So, here I am again. I know we don't blog much anymore (I think that happens to everyone over here) and I blog even less than that, so I am going to fix it and write you a really nice blog tonight. Maybe. I make no promises.
Aaron and I are officially out of our honeymoon with Korea phase. The first couple of months, everything was "wow, look at that, how cool! go Korea!" and pictures and blog posts about crazy stuff and our schools and how much fun we were having...yeah. That time is over. It's not horrible here, not by any means, but we are no longer enthralled with the novelty of living in another country. We don't hate it...we are just having issues. And by we I mostly mean Aaron, but myself as well.
One of things I dislike is the constant staring. It bothered me when we first got here and it still does. It's rare that a day goes by when I don't get honked at by guys in cars or leered at by some adjusshi on the sidewalk. I walk 30 minutes each way to school and home, and I have my headphones in the entire time so I don't have to engage with strangers. Now that it's sunny (mostly) I wear my sunglasses as well for extra shielding. The staring isn't for any particular reason other than "I am a foreigner" and thus EXTREMELY interesting/weird/gorgeous/terrifying. I don't really enjoy being in the spotlight (not like that, at least!) so it's uncomfortable for me. I don't think it happens that much to Aaron, at least not to the degree that it happens to me, simply because I am a woman and he is not. And to top it off I don't really dress like Korean women. They wear heels, for one, and tend to cover up everything on top and wear teeny tiny little miniskirts that show off all their legs. Whereas I do the opposite. Oh well.
I really could go on with all the little things we are annoyed with lately, but it would be pretty pointless. Needless to say, as much as we want to come home, we have nothing to come home to. No jobs (and faint hope of getting them) and really no plans. Plus, we (ok, well, I) have tons of loans to pay off first. Our plan was to stay for 3-4 years and get that all paid off and by then, have some idea of what we want to do with our lives.
Right now, we have a pretty good plan (or the beginnings of one) for what we want to do when we come home. (Hint: it will not be in Michigan. Sorry!) But for me at least, that can't happen until I get my student loans paid off. I really don't want to leave here until that's done. Which means we need to work even harder at saving money and just throwing it at those loans.
So as much as I'd like to complain about Korea, there is really no point. Unless something amazing falls into our laps and we can come home earlier, I really don't think we'll be back anytime soon. Plus, I'm not sure exactly how much info my school has on me and if they have access to this blog, and I'd rather not dig my own grave here. (Libel is a very serious crime in Korea, fyi) So if you want to know more, you'll have to email one of us.
Last week, we went to the DMZ and the Boryeong Mud Festival so hopefully I will get around to posting pictures and a blog about those soon. The mud fest was pretty much Spring Break with lots of people playing in mud. Not THAT fascinating, but it was fun nonetheless. And with that, I'm going to end this post and get back to my World of Warcraft. :)
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
We're Not Dead!
Hi! We're not dead. I guess it has been a bit long since we posted. I figured I'd better get on that. Well, I've been figuring I'd better get on that for some time now to tell the truth. Whenever exciting things happen to me personally, I usually rush to tell Mel and that's that. I forget about bothering to blog. Whenever stuff happens to us together, we usually rush to tell our friends. Either those scenarios, or the stuff is actually not exciting once we get to thinking about it. I can type about boring stuff. I'll do it! You can read about my lunch in intricate detail every single day....
Actually no. I'm far to busy for that ;)
Anyways, let me try to work up some exciting things. I have a couple pictures too, so that should help. So, one evening it was a friend of ours' birthday. Mel was off at orientation, but I was happy to attend the festivities. We went to a nice little place and had Galbi. Galbi is delicious pork (or sometimes beef) that they grill at the table for you. One can also have Samgyupsal grilled at the table, but that's fatty and not nearly as yummy.
So, eventually I found myself with the impending need to urinate. I headed off in search of the bathroom. Eventually I did find it. You see most Korean establishments don't have bathrooms. There's just these communal ones for the patrons of all the businesses on that floor or what not. So, this one appeared well worn. This was actually one of the worst bathrooms I'd been into in Korea. The smell was appalling. It was just a wave of nasty, old urine stench. Then, as I'm struggling not to breath, lest the smell render me unconscious so that I can slowly asphyxiate on the floor of this nasty bathroom, I noticed this sign above the urinal....
Ironically, the Asian man appears to be succumbing to the stench of a white guy smoking a cigarette. I think the greater concern would obviously be the vile odor just hanging in the air waiting to attack unsuspecting patrons.
Here's a cute puppy. It is really quite irrelevant to most anything I actually have to say. I'll add something about it though just so it doesn't seem too out of place.
We found a new pet store relatively near to our house. They have many varied cute kittens and puppies. However, they had something we were in dire need of: a covered litter box. Now the cats are no longer slinging litter all over the place! Nice! Also we got them a cat tree to climb on and scratch up. They were in need of that too.
The litter box is actually pretty sweet. There's 3 bottom trays and one is slotted. Then there's the lid. So you simply lift the slotted pan and shake it a bit to get all the good litter into the tray below. Then just dump the ickies into the trash. Shuffle the trays around a bit and it's all win. Woot!
