Bennett Baldwin

August updates

2007-09-04T12:30:00.000+09:00

Picking up where I left off, I went to Wando, a small island off the southern coast of Korea for a great day at the beach.

An ROTC cadet came to our unit for three weeks, and I had a great time showing him what I do, how to be an officer, what Korea is like, etc. It was a great chance to mentor someone young, something I'll be doing soon if my replacement actually comes like he is supposed to in October.

I did decide to extend my service in Korea for an extra year... I am trying to get stationed somewhere else though, somewhere further south where I would have more opportunities to learn Korean.

Our unit is still busy, and I doubt we'll ever have a week that we're not busy. We continue to get lots of new soldiers, which will make life easier over time though.

I returned to Chuncheon for Camp Fulbright's sports day, part of the new ETA orientation. It was a lot of fun to hang out with middle school kids again. It's fun times like those that I miss teaching.

The building I used to live in was condemned for, among other things, excessive mold. My new room is like a little studio apartment, a little smaller but with a nicer kitchen area and bathroom. It also gives me a chance to go through stuff and throw away what I don't need, and notice that mold did indeed get on some of my clothes.

This past weekend I went to Jeonju with my buddy Mike, and we had a great time, and ate famous Jeonju bibimbap (that's been on my Korean things to do checklist for a year and a half).

July updates

2007-07-19T22:15:00.000+09:00

I'm back from gunnery. It was three weeks in the "field" punctuated by one night back at Camp Casey... to clean up my room after the toilet in another room on the hall burst and flooded the entire floor. I say "field" because we got to stay in barracks and had showers (I made time for the showers every other day).

Gunnery was nonstop busy for me. I think my soldiers got some good training and field experience out of it. Probably the best thing was our company seeing the company medical treatment facility set up.

My college roommate Andrew "the Gammby" Miller got married in July (07/07/07!) to his longtime Canadian girlfriend Michelle. I'm disappointed I couldn't be there in person, and I really wish the both of them an amazing life together.

My brother Brad leaves in three days for a month long camp at Yellowstone! Have a great time Brad!

I'm not sure if I will stay in Korea for a second year... I'll probably have more about that in next month's update...

We just got a new battalion executive officer who seems very engaged and knowledgeable, so I'm pretty happy about that. I should be able to learn a lot from him. There is a lot of room for improvement in our battalion.

My good friend Henry is coming back to Korea to teach! He's already back in country and last weekend he, Forest, and I went hiking Korean style.

Monsoon season was in full swing today. I have a three day weekend, and I'm heading somewhere South. Stay dry until next month!

Korean food I've cooked

2007-04-20T21:48:00.000+09:00

I live on base and have my own kitchen. This the first time I have regularly been cooking on my own. Last year I had my host mother to cook (and I wasn't really allowed in the kitchen area) and before that at college, there was the caf. I'm good at cooking, and I like to make time for it. Here are some Korean dishes I've made so far:

Samgyeopsal: grilled pork with leaves. That was a pound package I cooked...

and there isn't any left after I ate.

Dwang jang jigae - peanut stew.

Other than the gallon size sink, my kitchen isn't too bad.

Save internet radio

2007-04-17T21:14:00.000+09:00

The copyright royalty board has decided to increase royalties that internet radio organizations must pay by 300 - 1200%, and making it retroactive so that companies would have to pay for the music they played in 2006 as well. The link above is a site to sign a petition against the raise in royalties. Or you could just pirate even more music than before if this is how the music industry will continue to treat music innovation.

Snow bunny in the bronx

2007-04-04T12:38:00.000+09:00

Divis hits a home run with her latest article about living in the South Bronx.

Free NY Times access for college students

2007-03-17T08:10:00.000+09:00

The Times has just announced that college students (or, for that matter, anyone with an .edu e-mail suffix) can have free access to the entire contents of the newspaper’s website, including the previously gated TimesSelect material. (via Freakonomics blog)

Very nice! It only works for American universities (they have the .edu ending) so far though.

My old barracks room doesn't seem so bad

2007-02-05T21:11:00.000+09:00

I ran into a current ETA over the weekend who's in the process of moving schools and homestays. I didn't get into details, but she does like her city. It reminded me of ETA rule #1 from last year: you can't have everything. You have to settle in at least of one the areas of ETA life, whether it's the city, homestay, or school. Okay, so a few people end up happy with all three. But it's a good thing to think about as I try to wash dishes in my milk gallon jug size sink and notice the lack of Korean culture outside the base. At least I have a place to myself.

Recent links

2007-02-03T12:31:00.000+09:00

A great article by Michael Pollan about how to eat healthy. If you get tired of reading the article (it's kind of long), good guidelines to follow are at the bottom.

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

An article about how the insurgency wars around the globe are more "information operations" than traditional conflicts. Also kind of long, but very good and relevant.

Youtube video of some lindy hop charleston style with daft punk music. Yes!

MLK weekend away

2007-01-19T21:42:00.000+09:00

I walked out of the Army base. The Korean soldiers at the gate told me where the bus to the subway stopped, and after an unsuccessful stop at an ATM, I arrived at the bus stop. The subway then Seoul then Busan were my destinations. With the air cold and crisp, the apartment high rises of the small city of Ueijeongbu rising in the distance, the sun on my face, and friends from last year in Korea waiting for me, I was ready to kick it Korean style.

The elevator from the subway station to Seoul train station was packed with people. I spotted a global ATM on the way up, and I was in business, it was won time. Soon I was headed to Busan on the KTX high speed train and in between the familiar scenery speeding by and the smooth ride I felt excited. Near the end of the trip the passenger next to me woke up and we talked for a while. In Korean. I was back.

F.E. and I successfully met in a subway station, no cell phone presenting no problems. For dinner that night I suggested delicious samgyeopsal, and the tent restaurant delivered. The jazz bar we went to later that night provided a nice setting to catch up on each other's busy lives. F.E. is living the extension dream of a Fulbrighter: no host family, a great apartment in a great city, a comfortable school placement, and 2 months winter vacation.

After seeing the sights of Busan and making my triumphant return to karaoke, I headed back to Seoul to meet A.K. We also had a great Korean evening, capped off by more karaoke. The next day I completed my transition back to Korea by getting a cell phone. I was texting away in less than five minutes. Just like my rusty voice, my Korean culture has recovered after six plus months away from the singing rooms, and the country.

Back in the ROK!

2007-01-12T21:41:00.000+09:00

After a six month break in America, I have returned to South Korea. I started life as an active duty Army officer, and trained at Ft. Benning and Ft. Sam Houston. I expected to feel different emotions when I arrived at the airport, something between triumph and a sense of destiny. After a 14 hour flight, I was just glad to be off the plane.

At the luggage carousel I discovered that Korean Air had lost my luggage. As I waited outside customs for the military bus to come and take me and the other soldiers to the base in Seoul, I noticed I didn't have that new surrounding anxiety I had the year before. I also didn't have as much hair, or my luggage... but I already mentioned that.

We've been restricted to military bases since our arrival, so outside of the Korean employees on the base, who speak English, there hasn't been much Korean culture to interact with. I doubted that the woman who gave us our two hour Korean culture and language brief was even Korean. I'm itching for samgyeopsal, also known as Korean bacon, Korean bbq, or three layer pig fat.

But other things remind me I'm in Korea. In America, I really missed being able to look out at the mountains. Texas and the Boston suburbs = pretty flat. Classic Korean geography - mountains and stretches of flat farm land, interrupted by high rise apartments - surrounds our base. To me, this is an AMERICAN base in Korea. To the soldiers who don't know anything about Korea, this is an American base in KOREA!

Like the mountains, nothing is immediate in Korea. Every relationship I had over here - with my school, host family, Korean food - was developed over time. This is where I wanted to be and I'm thankful I'm here. I have to realize that even though I'm very familiar with the country, it's going to take time to develop a relationship with the country as a soldier, not an English teacher. I've had plenty of time to study, and the large amounts of Korean language I forgot is coming back. My lost luggage is now back, and I'm back in the mountains.

Possibly the best blog post ever

2006-11-11T06:11:00.000+09:00

A post about expensive truffles from the amateur gourmet.

Chinese Restaurants in the South

2006-10-25T23:12:00.000+09:00

I finished my training at Ft. Benning in Georgia last Thursday, and started the drive to San Antonio with my friend who is also a medical service officer. Some people wanted to drive straight to San Antonio. Not us; we had three travel days and we were going to use them. Our plan was to drive along the Gulf of Mexico coast and stop in New Orleans.

