And Then There Was More

So, in case you all didn't notice, I actually wrote 2 different blogs this week because quite a bit happened. So, if you haven't read the previous blog yet, go back and read that one first. Unless of course you like jumping in with no context. After this long in Korea, I'm an expert at it.

They say that every rose has its thorns. (First let me point out that "they," although not always, tends to be a credible source. However, in some things like environmental issues, international affairs, and North Korea, "they" tend to not know what "they" are talking about.) I'm sure everyone has heard about the news regarding North Korea. All I can say is that sometimes a baby will cry to get what they want. I really wouldn't be too worried about it. I've seen some American reports, and let me assure you that the media is blowing it out of proportion. Whereas North Korea did actually make a threat against South Korea, it is a result of military exercises that are happening. This usually happens during these times. However, this time the North has threatened a bit more than usual. Either way, I'm in God's hands, so I am really not concerned at all. I have bigger things to worry about right now.

Anyway, back to roses and thorns. It turns out that the phrase can sometimes be reversed. I've revised it to the following: "Some thorns can maybe sometimes have a rose if you're lucky." Maybe someday I'll be clever enough to put those lyrics to song like my more fortunate compatriots in the band "Poison." It turned out that in addition to being MC for the speech contest (a very big nasty thorn), I also gained my first private tutoring student (the rose). I guess it was a kind of "I scratch your back you scratch mine" kind of thing going on. I had my first lesson yesterday, and it went great. I do have to say though, I almost feel like I'm swindling them out of their money though. I literally get paid to talk - something people have been paying me to not do my entire life.

I joined a language exchange group at my school. We had our first meeting last night. I realized that I really need to start studying more. I met with one Korean guy and one Chinese girl. We talked in Korean about 90% of the time. Well, OK. That's not the real truth. They spoke Korean, and I listened and understood most of it. Whenever I did open my mouth to try and talk, I must have sounded exactly like so many of my students before me. "This morning.... um.... I ... eat breakfast..... um.... not." What made it more embarrassing was that the Chinese girl had been studying for as long as I have, yet she was quite a bit better. To my defense, she is in the faster track where they not only cover more material, but speak no English whatsoever in class. In my class, if something is confusing enough (which constitutes just about everything) the teacher will explain in English. At the end of the day though, I had to at least trick myself into being proud of myself. Being able to understand as much as I did and communicate to some extent was reassuring. PEOPLE ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND ME! (The time it takes for me to communicate can go jump off a cliff.)

I find that the problem with communication comes in the immediateness of it all. If I have time to think, then I will usually not only say what I want to say, but say it with perfect grammar too. However, throw me in with the wolves, and all that comes out are screams. Like anything else, it will just take more practice. I need to get out of my room and out in public more often in situations where I'm forced to speak it.

 This is a sign close to my school that I pass almost every day and think, "Man, I should take a picture of that." Well, I finally did. I think it's pretty clever. I'm not exactly what it says, but here's my best guess. "People's tools throughout history have changed into blah blah blah I don't know." A picture is worth a thousand words, and that is never truer than in a foreign country.





I saw these guys today as I was walking through a famous street in Seoul. Must be the Korean version of Mickey Mouse. Somehow, these mannequins don't look quite as friendly though. Mickey Mouse was nice and friendly, but some of these Korean ones look like they might "learn" you do death. I'd especially stay away from that monk on the left. (In a nature documentary voice) Notice how he fools his prey, the Korean child, into come close. Now watch as he imparts all of the knowledge in the world into his victims ensnared brain. So, we see that another childhood has been snatched away. The circle of life is complete.

Snowing in Seoul

I've finally broken a life long curse. Apparently, from stories of "classier" times, there used to be huge snow storms that caused 9 foot snow drifts blah blah blah. Well, everywhere I've been for the past forever years, it doesn't snow much. It's finally been broken! It's been snowing all day here. I think there are about 3 inches on the ground right now, and it's still coming. After church, my friend and I were just walking the streets of Seoul enjoying it. Occasionally laughing at the random Korean kid wipe-out of course.

