Heartbreaker

Viruck, me, and Sandile. These are my closest guy friends from orientation.


SeokYoung and myself. When I showed the pictures to my class, the students all said "So beautiful! You make girlfriend, ok?"


Me, Kim, and Will. You can see my entire costume: wig, apple, t-shirt, arm tattooes, wristbands...


My beautiful friends -- Candice, SeulGi, YeoJu, and Kim!

Another successful party under my belt ! I love throwing parties in Korea. It's so much work to organize it and to convince everyone that it will be better than any other plans they have for the weekend, but it's always worth it! After going to 원북교 (Won Buddhist Temple) with 여주 (YeoJu) we went to 홍대 (HongDae) for our Halloween party! Alot of people got there before us. But we met up with Sandile and eventually found everyone. Since nobody lives in that area, it was quite a task. Let's just say morale was low once we all met up (about 20 people) and everyone wanted to do something different (eating food, go to a bar, go to somewhere with no cover, go to an RnB club, etc.) We bumped into YeoJu's friend, SeulGi, at the subway station in HongDae. We changed into our costumes in the bathroom: I was G-dragon (the leader of the boy band Big Bang), YeoJu was a traditional Chinese beauty and Seulgi was a sexy Phantom of the Opera. Next we met up with Sandile, who wasn't wearing anything that could be considered a costume, spare a set of devil's horns.

Everyone else was at one of two places. The vast majority of my friends were in a nearby bar, but SeokYoung was in a 노래방 (singing room) with her friends. Eventually we met the large group at a park and we went to search for a good place to get some alcohol. It was great to see everyone again. I hadn't seen Mando, a slutty 1950s housewife, and Jane, a sexy witch, in months. Kim was looking great in her Zorro costume and I met Young, a pirate in the loosest sense of the word, and Tristan, a better-dressed pirate, again for the first time since Mando's house party in April. There were a few new faces as well. Of course, Viruck and Candice were there too in their ridiculous disco vampire costumes. I met Will for the first time in his cat facepaint, and I feel he is worth mentioning because of all the people I met for the first time, he stayed with us the longest.

We made our way to BricX because there is no cover and I thought it would have alcohol and food to please most people. But nobody ordered food and it wasn't that great, so we left after 10 or 15 minutes and went to a club we passed on the way that had no cover charge for people in costumes (hey, thats us!). Once we got inside, we were a bit disappointed to see that our group of 20 people more than doubled the amount of people in the club (maybe 12 or 15 before we came). But because our group is so cool, we made it fun. SeokYoung came and met up with us there too. She was looking so lovely in her bunny costume (though she needed a tail!). We had some crazy dancing and took some photos. We all got to get some alcohol in us but we had to move on to bigger and better things before an hour had elapsed.

It was 1:00am. If there wasn't anyone in the club now, there would never be. So we went down the street to a place I had been to once before. I think technically i'd say its a bar, but they were playing loud music and felt like dancing. So our group was acting like it was a club haha. The cover was only $5 and it came with a free beer. Also, the mixed drinks were strong and cheap. Everyone really got into it. We were pretty wild. Everyone among us seemed to take off in small groups between 3:30am and 4:30am until it was only me, Kim, YeoJu, and Sandile. But for a while it seemed like just me and Kim, as YeoJu was searching for her phone (why does this always happen?) and Sandile was god knows where (maybe searching for women?). Kim and Sandile both took off at about 5am. After that, it was only me and Yeoju. Even most of the other people in the bar had left by then. So we went outside and I grabbed some cash at the 7 Eleven. We met some interesting people in the street who were curious about my costume. I have to admit the girl in the Storm costume had a really good wig and outfit. But the guy in his TaeKwonDo outfit was really lame haha. After getting some cash, we went to have one more drink at a nearby bar. I guess things ended exactly how they started, with just me and YeoJu in the subway station bathrooms changing our attire. We hopped on the subway after 6am and I got some sleep at 6:45am ^^

Korean field trip

HS field trips in Korea are so much better than those in the States. I remember our field trips were usually going to a museum, theater, or classic music performance. Of course we did go to Valley Fair once, only to have to take measurements at the theme park and do lots of calculations and hours of homework.

Yesterday, all of the first year students and teachers went to a Ski resort. The students played paintball, had a picnic lunch, and went hiking. The teachers drove ATVs, had a picnic lunch, and took the lift to the top of the mountain to enjoy the view. It was nice because the resort staff kept the students in line so the teachers didn't have to control the students all day. Oh, the bus ride can be difficult though, right? One and a half hours to the resort? Not a problem, the students can watch a movie or TV on the big flat screen on the bus. Of course, my students opted to do karaoke instead so we had 3 hours of karaoke (1 and a half hours each way).