We stopped at a chinese buffet for lunch, because even though the food is Americanized, they're my pick for fast food restaurants when I'm on a long drive. The restaurants in the South are the same as in the North, except when you order tea, it is assumed you mean sweet tea. So if you want real tea... remember to specify.

Week 2

2006-09-13T16:28:00.000+09:00

The PT test came and went last Thursday, and I did well. I hadn't taken a PT test in almost a year and a half, which is a long time in the army. This week we've been doing combatives, which in the beginning is Brazilian Jujitsu.

Today we did a 5 mile ruck march, and I was in charge along with the platoon leader. I think the march went well and I'm happy with our platoon so far. It was fun to be back in charge of a formation after so long just being in charge of Korean middle school students. Speaking the same language goes a long way.

Food for thought from today's "taking charge of a platoon" class: As an aspiring leader, when you're working under or with people, who do you learn more from? Bad leaders or good leaders?

The start of BOLC II

2006-09-07T09:38:00.000+09:00

I'm settled in at Ft. Benning. The first week is inprocessing and getting used to BOLC II (the training I'm doing) so it's not too exciting. It's nice though because we have a lot of free time and we're treated like lieutenants. It's nothing like the LDAC camp I went to before senior year. The atmosphere is much more laid back. As our Captain says, we're playing by "big boy big girl rules" now. The prep I did over the summer was enough so far, I haven't had the culture shock I was half expecting since I've been out of the ROTC/Army lifestyle for almost a year and a half since graduation. I have two other roommates who are cool, and our squad is small but it seems like a good bunch of people, so we should become tight over the seven weeks. What else? We have a PT test tomorrow, the food is decent, internet access is a little tough since we don't have it in our rooms, but so far I'm liking the whole experience.

Lock out coincidence

2006-08-29T11:40:00.000+09:00

Saturday afternoon I called my friend Keith. I hadn't seen or talked to him in three weeks.
The first story that Keith told me was how he was locked out of his apartment in Washington DC on Friday night. I felt bad for him, but I had a story to tell too. Friday night I was locked out of my house near Boston. I don't think either one of us had been locked out for years.

Transitions

2006-08-13T03:58:00.000+09:00

I'm back at home in Westwood, MA. I got back from Korea on July 10, but did a lot of traveling between then and now so I haven't been home that much. I saw friends and family in Chicago, the northern VA - DC area, Williamsburg (COLLEGE!), and Hilton Head, S.C.

I'm getting ready to start the Army on September 3rd, I have to go to training in Georgia (Sept and Oct) and Texas (Nov and Dec), and then I'm maybe going to Alaska. I want to go back to Korea, but I have to find someone to switch with me. I will either keep this blog up during my time in the army or start a new one, complete with a Department of Defense disclaimer.

Final Fulbright Dinner Tonight

2006-06-30T12:19:00.000+09:00

I'm leaving for Seoul in 3 hours. The final Fulbright dinner is tonight, so I'll say goodbye the other Fulbright English teachers and we'll reminisce about the year. I'll miss the people on the program, especially my close friends. We'll always have this crazy year in Korea as a deep bond.

Each one of us had such a unique experience. After the six week orientation, we all went off to different corners of Korea, with different schools and homestay families, not to mention we are all so different ourselves. So while we haven't really been together as a group very much, we've developed our own unity in a land where everyone is one.

Soon we'll be back in America where everyone is an individual, and there will be no more questions like:
1. Is it (hot, cold, rainy, etc) in America?
2. Does it snow in America?
3. Do American people like (mayonnaise, green tea, soccer, hamburgers, etc)

I'll miss those occasionally. They remind me of several things. One, just how deep the language barrier has been this year; man do I wish I communicate with people over here. Two, the high degree of unity (sometimes blind, fervent nationalism) that all Koreans seem to share. Three, that not everyone in the world hates America.

I think one thing all the American Fulbright teachers will share is that we're all sad to be leaving Korea, but happy to move on to other things in life, and extremely thankful for our time here.

A Happiness Equation

2006-06-29T23:12:00.000+09:00

I don't remember when I first made this analogy or if I heard it from a teacher somewhere. It may have been when I was bored in a high school math class. And maybe by posting this on my blog it's proof that I've been around my math crazy Korean students. But the idea is that you can make yourself happier and positive (or any emotion) over time if you want.

First think of a sin or cosin graph or any wave function. The line rises and falls over time. The highest points on the line can represent happiness or really good feelings. The low points, depression, sadness, etc. Instead of y=sin(x), y being a function of x, we could say happiness=life(time), happiness is a function of life around you (and internal things too) at that point in time. This is overly simplistic, as not all highs and lows are even nearly close, and they don't occur at regular intervals. But it's good enough for the analogy.

Now some people try to remain at the high points. Cocaine addicts, for example. But staying at the high points is impossible. Life happens. And chemically, our brains can't naturally be do that. So what to do? If you can't stay at the high points what can you do? You have to shift the graph up. The highs will be higher and the lows not as low. This isn't a quick fix, only over time is it possible. It's taken me more than 5 years to get to the point I am at now. It happens gradually, but when it does, life is great.

How to do this? I've found:
1. That just being aware that's it's possible helps.
2. Being around more positive people
3. Recognizing that the lows (and highs) won't last forever
4. Just by wanting to be happier and thinking positive. It's all about the attitude. Try to catch yourself when you're slipping into a negative pattern of thinking. Over time, you can get better.
5. Live in the present, seize the day, etc. The list could go on and on...
Good luck!

Love of the Game

2006-06-28T23:42:00.000+09:00

When I got my placement this year, I was pretty worried that I wasn't going to be able to play basketball with anyone. Not as many people play, so the competition isn't as good as the states. I was also moving to one of the smallest cities in Korea. I didn't want to go a year without playing against anyone good.

My fears were realized. It turned out that I couldn't play against many good people. I won't really know how much my game has suffered until I go back to America. Yesterday I went to the good (okay) court to practice by myself, as I do occasionally. I realized I've played real games about 8 or 9 times since early August last year.

But I've been okay with that fact (I kind of have to be). I realized that while I'm probably a little rusty for the American speed of the game, my love of the game hasn't diminished at all. I realized this when I was proofreading an article for my middle school's English newspaper, and came across goodbyes from my basketball club students. It was hard to read because I know I have to leave them soon.

Last semester I sometimes played during lunch and after school with the students. This semester I was able to start an official basketball club every Thursday afternoon. All we do is drills and work to improve individual and team skills. In the school newspaper article I'm quoted as saying "If you just want to play games, you had better find a different club." And it's true. But the students (most of them) have loved it, and so have I.

There's a huge communication barrier, especially between me and the lower grades. I can get my point across well enough to the 3rd graders because one of the students won the English speaking contest. Despite that barrier, the students are very coachable and all seem to genuinely love the game and want to get better. I'm pretty confident that I could take almost any four of my 3rd grade students in the club into Daejeon with me, go to one of the colleges, and beat most teams in pickup.

I wish I could teach the students more, but time has run out. I'm just thankful I got to teach them at all, since I learned more about my love of the game in the process. (Today's the NBA draft by the way)

School Assemblies

2006-06-27T21:36:00.000+09:00

This morning as I approached school, there were clusters of students gathering on the dirt field in front of the building. That can mean only one thing. It was school assembly time. I didn't attend this particular assembly. My co teacher told me its main purpose was to inform students that they can't use cell phones at school at all between 8am and 4pm. Which I tend to agree with. But I had bigger things to think about.

Yesterday the English department head asked me what I thought about giving a speech to students and teachers on my last day. I said it sounds fantastic. So I will be giving a going away speech to the school on my last day. I'll get my chance to finally ascend to the podium. I'll be able to deliver my wisdom to the middle school crowd. I will give two short speeches, the first in English and the second in Korean. It'll be sad for me and the students, but it's going to be a good way to say goodbye.

English Expressions/Idioms

2006-06-23T13:55:00.000+09:00

I'm going to Seoul tonight to watch the World Cup game at city hall with 400,000 to million other Korean fans. It will be a crazy time. I also recently looked up a lot of English expressions online and thought it would be fun to slip them into conversations the game. Here are some possibilities. I think I know what most of them mean. They're good for soccer, no?