As my friend an I were walking, we came across a skating rink. I caught this gem skating in traditional Korean wear. He's to the left of the guy wearing the bright red coat. It may look like a p-coat, but in reality it's not. It's kind of like a big foot shot though. He was moving just a bit too fast for me to catch him. However, UNLIKE the big foot photos, this one is just a guy in a costume.

I of course took this opportunity to do something special. Not only did I do a perfect imitation of the moon walk, but I also bought some hot chocolate because, as we all know, hot chocolate on a snowy cold night is like nectar of the gods. The Korean writing phonetically says, "Hot choco." (The Koreans say choco with the ch sound.) And the subscript says,  "Original." Somehow, I kind of doubt that the Koreans came up with hot chocolate. Call me crazy, I know. But it seems more like an American/Western thing. Luckily, it doesn't taste much different from the real thing though, so everyone walks away happy.

Classes have been going great so far. I think midterms are coming up in 2 weeks or so. I'm not too worried about it though. I've been doing really well, and I *feel* like I've retained what we've learned so far. On Friday, I realized however, that I am getting to a point in the class where I'll start forgetting things if I'm not using them. So now, I'll be meeting with one of my classmates after class a few days a week to practice speaking. Our first session went great, if you consider a conversation made up of:

Me: How is your coffee?
Russian: My coffee tastes good, and it is hot.
Me: Where is the coffee?
Russian: The coffee is on the table.
Me: Where is the table?
Russian: The table is in the coffee shop.
etc.

I guess it comes with learning a foreign language though. I know I would have loved to be one of the Koreans there listening to the "conversation." Nothing like listening to 2 idiots bumbling at a coffee shop. It seems, however, that I never really learn something until I fall on my face in public over it. For example, on Friday, we learned the vocabulary for saying something is hot, cold, warm, cool, etc. So, when I order my coffee, the lady asks me if I want it hot or iced (cold). Me, not wanting to show weakness to my classmates responded with, "We are going to drink our coffee here." The lady then asked me in English, "Hot or cold?" After that, I instantly played back in my head what she had said in Korean. So, like a true man, I responded courteously in English, "Hot" and quickly left to go stick my head in a trash can. But now, I REALLY know the word for hot. Unfortunately, that's not the most embarrassing story. I took my classmates to lunch once. The chef asked me how spicy I wanted the food, and I responded with, "Oh. Hello. We are from Yonsei University."

I've been finding that it just takes situations like that to ingrain things in to my head. It's one thing to have an academic knowledge, but when it gets shot at you a million miles an hour, it's different. Next time, I'll just respond with, "I'm a dumb American." That way, I can at least laugh with everybody else. I'm sure the more Korean I learn, the bigger mistakes I'll make. At least someone will be laughing at my jokes, intentional or not.

I'll be getting a phone this week on Friday Lord willing. I don't know which one I'll get yet, but I've narrowed it down to the Samsung Galaxy S3, Samsung Note 2, or the Samsung Nexus. I've totally ruled out the I-phone. When in Rome.... For those of you who have smart phones, you can download Kakao talk if you want to be able to message me. It's an app that lets you text using the internet. For those of you who may be too "classy" to know what smart phones are... don't worry. I still love you.

There and Back Again

So, I would definitely be lying if I said I was going into this whole second stay in Korea with no trepidation. I definitely have my doubts about whether I'll really enjoy the language study side of things. Last year was kind of a cake walk as far as the effort I had to put in to my work. I have a feeling this year will be much different. I'm also moving into a situation where I don't really have any friends near me. I'm basically starting from scratch again. I do have friends within an hour or 2 distance from me, but that's nothing like be able to walk to their houses. I know I'll make new friends, but in general, I'm not a big fan of transitions.

I had my pin removed from my finger the day before I flew out. So the first day I was able to "stretch" my finger was the day of the plane trip. I have to say though, the doctor's terminology of "finger stretches" needs some serious renaming. It's kind of like naming a slow and painful death "some slight discomfort." In all reality though, it's not that bad. I just didn't expect it to be quite so stiff/sore. I'm able to bend it all the way with the help of my other finger now, and it can get close enough for government work on its own. I attribute this to the 2 options I had on the plane: either stay awake and listen to the baby cry, or do something productive while watching yet another in-flight movie. Good thing I brought some advil.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I haven't really lost much of my Korean. I am still barely able to understand people when they are speaking to me. For example, I ate out with my friend "Gun" tonight. (It's a Korean name.) As we were paying, the lady asked me "blah blah blah do you need?" My response, ".... yes...." Ended up being the receipt. Oh well. Another scrap of paper lying around.