So, after lunch Il-kyu and I usually walk leisurely in front of the school until it is time for the next class. Well, one day the walk in front of the school was just amazingly hot. The sun was beating down extra fierce. So, we decided to walk behind the school. We chanced upon a group of 6th grade boys and Il-kyu set them to playing (what I beleive to be) some kind of traditional game...
Guy #1 stands there. Much like the kid in the blue shirt. Guy #2 bends down and firmly tucks his head into guy #1's balls (see guy in plaid). Then guy #3 tucks his head into guy #2's ass. I believe the rules allow for a longer chain dependant upon the number of players.
Then the running and jumping begins. The other half of the people take turns running and jumping on the turd log (my name, not theirs). The goal appears to be to get everyone on the turd without the log breaking...
So, yeah. Gay people don't exist in Korea, so inappropriate touching is A-OKAY!
Here's a close-up of the blue shirt kid's shirt. Notice the Lucky Strike logo. It actually says "Fucky Strike". The rest of the shirt is also covered in rip-offs of American logos such as "Berger Kim". Intellectual property and copyrights don't exist in Korea either.
Actually the other day I heard a rip-off of the Jackson 5's ABC. It went "ABC, ABC" and then a bunch of stuff in Korean. It was the exact same tune though. Happens a lot here.
So, what's next? The kids here go nuts if you call them crazy. There's a lot of stigma surrounding mental health issues. So to them crazy can't even mean something like "you're acting silly". It just means bat-shit insane. So, it's fun to joke with them and call them crazy. They go nuts, we all giggle, it's a good time.
One day, a 6th grade girl named Kim Yumi was being particularly silly. I drew this on the board...
LOLZ!
In my Top Class (best of the best grade 5 and 6) we had a couple lessons on Island Survival. So, they're boat is going down, they can only take 7 items (out of like 25 or something). They work together to decide the items and explain the reasons why. So, we worked on that for a couple of days and then on the 3rd day, their task was to plan ways to get off the island....
Well, those are certainly some spectactular methods of "escape".
In other news, I bought a bike. It was $115 after I had them put on the basket. Yes, I have a basket. It's handy for carrying crap to school. It came stock with a nice bell *ring ring* and she threw in a bike lock. Good stuff! I get to ride it (to school) about three days out of five because we're apparently in the rainy season.
*NERD ALERT*
Also, I may have mentioned our hunt for dice before. Because we're huge nerds and we like D&D. We've been regularly playing with that group for some time now. The four of us really enjoy ourselves. We just hit level 6 :O Although one of our party died the big death at a boss encounter and had to create a new character.
One of our group is getting ready to start another D&D game set in the world of Eberron. Another player will be joining us for this and we're all really excited. It's a world of magic that's kinda steam-punkish, but set up for some good noir. There's also the ability to dungeon crawl Indiana Jones style. It's just a cool world. My paltry description doesn't do it justice (and may contain some inacquiracies) so don't bitch at me (Kender).
*END NERD ALERT*
Let's see.... Oh! That's Galbi place with the stink shit box? There's a really funny story about that place. You see, that wasn't the first time I had ate there.... It was just the first time I paid to eat there. But, that's a whole other story. It was a rather amusing night. Hopefully I'll be back to type it up soon. If not, maybe Mel will. Well, what she remembers of it anyway... ;)
For now, I gotta get out here. Gotta hop on my bike before the rain hits....
Aaron
Actually no. I'm far to busy for that ;)
Anyways, let me try to work up some exciting things. I have a couple pictures too, so that should help. So, one evening it was a friend of ours' birthday. Mel was off at orientation, but I was happy to attend the festivities. We went to a nice little place and had Galbi. Galbi is delicious pork (or sometimes beef) that they grill at the table for you. One can also have Samgyupsal grilled at the table, but that's fatty and not nearly as yummy.
So, eventually I found myself with the impending need to urinate. I headed off in search of the bathroom. Eventually I did find it. You see most Korean establishments don't have bathrooms. There's just these communal ones for the patrons of all the businesses on that floor or what not. So, this one appeared well worn. This was actually one of the worst bathrooms I'd been into in Korea. The smell was appalling. It was just a wave of nasty, old urine stench. Then, as I'm struggling not to breath, lest the smell render me unconscious so that I can slowly asphyxiate on the floor of this nasty bathroom, I noticed this sign above the urinal....
Ironically, the Asian man appears to be succumbing to the stench of a white guy smoking a cigarette. I think the greater concern would obviously be the vile odor just hanging in the air waiting to attack unsuspecting patrons.
Here's a cute puppy. It is really quite irrelevant to most anything I actually have to say. I'll add something about it though just so it doesn't seem too out of place.We found a new pet store relatively near to our house. They have many varied cute kittens and puppies. However, they had something we were in dire need of: a covered litter box. Now the cats are no longer slinging litter all over the place! Nice! Also we got them a cat tree to climb on and scratch up. They were in need of that too.