Hanged, drawn and quartered
Pull one's chestnuts out of the fire
Have a few tricks up one's sleeve
Baptism of fire
Bark up the wrong tree
Right as ninepence
Believe that all one's geese are swans
Bring home the bacon
Burn the candle at both ends
Kill the goose that lays the golden egg
Chew the fat
Chickens will come home to roost, one's
Chinese fire drill
Circle the wagons
Law of the jungle
Like a cat on hot bricks
Steal someone's thunder
Stick to one's guns
Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey
Cook one's goose
Loose cannon
Mad as a March hare
Straw that broke the camel's back
Strike while the iron is hot
Take the wind out of one's sails
Talk the hind legs off a donkey
There's more than one way to skin a cat
Enter the lion's den
Until the cows come home
Firing on all cylinders
Wash one's dirty linen in public
Out of the frying pan into the fire
Paint the town red (this will be the best one, the Korean fans in red shirts will literally paint the sidewalks red)

All of a sudden

2006-06-19T15:00:00.000+09:00

I have only 11 days of class left!

I just taught 1-4 for the last time and had to say goodbye at the end of class!

Wake up and take back America

2006-06-15T22:53:00.000+09:00

I just saw the trailer for the new movie, America: From Freedom to Fascism. I can't wait to see the movie. I hope it comes to Boston. According to Nick Nolte (hey, he was in Blue Chips), “The information in this film is something everybody has to know."

World Cup - Time to Represent

2006-06-14T22:02:00.000+09:00

America lost (badly) their first game in the World Cup to the Czech Republic. That's okay, America doesn't care about soccer. But wow, Korea sure does. Almost the entire country watched the game last night, with malls and stores closing early.

To watch the game, I went to our city hall with my host brother and some old students. It was nuts. During halftime and before the game, music so loud you couldn't really talk was playing. There was a weird dance team with middle aged women and children. Anytime there was a lull in the game, cheer leaders would start one of the three Korean cheers. During inappropriate times, such as the Togo anthem and the time when a Togo player got hurt and had to be taken off the field on a stretcher, the DAE HAN MIN GUK (Korea in Korean) cheer would start. It would also start at any other quiet moment. Korea won, 2-1. For now, the dream stays alive.

Min Gyu, Ji Hyun (my host brother), Seung Li, and me. We are ready to rock

Me with Mrs. E. She wanted to turn sideways so we would look very thin in the picture. Only 4 teachers wore Korean red tshirts to express their "Fighting Korea!" attitude. I was one of them. This only increased my legend status with the first grade.

Why it's hard to practice my Korean language skills

2006-06-07T08:52:00.000+09:00

First of all, I'm in Korea mainly to teach English. And my host family decided to host me because I'm a native speaker. But it's more than that. I really wish Korean people wouldn't continuously tell me how good my Korean is. It's not very good. After anything more than a 30 second hello with any teacher at school, the conversation topic usually switches to how good my Korean is. If I was Korean American and didn't know any Korean when I arrived in America, the conversation would usually be about why my Korean sucks.

Yesterday was classic. It was the Korean memorial day, so there was no school. The halmoni (grandmother) cooked meals for me and my host siblings because the parents were out playing golf. Anytime I asked the halmoni something, or we said something, there would always be [oh, he speaks Korean very well] at the end. But then she would talk to my host sister about me like I couldn't understand.

Me: [halmoni, did you finish dinner?]
Halmoni: [yes]
Me: [was it good?]
Halmoni (to host sister): [he speaks Korean so well! How long has he been here?]
Me: [11 months]
Halmoni (to host sister): [he understood! he eats Korean food so well too. Ask him if the meal was delicious.]
My host sister Ji sawn: Was it delicious?
Me: Yes
My host sister Ji sawn (to halmoni): [he said it was delicious]
You just can't stop the halmonis in Korea.

And an example from running into one of my host mother's friends on the street:
Me: [hello!]
Her: [Ben, hello]
Me: [how have you been?]
Her: [oh you speak Korean too well!]
She hits me on the arm and then keeps walking.

Was the 2004 Election Stolen?

2006-06-06T17:18:00.000+09:00

If you care about America then you should read the article in Rolling Stone, titled Was the 2004 Election Stolen?

It's about how "Republicans prevented more than 350,000 voters in Ohio from casting ballots or having their votes counted -- enough to have put John Kerry in the White House."

It makes me upset. You should be upset too. Try to avoid outrage fatigue, although at this point I know it's difficult. Oh America. There is a way to get better - hopefully we can do that.

In the meantime there is one thing that could help, now. We need the Democratic Party to invite an international delegation of observers, with the credentials and authority to investigate, demand and subpoena information when necessary, and witness the entire federal electoral process in 2006 and again in 2008. Their job should be to be report, objectively and on a timely basis, abuses of power and processes, technologies and acts that subvert democracy, and to recommend immediate actions to rectify them. The 2006 elections would be a trial run, providing enough time for this year's abuses to be fixed by the crucial 2008 election. The UN has experience in doing this, and their reports have had dramatic effect in reducing electoral corruption and fraud in other countries.

"Voting, as Thomas Paine said, 'is the right upon which all other rights depend.' Unless we ensure that right, everything else we hold dear is in jeopardy."

This is one reason why I don't like the two party system.

Another way Korea is cuter than America

2006-06-01T11:39:00.000+09:00

Yesterday was provincial election day in Korea. I didn't have to go to school because it's a holiday. It's too bad America doesn't have election day holidays, or at least half day holidays yet. In addition to improving our lackluster democracy, it's just nice to celebrate freedom.

Leading up to the elections there was a lot of campaigning by the candidates, just as in America. But in Korea the campaigning is different. Like other parts of Korean culture, it's much cuter.

Every candidate hires trucks to drive around with a huge picture of their face, their name, and their number (ballot number I think). The trucks also have music and campaign slogans blasting, which sometimes start driving around at 8am in the morning. Common sense says not to do this in case you wake people up and they decide not to vote for you. But common sense doesn't stop people in Korea.

The biggest part of the campaigns seemed to be the intersection gangs, as I liked to call them. At crowded intersections supporters of the candidate (or the candidate's office staff), almost always women, would wear the same shirt and sash supporting their number candidate, and perform choreographed motions to get people to notice the number. For example, number 2 women could wave the peace sign and pretend they're posing for a picture. Number 3 women could do a bow and then flash the three peat sign.

I posted new pictures

2006-05-24T22:22:00.000+09:00

Spring in Korea and pictures from Blair's visit.

Blairo in Korea

2006-05-17T23:05:00.000+09:00

My brother Blair just visited me in Korea. He was only one person, wasn't as much of a respected guest like my parents were, and didn't have blond hair and wasn't the same age as my students, so he was able to get more of a real experience.

We were approached by Koreans asking if we would do a survey at a popular tourist spot in Seoul (gyeongbokgung). Two taxis in a row wouldn't drive us to that popular tourist spot.

We stayed at a really nice love motel. The next morning the front desk called us at 12:05 to tell us check out was noon. If we wanted to stay the next night too, check in wouldn't be until 8pm. And then the next day is Saturday, so check in wouldn't be until 10pm. Luckily it was Korea and there were many other motels to choose from on the street.

Blair got to see some interesting foreigners and drink soju and dongdongju (rice wine). One German guy at the snot bar couldn't believe Blair's first name was really Blair, and let us know about it a lot.

Just going along for the ride with the host family. Not knowing who would show up for dinner or where it would be. He also sat cross legged in a restaurant each day he was here.

People still giving me forks after 10 months. My host father still asking the waitress to bring us forks even though I've told him we don't need one.

What the 92% of my classes that aren't high level 3rd grade are like. That the kids at school are wild, not great at English, but still really nice, good-natured, and funny.

He also got to experience: Assigned seats at movie theaters, scantily clad Korean girls advertising for some brand or product (sometimes with balloon arches or driving around on segways a la Job from Arrested Development), ajumas at a Korean market, the stereotypical Korean man and alcohol, couple tees; we both wore stone khakis and royal blue shirts to school, and many other sweet memories.

Names

2006-05-10T13:27:00.000+09:00

Everyone likes to be called by their name. Their correct name especially. Maybe more so in Western cultures, but even here in Korea the students like it when I learn their names. Knowing students' names also makes it a lot easier to teach. So with only two months of teaching left, I finally got the lists of every student's name in every class. I can call on students at random now. Finallly, no hiding by looking down at your desk just because you don't want to speak.

Kimchi revolution

2006-05-09T20:54:00.000+09:00

I've been in South Korea for 10 months. I finally (kind of) like kimchi. It's taken practice everyday to get this far. I feel like I can do anything in life now.

But over the weekend I found out my favorite kimchi is actually Japanese! Shabu shabu was my favorite Korean food until I found out it was Japanese. I won't start writing how I feel about Korean girls vs. Japanese girls.