I opted to play paintball with the students rather than hang with the other teachers at the beginning. I was playing with class 1-2. Everyone was very cautious playing the first game. I was the first one eliminated... some bad students in class 1-3 (on the sidelines) provoked one of the students into teamkilling me and shooting me in the back. I stayed away from him in the second game and got 2 or 3 kills. The main problem was that each student only had 20-25 paintballs in their gun. So after getting down to about 5, I just made a suicide run. I got one of the 1-3 students a couple times in the stomach before he just clipped me in the shoulder. It was a good run. The paintball and the ATVs really get the adrenaline going.

The ATV was fun, as we took it across dirt, pavement, grass fields, rocks, loose gravel, mud, etc. The grass fields were great. The grass was about a meter high in most parts, so you couldn't see the lie of the land. Also, it was the only part where I could go as fast as I wanted to (i was usually stuck in a line behind the instructor and other teachers). When we went down the narrow paths, the other teachers tried to avoid any large rocks or puddles of mud. Naturally, I went through every obstacle I came across (i mean, we are in an "All Terrain Vehicle" so I think its more fun take advantage of its unique properties rather than drive it like a car). I was going full speed all day, in paintball, ATVs and whatever else we did. Finally I got a little tired on the bus ride back. The karaoke was too loud to sleep, but I was text messaging friends and studying korean words in my dictionary. Before I knew it, we were back in 김천. We had a dinner together with all the 1st grade teachers, vice principal, and principal before we parted ways.

Intermission

I'm going to take an intermission from talking about my Japan trip because of some noteworthy developments (hence the title "Intermission." Yea I know its not very creative).

지난주말은 서울에 갔어요. I went to Seoul last weekend. 금요일 밤에 진성 엄마 서울역에서 만났어요. I met JinSung-mother at Seoul Station. 진성 나를 한국 엄마처럼해요. JinSung is like a Korean mother to me. 토요일에 일찍 일어났어서 에버란드 가요. Saturday we woke up early to go to Everland (amusement park). 강원역에서 여주 만났어요. We met YeoJu at Gangwon Station. 진성과 여주는 날 한국에서 두명 가장 친한 친구들이에요. JinSung and YeoJu are my best two best friends in Korea. 진성는 유치원선생님이고 여주는 대학생이에요. JinSung is a kindergarten teacher and YeoJu is a university student.

In the interest of time... lets finish it in English. I went to Everland amusement park with YeoJu and JinSung. We had a picnic lunch and had lots of fun. At about 3pm we met up with Viruck, Candice, and Willie, who are all foreign teachers in Korea. And around 5pm we parted ways. JinSung, YeoJu, and myself went to AnAm Won Buddhist Temple for the weekly service and we had a meal and discussion afterwards. On

On sunday, we slept in late and went to the temple for the lesson for new students. I made some new friends at the temple. One girl was really kind and helped me with a lot of translations. I wish I could remember her name. Afterwards, JinSung, myself, and some of the guys had a quick dinner before I got on the subway to Seoul Station. I got the 8pm train back to Gimcheon and I reclaimed my hoodie that I had forgotten on the train on friday. On the train I was surprised to see my friend Tiana sitting only two seats behind me. I was so engrossed in conversation with her that I didn't see JinSung waving goodbye outside my window... Oops! Sorry JinSung! But I had a wonderful time last weekend and I'm so thankful for friends such as you and YeoJu!

Lastly, ever since summer I've been weighing a few possibilities as to what I should do next year. They all consisted of me staying in Korea, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to teach at my high school for another year, move to an elementary school, or become a student. Also, I wasn't sure where I wanted to teach/study. But my mind is clear now. Next year I really want to be a student in Seoul, studying the Korean language. Possibly at a SKY university (SKY is an acronym for the 3 best universities in Korea). So this week I'm going to look into the process of getting enrolled in that starting in Feb/Mar 2010.