The litter box is actually pretty sweet. There's 3 bottom trays and one is slotted. Then there's the lid. So you simply lift the slotted pan and shake it a bit to get all the good litter into the tray below. Then just dump the ickies into the trash. Shuffle the trays around a bit and it's all win. Woot!
So, after lunch Il-kyu and I usually walk leisurely in front of the school until it is time for the next class. Well, one day the walk in front of the school was just amazingly hot. The sun was beating down extra fierce. So, we decided to walk behind the school. We chanced upon a group of 6th grade boys and Il-kyu set them to playing (what I beleive to be) some kind of traditional game...
Guy #1 stands there. Much like the kid in the blue shirt. Guy #2 bends down and firmly tucks his head into guy #1's balls (see guy in plaid). Then guy #3 tucks his head into guy #2's ass. I believe the rules allow for a longer chain dependant upon the number of players.Then the running and jumping begins. The other half of the people take turns running and jumping on the turd log (my name, not theirs). The goal appears to be to get everyone on the turd without the log breaking...
So, yeah. Gay people don't exist in Korea, so inappropriate touching is A-OKAY!
Here's a close-up of the blue shirt kid's shirt. Notice the Lucky Strike logo. It actually says "Fucky Strike". The rest of the shirt is also covered in rip-offs of American logos such as "Berger Kim". Intellectual property and copyrights don't exist in Korea either.Actually the other day I heard a rip-off of the Jackson 5's ABC. It went "ABC, ABC" and then a bunch of stuff in Korean. It was the exact same tune though. Happens a lot here.
So, what's next? The kids here go nuts if you call them crazy. There's a lot of stigma surrounding mental health issues. So to them crazy can't even mean something like "you're acting silly". It just means bat-shit insane. So, it's fun to joke with them and call them crazy. They go nuts, we all giggle, it's a good time.
One day, a 6th grade girl named Kim Yumi was being particularly silly. I drew this on the board...
LOLZ!In my Top Class (best of the best grade 5 and 6) we had a couple lessons on Island Survival. So, they're boat is going down, they can only take 7 items (out of like 25 or something). They work together to decide the items and explain the reasons why. So, we worked on that for a couple of days and then on the 3rd day, their task was to plan ways to get off the island....
Well, those are certainly some spectactular methods of "escape".In other news, I bought a bike. It was $115 after I had them put on the basket. Yes, I have a basket. It's handy for carrying crap to school. It came stock with a nice bell *ring ring* and she threw in a bike lock. Good stuff! I get to ride it (to school) about three days out of five because we're apparently in the rainy season.
*NERD ALERT*
Also, I may have mentioned our hunt for dice before. Because we're huge nerds and we like D&D. We've been regularly playing with that group for some time now. The four of us really enjoy ourselves. We just hit level 6 :O Although one of our party died the big death at a boss encounter and had to create a new character.
One of our group is getting ready to start another D&D game set in the world of Eberron. Another player will be joining us for this and we're all really excited. It's a world of magic that's kinda steam-punkish, but set up for some good noir. There's also the ability to dungeon crawl Indiana Jones style. It's just a cool world. My paltry description doesn't do it justice (and may contain some inacquiracies) so don't bitch at me (Kender).
*END NERD ALERT*
Let's see.... Oh! That's Galbi place with the stink shit box? There's a really funny story about that place. You see, that wasn't the first time I had ate there.... It was just the first time I paid to eat there. But, that's a whole other story. It was a rather amusing night. Hopefully I'll be back to type it up soon. If not, maybe Mel will. Well, what she remembers of it anyway... ;)
For now, I gotta get out here. Gotta hop on my bike before the rain hits....
Aaron
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Short and Sweet
Take a potato and then cut it in a spiral. Deep fry it. Then roll it in cheesy powder. Oh, and sell it for around $1. That's pure win.
I am studious... or something.
Poverty pub crawl! You may have read about such on my facebook. Well, drinking in public is legal here. There are about a billion 7-11 like stores that sell booze. The idea was to go from one to another to another stopping to drink a couple drink at each until we got bored or were unable to carry on.
There were good times being had.
Random picture from the patio bar.
5,000ml of beer looks like this. That's 5 liters.
This is a happy jesus I saw on a building near Songtan.
More PPC.I'd don't have a lot to add. Actually I really have nothing to add. Here's a couple crappy cellphone pics. Hope you enjoyed them.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Rapid Ascent Inadvisable
So, as I previously mentioned us no longer having a working camera. Since then I occasionally snap off a shot on my cellphone. It's a handy camera that I always have with me. Due to Mel's ingenuity, I've found that I can email them to myself. So, now I have a couple interesting shots. Most of the interest is provided by the spontaneity. Usually I find interesting stuff in places I'd never have bothered to bring a camera. Also, even if I had a working one... I'm really too forgetful to remember to lug it around
So, a while back I mentioned that we went to Yongsan. It was there I found the following gem.
Oh, wow! An Mp3 player! Amazing! Am I right? Boring! Look closer...