To those of you who say that jet lag is a thing to scoff at, I say try travelling internationally. Yes, it is possible to function. Yes, a human can run several days without sleeping. But no, you will not like it. I made the crucial mistake Saturday afternoon of falling asleep around 1. On the plus side, I had some great dreams. On the not so plus side, I ended up waking up around 7 pm thinking "It's OK. I'm so tired, I'll be able to sleep through the night." From now on, my jet lag plans include setting random alarms throughout the day just to keep me on my toes. No more of these 6 hour naps.

When I got in, my friend who was helping me find an apartment met me near my university. He had researched a place for me to stay, so we immediately went there. When they showed me my room, we were both a little bit dumb founded. I was expecting small, but not that small... All in all, the room was probably about 8' by 5' (and that included the bathroom). He was a bit embarrassed too. He had gone off of pictures that were, let's say deceiving. So, I ended up staying in a hotel Friday and Saturday until he could find something a little bit better. I hold the hotel responsible for my little Saturday debacle even though the sign clearly said, "This hotel is not responsible for anything stolen" LIKE MY SLEEP! I should sue for them making the beds just a bit too comfy.

So, I ended up living in a studio apartment again. Gun and I went house hunting today. This turned out to be the best bet. I originally was planning on getting a home stay option, but I found out once I got here that that meant having to share a bathroom with as many as 5 people. Plus, most of them didn't have beds big enough to fit my body. (Thanks a lot Mom and Dad.) So, we were able to find this. This way, I get my own privacy and am able to use my own bathroom etc. I will miss out on some of the more immersed experience, but I'll plan on making it up in other ways. Privacy + own bathroom - cleaning > sharing a bathroom + an angry Korean old woman yelling at me. I'll be sure to put pictures up once I've unpacked. I do have to say that the one thing about this place that's a little off putting is that it has a quirky smell. Kind of like a new wood smell, but I'm pretty sure it's not new wood... Then again, you can't be too picky when you're living in the heart of Seoul. I'm content with it.

I'm really anxious for classes to start. I'm ready to immerse myself in studying Korean . . . for the first 30 minutes at least. I'm also excited to meet some new people as I go in to these classes. I'm expecting to meet people of all different nationalities: once again filling out the "Joe Lee's entourage of world travelers." Tomorrow's agenda includes: unpacking, exploring, getting lost, finding my way back, getting lost again, getting frustrated, finding my way back again, taking pictures of my new apartment, and zzzzzzzzzzzzz. Oh, another plus is that my apartment is just a few minutes walk from the university. I was originally looking at places that were going to cost me in transportation fees, but this will save me with that.

So, once again, sorry there aren't any pictures or general flow in this blog post. I just thought I'd try and continue my Sunday blogs. Gotta keep the masses happy ;) I'm going to try and get some sleep now. It's been a good 26 hours since my last shut eye. I did good today.

Sesame Street Shenanigans

Hi, and welcome to this week's episode of  "Sesame Lee." This week's episode is sponsored by the letter "Y" the word "Uncertainty" and the number 29. I have been trying to nail down exactly what's going to happen next year, and due to my nature, I'm probably over thinking too many things. I think I've finally decided that I don't want to work and go to school at the same time. At least not right away. I would rather spend time actually learning Korean rather than just sitting in the classroom. I'll be submitting my application either tonight or tomorrow, so I should know in a week or so whether I'm accepted. I don't think they would have any reason to turn me down, but who knows? So if you've been commenting or asking me about details for next year, my apologies for not responding. I haven't been responding because I still don't exactly know. The only thing I know for sure is that I'll be in Korea. Once I know the details, I'll be sure to include them in my blog. (29 is the number of days until I go back to America). 

I made a trip to Seoul yesterday. I'm not sorry to say that I went for one thing, and one thing alone. I went to eat Turkish kebabs. I don't think I've shed light on this particularly tasty part of Korea yet. Basically, imagine one of the best things you've ever eaten, and then add chicken and lamb. BAM! You have a turkish kebab.  I went to a hole in the wall place that is really popular. I have never gone when there isn't a line. I mean, just look at that rack of chicken! As I was watching it, juices were just oozing out of it. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. 