Nippon 3

Day 3:
I cant really remember much about this day... maybe if I start writing about my day it will spark my memory. I think I had some time in the morning, so I wandered around Asakusa (the area near my hotel. It's a big tourist area because its a traditional area with temples and shrines and other things to see. I headed to Shibuya to meet up with Yuriko and her friend Gabi. We met at the statue of Hachiko, and Yuriko was late (like always). Not just a few minutes late... but late enough that I felt it was worth mentioning. We went to a famous music store in Tokyo called Tower Records. Two months prior, my favorite singer had released her first solo album in 5 or 6 years. I was happy to see they still had a big display of Shiina Ringo items in the store. I was able to pick up her new album and see all the items they had. They had reprints of old magazines with articles on Ringo, and of course lots of newer magazines (June 2009) and even a few books. One book was a biography of Ringo, another was a scrapbook of her life, especially her career. It was really cool but the price was roughly $100. I realized that she is one of the most popular Japanese singers in Japan, even though nobody outside of Japan seems to know about her. It's kind of curious, since her style seems to be one that would lend itself well to international acclaim -- She has alot of English in her songs compared to artists such as Ayumi Hamasaki who is one of the most internationally recognized J-singers. And she is very uniquely persistant, along the same vein as Bjork (but obviously to a lesser degree). Anyhow, I digress. I could have spent all day in that store but Gabi looked bored out of his mind, so I figured it was best if we left. But it was cool to see some of my favorite J-singers albums and magazines. I also saw albums by Utada, Perfume, and other groups/singers.
It was hard to find the backcopies of the June magazines so we search for those a little more in another store, with no luck. At this point the days kind of blend together. We went into a secondhand clothing store that had a lot of kimonos, but maybe that was on day 2. And we went into a famous electronics store... I think that was day 2 also, because i remember Yoshiko being there.
Back to day 3. We were walking and came to a park, where we got some ice cream and rested. Then we decided to go see Tokyo Tower in Southern Tokyo. When we made it there it was already dusk. It was quite expensive to go to the top. So, we just stayed at the bottom and explored the temple near the base of the tower and took photos of the tower. It was pretty cool in the evening because all of the lights come on.
After that we went to an Ainu restaurant. This was one of the most interesting things that I did in Japan, so I don't think I can fully summarize it now. I'll update more later. Cya~

Nippon Ni+

Day 2: I met up with Yuriko (it was good to see her again!) and her friend Yoshiko. Together we went to the Tokyo Sky Tree (the new Tokyo Tower). It wont be finished until 2012... so its only about 30% built now. Then we went to some other cool spots. We went to Shinokubo (korean district in tokyo) and saw a few Korean fan memorobilia shops. Some Korean actors and singers are quite popular in Japan. And I took them to a Korean restaurant where they could have kimchi 김치 and Naengmyun 냉면 and taught them how to eat Korean style. After that, we headed to Shinjuku. Near the station, on the bridge, were some girls dressed up in cosplay outfits so I took my photo with them. We went into the nearby Meiji temple, but it immediately started raining. We eventually made our way around the shrine though. This is the largest temple in Tokyo and the torii arch is the biggest of its kind in Japan...I think. At the temple, we got our fortunes. I got the Japanese fortune and Yuriko and Yoshiko got theirs in English. I only remember one of them now... something about the mirror of life and how you view yourself and others in the mirror. Another friend of hers met up with us as we left the temple and we wandered around until we eventually found our way to Shibuya. I got to see the statue of Hachiko the dog at the station there, which was cool because I had written a question about it for the English Listening test that my school held a few days ago.

We went to a nice restaurant that was in the basement of a building. The atmosphere was very traditional, yet still classy. I got to try some Japanese shochu (like sake, but stronger... maybe 25% or 30% alcoholic content). I wanted to order the horse sashimi but the waitress said they were all out... but we got a variety of food and it was all quite good. One of the dishes was raw meat (chicken, maybe) with a raw egg on top of it. Then you mix it together and eat it. During the meal there was an earthquake (there would be a few noteworthy earthquakes this week). I couldnt feel it, but everyone else could and we could see the blinds and lamps swaying from the impact of the earthquake.

Nippon Ichi v1.2

Japan...
perhaps I should just break it down by day?

Day 1:
I awoke at the abysmal stroke of 4:30am. I had to get on the train at 6:20 in the morning. On the train, I met a woman who works in the school office at another high school in Gimcheon. Her name was ... 이지용... I think. It was nice because we have a common friend and some common acquaintances, as we would come to realize. I think when you meet someone in that kind of situation its like a gift that keeps on giving.

I took a shuttle bus to the airport and was able to check-in and go through security in a combined time of about 6 minutes. So I just was sending text messages to all of my friends that I would miss while I was in Japan. And all too soon, I was on the plane going to Japan!