Japan pictures

2006-04-27T22:26:00.000+09:00

I just posted some pictures I took when my family was here, and when we went to Japan.

I went to Kyoto with my family for 3-4 days, so I got to see a lot. It's reputation is true, it's a beautiful city. Japan seems more westernized than Korea and more accomodating to tourism (especially Kyoto). I think there are more high rise apartments in Korea. I stayed with my family in a hotel, so I didn't have the opportunity to make too many cultural generalizations, or try the Japanese nightlife. Like Korea, it seems like drinking is heavily involved with social occasions.

One thing that caught me by surprise is the way some Japanese people say "yes." It's "hie" in Japanese and is sometimes sharply shouted, contrasting with the Korean yes, which is "ney" and is often softly and much more slowly pronounced.

"How would you like your steak?"
"Medium, please"
"HIE!"
[momentary pause and startled look on my face where I want to ask if that is okay before I remember the waitress said yes]

Cultural field trip

2006-04-26T23:27:00.000+09:00

Yesterday rocked. I joined the 3rd grade middle school students on their field trip to Buyeo, a small cultural city. I wish there was a field trip every week because I don't have to teach and can just hang out with the students and the teachers. The kids didn't have to wear uniforms, and got to act like kids. Which means I also get to act like more of a kid, as if I need an excuse.

First we went to a pottery place, and one of the potters did a demonstration, spinning the wet clay on a round surface with one hand and shaping it with the other. I couldn't understand anything because it was in Korean, but at the end I think he asked for volunteers because all the students started saying my name. So I gave it a try, and the kids and I laughed as the pot soon became pretty disfigured.

Next everyone got to make cups or bowls or whatever you wanted out of clay. I sat down with the students because I didn't want to miss this. My cup came out better than the pot.

After pottery it was lunch time. And on a Korean field trip, that means Soju time. After the pottery place we went to a museum, but after taking pictures with the students, I joined some of the teachers for makoli (rice wine). Then we went to the set of a famous old drama TV show, where I was feeling pretty good because of the alcohol, great weather, and all around good time.

I think I played my cultural cards right, because today I was invited to go to lunch with some of the male teachers, and there weren't any English teachers there to help with the language barrier. We attacked our kalguksu (noodle) dish like only Korean men can. I try not to think how soon this experience will be ending, because I'm going to miss days like these.

Brad gets the rock star treatment

2006-04-25T21:59:00.000+09:00

My family visited me last week, and came to school with me for a day. The girls loved my little brother Brad because of his blond hair. He was having a great time too. Having a whole school full of Korean girls go crazy over you and tell you that you're very handsome... why didn't this happen to me during high school?

The girls all want to meet him...

As the day went on, the disruptions in the hallway became louder and louder, and eventually we had to put Brad in the principal's office. That didn't stop students who really wanted a picture.

My family is coming to Korea!

2006-04-14T14:46:00.000+09:00

I'm meeting them at the airport tonight. We'll stay in Seoul and then come to Gyeryong tomorrow afternoon. I had hoped to spend the entire weekend with them in Seoul, letting them get adjusted to the 13 hour time difference and different culture. But my host family wants to show them around Korea on Sunday, so that's the plan. My brother will make a big splash at school on Monday when he joins me in class. Imagine what a school full of Korean girls calling you handsome can do for an American high school freshman boy's ego. Only good things.

Next Wednesday I'm going to Japan (Kyoto) with my family because my school has midterm tests next week. Sweet.

North Korea and South Korea breakdancing

2006-04-11T16:37:00.000+09:00

Soldiers at the 38th parallel DMZ breakdancing. If only real life was like this. via Kottke

'Purple' Woman Joins Race for Seoul Mayor

2006-04-10T22:06:00.000+09:00

Via Seth Godin, this article is an interview with a woman running for mayor of Seoul. She describes herself as a "purple cow," which Godin has talked about in his latest book, The Big Moo. People who are remarkable enough to stick out like purple cows have the greatest chances of changing things. She likes changing things, and so do I.

The last Fulbright conference

2006-04-08T10:01:00.000+09:00

Last weekend I went to Jeju-do, the island off the southern coast of Korea. It's billed as Korea's Hawaii, but really... it's kind of like Charleston, S.C. temperature-wise. It was supposed to be a momentous occasion- the Spring Fulbright Conference, the last time everyone on the program would get together.

Back during orientation, we looked ahead to the Jeju conference with wonder, awe. "Who will have dropped out? Who will have been sent home? How awkward will the conversations be with people I haven't talked to since August? How much will this crazy country have changed me?" These questions were on all of our minds. Jeju was supposed to be a turning point. But it didn't have that feeling of finality. No tearful speeches from Korean teachers that I've gotten used to at every transition point so far. Most of us ETAs don't see many other ETAs very often anyway, just our close friends. And we still have to teach for three months. So, it just kind of happened. I guess it only makes sense that since we've all been on our own we'll have to deal with getting ready to go on our own.

Jeju was great, don't get me wrong. These pictures with flowers prove that much. Forest and I got there early Thursday night (we didn't have to be there until Sat afternoon) so we helped Henry teach Friday morning and then went to lunch with his vice principal. The VP bought us so much meat. I ate raw beef- complete with a raw egg yolk mixed in... maybe salmonella and ecoli cancel each other out. When we met up with the rest of the ETAs it was great. I love the excitement of having 70 people I can talk to together. Quite the opposite of my town. We went to singing rooms, we drank traditional Korean wine, and we talked about what we're doing next year. We lived it up.

Advice

2006-04-06T12:05:00.000+09:00

My friend Beth did a lesson about giving advice. Her 2nd year high school students wrote messages to the 1st year students. Sometimes I wish I could teach high school students. One of them wrote:

"Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul."

Top Ten Reasons School is Better this Semester

2006-03-28T10:49:00.000+09:00

10. The students aren't stressed out by midterms yet.
9. Two great, energetic new Korean English teachers outweighs one unenergetic new teacher.

8. The new English department head wants me to make the weekly teacher classes more intense so the teachers actually improve their English.
7. Weather: It's getting warmer instead of colder.

6. Less corporal punishment anguish: My desk got moved to the main teacher's office, and I don't have to hear students getting hit and students' crying two feet behind my desk on a daily basis.
5. New coteacher who doesn't hit her students.

4. Lunch: The teachers' food is self serve at lunch now. No more cutting students only to be served tons of food I will inevitably waste. And to the horror of a few teachers I'm not eating nearly as much rice at lunch, and instead, making peanut butter sandwiches at my desk after I get back from lunch.
3. I get to teach a basketball club class once a week. I'm pretty sure my middle school students would beat the high school students in town.

2. Soju Cred: I didn't hold back when the teachers had their beginning of the semester dinner and I now have "Soju cred" (like street cred) with the male teachers.
1. I still have every other Friday off!

V for Vendetta

2006-03-27T09:05:00.000+09:00

I saw V for Vendetta yesterday. Like Andrew, it is now one of my favorite movies. I highly recommend it. Especially after I read things like this, about packaged news vs real news (via Alex).

Dinner Conversation

2006-03-26T23:20:00.000+09:00

When I was young, my brothers and I would sometimes argue with my mom before dinner. We wanted to watch TV, usually the Simpsons. She always resisted, like she resisted and fought many of the things we wanted to do as teenagers. The reason we couldn't watch TV was because we had "to learn how to make conversation." That reason never quite satisfied us. But before long, my younger brother and I were telling our youngest brother to stop watching TV at dinner.

Living with my host family has been very interesting. I don't ever judge, but occasionally I think about how I would act as the parent in a certain situation. Tonight we went to a restaurant for dinner. My host sister and I were the last ones to finish, maybe because we're slow eaters, or maybe because we talked the most at dinner (both true). My 15 year old host brother, Ji Hyun, got up and went somewhere. Ten minutes later I asked my host mother if he went to the bathroom.

She answered, "Oh no... haha... he went to car. TV."

My host family is rich and has TV's in the car. We went on to joke about how TV was Ji Hyun's hobby. I said, "Yes, I know..."

Jordan XXI Part 2

2006-03-21T23:36:00.000+09:00

I linked to the new Jordan video a while back, but here is a bigger resolution version I've been watching on dimemag.tv. I've heard it's being shown before movies, and I saw it on TV here in Korea, which means it must be big. People living in America?

The man in the suit at the gym

2006-03-20T22:54:00.000+09:00

Stories from the cultural ambassador vault #1:

It was sometime early last fall when i was still an unsure and hesitant cultural ambassador. I was exercising at my gym on a Friday night, excited to leave my small city the next day, and almost done with my workout. Two ab exercises away in fact. I was lying on an exercise mat about to start flutter kicks where I always do them, in the open space near the owner's desk at my cosy (small) gym. And then the man in the suit walked in the door.