Yeppers, that's an "All In One Pragmatic Player". According to Merriam Websters:
1archaic a (1): busy (2): officious b: opinionated
2: relating to matters of fact or practical affairs often to the exclusion of intellectual or artistic matters : practical as opposed to idealistic <pragmatic men of power have had no time or inclination to deal with…social morality — K. B. Clark>
3: relating to or being in accordance with philosophical pragmatism
So, that's pretty funny.
In all of my classes we eventually played the monster game. This usually involved me stating a number of various body parts and the kids drawing monsters with the quoted amount of each body part. It works well because they all better learn the parts of the body. The higher level classes I add wings, horns, ie extra vocabulary. Also, they get to draw, color, and have a good time.
After every class had had a chance, I collected all the drawings and they now adorn a wall in my f
Sorry the pictures are so shitty all I have is a cellphone camera. Give me some slack!
Usually while the kids were busy with their monsters I would draw one to the same specs. This is my favorite. There are three heads each with distinctive personalities. I am amused every time I look at it :D
Wednesday afternoon we went and played sports with other teachers at another elementary school. It was raining so we didn't get to play volleyball as intended. The school we visited was quite well off and actually had a gym. We played a game that I have no desire to describe due to the inanity of the rules. Then we played floor hockey....
It appears that in South Korea, I'm pretty good at floor hockey. I had to explain that I'm from Michigan. We live right near the place where hockey was invented. Everyone has a rudimentary understanding. No I have not played professionally... ect...
They also played cho-gu. That's volleyball, but you can only use your head and anything below your waist (mostly feet). It's odd and I was happy not to have been asked to participate.
On Thursday it was fieldtrip day for the 5th and 6th graders. Well, all the grades really, but the 5th and 6th was the trip I went on. Long story short, it was a good time. I got to spend some time bonding with the kids and got out of a day of school.
So here's some pics with appropriate captions.
A giant pagoda statue. I have no idea the significance. It's in the national museum in Yongsan. Those kids in front are some of my 6th graders. It was a big statue.
Il-kyu and I outside of the Egyptian exibit. No photos inside and I only have a cell camera anyway. Wasn't much that would be interesting via photograph anyway. In other words... you had to be there :D
We went to the war museum too (also in Yongsan). There's a big boat, but I'm not really sure why it's there. The whole museum is pretty much dedicated to the Korean war, so it seemed a bit out of place. Nice to look at though.
Lastly, we recently went to a castle in Suwon with a couple of our friends. At one of the gates you could head on up and check the view out from the top. The stairs were huge though and really old stone. Of course, there was a warning sign...
Later!
Aaron
So, a while back I mentioned that we went to Yongsan. It was there I found the following gem.
Oh, wow! An Mp3 player! Amazing! Am I right? Boring! Look closer...
Yeppers, that's an "All In One Pragmatic Player". According to Merriam Websters:1archaic a (1): busy (2): officious b: opinionated
2: relating to matters of fact or practical affairs often to the exclusion of intellectual or artistic matters : practical as opposed to idealistic <pragmatic men of power have had no time or inclination to deal with…social morality — K. B. Clark>
3: relating to or being in accordance with philosophical pragmatism
So, that's pretty funny.
In all of my classes we eventually played the monster game. This usually involved me stating a number of various body parts and the kids drawing monsters with the quoted amount of each body part. It works well because they all better learn the parts of the body. The higher level classes I add wings, horns, ie extra vocabulary. Also, they get to draw, color, and have a good time.
After every class had had a chance, I collected all the drawings and they now adorn a wall in my f
Sorry the pictures are so shitty all I have is a cellphone camera. Give me some slack!
Usually while the kids were busy with their monsters I would draw one to the same specs. This is my favorite. There are three heads each with distinctive personalities. I am amused every time I look at it :DWednesday afternoon we went and played sports with other teachers at another elementary school. It was raining so we didn't get to play volleyball as intended. The school we visited was quite well off and actually had a gym. We played a game that I have no desire to describe due to the inanity of the rules. Then we played floor hockey....
It appears that in South Korea, I'm pretty good at floor hockey. I had to explain that I'm from Michigan. We live right near the place where hockey was invented. Everyone has a rudimentary understanding. No I have not played professionally... ect...
They also played cho-gu. That's volleyball, but you can only use your head and anything below your waist (mostly feet). It's odd and I was happy not to have been asked to participate.
On Thursday it was fieldtrip day for the 5th and 6th graders. Well, all the grades really, but the 5th and 6th was the trip I went on. Long story short, it was a good time. I got to spend some time bonding with the kids and got out of a day of school.
So here's some pics with appropriate captions.
A giant pagoda statue. I have no idea the significance. It's in the national museum in Yongsan. Those kids in front are some of my 6th graders. It was a big statue.
Il-kyu and I outside of the Egyptian exibit. No photos inside and I only have a cell camera anyway. Wasn't much that would be interesting via photograph anyway. In other words... you had to be there :D
We went to the war museum too (also in Yongsan). There's a big boat, but I'm not really sure why it's there. The whole museum is pretty much dedicated to the Korean war, so it seemed a bit out of place. Nice to look at though.Lastly, we recently went to a castle in Suwon with a couple of our friends. At one of the gates you could head on up and check the view out from the top. The stairs were huge though and really old stone. Of course, there was a warning sign...
