, we arrived around midnight and found a cheap guest house to crash at. Patong beach is infamous for being a giant frat party, and we wanted to avoid that, so we spent the whole next day on Kata beach, which many people said was one of the best on the island. I spent most of the day in the water body surfing and just enjoying the perfect temperature, and I paid for it for the rest of the trip. I was delivered the most severe ass-kicking by the sun that I ever had. I didn't even look like a lobster; I looked like a strawberry. Several days later I began to peel and a masseuse commented that I looked like a snake.
Pics
(This album is half Siem Reap, half Phuket. Pay attention to comments for which is which.)
Later that night we were walking along the beach as the sun was setting when we ran into some friends of mine from Korea who were also visiting, and for reasons that will become apparent soon, I think this was the most fortunate part of the trip for me. They told us they were going to Phi Phi island (the place where the movie "The Beach" was filmed) and told us we should come too. Phi Phi is actually 2 islands and you have to take a 90 minute ferry to get to them. Laura and Megan also knew a couple of the people rolling in this new bunch whom they were anxious to see, so we booked some tickets and the next day we were off to Phi Phi.
Pics
After taking two flights and an hour-long taxi ride, we arrived around midnight and found a cheap guest house to crash at. Patong beach is infamous for being a giant frat party, and we wanted to avoid that, so we spent the whole next day on Kata beach, which many people said was one of the best on the island. I spent most of the day in the water body surfing and just enjoying the perfect temperature, and I paid for it for the rest of the trip. I was delivered the most severe ass-kicking by the sun that I ever had. I didn't even look like a lobster; I looked like a strawberry. Several days later I began to peel and a masseuse commented that I looked like a snake.
Pics
(This album is half Siem Reap, half Phuket. Pay attention to comments for which is which.)
Later that night we were walking along the beach as the sun was setting when we ran into some friends of mine from Korea who were also visiting, and for reasons that will become apparent soon, I think this was the most fortunate part of the trip for me. They told us they were going to Phi Phi island (the place where the movie "The Beach" was filmed) and told us we should come too. Phi Phi is actually 2 islands and you have to take a 90 minute ferry to get to them. Laura and Megan also knew a couple of the people rolling in this new bunch whom they were anxious to see, so we booked some tickets and the next day we were off to Phi Phi.
Pics
Koh Phi Phi
The girls were originally hesitant about going to Phi Phi, but meeting our friends made them want to go, and I am so extremely happy that we went because our first day/night on Phi Phi island was probably the best part of the trip for me. We got off the ferry and headed over with our friends to their hotel; they had reservations but we did not and we wanted to try to get a room in the same hotel. Unfortunately, it was booked full and was too expensive anyway. Luckily, some random westerner who lived on the island saw us looking lost and gave us some suggestions for good guest houses, as well as some good restaurants and bars.
So we got our room and headed up to the observation point, which is basically the top of a very large hill that overlooks the two main bays of the island. The view was incredible and we were able to catch the sunset from up there before heading back down. None of the pictures I took really came out that well, so they don't even come close to doing the island justice.
Pics
After sunset we all headed out to a Thai restaurant that our random western acquaintance had suggested, and after a half-hour wait we were able to order food. This restaurant was the most amazing place on the island -- we got a HUGE amount of food and lots of beer for about 5 dollars per person. I haven't eaten so much food in a very long time.
After eating we headed out to a...well, I'm actually not really sure what to call it. I guess I would call it an outdoor nightclub on the beach on the northern bay. They were doing random party games when we got there, like limbo and jump-rope, but this being Thailand, they couldn't just play the usual boring games. They decided to break out the fire. The jump-rope was on fire, the limbo stick was on fire, and I nearly got singed by both, but that's what the alcohol is for right? After each successful pass under the limbo stick you walked by a guy who would pour rum into your mouth from a bottle as you walked to the back of the line. Same deal with the jump-rope, except this came only after avoiding catching your clothes on fire when you failed to jump over the rope.
Pictures
(Sorry for the poor quality, these were all taken by Megan on her camera, which is just a crappy point-and-shoot.)
After these shenanigans came the music, and we just danced on the beach to trance and techno with lasers shooting every direction. When you got tired you walked down to the water and take a breather. We set up some chairs in the water so that we could sit and the waves could wash up on our feet. Since we were on an island with minimal light pollution, the stars were out in full force over the bay. Right before leaving, we took a quick dip in the bay. I couldn't even remember the last time I went swimming under the stars, all I knew was that it had been far too long.
From there we went to a place called Tiger Bar, which was right next to the restaurant we ate dinner at. The girls aren't real big partiers so they went back to the hotel room to sleep while me and my other 4 friends had a few more drinks and club-hopped for a couple more hours. By the end of the night I was exhausted but exhillarated.
The next day we left and headed back to the Phuket airport, where we caught a plane back to Bangkok.
So we got our room and headed up to the observation point, which is basically the top of a very large hill that overlooks the two main bays of the island. The view was incredible and we were able to catch the sunset from up there before heading back down. None of the pictures I took really came out that well, so they don't even come close to doing the island justice.
Pics
After sunset we all headed out to a Thai restaurant that our random western acquaintance had suggested, and after a half-hour wait we were able to order food. This restaurant was the most amazing place on the island -- we got a HUGE amount of food and lots of beer for about 5 dollars per person. I haven't eaten so much food in a very long time.
After eating we headed out to a...well, I'm actually not really sure what to call it. I guess I would call it an outdoor nightclub on the beach on the northern bay. They were doing random party games when we got there, like limbo and jump-rope, but this being Thailand, they couldn't just play the usual boring games. They decided to break out the fire. The jump-rope was on fire, the limbo stick was on fire, and I nearly got singed by both, but that's what the alcohol is for right? After each successful pass under the limbo stick you walked by a guy who would pour rum into your mouth from a bottle as you walked to the back of the line. Same deal with the jump-rope, except this came only after avoiding catching your clothes on fire when you failed to jump over the rope.
Pictures
(Sorry for the poor quality, these were all taken by Megan on her camera, which is just a crappy point-and-shoot.)
After these shenanigans came the music, and we just danced on the beach to trance and techno with lasers shooting every direction. When you got tired you walked down to the water and take a breather. We set up some chairs in the water so that we could sit and the waves could wash up on our feet. Since we were on an island with minimal light pollution, the stars were out in full force over the bay. Right before leaving, we took a quick dip in the bay. I couldn't even remember the last time I went swimming under the stars, all I knew was that it had been far too long.