He was flanked on his left by an underling. He commanded immediate attention from the gym owner. Within a minute all the men in the gym (about seven, I said my gym was cosy) formed a circle just in front of me. I had just started the flutter kicks when the man in the suit started talking.

Of all the exercises to be doing at that moment. Anything other than abs and I would be safe behind the "foreigner" excuse. I would not be on the floor lying on my back looking up awkwardly at the man in the suit starting to make a speech while everyone else in the circle bowed their heads with their hands behind their backs. So I stopped, stood up, and joined the circle. He quickly finished his speech, which I couldn't understand, and then shook everyone's hand, mine included. I felt included. I wasn't sure in what.

After he left I finished my remaining minute and a half of exercise. The owner told me that the man in the suit was the deputy mayor of my city. Apparently some people who train at my gym were going to be competing somewhere soon, and he was there to wish them well and thank them for representing Gyeryong. I laughed with him. Of course, none of them were there on Friday in the late evening, so the owner just had everyone there come listen. No need to tell the senior official what was going on. Just listen to the senior.

And I had listened. But I also learned something whenever we made eye contact during the speech. He was just as unsure about what was going on as I was if not more so. The awkwardness at the gym that night and in similar experiences isn't me, you, the man in the suit, or anything one thing. It's everything, it's the situation, and when you can step outside of it and enjoy it- it's great.

Written at the homestay in Gyeryong, South Korea.

Thursday evening linkfest

2006-03-16T21:03:00.000+09:00

How to tie your shoes 16(!) different ways. I don't know if I'll actually implement this, but it's good for keeping yourself on your toes and "rejecting the status quo." via Seth Godin

Fitness and health genius. Art De Vany's site is called Evolutionary Fitness and tackles exercise, health, his life, and living from an evolutionary perspective. He's almost 70 and has the body of a 32 year old. If you want to lose weight, get stronger, or just live healthier, check out the Evolutionary Fitness archives. Check out his essay (pdf format) for an introduction.

In honor of the Fulbright Jeju spring conference being two weeks away, and the fact that the big topic is how to improve the orientation for next year's Fulbright ETA's (our orientation had a TON of meetings), I thought I'd provide some thoughts about how to improve the efficiency of meetings:

Recent Observations

2006-03-15T21:25:00.000+09:00

1. My host grandmother ate dinner with us the past two nights. My host father also ate dinner with us. I can't remember the last time he had eaten dinner with us two consecutive nights. I'm wondering if it's a coincidence...

2. My first year students are too cute. I might be the first foreigner they've ever met. One kid today maybe wins for best first impression of a student in a class. He was very loud but not interruptive, said that he loved me several times, asked for my phone number because he "loves me," and acted like he was rapping into a microphone a few times, complete with hand gestures and the "oh yeah's!" After class my co-teacher said that student will be an entertainer because he sings and dances. I believe it, and I'm excited to see him on stage already.

3. Sometimes I think the students take on the tone of their regular English teacher. If the class is not energetic (or too afraid to be too energetic) I look at the teacher and their attitude makes sense.

4. Apple and CBS are offering "condensed versions" of the March Madness games on iTunes. I don't know what condensed versions means, and the resolution of the video won't be great, but I will probably buy it. All 63 games for $20? In Korea, I think it's either that or nothing. I have Duke, Gonzaga, BC, and UConn in the final four, with UConn beating Duke in the championship.

What's better than a white Christmas?

2006-03-14T08:44:00.000+09:00

A white White Day! It snowed last night in my town. Today is White Day, the day a month after Valentine's day on which boys give girls candy. Or just another excuse to promote cuteness and couples in Korea.

I went to Daegu last weekend and didn't do much

2006-03-13T15:46:00.000+09:00

I went to Daegu last weekend and met up with Jes and Beth. It was fun and had a lot of those "oh, Korea" moments.

1. It took us a long time to find a motel. "In Korea??" you're thinking. I know! The first motel we found was closed. The second wouldn't allow us to stay there because we were three people of different sexes. Two women would have been fine. Three men would have been fine. One man and one woman would have been fine. But one man and two women? Take your business elsewhere?

2. Sunday we tried to go to a mountain so we could take a cable car up the mountain. When the bus came, the driver wouldn't let us get on it. We found out later there was a fire on the mountain.

3. I saw two foreign films "2046" (Chinese) and "Let's go to Seoul" (Korean) that just didn't make sense.

4. The temperature dropped 20 degrees between Saturday and Sunday. Today, it is now snowing.

Also today, I taught some of the new 1st year middle school students for the first time. They're so cute and so excited to meet the foreigner.

My brother's birthday

2006-03-08T17:47:00.000+09:00

My little brother Brad's birthday is on Saturday. He's going to be 15, and is a freshman in high school. I miss being there for these sorts of things, and because I went to college far away from home and now am in Korea I don't really get to see him grow up.

He's also trying to get a job at the grocery store where I started working. I had started working there in the fall of freshman year of high school, and I remember it was just as educating as parts of high school. Which got me thinking about how different it is to be a 15 year old high school boy in America and Korea. I would not want to be a Korean high school kid. Whenever I hear the about endless mindless studying, I kind of feel sad and remember the Mark Twain quote, "I never let my schooling interfere with my education." In Korea, schooling is all education is. So I'm sad and happy my brother isn't here - I can't see him, but he isn't a Korean high school student. He has a chance to learn outside of the classroom... now if I could only give my students the same chance...

Sweet new air jordan commercial

2006-03-03T20:30:00.000+09:00

Read about it on ESPN, and then watch it

Opening Ceremony

2006-03-02T12:08:00.000+09:00

A new school year has begun. This semester arriving at school I feel like a veteran. The chaos, wildness, lack of information, and the amount of English my students' have forgotten is thrilling. All the teachers are changing desks, getting new schedules, meeting new teachers, etc. I'm not alone. I have a new coteacher even though my old teacher is still teaching at the school. And my new coteacher is the one I would have picked. It's amazing.

Of course our opening ceremony was outside, and it was lightly snowing. The students had to be out there for more than an hour, while the teachers were out there for probably 15 - 20 minutes. I don't know exactly, I was daydreaming as usual.

I have moved to a new desk on the first floor in the main teachers' office. Right next to the vice principal! I have cleaned the desk and moved all my stuff from my old desk, but I'm not setting up shop yet. According to the Korean law of averages, I will probably have to move to a different desk later today, and then move once more next week. Why? I don't know. It's just the way things work.

Around 10am a new English teacher asked me if I was ready to teach.
"When?" I asked.
"mmmm... maybe 5 minutes later. Do you have a lesson plan for introductions?"
Smiling, I said "I do."
"So can you teach them? Maybe the class will only be 20 minutes today."
Laughing, "I'm sure I can think of something."

In class there was a new student who lived in America for two years. He can speak English well. After he said something the rest of the class cheered, and then proceeded to take 5 minutes to think about how to answer "What did you do during vacation?"

It's lunch time and it's time to be a rock star in the hallways once again.

New semester new attitude

2006-03-01T15:34:00.000+09:00

I just got back to my homestay Monday night. I have to start teaching tomorrow. I'm feeling kind of indifferent to start teaching again. My coteacher is sometimes hard to get along with, and because I feel like most of us are in a teaching situation where we can't be very effective. I spent February in Seoul, and I loved it. Mainly because it's not like Gyeryong. Seoul is big, and has people my age. It would be great to keep living in Seoul studying Korean... but unfortunately that's not what I'm here to do.

After talking with Annie though, we decided this semester is going to be much better than last semester. We know what to expect - not knowing what goes on at school, being ready for last minute changes that could easily have been explained to us in advance, and not being understood by many students. I'm going to try to change my lesson plans so that each class has a routine and hopefully interests the students more by continuing a story of my college roommate Gammby every week. The weather will get warmer as the semester goes on instead of colder. I'm eagerly awaiting cherry blossoms, playing basketball outside, tracksuit day, and not being kind of stuck in my homestay during the week.

This time around, we know the framework in which we're here... so basically we have 120 days left to rock and roll Korean style.

2006 NBA Dunk Contest

2006-02-28T14:05:00.000+09:00

Youtube video of most of the dunks

Andre Iguodala's behind the backboard dunk

2006-02-21T15:49:00.000+09:00

Andre Iguodala lost by one point to Nate Robinson, but Iggy's dunk was still incredible.