Later!Aaron
Monday, May 25, 2009
A Roll of the Dice?
Well, I suppose I should post something new. After all, it has been about half a month since our last update. The problem is that we settled into normalcy and complacency. Usually we do travel about some on the weekend. However, a lot of places we go look generally the same. Unless we find a really clever sign, there's little to report. One significant other problem is that our camera has went kaput. Hopefully we'll do a little research and get a new one soon.
So, let's see what kind of recent developments have there been? Well a couple of weeks ago I went out to dinner with the teachers. We went to a place specializing in mushrooms. I don't care how many varieties you throw in front of me, I still don't like mushrooms. So, that was not the best of dinners for me.
Afterward we went to a bar in Osan. While we were there a couple of my fellow foreign teachers happened in. It was then that I noticed a glorious thing. This bar has a patio. Outside there a ton of tables and chairs. All the details on the rest of the night? No matter. The important point is the discovery of the patio bar. Now, provided there's not rain, the patio bar is foreign teacher central on Friday nights.
So that's pretty nice and all. New bars are always great. They have really huge amounts of beer. You can order the standard 2000ml or 3000ml varieties, or you can be awesome and get the 5000ml oaken barrel looking super pitcher with a spout on the side! 5 liters of beer! They also have soju cocktails that are pretty amazing. Like they take a few fresh kiwis, a bottle of soju, and throw that shit in the blender. Instant yummy. Well, not instant. It takes them forever to make the damn things. The wait is worth it though.
Mel is now happily addicted to World of Warcraft. She's a busy little Shaman. The biggest problem there is when our net drops. Then we have a really angry shaman :D
Last weekend we had a bit of travel. We recently decided to start playing some Dungeons and Dragons with some other teachers. Melissa and I have dice that we brought from home. The other gents do not. We looked around a bit online and found a store we could check out. So, we went there on Saturday. It was a bit over an hour by train. Maybe 1.5? We found the place without much problem. The walls are lined with games and there's a few people sitting around a table playing a board game. There is a display of various tarot cards. There is a shelf with what appears to be collectible card games behind the counter. Yet, there are no dice. Not anywhere. We motion to the clerk to suggest what we're looking for. After a minute she understand and heads off to the back room. She rummaged about for a bit and came back with a three 30-sided dice and a handful of 6-sided dice.
I know of no game that uses 30-sided dice. We were looking for standard D&D sets (a 4, 6, 8, 12, 20, and two 10s). We were a bit disappointed. I did buy one of the 30's however because I thought it was a curious novelty. She charged me 6000w for it. I found out later that they're commonly available on the net for like $3. Still don't know what it's used for. I'll probably add it into some kind of drinking game.
Following that we went to Yongsan. Our friend Len was accompanying us. He was after dice as well and also some camera gear. Having been here for several months longer than us, he knows his way around a bit better. That was nice.
Anyways, Yongsan is geeky nerd paradise. This is an entire city devoted to electronics, tech, and gadgets! If you dream of fields of motherboards and cpus, this is the place for you. If you are in the market for a new mp3 player, but want to be able to chose from a field of thousands, this is the place. Love video games? Want to pick up a new 360 game and buy a Super Famicom at the same time? Well then, come on over.
Yongsan was pretty damned cool. Gadgets galore! I had some video game needs which were easily fulfilled. Now I'll be able to keep busy during Mel's Warcraft raiding sessions. :) Len was easily able to find the new bits he wanted for his camera. It was a fun trip. There was a downside however...
Mel and I are now considering getting a second computer. It would be nice for me to have the ability to use the computer at times when Mel is way too busy with it. I think she might also enjoy having a more easily portable laptop that she could take to school. Also, I figure that it is only a matter of time until Mel convinces me that I need join her in scouring world of Azeroth. So, there's that.
Saturday evening we joined some friends in Songtan. We had some sushi (which wasn't bad despite my previous aversion) and then hung out in a random bar. We learned a new drinking game from a nice military guy. The bar owner and wait staff even played along.
The game is Titanic for those who are interested. You float a shot glass in a cup of beer. Then everyone takes turn dribbling a small (or large if you wish) amount of alcohol (beer or liquor, pick before play) directly into the shot glass. You sink it, you drink it. Easy enough! It appears to be okay to take down half a glass or even a whole glass in someones sted if they are having particually bad luck. Play proceeds by having the sinker do the first pour. It was a blast!
So, I guess that's pretty much what's been going on. This afternoon it looks like I'll be joining the other teacher in some volleyball. We have a game coming up versus another school, so today is practice. I'm sure I'll have some more words to add on that sometime in the near(ish) future.
Bye!
Aaron
So, let's see what kind of recent developments have there been? Well a couple of weeks ago I went out to dinner with the teachers. We went to a place specializing in mushrooms. I don't care how many varieties you throw in front of me, I still don't like mushrooms. So, that was not the best of dinners for me.