From there we went to a place called Tiger Bar, which was right next to the restaurant we ate dinner at. The girls aren't real big partiers so they went back to the hotel room to sleep while me and my other 4 friends had a few more drinks and club-hopped for a couple more hours. By the end of the night I was exhausted but exhillarated.
The next day we left and headed back to the Phuket airport, where we caught a plane back to Bangkok.
Bangkok
I freaking love this city. Bangkok is one of the most amazing and lively places I have seen. We spent both of our days in Bangkok in a part of town that is famous for housing backpackers like ourselves. The area is called Koh Sahn, and it is really incredible. During the day we passed time by visiting huge outdoor markets which sold everything from food to clothes to bootleg DVDs. At night, we visited bars playing live music and got drinks from street vendors.
On Thursday night we met up with one of Laura's friends, who lives and works in Bangkok. He and his friend took us out to dinner and then showed us around town a bit. We stopped for awhile in Bangkok's Chinatown, which was amazing. There were so many lights and street vendors that I thought I was in Korea again. After driving us around for a bit we said our goodbyes and parted ways.
On Friday, Laura had to head back to the airport to catch her flight home. Megan and I spent the day lounging in coffee shops, eating delicious Thai food, and spending some time catching up on emails and such. We also got a two hour Thai massage for about 15 dollars. Soon thereafter, we caught our bus to the airport and spent the night at a nearby hotel. The next morning we were on our way home, and the trip was over.
On Thursday night we met up with one of Laura's friends, who lives and works in Bangkok. He and his friend took us out to dinner and then showed us around town a bit. We stopped for awhile in Bangkok's Chinatown, which was amazing. There were so many lights and street vendors that I thought I was in Korea again. After driving us around for a bit we said our goodbyes and parted ways.
On Friday, Laura had to head back to the airport to catch her flight home. Megan and I spent the day lounging in coffee shops, eating delicious Thai food, and spending some time catching up on emails and such. We also got a two hour Thai massage for about 15 dollars. Soon thereafter, we caught our bus to the airport and spent the night at a nearby hotel. The next morning we were on our way home, and the trip was over.
Some Notes About The Trip
Nobody should be under any illusions about what these countries are like. For tourists like us, they are places of wonder and adventure, like the kind that you dream about when watching things blow up in James Bond movies. But for many of the people in these countries, abject poverty is a way of life.
I fully expected to see some pretty depressing sights while travelling around the region, and indeed I did - pregnant women on the side of the road begging; children wandering from tourist to tourist asking for money; kids helping their parents run a small roadside business when they should be in school. But despite their circumstances, the Thai and Cambodian people are, for the most part, very friendly and welcoming.
I can easily say that this was by far the best trip I have ever taken, but not just for the obvious reasons. As an amateur photographer, I did my best to capture all facets of our journey, not just the tourist aspect. I hope you will read to comments I have written for the photos, and I hope even more that you will gain a little appreciation for what these people go through every day, just as I have.
I fully expected to see some pretty depressing sights while travelling around the region, and indeed I did - pregnant women on the side of the road begging; children wandering from tourist to tourist asking for money; kids helping their parents run a small roadside business when they should be in school. But despite their circumstances, the Thai and Cambodian people are, for the most part, very friendly and welcoming.
I can easily say that this was by far the best trip I have ever taken, but not just for the obvious reasons. As an amateur photographer, I did my best to capture all facets of our journey, not just the tourist aspect. I hope you will read to comments I have written for the photos, and I hope even more that you will gain a little appreciation for what these people go through every day, just as I have.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Pray
Over the past couple of months, I have learned that this blog gets significantly more readers than I ever would have guessed. It's not exactly on google's top 10 most visited sites, but I am constantly receiving messages from people wondering why I don't post more, people who I had absolutely no idea were reading my blog regularly.
Today, I have a favor to ask of all these people. If you believe in the power of prayer, I would ask that you give a brief mention of a man named Kevin in your next discussion with the Boss.
On Christmas Eve, my uncle Kevin took his daughter sledding. He was involved in a serious accident, and is currently fighting for the ability to walk again. This is the same uncle who taught me how to ski, wakeboard, kneeboard, and who loves almost every outdoor recreational activity known to man. I can't even begin to express how sad this turn of events has made me. I have been negligent in posting this entirely because I have been unsure of what to say. It seems so useless to just scrawl virtual words on a website, but at the moment, words are all I have to offer:
If there is one thing that we are reminded of far too often, it is that human bodies are frail. A mere piece of paper can cause an injury that, while small, will fester for far longer than seems possible. But something that we are reminded of not nearly often enough is that though the body can be bruised, beaten, broken and maimed, the heart and spirit of a person can endure much more than the body could ever claim to. So long as the spirit endures, the body will find a way to follow.
I find myself coming back to a quote from a movie, one of the most amazing monologues I've ever heard: "Everybody loves a hero. People line up for them, cheer them, scream their names. And years later, they'll tell how they stood in the rain for hours just to get a glimpse of the one who taught them to hold on for a second longer. I believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble." This line is from Spiderman 2, and while I never really took to the super hero movies that much, they all inherently carry a message that should resound with all of us: Our greatest glories come in our darkest hours.
Kevin, I have little doubt that this is your darkest hour. But I want you and anyone who reads this, now or ever, to know that there is zero doubt in my mind that you will face this challenge with the same courage and temerity that we have all come to expect from you. And in doing so, you will teach all of us that in our own darkest hours we will only need to look to the past, to the example that you set for all of us.
I fully expect to play another round of golf with you in the future. In fact, I expect it so assuredly that I have already made us a tea time top play at Treetops to celebrate your recovery. By the way, this may or may not be a bad time, but the course needed the money up front, so you owe me $160 whenever you get a free minute. I take cash, check, or you can make a direct deposit into my Fidelity account.
Today, I have a favor to ask of all these people. If you believe in the power of prayer, I would ask that you give a brief mention of a man named Kevin in your next discussion with the Boss.
On Christmas Eve, my uncle Kevin took his daughter sledding. He was involved in a serious accident, and is currently fighting for the ability to walk again. This is the same uncle who taught me how to ski, wakeboard, kneeboard, and who loves almost every outdoor recreational activity known to man. I can't even begin to express how sad this turn of events has made me. I have been negligent in posting this entirely because I have been unsure of what to say. It seems so useless to just scrawl virtual words on a website, but at the moment, words are all I have to offer:
If there is one thing that we are reminded of far too often, it is that human bodies are frail. A mere piece of paper can cause an injury that, while small, will fester for far longer than seems possible. But something that we are reminded of not nearly often enough is that though the body can be bruised, beaten, broken and maimed, the heart and spirit of a person can endure much more than the body could ever claim to. So long as the spirit endures, the body will find a way to follow.