I recently taught a lesson in the highest level class where we were talking about botany. I didn't realize how much of my material I steal from Grandpa Behn. I think his passion in teaching science kind of rubbed off on my when I teach about these subjects. I kind of have "Mom Teaching History" moments when it's about something like that. For example, the whole first unit was about blood. I was (in true Grandpa form) teaching way above their level, but some of them were able to follow. At least, I get excited when I'm teaching it. I can't really speak for the student who found playing with her eraser more interesting. I'm sure she was paying attention on the inside. *insert copious amounts of sarcasm here* Anyway, I saw probably the coolest plant ever. One of my students (who is now getting an A) previewed the lesson and brought one of the plants in it. Apparently, this plant only grows in Asia. I forget the name of it, and I'm just too lazy to look it up right now. Something like Raffles Pitcher Plant. (I don't get why some people just feel the need to name something after themselves that they had nothing to do with creating. I think  Lou Gehrig drew the short straw on that one. And what did Charlie's Horse ever do to anyone?) I also remember Grandpa's lectures about why leaves change color. I was reminded of it this week as all of the leaves are beginning to fall. I was telling a friend that even after all of this time, it still feels a bit surreal that I won't see him when I go back. I will always miss him.

Every week, I have to come up with a slightly different way to troll my students. (For those of you out of the internet jargon loop which, now that I'm thinking of it, might just be everyone reading this blog, I'm about to educate you in the modern English language. From Joe's dictionary of awesomeness: "To troll: the act of making fun of someone, making their life miserable, and just doing everything you can to obtain enjoyment at another person's expense.) In this case, I award participation points based on what they say in class. The way our computer system works, we reward them with virtual apples. So, you see the apples from Seedbed, the lowest level class offered, all the way down to Junior Master. Here's how you play the game, if you say the things in the Sapling and Junior Master boxes, your likelihood of getting 4-5 apples increases dramatically. I'm sad to say that the morals of these children are surprisingly weak. I keep changing what's in the last 2 boxes to get more and more flattering to me. This week, I finally had one girl who did not give in to the pressure. Most of the stuff on the upper end of the chart is just added as the day goes on. As I realize something new that the students do that is bad English and frankly just annoying to listen to, I add it to the appropriate level. I find that always coming up with something new keeps not only the students interested, but me as well. This is probably the last thing I'll do in class unless some new idea hits me during the middle of a lesson.

I set a record this week. I did 6 hours of karaoke in the span of 24 hours. I went on Thursday and Friday night, and the sad thing is that I want to go again. Once you're able to get over the fact that you're singing in front of your coworkers, it's a blast. I will sing anything that's playing. I know a lot of the Korean tunes just from being here, and my reading is ALMOST fast enough to keep up with most songs. In either case, I'm sure it's good entertainment for the Koreans to see a tall white man singing/dancing "Gangnam Style." Surprisingly, after 6 hours of singing, my voice is fine. I guess that just means that I had good form. Among others, some of my favorite to perform (because there is no way I can actually sing these): Stayin' Alive, Sweet Child O' Mine, Gangnam Style, and Smooth Criminal. Some more doable ones: Under the Sea, The Circle of Life, and Unforgettable.

I've Got Visas on my Mind

So, I'm currently in the throws of trying to figure out exactly what I want to do next year. I know I want to be in Korea learning Korean, but I'm not quite sure how I want to go about it. I've done hours worth of online research/phone calls. (If you should know anything about me, it's that I abhor talking on the phone to someone that I don't know. Especially when they don't necessarily speak English...) So if I'm making phone calls about it, you know I'm pretty serious about it. I recently found out about a visa that will allow me to be in the country for 6 months without working. I'm currently in the process of trying to communicate that to the Korean language school and figuring out if they will still let me apply with that visa. All this to say, if everything works out the way I want it to, I will be home for the entire month of December. If everything doesn't work out the way I want it to . . . I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. The moral of the story is this: visas are a pain.