Afterward we went to a bar in Osan. While we were there a couple of my fellow foreign teachers happened in. It was then that I noticed a glorious thing. This bar has a patio. Outside there a ton of tables and chairs. All the details on the rest of the night? No matter. The important point is the discovery of the patio bar. Now, provided there's not rain, the patio bar is foreign teacher central on Friday nights.
So that's pretty nice and all. New bars are always great. They have really huge amounts of beer. You can order the standard 2000ml or 3000ml varieties, or you can be awesome and get the 5000ml oaken barrel looking super pitcher with a spout on the side! 5 liters of beer! They also have soju cocktails that are pretty amazing. Like they take a few fresh kiwis, a bottle of soju, and throw that shit in the blender. Instant yummy. Well, not instant. It takes them forever to make the damn things. The wait is worth it though.
Mel is now happily addicted to World of Warcraft. She's a busy little Shaman. The biggest problem there is when our net drops. Then we have a really angry shaman :D
Last weekend we had a bit of travel. We recently decided to start playing some Dungeons and Dragons with some other teachers. Melissa and I have dice that we brought from home. The other gents do not. We looked around a bit online and found a store we could check out. So, we went there on Saturday. It was a bit over an hour by train. Maybe 1.5? We found the place without much problem. The walls are lined with games and there's a few people sitting around a table playing a board game. There is a display of various tarot cards. There is a shelf with what appears to be collectible card games behind the counter. Yet, there are no dice. Not anywhere. We motion to the clerk to suggest what we're looking for. After a minute she understand and heads off to the back room. She rummaged about for a bit and came back with a three 30-sided dice and a handful of 6-sided dice.
I know of no game that uses 30-sided dice. We were looking for standard D&D sets (a 4, 6, 8, 12, 20, and two 10s). We were a bit disappointed. I did buy one of the 30's however because I thought it was a curious novelty. She charged me 6000w for it. I found out later that they're commonly available on the net for like $3. Still don't know what it's used for. I'll probably add it into some kind of drinking game.
Following that we went to Yongsan. Our friend Len was accompanying us. He was after dice as well and also some camera gear. Having been here for several months longer than us, he knows his way around a bit better. That was nice.
Anyways, Yongsan is geeky nerd paradise. This is an entire city devoted to electronics, tech, and gadgets! If you dream of fields of motherboards and cpus, this is the place for you. If you are in the market for a new mp3 player, but want to be able to chose from a field of thousands, this is the place. Love video games? Want to pick up a new 360 game and buy a Super Famicom at the same time? Well then, come on over.
Yongsan was pretty damned cool. Gadgets galore! I had some video game needs which were easily fulfilled. Now I'll be able to keep busy during Mel's Warcraft raiding sessions. :) Len was easily able to find the new bits he wanted for his camera. It was a fun trip. There was a downside however...
Mel and I are now considering getting a second computer. It would be nice for me to have the ability to use the computer at times when Mel is way too busy with it. I think she might also enjoy having a more easily portable laptop that she could take to school. Also, I figure that it is only a matter of time until Mel convinces me that I need join her in scouring world of Azeroth. So, there's that.
Saturday evening we joined some friends in Songtan. We had some sushi (which wasn't bad despite my previous aversion) and then hung out in a random bar. We learned a new drinking game from a nice military guy. The bar owner and wait staff even played along.
The game is Titanic for those who are interested. You float a shot glass in a cup of beer. Then everyone takes turn dribbling a small (or large if you wish) amount of alcohol (beer or liquor, pick before play) directly into the shot glass. You sink it, you drink it. Easy enough! It appears to be okay to take down half a glass or even a whole glass in someones sted if they are having particually bad luck. Play proceeds by having the sinker do the first pour. It was a blast!
So, I guess that's pretty much what's been going on. This afternoon it looks like I'll be joining the other teacher in some volleyball. We have a game coming up versus another school, so today is practice. I'm sure I'll have some more words to add on that sometime in the near(ish) future.
Bye!
Aaron
Monday, May 11, 2009
Brand New Star Trek
So, I mentioned before that I'd try to get video of the kids singing the hello song. Here's a bit of that:
Today was a rough day. Lots of kids acting up, all day long. Even my good classes were being right shits today. The usual punishment of "stand on the wall, arms up, on one foot, with your eyes closed and looking like a right fool" wasn't working at all. I decided it was time for more drastic measures.
I pulled out the worst offender and stuck him on said wall. This time I had him follow me in a round of 'I'm a little teapot'. As they continued to act up, I continued to push the song. Eventually we arrived at the following:
Please note, I'll be sharing that with all the rest of their classmates in all grades, hopefully to their great embarrassment. Yep, I am an ass ;)
Anyway, not much else to report. We saw the new Star Trek. We both really enjoyed it. I'm not going to spoil anything, so no worries. I will take a couple moments to talk about continuity in a non-spoilery way. (Abe you might want to skip out just because I know you're sensitive to even the vaguest talk on things you haven't seen ;) ).