On the plane I met a woman from Peru who is a student at KEIST university in Korea. It was interesting to hear the viewpoint of someone who is a student in Korea, rather than another teaching going through the same program as me.

After landing in Tokyo, I was able to call Yuriko and say hi, and she welcomed me to Japan. Since I wouldn't be meeting her until tomorrow, I decided I'd take the hour-long train towards downtown Tokyo so that I could find my hotel and get acquinted with the surroundings. On the train I was fortunate to meet a Japanese woman who quite helpful. She showed me all of the key places on the subway map and I was surprised to learn that she can speak some Korean. Actually, she is fluent in Chinese, English, and Japanese, and she can speak decent Korean also. When I meet people like that, I always admire them so much. Especially someone who worked so hard to learn the languages. Sometimes people grow up in a country or household that speaks 2 or more languages. But growing up in the United States and Japan, you really have to work hard to put yourself into situations to learn about other languages and cultures.



I explored the area for a couple hours before checking into my capsule hotel. The area is famous for the traditional sights and souvenirs, so it was a good place to see. I found a small shrine to Inari that was really peaceful and surprisingly well-taken care of. Considering how small and hard to find it was, I expected it to be somewhat neglected. I still dont understand why the fox statues were always wearing red bibs though. Maybe because people always make offerings of food to Inari when they pray for a good harvest or business success? Not that the stone statues can eat the food, though. Ironically, there were a number of cats that lived at the shrine. I think Inari (being a fox, and a member of the dog family) would be upset to know that cats were inhabiting his shrine.

My hotel was quite nice... but the staff spoke very bad English (which was surprising, as half or more of the guests were foreigners). Every room (I use the term "room" in the loosest sense of the word) had a TV and alarm clock! But I only got 1 channel on the TV. It was just there in case I wanted to rent adult videos (at an extra charge). But there was a community bathing room that was good. It had shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Also, there was a hot tub (too hot for me), a sauna (too hot for me) and a balcony that you could go on to air dry or enjoy the scenery of Tokyo (its more beautiful if you're naked?).



At the hotel, I met a guy named Alfredo from Chile. As we were both flying solo that night, we decided to team up and explore Tokyo together. All of the best downtown areas were quite far from our hotel, though. First we went to Ueno. We ate some dinner there and saw lots of Pachinko parlors. We tried to go into a bar but they kicked us out because they don't serve foreigners. So, we headed to Ginza and got a couple drinks at a Spanish bar that we found. We saw a movie being filmed in one of the alleys outside of a restaurant/bar. But most things were already closing down, so we headed to Roppongi. It is known as the best place for foreigners. Actually, there were lots of black guys out on the street trying to lure customers into their establishments. These establishments were all quite questionable, however (or sometimes, there was no question about the type of establishment it was... but it certainly wasn't anything we were interested in.) Finally we found a nice place though. It had a unique mix of different foreign ethnicities as well as a number of Japanese people. I met some guys from Mexico and talked to some Japanese people. There were so many Japanese women in kimonos on this day because of the fireworks festival in Tokyo. And the kimono are so beautiful that sometimes I'd just see the dress and think that the woman is gorgeous, but after seeing her face I'd realize it was quite a different story altogether!



There were some crazy signs in the subways sometimes. I mean, this is common sense! DO IT AT THE BEACH!

Sadly, we could only stay for an hour because we wanted to catch the subway back to our hotel before the subway lines stopped at night. We made the mistake of taking a bathroom break before we went on the subway though! We just missed one train and ended up getting on the last train bound for Asakusa. The train didn't finish it's route, though >_< we got kicked off near Ginza as they made everyone leave the subway line. We tried to walk towards Asakusa.... but it was so far. We met four Japanese people who were standing on a bridge. They laughed at us when we told them we would walk to Asakusa. They said it will take us 3 hours or more. After chatting with them for a bit, we walked a little more and then just decided to get a taxi, which is quite expensive in Tokyo. I went to sleep so I could wake up relatively early the next day.



Of course, I had to check out the night view of Tokyo from the rooftop terrace before I went to sleep.

END of day 1.

Nippon Ichi

Japan was amazing. I had a total of 8 days and 7 nights there. On one hand, it really was too short to see Tokyo, Kyoto, AND Osaka. After leaving each city, I really regretted that I couldn't spend more time there. I bought a number of things there that will help me to remember my journey, but my favorite things are those that were given to me.

I have too much going on now to make a full entry. More to come later.