Milk and Basketball

2006-02-13T15:24:00.000+09:00

A short time ago, I realized I hadn't drank milk in about a week and a half. That's an eternity for me. So I bought some milk and have been storing it in the communal refrigerator at my hasuk (boarding house). But now it smells like kimchi because there's kimchi in the fridge. Milk smelling like kimchi is not something you want to wake up to.

Also yesterday I played basketball at one of the only indoor courts in Seoul. It's decent, but it's crowded, and far. From leaving my door of the hasukjip to returning to the hasukjip, it took 4 hours. I only played one 20 minute game. This court is only open for basketball 3 sundays a month from 2pm -4:45pm. Let's just say I'm not getting any better at bball in Korea.

On the way to the basketball game, the canadian guy who also lives in my hasukjip told me that on United Nations standardized high school tests, South Korea usually scores 1 - 2 in the world, but by the time the students graduate college, they have the 88th most capable workforce in the world. Now this is just hearsay, but even if it's half true (and I feel like it is), that's staggering!

Why study at Starbucks in Seoul when you don't drink coffee?

2006-02-02T15:00:00.000+09:00

I bought something at Starbucks for the first time in my life yesterday. I didn't want to, but I felt bad about using Starbucks' wireless internet for the second day in a row while drinking something from another store. It's not that I think Starbucks is evil; I just don't drink coffee, and prefer donuts at Dunkin Donuts or tea at a non chain coffee store.

But I might be spending more time at Starbucks, and not just for the wireless internet (The Internet cafes that are everywhere don't offer wireless, and I haven't found anywhere else to use my laptop in Seoul yet). I realized it's a great place to meet girls who are studying English. And also practice my Korean conversation skills.

Living in Seoul

2006-01-30T16:25:00.000+09:00

I arrived in Seoul last Thursday. That meant I wouldn't get to spend the lunar new year with my host family, but that's okay with me because it seems like a repeat of Chusok, and I'm really excited to be living in a city with tons of things to do.

Gabe from W&M came up to Seoul on Friday night, and Mike and I picked him up at the train station and then went out. Mike left for China on Saturday. He works for a private english academy and the longest vacation time he gets off is 5 days, right now. I'm jealous of all the great Chinese food he'll get to eat. I tried going to a 'Chinese street' (according to the guide book) today, but there was nothing. It was great to see Gabe and hang out with him, we capped our Saturday adventures with dancing in Itaewon, and taking over the dance floor.

I live in a small boarding house type room now, and it's great so far. I get breakfast and dinner everyday, and the room is only $400 for the month. It doesn't have internet, which is kind of a blessing in disguise because there's not much to do in my room except study Korean, and that's what I'm here to do. I think the language classes start wednesday.

Links for 1-24

2006-01-24T16:22:00.000+09:00

I posted a ton of pictures today. See all of the new ones here. They're from last december, my trip to America, and this past weekend. There's 58 total, but they are in a convenient thumbnail size so you should be able to see most of them easily.

Funny flash animation of George Bush and our country.

My friend Keith will one day be famous. He recently made TV, and I can almost hear the masses echoing Keith's wisdom, shouting "get them on their feet or at least off the streets!"

A dog bit my leg

2006-01-23T21:24:00.000+09:00

Friday. Midday. Gyeryong, South Korea.

I was walking to school to play basketball with some of the students. I had finished my winter camp the previous day, I had just mailed some letters to America and transferred money successfully, and the weather was beautiful. I was riding high.

As a student, Jun Yong, and I were walking to school, we walked past a yard that usually has dogs chained up. I noticed one of the dogs barking and running toward us. Funny, I remembered thinking, his/her chain isn't chained to anything.

The dog run right up to us, and barked as we kept walking. Then the dog BIT MY LEG!

I continued on to school, where I checked out the damage. Just a scrape really, with a little blood. I thought since it was a crazy dog I should wash it off, and I did. I played bball, then had lunch with Jun Yong and then went home.

Then things got interesting. I have a history of not going to the doctor's when I should, and so I decided to google rabies since I know nothing about it. What I found wasn't comforting. The big symptoms of rabies don't really appear until 1-4 days after the bite, but by that point it's too late to do anything and the victim dies. I didn't want to die, and had few options sitting alone in my room in a city where I can't really communicate well with anyone, so I called the Fulbright program coordinator.

She told me to call the doctor attached to Fulbright. He wasn't in and I had to convince a doctor to answer my questions, because she hasn't seen me before and doesn't have a record about me. She said it didn't sound too bad but I should probably ask the dog owner about the dog. I couldn't really do that though. So I called my host mom, and then told my host sister what happened, and she told my host mom. Then my host mom called my host uncle, a doctor, who said that Korea doesn't have rabies. That wasn't that very comforting, considering Korea 'doesn't have homosexuals,' among other things.

So I went to a doctor. I knew I would have to endure a visit to the doctors in which I couldn't communicate sooner or later. My host sister brought me to the doctor and translated, and the doctor gave me antibiotics. Antibiotics doesn't do anything for rabies and I didn't think I needed them. They were also the same pills that my host brother took when he sprained his wrist.

From the doctor's office, I went straight to the gym. I was leaving for Seoul in a few hours, and that crazy dog wasn't going to ruin my chance for a workout. At the gym, the gym owner shows me a picture from the internet on his computer, and asks if I've ever seen this kind of dog. He says it's a nice dog, 'kind of like... man's best friend?' It was the same kind of dog that bit my leg today.

Some South Korean moments since I've been back:

2006-01-15T20:36:00.000+09:00

1. Getting stared at on the subway in Seoul. Okay maybe that's because I had a hiking backpack on my back, a regular backpack in front, and was carrying a duffel bag.

2. The random Korean conversations with the old man sitting next to me on the train which I can't understand. Nice guy though.

3. Arriving at my homestay, saying hi to everyone, asking where my host brother is.
"He went to Seoul."
"Oh. when will he come back?"
"Maybe in February."
"What will he do in Seoul?"
"He will study."
"oh. how about that."

4. Getting woken up two nights later by my host brother watching TV late at night. He was back just for the night because he had a toothache.

5. Having my plans for the winter camp crumble because the students don't want to speak English.

6. Second day of English camp - I get to school almost an hour early because I want this day to go better than the first and need to prepare. But the classroom is locked, the office staff is out to lunch, and I can't reach my coteacher on her phone. The classroom gets unlocked right when class is supposed to start, my coteacher comes in and throws a bunch of papers and 6 cassette tapes at me, exclaiming that students 'must like these materials.' As if the students need anymore practice reading. That's all they know how to do. And I should magically teach which I have never looked at before. And the projector in the classroom doesn't work. No, this day would turn out to be my worst teaching day ever, so bad it was hilarious.

7. But I rebounded. The kids got different seats, and I changed the exercises. And I didn't need to use the tapes.

8. Some of the family's cousins came over today. They are in their early 20s, and live in Seoul, so they have seen Americans before. When they came in I said hi and the girl cousin ran into my host sister's room an the guy cousin went into my host brother's room.

The Impeachment of George W. Bush

2006-01-13T21:17:00.000+09:00

Cities I stayed overnight in during 2005

2006-01-12T22:26:00.000+09:00

I'm back in South Korea! I need to readjust to Kimchi. The states were great, an awesome time to reconnect with friends, family, football, food, and the American way of life.

Cities (and towns) I spent at least a night in in 2005:

Needham, MA
Westwood, MA
Honolulu
Boston, MA
Williamsburg, VA
Hilton Head, SC (UPDATE: thanks Blairo, how could I forget!)
Washington, DC
Chicago, IL
New smyrna beach, FL
Florida Keys
Tokyo, Japan

And now for South Korea:
Seoul
Daejon
Chuncheon
Cheonan
Cheongju
Seoraksan
Songnisan
Jeju city
Busan
Haenam
Gyeryong
Gwangju
Gyeongju

I think that's most of them at least. Happy New Year!

Geography Prejudices

2006-01-12T22:11:00.000+09:00

This is a collection of prejudices people in the world are known for according to Google (via kottke)

Since South Korea isn't represented (it is the hermit kingdom after all), I'll add my own.

Drinking
Karoake
Eating kimchi
Fashion frenzy
Inexplicable historic trend of only teaching the reading component of English

ETAs, feel free to add to that list!