I find myself coming back to a quote from a movie, one of the most amazing monologues I've ever heard: "Everybody loves a hero. People line up for them, cheer them, scream their names. And years later, they'll tell how they stood in the rain for hours just to get a glimpse of the one who taught them to hold on for a second longer. I believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble." This line is from Spiderman 2, and while I never really took to the super hero movies that much, they all inherently carry a message that should resound with all of us: Our greatest glories come in our darkest hours.
Kevin, I have little doubt that this is your darkest hour. But I want you and anyone who reads this, now or ever, to know that there is zero doubt in my mind that you will face this challenge with the same courage and temerity that we have all come to expect from you. And in doing so, you will teach all of us that in our own darkest hours we will only need to look to the past, to the example that you set for all of us.
I fully expect to play another round of golf with you in the future. In fact, I expect it so assuredly that I have already made us a tea time top play at Treetops to celebrate your recovery. By the way, this may or may not be a bad time, but the course needed the money up front, so you owe me $160 whenever you get a free minute. I take cash, check, or you can make a direct deposit into my Fidelity account.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas
No offense to everyone back home, but I think this Christmas has been my best in years. So where do I begin?
On Tuesday night I went out after work with a few co-workers. We went downtown to do a number of things. First, we hit up Kyobo Books, the biggest book store in Daegu. One of my co-workers, Sunju, wanted to exchange Christmas presents with me, and before any of you start asking this to yourselves (because I know you are going to) YES they celebrate Christmas here. There are many Korean Christians, and they are just like every other Christian. Sunju got me a Korean grammar textbook (which I requested) and I got her a John Coltrane CD. She wanted to start listening to jazz so I figured Coltrane was a good starting musician. Will, if you read this and are wondering which album, I got her the best one: Giant Steps.
My other co-worker, Myungji, felt a little left out and wanted to also exchange gifts with me, so she got me a really cool necklace that was made in India, and I got her some earings. We then went to dinner at this really cool Indian restaurant, followed by a couple hours spent at BilliBowl, a bar/restaurant known for the game of "Billibowl". I think I mentioned this in another blog but it's like bowling with billiards and it's really fun. My coworkers had never done it before.
On Christmas Eve I had to work, but after getting off work I went home and showered and packed for my trip to the cabin. I then hitched on over to the train station where I met 5 of my other companions. We met the 7th person at our destination city, Sangju. We then took a 40 minute taxi ride up into the mountains where our cabin awaited us. Upon arriving at the cabin, we set up our miniature fake Christmas tree and set all of the secret santa presents underneath it. We broke out the food and drinks and music and started opening presents. Mine was a comic book that basically highlights all of the nuances of Korean culture from a western perspective. It's funny but enlightening at the same time. After presents we just listened to music and drank soju and beer for a couple hours.
We spent Christmas morning drinking hot chocolate and chilling in the cabin before heading back to Daegu later in the afternoon. Upon getting back to Daegu, we met some other people at a Starbucks where we hung out for maybe an hour. By then it was 7pm and time for a fance Christmas dinner at the Holy Grill, which was only available upon reservations (which we had.) The dinner was amazing, basically a sort of Thanksgiving-style feast. There was a Christmas trivia at the end of dinner which my team ALMOST won; we ended up losing by one point. After trivia we all just sat around and played cards and talked for a couple hours.
I got back to my apartment around midnight and decided to write all this up before going to bed, since I have to work tomorrow (what the hell is that, right?) But I am now exhausted and you know all about my Christmas, so I am going to bed.
On Tuesday night I went out after work with a few co-workers. We went downtown to do a number of things. First, we hit up Kyobo Books, the biggest book store in Daegu. One of my co-workers, Sunju, wanted to exchange Christmas presents with me, and before any of you start asking this to yourselves (because I know you are going to) YES they celebrate Christmas here. There are many Korean Christians, and they are just like every other Christian. Sunju got me a Korean grammar textbook (which I requested) and I got her a John Coltrane CD. She wanted to start listening to jazz so I figured Coltrane was a good starting musician. Will, if you read this and are wondering which album, I got her the best one: Giant Steps.
My other co-worker, Myungji, felt a little left out and wanted to also exchange gifts with me, so she got me a really cool necklace that was made in India, and I got her some earings. We then went to dinner at this really cool Indian restaurant, followed by a couple hours spent at BilliBowl, a bar/restaurant known for the game of "Billibowl". I think I mentioned this in another blog but it's like bowling with billiards and it's really fun. My coworkers had never done it before.
On Christmas Eve I had to work, but after getting off work I went home and showered and packed for my trip to the cabin. I then hitched on over to the train station where I met 5 of my other companions. We met the 7th person at our destination city, Sangju. We then took a 40 minute taxi ride up into the mountains where our cabin awaited us. Upon arriving at the cabin, we set up our miniature fake Christmas tree and set all of the secret santa presents underneath it. We broke out the food and drinks and music and started opening presents. Mine was a comic book that basically highlights all of the nuances of Korean culture from a western perspective. It's funny but enlightening at the same time. After presents we just listened to music and drank soju and beer for a couple hours.
We spent Christmas morning drinking hot chocolate and chilling in the cabin before heading back to Daegu later in the afternoon. Upon getting back to Daegu, we met some other people at a Starbucks where we hung out for maybe an hour. By then it was 7pm and time for a fance Christmas dinner at the Holy Grill, which was only available upon reservations (which we had.) The dinner was amazing, basically a sort of Thanksgiving-style feast. There was a Christmas trivia at the end of dinner which my team ALMOST won; we ended up losing by one point. After trivia we all just sat around and played cards and talked for a couple hours.