I finally got to play something other than goalie today in soccer. It was really nice... for the warm-up, and then I started running. I played for most of the game, and I think I did OK. As a result of "accidentally" tripping a guy, I too went sprawling on the astro turf which left a few skinned places on my elbows and knees. Towards the end of the game, I subbed myself out to go lick my battle wounds. There was a 7 year old American boy who was watching the game with our team. He came up to me and asked if it hurt. I said, "No" to which he replied, "How come adults never say that anything hurts?" I kind of thought about it a minute, and then decided that telling him that my endorphins were pumping through my blood dulling the pain was too complicated a task. He went on to say, "I sure hope I never get any scrapes like that." Now on this one, I was happy to burst his bubble.

Teaching is getting easier and easier. I recently was given a temporary class with pretty much all of the troublemaker kids in it. A worthy opponent. At the very beginning, I sent a student out for playing with his erasers. (I'm not as bad as it seems. He really wasn't paying attention. I stopped class, walked in front of him, and stood there for a solid minute before he realized something had changed.) After that, everyone was on their best behavior. As with so many other things, once you've convinced someone that you're really serious, they tend not to get in your way. It also helps that Korean mothers are the KGB and Nazi Gestapo combined into a fearsome entity that holds the power of life and death in the palm of their hands. Similar to the KGB, if you follow the rules, get good grades, become a model citizen and do everything to the best of your ability, you still aren't safe. I kid you not, I've heard first hand accounts of a student being grounded all summer long with no AC just because he was dating a girl right before his English proficiency test, and so didn't study to his optimal level. I think I'll take the wet towels being wrapped around me, or waterboarding.

I went to a fortress in a nearby city with some friends on Saturday. I'm putting some of the pictures up here. I'm sure they'll come up on facebook when I have the resolve to click "upload" if ever. All of the leaves are beginning to change color/fall here now. There were a lot of really cool colors. Now, I'm sure that it's been done before, "Joe, didn't you know this?" blah blah blah, but I think the whole wall around the gate thing you see in these pictures is just genius. There, I said it. Now you all can educate me on European architecture for about 15 comments. Or skype, it's a little bit faster.

The Land of the Rising Sun

This week was my week of vacation, and it was great! I did a whole lot this week. I think it was partly due to the fact that there were a lot of outside forces causing me to do things. Nothing like having friends pull you around to different places. I'm definitely not complaining though. I probably would've sat home and did nothing otherwise.

On Monday, I went to the zoo (which I wrote about in last week's blog). On Tuesday, I met up with my Korean friends from college. We played billiards, bowling, and ended it all with an hour at the karaoke room. That still has to be one of my favorite things to do here. I did something on Wednesday, but honestly, I can't really remember what I did. I remember playing soccer with Koreans at night, but the rest of the day is a blur. Thursday was my rest and recharge day. I don't think I did anything all day except watch the presidential debate. That's probably about the only thing I've done to keep in touch with what's happening in America. From a pure debate standpoint, I thought they both were fairly week in their arguments. Both left out what I thought to be vital details to their arguments, but then again, I guess their main goal isn't winning the argument. Smile for the camera!!! I really felt bad for the moderator though. How anyone could interrupt that nice man from the PBS channel is beyond me. If they were in Asia, they would get smacked around for a cultural blunder of that magnitude.

On Friday, I went to Japan. This, I definitely wouldn't have even thought of attempting unless it was all laid out beforehand by someone who knew what they were doing. (I really hate going somewhere without everything planned out. If I don't know exactly what I'm going to do and how I'm going to get there, it's just a little too stressful to be a vacation). Luckily, we had a Japanese guy show us around. I went with my coworker, and it was his friend. During the trip, I became more and more thankful that I chose Korea to come and teach in. Don't get me wrong. I really enjoyed Japan, but it was just missing some things.