Back America

2005-12-29T21:33:00.000+09:00

I'm home for two weeks. Flying home was interesting, and not just because I traveled with Liz, another ETA. Our flight from Seoul to Tokyo was only supposed to be 2 hours. It turned out to be 6 hours, because wind shears prevented us from landing at our airport in Tokyo. As we were descending, we hit a big bump of turbulence, and those of us in the back of the plane flew out of our seats a little. The plane sped up, ascended, and the pilot decided to go to another airport, refuel, and then return. So we landed safely, but missed our connection to America and had to spend a night in a Tokyo airport hotel. The traveling was extended by a day and so my sleep schedule is pretty messed up. Almost as bad as when I had to get up for ROTC in college.

So... America... it hasn't changed too much. Being abroad in South Korea has also let me stay in touch really easily. The high speed internet, IM, Skype, and email means the only thing between me and friends and family is the time difference.

Notes on America:
New England isn't that cold right now.
I think I might have broken my pinky finger last night playing basketball (typing sucks right now).
I really did miss cheese, chips and salsa, and cranberry juice.
I saw Syriana today, and while it's good to think about some of the themes brought up in the movie, I didn't think it was a good movie.
The Pistons really are that good.

I wish I was better at putting into words the differences between Korea and America. That can be one of my goals for next semester. In addition to getting serious about learning Korean. Oh who are we kidding I'm just there to teach English.

I go to DC/Northern Virginia tomorrow to visit the college friends. I'm excited! Happy New Year!

Loving it

2005-12-19T23:26:00.000+09:00

One of the best pictures I've been part of in a long time. Yes, Korea, yes. Thanks to Annie for this picture.

Happy Holidays Card

2005-12-19T23:08:00.000+09:00

It's just for you!

For the past couple years, I've toyed with the idea of making Christmas cards (or holiday cards or whatever you want to call them). Obviously it's a nice way to keep in touch with people. I really haven't ever been too busy, but I finally got around to it. So here is the first Bennett Baldwin Holiday Winter Solstice Christmas Kwanzaa Hanukkah New Year Full Moon Greeting Card. Oh sorry, too long for you? Seriously though, Happy Holidays!

And then there's always this: maybe... I just wanted to play with photoshop. I haven't used photoshop in a while... but I'd like to think I still got it.

Checking Out Early

2005-12-16T18:17:00.000+09:00

Off to Gwangju tonight for a little English speaking get together with some other ETAs. I had been planning to spend the weekend with my host family, but the kids have school tomorrow, and last night I learned that it's my host parents' anniversary this weekend, so they're not going to be here anyway. Good to know. And I'm babysitting tomorrow night! (I think)

But I'm going back to America next Thursday! That means:
1. Only 3 more days of teaching!
2. I'll see family and friends AND be able to communicate really well with them!
3. I can leave my shoes on in the house.
4. My real mom won't remake my bed everyday.
5. Fixed showerhead!
6. Applesauce and Mexican food
7. Basketball!

This week teaching has been nice - I tell the kids about Christmas cards, give them a piece of paper, and then all I have to do is walk around. I make sure they're not writing in Korean, not making fun of the girls who should be in a special education center on their card, and not giving Santa private parts. And I play Christmas music. I've never listened to this much Christmas music before in my life. And I love it.

It's been fun Korea... and it'll be even better next semester.

The Gammby

2005-12-11T18:01:00.000+09:00

You need to read this. If you know my roommate from college, Gammby, or even if you don't know him, it's hilarious.

Not crazy, just from New England

2005-12-08T09:11:00.000+09:00

Like many schools in South Korea, my school doesn't have central heating. Not a problem for me, because the teacher's offices, classrooms, and cafeteria are all heated. I can deal with a cool walk whenever I have to go anywhere.

I think the teachers are worried though, because some have asked me if I'm cold. They point to my button down shirts (the same shirts I was wearing when it was very hot) and make hand signals to indicate how thin they are and how thick their jacket is. I tell them, yes, I do own a jacket, but I'm just not cold right now. I appreciate the concern, but the teacher's office is really hot, and if I kept my jacket on in there I might pass out. We could have a tropical Jeju island party in here. I'm surprised some of the Soju loving male teachers haven't thought of this before.

What do you anticipate?

2005-12-08T08:44:00.000+09:00

Have I mentioned that (most people in) South Korea is(are) a little(extremely) image conscious?

I was doing a fun lesson that involved playing the song "You can't hurry love" (a hit with most classes) and having the kids put mixed up lyrics in the right order. I taught the word 'anticipate' because it's in the song, and had the kids make up sentences. Many answers were along the lines of 'I am anticipating Christmas (or winter vacation).' But here different kinds of answers:

1. I am anticipating losing weight. (She really doesn't need to.)
2. Moo Hyun is anticipating plastic surgery. (Don't know who Moo Hyun is, but you're in middle school, kids)

Snow in South Korea

2005-12-04T23:43:00.000+09:00

Today/last night was our first snowfall of the season! My host mom told me to look outside when I woke up. That's the view from our apartment. Lots of concrete, exciting.

In other news, I only have to teach 8 hours (I think) this week! Which will be nice after teaching a lot last week. And I get to plan for the winter camp I have to teach in January.

Thanks to Mathiew's suggestion, I now have found a great place to take language classes in Seoul in February. So (maybe) after that my Korean will be good enough to get back conversationally. I sure hope so, I elected to stay in Gyeryong this weekend, and since the kids had to study for tests, I was pretty bored...

My host mom was worried when I told her I would find a hasukjip (small study room/apartment popular with college students), and asked if I wanted one... haha, I think I'll be fine on my own for a month in Seoul... MAYBE (as we like to say in South Korea), even more than fine.

If you're an NBA fan...

2005-12-02T11:55:00.000+09:00

Then you'll love this article by Bill Simmons. I know there aren't many NBA fans out there, but it's good. Here's one of my favorite parts:

Every year, Duncan and the Spurs fly to Boston and beat the absolute crap out of the Celtics. And every year, my Dad comes home from the game, calls me and says, "They toyed with us, they absolutely toyed with us. What a great team. I remember when we used to toy with teams like that."

Spam attack

2005-12-02T08:44:00.000+09:00

I got this email in my inbox, found it hilarious, and compared it to some of the unusual sentences my students write. I bolded my favorite parts, so enjoy.

Salutations,
As a worthy purchaser we grant you as occasions offer with information and renews.

Our records indicate that you may be in need of a refill. On the strength of jottings we have, it is obvious that you may demand an extra copy.

We apologize and hope you will take a jaundiced view at medicaments we sell. We beg your pardon and would like to propose you again a set of the most popular medicines online at reduced prices. Again, let us introduce our drugs at attractive prices which may be urgent needed.

We also offer you impeccable customer care. Please, visit our web site at:
http://www.rudimeni.thaneiter.com

In good faith, Emerson Talmadge Sale support department
Babur Nishimoto

Today I still feel like dancing

2005-11-29T15:16:00.000+09:00

I hadn't been dancing in a while, but last weekend in Seoul I went out both friday and saturday night and danced. It was great, and the Koreans girls loved it (from afar). I thought I would be good for awhile, but then...

My co teacher and I had a little spat today I think. We were doing the second half of a shopping lesson. She wanted to take half the class out in the hall to punish them for not still having their dialogues in their notebooks. Some of the kids had changed notebooks, since the last time I saw them was two weeks ago. This would have caused problems for two reasons. One, she wouldn't have been in the classroom, and I couldn't explain what we were going to do in English. Second, on the way to the classroom I had explained that with this lesson we needed to make good use of time. and if she took time to punish the students, then my lesson doesn't get done. So I told her not to punish them now, and called the students back into the room. I could tell she wasn't happy, but I'm not happy when she decides to go nuts on kids every three classes. I tried to tell the kids to copy the dialogue from someone else in the room, thinking co teacher would translate, but no luck. She was not into helping for the rest of class. It's okay though, we'll have a little chat soon enough.

Then after lunch I had two very low level classes, where we don't really accomplish much other than the fact that the kids are at least exposed to English for 45 minutes. So today was one of those days where I feel like we'd all be better off if I just brought music into class and danced for the kids. I would have a lot more fun, the kids would have a lot more fun, and so would the Korean teacher in the room with me. Maybe the last week that's what we'll do. I can picture it now... Merry Christmas kids!

Aside -
I had three fried eggs, a plate of spaghetti, two kiwis, and yogurt for breakfast. Delicious. Thank you host mom

New pictures

2005-11-19T00:15:00.000+09:00

This was on the board when I walked into class, and then the kids sang happy birthday. Very cute. They thought maybe I would leave it on the board and just play a game... almost.

I have a plus account with 23hq.com now, so here are more pictures from the birthday and almost all my good pictures from my time in Korea. I will update the picture site whenever I get new pictures.