I got back to my apartment around midnight and decided to write all this up before going to bed, since I have to work tomorrow (what the hell is that, right?) But I am now exhausted and you know all about my Christmas, so I am going to bed.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Battling Cynicism
I was sitting in a coffee shop with my two Thailand travel companions last night discussing some of the details of our impending journey, among other things. One of the "other things" that I brought up was about a recent verdict in a year-old criminal case. About a year ago, an Indian oil tanker, which was legitimately anchored off the south-west coast of Korea, was rammed by an out-of-control Korean shipping vessel owned by Samsung. There was a massive oil spill, and during the catastrophe, the Indian captain and first-mate were required to take an action which prevented an explosion, but also increased the amount of oil spilled into the ocean. In addition, it took about 3.5 hours for the sailors to notify any Korean authorities about the disaster; I guess the whole avoiding-an-explosion thing took a little while to pass over.
This past Wednesday, the Indian captain and first mate in charge of the ship were sentenced to 18 months and 8 months in jail, respectively. They were also heavy fines levied against them. The reasoning of the court was that the actions which increased the amount of oil spilled (and prevented an explosion) and the 3.5 hours required to notify authorities of the accident were unacceptable. In essence, the two Indian men are currently facing significant jail time because some Koreans couldn't keep their boat under control. I am pretty sure that the Koreans involved are also facing penalties, but I don't know what they are.
So last night, I went off on a rant about how the Korean "justice" system is corrupt and downright insane, and how Koreans everywhere can never take responsibility for their own mistakes. I said that this recent verdict was an example of how an incident involving a foreigner invariably leads to that foreigner being blamed for said incident (I've read about many other stories where this is the case.) Koreans can never be the only ones to blame, it's never their fault.
Anyway, today I felt myself becoming increasingly cynical about this country, so in the spirit of Christmas, I have decided to reflect on some of the things that Koreans have done for me over the last 3 months:
At the start of the school year, I was given a box of some very fancy Korean hair-care products that are apparently rather expensive. Not exactly the most useful thing I've ever been given, but the sentiment was nice.
About 6 weeks into my contract, I became very sick with what I guessed was food poisoning. I had to take 2 days off of work, and on the first day, one of my co-teachers met me after getting off work to take me to a clinic. After finishing there, her husband drove me home. And on my first day back to work, my favorite student brought me a package of cold medicine that she had bought from a nearby pharmacy with her own money.
One of the local PC centers (a place where there are dozens of computers with games and internet access on them) has generously allowed me to appropriate one of their computers for my own use. They let me install a couple of English games on it and if I ever come in to use the computer and it is occupied, they will ask the person using it to move to another computer. While it is very flattering, I usually try to prevent them from doing this, but I am not always successful. Can you imagine a store in America doing this for a customer? I can't.
I am sitting in my favorite coffee shop writing this, and just a few minutes ago, when I returned my used cup to the counter, the person working the counter handed me a brand new 2009 Calendar still in its plastic wrapping. It bears the same brand name as the coffee shop, so I am guessing it is some sort of merchandise that they normally sell but decided to give to me for some reason. I always bring my used cups and trash up to the counter before leaving so that they don't have to clean up after me, something I have never seen a Korean do. Maybe the calendar was a thank-you gift?
I have become good friends with one of the science teachers at my school who speaks very little English. Every now and then we will go to the PC center after work to play some starcraft (yes, it's still huge here and he is amazing even by Korean standards) and then grab some dinner. A couple of weeks ago he showed me how to play Korean billiards, which is much much harder than pocket (normal) pool. And every time we hang out, I never pay a cent. He won't let me. He has espoused me as his "younger brother" and views it as his responsibility to pay for everything.
Every now and then, some of the teachers and I play ping pong after school. Sometimes we then go out to dinner after playing, and once again, I am never allowed to pay.
Most Koreans have a propensity for extreme generosity towards foreigners, and I think I need to remember that more often.
This past Wednesday, the Indian captain and first mate in charge of the ship were sentenced to 18 months and 8 months in jail, respectively. They were also heavy fines levied against them. The reasoning of the court was that the actions which increased the amount of oil spilled (and prevented an explosion) and the 3.5 hours required to notify authorities of the accident were unacceptable. In essence, the two Indian men are currently facing significant jail time because some Koreans couldn't keep their boat under control. I am pretty sure that the Koreans involved are also facing penalties, but I don't know what they are.
So last night, I went off on a rant about how the Korean "justice" system is corrupt and downright insane, and how Koreans everywhere can never take responsibility for their own mistakes. I said that this recent verdict was an example of how an incident involving a foreigner invariably leads to that foreigner being blamed for said incident (I've read about many other stories where this is the case.) Koreans can never be the only ones to blame, it's never their fault.
Anyway, today I felt myself becoming increasingly cynical about this country, so in the spirit of Christmas, I have decided to reflect on some of the things that Koreans have done for me over the last 3 months:
At the start of the school year, I was given a box of some very fancy Korean hair-care products that are apparently rather expensive. Not exactly the most useful thing I've ever been given, but the sentiment was nice.
About 6 weeks into my contract, I became very sick with what I guessed was food poisoning. I had to take 2 days off of work, and on the first day, one of my co-teachers met me after getting off work to take me to a clinic. After finishing there, her husband drove me home. And on my first day back to work, my favorite student brought me a package of cold medicine that she had bought from a nearby pharmacy with her own money.
One of the local PC centers (a place where there are dozens of computers with games and internet access on them) has generously allowed me to appropriate one of their computers for my own use. They let me install a couple of English games on it and if I ever come in to use the computer and it is occupied, they will ask the person using it to move to another computer. While it is very flattering, I usually try to prevent them from doing this, but I am not always successful. Can you imagine a store in America doing this for a customer? I can't.
I am sitting in my favorite coffee shop writing this, and just a few minutes ago, when I returned my used cup to the counter, the person working the counter handed me a brand new 2009 Calendar still in its plastic wrapping. It bears the same brand name as the coffee shop, so I am guessing it is some sort of merchandise that they normally sell but decided to give to me for some reason. I always bring my used cups and trash up to the counter before leaving so that they don't have to clean up after me, something I have never seen a Korean do. Maybe the calendar was a thank-you gift?
I have become good friends with one of the science teachers at my school who speaks very little English. Every now and then we will go to the PC center after work to play some starcraft (yes, it's still huge here and he is amazing even by Korean standards) and then grab some dinner. A couple of weeks ago he showed me how to play Korean billiards, which is much much harder than pocket (normal) pool. And every time we hang out, I never pay a cent. He won't let me. He has espoused me as his "younger brother" and views it as his responsibility to pay for everything.
Every now and then, some of the teachers and I play ping pong after school. Sometimes we then go out to dinner after playing, and once again, I am never allowed to pay.