So, a while back there was a crazy Spider-man story. Peter had revealed his identity to the world. Eventually people came after him and Aunt May died (having been shot by a bullet meant for Peter). To rectify this, Peter and Mary Jane make a deal with the devil (aka Mephisto). He gets to erase their marriage from history and Aunt May is alive and no one knows Peter's identity. In one fell swoop, the writers undid over 20 years of Spider-man stories. They just didn't count any more. Fans were pissed, and rightly so.
The new Star Trek movie undoes 40+ years of continuity. It undoes everything except for the really bad Enterprise series. And you know what? It's completely fine. It's fine because the story didn't suck. It wasn't so contrived, stupid, and just plain out-of-character as the crap fed to the Spidey fans. Sure, they did away with the continuity, but at the same time they gave a dying beast of a franchise a shot of adrenaline right to the damned heart. I look forward to seeing the Star Trek beast get up and run around rather than continue to lie there slowly dying.
And that's it.
-Aaron
Today was a rough day. Lots of kids acting up, all day long. Even my good classes were being right shits today. The usual punishment of "stand on the wall, arms up, on one foot, with your eyes closed and looking like a right fool" wasn't working at all. I decided it was time for more drastic measures.
I pulled out the worst offender and stuck him on said wall. This time I had him follow me in a round of 'I'm a little teapot'. As they continued to act up, I continued to push the song. Eventually we arrived at the following:
Please note, I'll be sharing that with all the rest of their classmates in all grades, hopefully to their great embarrassment. Yep, I am an ass ;)
Anyway, not much else to report. We saw the new Star Trek. We both really enjoyed it. I'm not going to spoil anything, so no worries. I will take a couple moments to talk about continuity in a non-spoilery way. (Abe you might want to skip out just because I know you're sensitive to even the vaguest talk on things you haven't seen ;) ).
So, a while back there was a crazy Spider-man story. Peter had revealed his identity to the world. Eventually people came after him and Aunt May died (having been shot by a bullet meant for Peter). To rectify this, Peter and Mary Jane make a deal with the devil (aka Mephisto). He gets to erase their marriage from history and Aunt May is alive and no one knows Peter's identity. In one fell swoop, the writers undid over 20 years of Spider-man stories. They just didn't count any more. Fans were pissed, and rightly so.
The new Star Trek movie undoes 40+ years of continuity. It undoes everything except for the really bad Enterprise series. And you know what? It's completely fine. It's fine because the story didn't suck. It wasn't so contrived, stupid, and just plain out-of-character as the crap fed to the Spidey fans. Sure, they did away with the continuity, but at the same time they gave a dying beast of a franchise a shot of adrenaline right to the damned heart. I look forward to seeing the Star Trek beast get up and run around rather than continue to lie there slowly dying.
And that's it.
-Aaron
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
2 months down, 10 to go!
Rather than the usual "here's what we did last night/this weekend/at school" post, I thought I would write up something about our motivation to come to Korea in the first place. Although most people think it's pretty cool, there are always a few that inevitably say "why Korea? why anywhere but America?" and I would like to address those concerns. Not that they are particularly important, considering we are already here and settled in, but I also thought it might be nice for others to see exactly why we chose this lifestyle.
Aaron's list might look slightly different from mine, but my biggest reason is my student loans. I have over 60k in student loans and need to pay them back desperately. This seems to be the main reason for most of the English teachers here in Korea, though I have talked to some that came here to avoid paying student loans. That's right, they fled their home country and all responsibilities, including their debt. As mildly tempting as that sounds (debt free! just have to live in another country forever!) I am definitely not interested in that. I fully intend on paying off my loans on my own. I'm not even letting Aaron help me.
Conceivably, after graduating college, I would have found a good job (or A job) in my field, made a decent salary, and started paying those loans back. Of course living in Michigan (and now the whole U.S.) it was nigh impossible to find any sort of job in what I wanted to do, which was editing. Even in my last job, at the bank (which I loved and was easily one of my favorite jobs) I wasn't even cracking 20k a year, salary-wise. Combined with living expenses, car expenses, and general other stuff, paying off my debts looked like it was going to take me the full 20 years. With tens of thousands in interest. Really, that's just awful. At some point, Aaron and I are going to want to have kids; start a family and buy a little house out in the country somewhere (well, I want to be in the country, and that's all that really matters!) and I told him that in no uncertain terms are we going to have kids while I still have all those loans hanging over my head. And on my bank salary, we'd never ever be able to afford kids. Or anything, for that matter. He was working at U of M and not making much more than me, even after being there for 7 years.
So we were pretty much stuck, and we knew it. When we found out about the teaching opportunities in Korea, we thought it sounded awesome. Live in a foreign country for a few years, make a lot of money (our salaries should be about 25 million won a year, which, when we started doing research, was about 25k) and pay off our debts before coming back to America and getting settled somewhere NOT in Michigan. Now, granted, I know 25k a year is still not that much. However, living here in Korea, we don't have to pay rent and have minimal living expenses. So that 25k is almost all take-home pay. Meaning I can throw it all at my loans and watch them wither away while I rub my hands together and laugh in an evil fashion. Or something. And 25k a year is unfortunately more than we've ever made before. (sad!!) So we were really excited about it. I had whole charts and lists made out about how exactly I was going to pay things off and save money on top of that, and figured that after 4 years, I could have everything paid off and have maybe 10-15k in savings for when we get home.