Let me start by saying that Japanese food is bar none better than 99.99% of all other foods in the world. However, it's super expensive. The average price I paid for a bowl of ramen was about 900 Yen. (Look up the exchange rate if you're really curious.) No one can hold a match to Korean public transportation. Japanese subways are run by private companies which translates to high prices and general confusion when it comes to navigating around: tons of transfers and a general confusion of where you are. In Korea, you would have to blind and deaf to get lost on their subway. It's very user friendly. I also felt a great contrast within the Japanese culture. Their pop culture is very "cute." Their music focuses on a more pre-adolescent version of fun: almost carefree. However, the people are a totally different story. They are stone faced! In Korea, the people don't show much emotion when they are just walking around, but once they stop, they are super emotional. Even after the day was done and on the weekend, the Japanese were flat faced about everything. I think their pop music is a reflection of what they wish they could be like, but are restricted from becoming because of their culture set in tradition. There is a certain pride to these Asian countries. It is much different in America. These countries have histories dating back thousands of years, and they are very proud of them. To deviate from traditions dating back thousands of years is like disowning your country.

Japan was super beautiful though. It was really peaceful and quiet. The people keep to themselves and you can just sit and enjoy the numerous views. I can now see why this country is so closed off to the Gospel. Part of it rests in the strict tradition that is enforced on the people. The other is the culture in which they live. There is not good way to confront somebody about something. For example, going up to someone and pointing out sin would be considered one of the rudest things you could do. Idol worship is super prevalent there. There were shrines and little Buddha or Shinto idols everywhere with people praying to them. It really makes me sad to see how darkened they are. Only God can break into that country.

On the first day in Japan, we went to an awesome aquarium! I don't know if I even remember ever having gone to an aquarium before. On Saturday, we went to Kyoto, a traditional Japanese city. Apparently, (around 500 years ago) it used to be the capital before Tokyo.  We spent this morning (Sunday) visiting various shops and markets. Check facebook for more pictures and videos. I took tons!

Happy Chuseok!

Sorry I didn't write this yesterday. I was pretty busy, and I went to the zoo today, so I figured it might be more interesting for you if I just waited. I have this week off because of Chuseok! It's a Korean holiday that basically is the Korean version of Thanksgiving. I heard a rumor today that it's actually a holiday where they worship their ancestors... I'm not so sure about this, but I plan on running it by my Korean informants and seeing what they dig up. Either way, it results in a week off!

This week, I was training the 2 new teachers that we got. They have been pretty good so far. 99.99% of their actions at work are very professional, which makes my job a ton easier. They definitely have a long way to go, but I know that they'll get there quickly if they keep up the effort. God has also given me a lot of favor in my boss's eyes. She seems to really like me now, and it's more than just her. Many different people are helping me out when it comes to my preparations for next year. Obviously, I know some of this is so that I think of them better when I decide who to sign my contract with, but it still feels pretty good. I was trying to teach my students the difference between can and should. So I asked the question, "Can I punch you right now?" to which they responded, "NO!" I then explained, "Well, yes I CAN punch you, but I shouldn't." Right when I said, "I CAN punch you" I looked around only to see my boss's head sticking through the door. She asked me to step outside for a minute. (It's about this time that I was wondering how much a plane ticket costs.) She just gave me a $30 gift card to Korea's equivalent of a Jewel Osco and wished me a happy Chuseok.

So, I have a new landmark in my life that I'm pretty sure none of you have ever done (nor will ever do). I played through the entire set of 'Apples to Apples' with some friends after church on Sunday. The box reads, "Play time: 30 minutes" Try 3.5 hours! We told that box what's what. My face hurt afterwards from all of the laughing. Despite the philosophy that losing isn't fun, I still had a great time.


I also went to the zoo today. It has been a really long time since I've been there. It was a lot of fun. I saw a lot of animals that I don't ever remember seeing in real life before. I saw an armadillo, rhinos, 2-toed sloths, and a pre-pubescent monkey doing something to his toy that only post-pubescent monkeys should do. All in all, it was a great experience. I pretty much feel like I start most of my days like this sloth. I wake up and quickly realize, "Why am I up this early?" I then proceed to do absolutely nothing in the mornings. I pass time by lying in different positions on my bed and hoping each new one will bring me closer to the comfort of sleep.

I took this picture of my students this week. The girl on the right is wearing a hanbok. (han-boke) It's the traditional Korean dress that both the men and the women wear. Not many people wear them anymore except for special occasions. Obviously, this week was Chuseok week, so the traditional stuff comes out. I had to bribe her with a lot of participation points, but she eventually consented to me taking a picture.