Most Koreans have a propensity for extreme generosity towards foreigners, and I think I need to remember that more often.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Reflections
A few days ago marked the end of my third month here in Korea, so I thought I'd share a few thoughts regarding life here in Korea. Here are a few things I've learned thus far:
1) Korean, like all Asian languages, is hard. It is also phonetically offensive, a brutal assault on the ears. But contrary to my initial beliefs, it is not stupid, nor useless. There are many interesting policy and social issues here, but speaking Korean would be pretty much essential for studying them.
2) Koreans for the most part live in a state of near lawlessness. Every day I see impatient Koreans blow through red lights, putting the lives of every nearby pedestrian (mostly students) in jeopardy. And they get away with it 100% of the time because the police here are corrupt, lazy, and useless, and do not enforce any basic traffic laws. I think it may be only a matter of time before I am involved in a confrontation with one of these drivers, and god help them if they put any of my students in danger.
3) I am a second-class teacher in the eyes of everybody in the school. This is not terribly offensive to me, because compared to the other teachers (who all have training AND experience whereas I have none) this is not an unreasonable opinion. I am also not bothered by this because the amount of work I do compared to the other teachers is fractional, and also because I have no desire to be a career teacher. I will do this for another 9 months and then I will likely never teach again.
4) I wrote an essay for some essay contest that the EPIK program was holding, mostly because I needed something to do during the 3rd graders' finals week. While writing this essay, I read a very interesting survey that was conducted around 1980 regarding happiness in Korea. Apparently, only 57% of Koreans were happy with their lives in 1980, and only 32% felt a sense of accomplishment in their life. These numbers are EXTREMELY low; 91% of Americans considered themselves happy, and 86% felt a sense of accomplishment. Given the way Korean society has changed over the last 30 years, I would guess that these numbers have either gone down or stayed the same in Korea.
5) Another piece of information that I got from my research: Seoul National University is the ultimate goal of any serious student in Korea, and most students qualify as "serious students". The acceptance rate at SNU is extremely low, and most students fail to get in. The amount of studying and private tutoring received by those who DO get in is unbelievable, and it has its effects on the students' mental health. About 14% of those admitted in 1980 suffered from nervous illness, character blocks, or nervous breakdowns. This is also the reason why 44% of students who study at universities abroad fail out, according to a recent article published by a Columbia University Ph.D. student.
6) Suicide is a HUGE problem here. The suicide rate in Korea is the highest among industrialized countries. The suicide rates tend to jump around exam times, as students who do poor on an exam are prone to suicide. Recently, several famous actors committed suicide within a couple of weeks of each other. One did it because he was facing money problems; another actress did it because a "netizen" started a false, malicious rumor about her. I could only think to myself, "these people wouldn't last 5 minutes as celebrities in America." There is no suicide prevention, no education, and as far as I know, no hotline or any type of help service. The Korean approach to suicide is simply to not talk about it. Koreans simply do not value life. They value school (for their children that is), physical appearance, and that's about it.
7) Koreans look in the mirror an average of about 10,000 times per day.
8) When not looking in the mirror, they are looking for a mirror in which to look.
9) The fact that I do not wear makeup of any kind is astonishing to my co-teachers, which in itself is astonishing to me.
10) I can get the most delicious food from vendors on the side of the street for dirt cheap, which is something that I am desperately going to miss when I do leave.
11) It is becoming increasingly less difficult to suppress a laugh when Koreans tell me they think the North and South will be reunified in the near future.
Unfortunately, I am starting to lose a lot of respect for the Koreans. I really enjoy my school and everyone who works at it, and I respect them all a lot. It's the rest of Korea that is making me cynical. They have so many problems, but they are all too lazy to do anything about them. It's considered normal to do as little work as possible here. When things go wrong, standard procedure is to ignore the problem until it goes away; if it refuses to go away, blame somebody else. The Koreans need a serious wake-up call, but I'm afraid they'll be too busy looking in the mirror whenever it comes knocking.
1) Korean, like all Asian languages, is hard. It is also phonetically offensive, a brutal assault on the ears. But contrary to my initial beliefs, it is not stupid, nor useless. There are many interesting policy and social issues here, but speaking Korean would be pretty much essential for studying them.
2) Koreans for the most part live in a state of near lawlessness. Every day I see impatient Koreans blow through red lights, putting the lives of every nearby pedestrian (mostly students) in jeopardy. And they get away with it 100% of the time because the police here are corrupt, lazy, and useless, and do not enforce any basic traffic laws. I think it may be only a matter of time before I am involved in a confrontation with one of these drivers, and god help them if they put any of my students in danger.
3) I am a second-class teacher in the eyes of everybody in the school. This is not terribly offensive to me, because compared to the other teachers (who all have training AND experience whereas I have none) this is not an unreasonable opinion. I am also not bothered by this because the amount of work I do compared to the other teachers is fractional, and also because I have no desire to be a career teacher. I will do this for another 9 months and then I will likely never teach again.
4) I wrote an essay for some essay contest that the EPIK program was holding, mostly because I needed something to do during the 3rd graders' finals week. While writing this essay, I read a very interesting survey that was conducted around 1980 regarding happiness in Korea. Apparently, only 57% of Koreans were happy with their lives in 1980, and only 32% felt a sense of accomplishment in their life. These numbers are EXTREMELY low; 91% of Americans considered themselves happy, and 86% felt a sense of accomplishment. Given the way Korean society has changed over the last 30 years, I would guess that these numbers have either gone down or stayed the same in Korea.
5) Another piece of information that I got from my research: Seoul National University is the ultimate goal of any serious student in Korea, and most students qualify as "serious students". The acceptance rate at SNU is extremely low, and most students fail to get in. The amount of studying and private tutoring received by those who DO get in is unbelievable, and it has its effects on the students' mental health. About 14% of those admitted in 1980 suffered from nervous illness, character blocks, or nervous breakdowns. This is also the reason why 44% of students who study at universities abroad fail out, according to a recent article published by a Columbia University Ph.D. student.
6) Suicide is a HUGE problem here. The suicide rate in Korea is the highest among industrialized countries. The suicide rates tend to jump around exam times, as students who do poor on an exam are prone to suicide. Recently, several famous actors committed suicide within a couple of weeks of each other. One did it because he was facing money problems; another actress did it because a "netizen" started a false, malicious rumor about her. I could only think to myself, "these people wouldn't last 5 minutes as celebrities in America." There is no suicide prevention, no education, and as far as I know, no hotline or any type of help service. The Korean approach to suicide is simply to not talk about it. Koreans simply do not value life. They value school (for their children that is), physical appearance, and that's about it.