Now, the exchange rate of the US dollar to the Korean won is awful. Not as bad as it was a month or two ago, but still not as good as when we first looked at Korea. It started getting bad after we were already commited here, or else we would have gone elsewhere, trust me! So my plans may not work out perfectly after all. But I can still save my money in Won for now, and convert it to dollars when the rate gets better. I'm still paying off the loans, and actually just paid off my stupid credit card last month, so now I can really go after those loans. I am actually really excited about it. (pathetic, right??)
Anyway, my secondary motivation is to learn Korean. Where better to do that? Granted, I was a little disappointed that we are not living in Japan (after all, I already speak some Japanese, and I liked it there a lot) but the cost of living in Japan is much higher, and we don't get free rent and all this other great stuff. So I will just content myself with visiting this summer. Anyway, learning Korean. I enjoy foreign languages, and hopefully, if I can become decent (or even fluent) in Korean after 4 years here, I could get a job in D.C....or something. I don't know yet. We're trying to plan for the future, but still have no idea what we want to do after Korea. We might not even want to move back to the US, we're not sure. Looking into Australia or New Zealand at this point. But who knows?
So those are my main motivations. I'll let Aaron post about his later (if he wants to), but hopefully this gives you a better understanding of why we packed everything up and moved across the world to a tiny country where we don't speak the language and teach, of all things.
Aaron's list might look slightly different from mine, but my biggest reason is my student loans. I have over 60k in student loans and need to pay them back desperately. This seems to be the main reason for most of the English teachers here in Korea, though I have talked to some that came here to avoid paying student loans. That's right, they fled their home country and all responsibilities, including their debt. As mildly tempting as that sounds (debt free! just have to live in another country forever!) I am definitely not interested in that. I fully intend on paying off my loans on my own. I'm not even letting Aaron help me.
Conceivably, after graduating college, I would have found a good job (or A job) in my field, made a decent salary, and started paying those loans back. Of course living in Michigan (and now the whole U.S.) it was nigh impossible to find any sort of job in what I wanted to do, which was editing. Even in my last job, at the bank (which I loved and was easily one of my favorite jobs) I wasn't even cracking 20k a year, salary-wise. Combined with living expenses, car expenses, and general other stuff, paying off my debts looked like it was going to take me the full 20 years. With tens of thousands in interest. Really, that's just awful. At some point, Aaron and I are going to want to have kids; start a family and buy a little house out in the country somewhere (well, I want to be in the country, and that's all that really matters!) and I told him that in no uncertain terms are we going to have kids while I still have all those loans hanging over my head. And on my bank salary, we'd never ever be able to afford kids. Or anything, for that matter. He was working at U of M and not making much more than me, even after being there for 7 years.
So we were pretty much stuck, and we knew it. When we found out about the teaching opportunities in Korea, we thought it sounded awesome. Live in a foreign country for a few years, make a lot of money (our salaries should be about 25 million won a year, which, when we started doing research, was about 25k) and pay off our debts before coming back to America and getting settled somewhere NOT in Michigan. Now, granted, I know 25k a year is still not that much. However, living here in Korea, we don't have to pay rent and have minimal living expenses. So that 25k is almost all take-home pay. Meaning I can throw it all at my loans and watch them wither away while I rub my hands together and laugh in an evil fashion. Or something. And 25k a year is unfortunately more than we've ever made before. (sad!!) So we were really excited about it. I had whole charts and lists made out about how exactly I was going to pay things off and save money on top of that, and figured that after 4 years, I could have everything paid off and have maybe 10-15k in savings for when we get home.
Now, the exchange rate of the US dollar to the Korean won is awful. Not as bad as it was a month or two ago, but still not as good as when we first looked at Korea. It started getting bad after we were already commited here, or else we would have gone elsewhere, trust me! So my plans may not work out perfectly after all. But I can still save my money in Won for now, and convert it to dollars when the rate gets better. I'm still paying off the loans, and actually just paid off my stupid credit card last month, so now I can really go after those loans. I am actually really excited about it. (pathetic, right??)
Anyway, my secondary motivation is to learn Korean. Where better to do that? Granted, I was a little disappointed that we are not living in Japan (after all, I already speak some Japanese, and I liked it there a lot) but the cost of living in Japan is much higher, and we don't get free rent and all this other great stuff. So I will just content myself with visiting this summer. Anyway, learning Korean. I enjoy foreign languages, and hopefully, if I can become decent (or even fluent) in Korean after 4 years here, I could get a job in D.C....or something. I don't know yet. We're trying to plan for the future, but still have no idea what we want to do after Korea. We might not even want to move back to the US, we're not sure. Looking into Australia or New Zealand at this point. But who knows?
So those are my main motivations. I'll let Aaron post about his later (if he wants to), but hopefully this gives you a better understanding of why we packed everything up and moved across the world to a tiny country where we don't speak the language and teach, of all things.
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