7) Koreans look in the mirror an average of about 10,000 times per day.
8) When not looking in the mirror, they are looking for a mirror in which to look.
9) The fact that I do not wear makeup of any kind is astonishing to my co-teachers, which in itself is astonishing to me.
10) I can get the most delicious food from vendors on the side of the street for dirt cheap, which is something that I am desperately going to miss when I do leave.
11) It is becoming increasingly less difficult to suppress a laugh when Koreans tell me they think the North and South will be reunified in the near future.
Unfortunately, I am starting to lose a lot of respect for the Koreans. I really enjoy my school and everyone who works at it, and I respect them all a lot. It's the rest of Korea that is making me cynical. They have so many problems, but they are all too lazy to do anything about them. It's considered normal to do as little work as possible here. When things go wrong, standard procedure is to ignore the problem until it goes away; if it refuses to go away, blame somebody else. The Koreans need a serious wake-up call, but I'm afraid they'll be too busy looking in the mirror whenever it comes knocking.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
The Daegu Theater Troupe
This past weekend marked the debut performance of the Daegu Theater Troupe. A couple of months ago, my friend Kristin suggested forming a group for those of us who enjoyed theater in our college and high school days, and this weekend, we put on our first show. It was a 24-hour one-act marathon, and it was hugely successful. Here's how it worked:
-There were 6 groups, each with an average of about 4 people.
-On Friday night, all the participants met downtown and were divided into the 6 groups.
-Each group had one writer, one director, and 2-4 actors.
-The meeting took place at 10:30, lasted until about 11:00, at which point each group's writer went off to write a 10-15 minute script.
-At 9:30AM the next day, and after the writers had stayed up all night long writing, the directors and actors met with the writers. After an initial read-through and discussion of the script, the actors went to work learning it.
-Throughout the course of the day, we were able to spend some time on the stage that we would be performing on, as well as discuss any lighting effects with our technical guy.
-At about 11:30PM on Saturday night, after roughly 14 hours of rehearsing, each group put on its show in front of an audience of around 150-200 people.
My group's show was really neat. I was afraid that all the scripts were going to be juvenile comedies, but our writer actually put together a pretty dark piece. I played the main role of a prison inmate on death row for the gruesome murder of several people. I was basically a psychotic killer who liked to shove pencils through people's heads. The other 2 characters were a prison guard and an artist commissioned to paint my portrait. Our show actually had a dramatic twist at the end; it turned out that my character was actually also a guard, and our prison actually had no prisoners yet (it was brand new.) Myself and the other guard liked to pass the time by messing with people.
Like I said, the show was hugely successful and great fun. There will be another show of some kind in the not-so-distant (I hope) future, and there are also branch-off groups forming within the troupe. For example, some people are planning on organizing something along the lines of an ImprovEverywhere stunt. If you aren't familiar with ImprovEverywhere, they are a group of actors, who are between jobs, who stage random scenes of...well, total randomness. For example, one stunt they pulled was to have around a dozen people break out into a musical in the middle of a crowded food court in a mall. The video is here: http://improveverywhere.com/2008/03/09/food-court-musical/
The top of the page is pictures and a summary of the birth of the idea, putting it together, etc. To just watch the video, scroll down towards the bottom of the page. You should also check out some of their other videos, some of them are really hilarious.
In other news, I bought a plane ticket to Thailand, which I will be visiting with some friends in late February. This is the start of the summer months (I think) in Thailand, so I am looking forward to sprawling out on some tropical beaches in 90-degree weather while the whole of Korea wallows in its frozen dreariness.
Also, today was my last day of outright teaching my least favorite group of classes. Every other Tuesday I have four 1st-grade classes, each of which I am convinced were spawned in the bowels of hell itself. Today was no different, they were little demons as usual. One class was so bad that I took the entire class down to the hallway outside the teachers lounge, had them kneel up against a wall, and put their hands in the air for almost the entire 45-minute period. This is about as far as I am allowed to go in terms of corporal punishment (it is also as far as I am willing to go; hitting a child is unacceptable in my opinion.) Fortunately, they will be testing the next time I am supposed to see them, and shortly after exams the semester will be over, at which point I have roughly 2 months off!
Hallelujah.
-There were 6 groups, each with an average of about 4 people.
-On Friday night, all the participants met downtown and were divided into the 6 groups.
-Each group had one writer, one director, and 2-4 actors.
-The meeting took place at 10:30, lasted until about 11:00, at which point each group's writer went off to write a 10-15 minute script.
-At 9:30AM the next day, and after the writers had stayed up all night long writing, the directors and actors met with the writers. After an initial read-through and discussion of the script, the actors went to work learning it.
-Throughout the course of the day, we were able to spend some time on the stage that we would be performing on, as well as discuss any lighting effects with our technical guy.
-At about 11:30PM on Saturday night, after roughly 14 hours of rehearsing, each group put on its show in front of an audience of around 150-200 people.
My group's show was really neat. I was afraid that all the scripts were going to be juvenile comedies, but our writer actually put together a pretty dark piece. I played the main role of a prison inmate on death row for the gruesome murder of several people. I was basically a psychotic killer who liked to shove pencils through people's heads. The other 2 characters were a prison guard and an artist commissioned to paint my portrait. Our show actually had a dramatic twist at the end; it turned out that my character was actually also a guard, and our prison actually had no prisoners yet (it was brand new.) Myself and the other guard liked to pass the time by messing with people.
Like I said, the show was hugely successful and great fun. There will be another show of some kind in the not-so-distant (I hope) future, and there are also branch-off groups forming within the troupe. For example, some people are planning on organizing something along the lines of an ImprovEverywhere stunt. If you aren't familiar with ImprovEverywhere, they are a group of actors, who are between jobs, who stage random scenes of...well, total randomness. For example, one stunt they pulled was to have around a dozen people break out into a musical in the middle of a crowded food court in a mall. The video is here: http://improveverywhere.com/2008/03/09/food-court-musical/
The top of the page is pictures and a summary of the birth of the idea, putting it together, etc. To just watch the video, scroll down towards the bottom of the page. You should also check out some of their other videos, some of them are really hilarious.
In other news, I bought a plane ticket to Thailand, which I will be visiting with some friends in late February. This is the start of the summer months (I think) in Thailand, so I am looking forward to sprawling out on some tropical beaches in 90-degree weather while the whole of Korea wallows in its frozen dreariness.
Also, today was my last day of outright teaching my least favorite group of classes. Every other Tuesday I have four 1st-grade classes, each of which I am convinced were spawned in the bowels of hell itself. Today was no different, they were little demons as usual. One class was so bad that I took the entire class down to the hallway outside the teachers lounge, had them kneel up against a wall, and put their hands in the air for almost the entire 45-minute period. This is about as far as I am allowed to go in terms of corporal punishment (it is also as far as I am willing to go; hitting a child is unacceptable in my opinion.) Fortunately, they will be testing the next time I am supposed to see them, and shortly after exams the semester will be over, at which point I have roughly 2 months off!
Hallelujah.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Hope Restored
It's difficult, but I can remember the exact moment that I was last proud to be American. It was a little over 7 years ago, during the week of September 11th: I was in the car listening to a story on the radio about a homeless man donating the $1.67 that constituted his net worth to the relief efforts. I remember thinking to myself, never in my life have I ever been more proud of my country, and of people in general. September 11th showed humanity at its worst, but it also showed humanity at its best, and it just so happened that the best was being represented by Americans.
And then March 2003 came around, and everything changed. I watched in anger as our President, a man who was elected despite losing the popular vote in 2000, invaded a sovereign country on what turned out to be nothing more than a whim. I watched in horror as congress passed and later re-enacted the Patriot Act, the most flagrant violation of civil freedoms and common decency this country has seen since Jim Crow. I watched helplessly as one of the greatest and most inspiring documents the world has ever seen, the Constitution, was shredded on the altar of fear, and one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history descended upon us. And in 2004, I watched in shame as our country re-elected George W. Bush.
I don't mean to sound melodramatic, but the simple truth is that for the past 7 years I have been wallowing in lament of better days, as have many Americans. Hell, "better days" seemed like a luxury at this point. But today there is something to be proud of. Today there is something to be hopeful of. Today, we have shown the world that Fairness and Equality are more than just words we inscribe on courtroom doors: they are ideals that have come to hold more significance than our legacy of disparity. And it is with great temerity that I once again look forward to better days.
Congratulations to the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, and to all who helped elect him. Thank you for making me proud to be an American once again.
And then March 2003 came around, and everything changed. I watched in anger as our President, a man who was elected despite losing the popular vote in 2000, invaded a sovereign country on what turned out to be nothing more than a whim. I watched in horror as congress passed and later re-enacted the Patriot Act, the most flagrant violation of civil freedoms and common decency this country has seen since Jim Crow. I watched helplessly as one of the greatest and most inspiring documents the world has ever seen, the Constitution, was shredded on the altar of fear, and one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history descended upon us. And in 2004, I watched in shame as our country re-elected George W. Bush.
I don't mean to sound melodramatic, but the simple truth is that for the past 7 years I have been wallowing in lament of better days, as have many Americans. Hell, "better days" seemed like a luxury at this point. But today there is something to be proud of. Today there is something to be hopeful of. Today, we have shown the world that Fairness and Equality are more than just words we inscribe on courtroom doors: they are ideals that have come to hold more significance than our legacy of disparity. And it is with great temerity that I once again look forward to better days.
Congratulations to the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, and to all who helped elect him. Thank you for making me proud to be an American once again.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Pics
Busan pics are up: http://s390.photobucket.com/albums/oo343/Ncalverley2/?start=0
All of the new pictures are on the first page. The last ones are from the dance, which didn't come out at all (and which I am very upset about). I decided to upload of best of the crap pictures just for some evidence of what this event was like.
All of the new pictures are on the first page. The last ones are from the dance, which didn't come out at all (and which I am very upset about). I decided to upload of best of the crap pictures just for some evidence of what this event was like.
Monday, October 6, 2008
A Night on the Town
Today was our school's festival. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I thought the event was going to be outside. As it turns out, "school festival" is just a key word for multi-disciplinary concert. It was basically 3 hours of performances by bands, dance groups, and singers. It was actually really cool and a lot of fun.
When it came time for us teachers to do our routine, we were announced before coming onto the stage, and when we were announced, there was an enormous roar from the crowd. Apparently this was a highly anticipated performance. And so we walked out from stage right, carrying signs that were to be used about halfway through the song. Myself and one of the other guy teachers were wearing white tank-tops, black pants, and a red bowtie adorned with red sequins. The ladies were wearing black tights with black mini-skirts and black blouses. I was the last of our group to walk out onto the stage, and when I did, I was almost deafened by the further eruption of screaming.
The kids (actually it was almost entirely the girls) were screaming throughout the whole routine. It may has well have been N'Sync concert...you know, the kind of pointless concerts where any music is drowned out by the incessant screaming of teenage girls. We did our routine, and it went very smoothly. It was a huge hit, and I have to admit, it was a lot of fun. I'll be a celebrity at school for the next week or so.
Following the concert, most of the teachers went out for a nice lunch at a restaurant. The main course was a very delicious type of fish in a slightly spicy stew. For some reason, I had a reputation (which I did not know about) among the teachers as being a "heavy drinker". Because of this, various older teachers (all guys) kept filling two glasses with beer and handing me one while they take the other. They would then say "no break-ee" and proceed to chug the beer, expecting me to do the same. I happily obliged them but couldn't help but feel that my coworkers were trying to get me drunk...
Following lunch, me and several of the younger teachers went out for bowling. We had 6 people who were divided into 2 teams of 3. We played three games and my team won every single game, riding mostly on my dominating performances of 178, 182, and 140. This won the three of us free drinks and food for the rest of the night.
Following bowling we stopped at our homes to change, and then headed out to a seafood restaurant (the same group of 6.) We had grilled clams and a variety of side-dishes, all of which were very delicious. We downed 5 bottles of soju (for anyone who doesn't know, Soju is a Korean liquor that most resembles vodka, but it is only about 20% alchohol, not 40%). We spent a good amount of time just talking. They tried to teach me a lot of Korean.
Following that, we capped off the night with some Noraebang ("Song Room" - Karaoke) and beer. We were all sufficiently smashed at this point, and that's when Noraebang is the most fun. They did some Korean songs while I played tambourine drank beer, and then we all did some American songs. My favorites were "Johnny B. Goode" and "Bad Case of Loving You".
All in all, it was probably my best day in Korea so far. I had about a dozen pictures taken of us dancing which I will be getting developed today, so once I have them I will post them on photobucket or whatever crazy site I used last time. Also, there's a new article up from the NYTimes on the right side of the blog for anyone who has been following the Fan Death saga.
When it came time for us teachers to do our routine, we were announced before coming onto the stage, and when we were announced, there was an enormous roar from the crowd. Apparently this was a highly anticipated performance. And so we walked out from stage right, carrying signs that were to be used about halfway through the song. Myself and one of the other guy teachers were wearing white tank-tops, black pants, and a red bowtie adorned with red sequins. The ladies were wearing black tights with black mini-skirts and black blouses. I was the last of our group to walk out onto the stage, and when I did, I was almost deafened by the further eruption of screaming.
The kids (actually it was almost entirely the girls) were screaming throughout the whole routine. It may has well have been N'Sync concert...you know, the kind of pointless concerts where any music is drowned out by the incessant screaming of teenage girls. We did our routine, and it went very smoothly. It was a huge hit, and I have to admit, it was a lot of fun. I'll be a celebrity at school for the next week or so.
Following the concert, most of the teachers went out for a nice lunch at a restaurant. The main course was a very delicious type of fish in a slightly spicy stew. For some reason, I had a reputation (which I did not know about) among the teachers as being a "heavy drinker". Because of this, various older teachers (all guys) kept filling two glasses with beer and handing me one while they take the other. They would then say "no break-ee" and proceed to chug the beer, expecting me to do the same. I happily obliged them but couldn't help but feel that my coworkers were trying to get me drunk...
Following lunch, me and several of the younger teachers went out for bowling. We had 6 people who were divided into 2 teams of 3. We played three games and my team won every single game, riding mostly on my dominating performances of 178, 182, and 140. This won the three of us free drinks and food for the rest of the night.
Following bowling we stopped at our homes to change, and then headed out to a seafood restaurant (the same group of 6.) We had grilled clams and a variety of side-dishes, all of which were very delicious. We downed 5 bottles of soju (for anyone who doesn't know, Soju is a Korean liquor that most resembles vodka, but it is only about 20% alchohol, not 40%). We spent a good amount of time just talking. They tried to teach me a lot of Korean.
Following that, we capped off the night with some Noraebang ("Song Room" - Karaoke) and beer. We were all sufficiently smashed at this point, and that's when Noraebang is the most fun. They did some Korean songs while I played tambourine drank beer, and then we all did some American songs. My favorites were "Johnny B. Goode" and "Bad Case of Loving You".
All in all, it was probably my best day in Korea so far. I had about a dozen pictures taken of us dancing which I will be getting developed today, so once I have them I will post them on photobucket or whatever crazy site I used last time. Also, there's a new article up from the NYTimes on the right side of the blog for anyone who has been following the Fan Death saga.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Pusan...Finally
So we had another long holiday weekend this weekend, and some of us decided to go check out the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF). It is the largest film festival in Asia, and one of the largest in the world. Filmmakers from all over the world submit their films to be seen by millions of people. The city itself is already the second largest in Korea, but this weekend it saw way more traffic than normal. I have to admit, I was expecting to see some of those crappy super-independent "artsy" films, the ones that are black and white and have no sound. But I was pleasantly surprised by a couple of very professional films that were highly entertaining. More on those in a minute.
We got to Pusan around noon, and spent the first couple of hours running around looking for a hotel for the night, and a box office where we could buy tickets to the films later that night. After checking at a couple of regular motels (which were all sold out of rooms for the weekend) we managed to find a shady "love motel". The prices were low and the rooms were clean enough, so we said whatever and got some rooms for the night (there were about ten of us). After that, we spent a good 90 minutes or so running around looking for a box office before we finally found one. You really can't beat a two-film double feature for 5 dollars.
To kill time before showtime, we went to the Pusan Aquarium, which is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the city. To be honest, I was a little disappointed, but it was still a really great aquarium. I took some nice pictures, and as soon as I get them developed I will post them. It could be a little while though since I didn't yet finish the roll of film.
Showtime was at 7:30. The first film we saw was a German drama about mountain climbing. It was kind of long and drawn out near the end, but the quality was phenomenal and the story was compelling. The film was in German but had English and Korean subtitles. The second film we saw was a Scottish film, but it was all in English, so that was nice. It was a sort of comedic story about Scottish aspirations of Independence from Britain, and it was a really great film. Pusan is a coastal city, the second largest in Korea next to Seoul, and the venue was an outdoor theater on one of the city's beaches. We spent most of the night watching a couple of movies under the stars, and then went out to a bar for a nightcap.
Overall it was a nice experience, though it didn't really come close to touching the Gyeongju trip. A big problem was that our group was way too big; anything above 6 people is just a bad idea, as decision-making becomes exponentially more difficult once that 6 person limit is surpassed. I'll have to be sure to protest against a large group the next time I go anywhere with this particular group of friends.
We got to Pusan around noon, and spent the first couple of hours running around looking for a hotel for the night, and a box office where we could buy tickets to the films later that night. After checking at a couple of regular motels (which were all sold out of rooms for the weekend) we managed to find a shady "love motel". The prices were low and the rooms were clean enough, so we said whatever and got some rooms for the night (there were about ten of us). After that, we spent a good 90 minutes or so running around looking for a box office before we finally found one. You really can't beat a two-film double feature for 5 dollars.
To kill time before showtime, we went to the Pusan Aquarium, which is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the city. To be honest, I was a little disappointed, but it was still a really great aquarium. I took some nice pictures, and as soon as I get them developed I will post them. It could be a little while though since I didn't yet finish the roll of film.
Showtime was at 7:30. The first film we saw was a German drama about mountain climbing. It was kind of long and drawn out near the end, but the quality was phenomenal and the story was compelling. The film was in German but had English and Korean subtitles. The second film we saw was a Scottish film, but it was all in English, so that was nice. It was a sort of comedic story about Scottish aspirations of Independence from Britain, and it was a really great film. Pusan is a coastal city, the second largest in Korea next to Seoul, and the venue was an outdoor theater on one of the city's beaches. We spent most of the night watching a couple of movies under the stars, and then went out to a bar for a nightcap.
Overall it was a nice experience, though it didn't really come close to touching the Gyeongju trip. A big problem was that our group was way too big; anything above 6 people is just a bad idea, as decision-making becomes exponentially more difficult once that 6 person limit is surpassed. I'll have to be sure to protest against a large group the next time I go anywhere with this particular group of friends.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)