School English Examples

2005-11-18T23:52:00.000+09:00

When I taught the conditional (didn't use the word though) I had the kids make example sentences using if. I gave them most of the if statement's and they had to write the then statement. Here are some good ones:

"If Korea celebrated Halloween then I would be _______"
Answers: scream; [friend's name]; power ranger; gollum; and my favorite answer, from one of my basketball boys: small monster because scary.
I now know him as "small monster."

"If Korea won the world cup then I would_____"
Answers: much pride; SCREAM!!; not watch because not like soccer

"If I was older then I would ____"
Answers (You can guess which ones the girls wrote and which ones the boys wrote!): travel with husband; marry a husband; cooking well; buy cigarettes; go to love motel; be better at basketball.

Jeju Island Trip Recap

2005-11-16T23:17:00.000+09:00

I've been really busy the past few days for a change, which has actually been nice, so it's taken me a little while to post about my weekend trip to Jeju. But here goes.

I went to the airport without my passport. It wasn't an international flight, and to me it was just another weekend trip. Luckily they let me through security with a US driver's license, a Fulbright ID, and a "sorry! won't do it again!" or two. When I got off the plane in Jeju it was cold and rainy. Come on! I thought.

Friday night I stayed with Shoni, another ETA, and tried to cheer him up a little bit. He's going through a little (understatement) culture shock. I did bring him some Peppero since it was Peppero day though. (Peppero day is a holiday for giving Peppero, little chocolate sticks, instituted recently by the company who makes Peppero) Not sure that he fully appreciated it.

Saturday I met up with the other ETA's on the island - Lauren, Henry, Laura, and Lindsay. One of the English teachers from Lindsay's school took us on a little tour of Jeju City all day and night. It was fantastic. I picked a really good weekend to go. Some quick highlights:

1. the mixture of smells at the 5 day fish market, fish, pets, produce, worms, and really anything that could be sold at a market
2. Rolling on the mysterious road - I was a little skeptical, but on the right spot of this famous road it looks like you're rolling uphill if you're in a car and put it in neutral. Natural optical illusion. So MYSTERIOUS...
3. Traditional tea ceremony - besides working on sitting on the floor for a while, I tried some new teas, learned how to properly sip tea the korean way, and got a new nickname from a Korean guy - Strong Breast.
4. Eating sand at dinner - it was a seafood stew and the creature I dug out of a shell still had some sand in him. Not really a highlight.
5. Loveland - a sex museum in Korea. I know, Korea! Innocent, prude, little Korea. It's in Jeju city and has a lot of statues of naked people in various poses. Lindsay's English teacher was thought it would be a funny stop, and he was right.
6. Trying to eat a Jeju tangerine for every waking hour I was in Jeju do. I almost made it - 23 little oranges for 25 hours.

The saturday tour was really awesome, easily one of the cultural experience kind of times I've had since I've been here, thanks to the other ETAs (esp Lindsay and her extremely nice English teacher) for making it happen.

Tomorrow's my Birthday!

2005-11-13T18:00:00.000+09:00

I'll be 23! That's crazy. I don't know what I'll be doing or if many people here in Gyeryong will remember. Birthdays aren't as big of a deal in Korea as in the states, so we'll see. I do know that you're supposed to eat seaweed soup on your birthday. It's not bad, but it's no birthday cake.

Seoul with Beth and Mike

2005-11-09T18:45:00.000+09:00

Sat afternoon I met up with Beth and Mike in Seoul and we set out to paint the town red. First we went to the COEX mall, which we discovered has a better English book selection than Kyobo, so ETA's, make a mental note. The mall also has an apple store which is always fun.

Next we ventured out to the tallest building in Korea - "Building 63." It has 63 floors, although 3 of them are underground. From the top, you can get a nice view of the city in exchange for buying a $7 beer.

On Sunday I saw the weirdest (worst?) movie of my life. It was called Drawing Restrain 9 and it was a "modern art" movie. Apply what you know/think about the kind of modern art that looks like a 3 year old could make it and then draw it out over a weird plot for 2 and a half hours. Let's just say my only thoughts after the end were not only did about 100 people just sit through that, but we paid for it! Hilariously ironic.

As Beth and I were enjoying a dunkin donuts dessert on sunday and about ready to leave, we saw Dr. Larson (2nd in charge of Fulbright program, and is an absolute character) and his wife stroll by outside! We finished up quickly and ran outside to catch them but they had disappeared.

I've seen several people wearing a shirt that says "absence makes the heart grow fonder." I want one.

Eight year old Korean genius enters university

2005-11-07T14:30:00.000+09:00

An eight year old boy is starting college because he's a physics genius and wants to build flying cars. Maybe it's something in the water?

I also find it amazing that he passed his elementary, middle school, and high school tests in 9 months because those are not easy in Korea.

Blog redesign

2005-11-02T00:23:00.000+09:00

So as you can tell I redesigned the old blog. I still have a few things to work out, such as centering the page in the browser screen, and trying to get rid of the blogger bar at the top. But let me know what you think.

update: I think I have it working. If you have firefox the site looks good.

Cheongju Party

2005-11-01T20:30:00.000+09:00

I hadn't seen any other ETA's in three weeks, so last weekend was good. I went to Cheongju and saw Annie, Mandy, Henry, Sarah, Jes, Forest, Esther, and my friend Tom. Friday night we learned an important lesson - don't go into restaurants that have no one in them. We did. We got some drinks, and snacks, because you have to buy them too in most bars in Korea. After eating half of the nuts, beans, etc we found maggots crawling in them!

In Korea, 'service' means free. Some ETA's get a lot of service when they go out. I hadn't really experienced it until Friday night. We went to a small tent restaurant and got double the rice wine and food we ordered. Service!

Saturday we walked around and saw Annie's homestay family. She lives in a really small town that doesn't even have the high rise apartments. She gets her own little apartment! Kind of jealous. Sat night we helped with a halloween party. One of Annie's Korean friends is a teacher at an English academy, so we played with 100 elementary school kids and helped them with their English. A fun sat night. I don't get much exposure to the elementary school kids so it was fun to see them going crazy. I'm glad I don't have to teach them though.

Me and Mandy and some friends for the picture

Cheongju's official mascot. The hair spells Cheongju in Korean. It's all over the city. Not kidding, and no it's not just for the Olympics or something

Forest makes his entrance just like he does in the classroom

Me on a bridge briefly contemplating the fact I've been here for 4 months

Umsa Festival

2005-10-26T22:36:00.000+09:00

Yesterday and today have been my school's annual festival. It's a chance for the kids to show what they've been working on this year and just have fun. Some of the students' artwork is incredible. The paintings and cartoons look professionally done. There were skits yesterday from each foreign language club - english, german, french, arabic, chinese, japanese, and spanish. You can guess the only one I understood. My host sister made an introduction speech for the English play, she did very well. I hope her nervousness from that was what has been eating her the past few weeks. More on that later.

Also in the morning, there were performances by some kids, mostly dancing. The popular skits involved cross dressing, toy guns, and monsters. For some reason, boys dressing like girls was a hit. I was laughing a lot. I also tried to picture kids from my middle school doing that. I couldn't really see it happening, how about you? And American middle schools just aren't cool with the toy guns either.

At night, a stage was set up on the field outside school. One of my favorite students started off the night by doing a Michael Jackson routine, and he was pretty good. All the students who danced on stage were very good. The students practice their dance moves a lot before they perform. I did the Napoleon dynamite dance plus a few other moves to fill out the song, and I think the students liked it. I got a lot of "ohhhh ben! dance - good!" I was happy to do it for them. Then to close the night the 3rd grader rock band played. Chun Yong is the bassist and I know most of the members, so it was fun to see them, and they were good.

Today was the sports part of the festival. Our school played the rival middle school in soccer, and lost... then all the students had to complete a 3K 'marathon' which I ran too. At the end I did a little SGT Davis and tried to cheer on all the students who were almost finishing. There was also a 3 point shootout, class jump rump, and my favorite, the relay race. For some reason watching all the classes in each grade race was pretty exciting. I guess that's what happens when I don't watch football all season, I think middle school relay races are exciting.

So, the festival was two days without teaching, kids having fun at school and running around, not as much beating, and sports and dancing. Teaching won't be nearly as fun tomorrow.

Also, coming soon: blog layout redesign.

Some tidbits about everyday life

2005-10-22T17:31:00.000+09:00

Tomorrow is my friend Amal's birthday! So happy birthday Amal. In her honor, I'm going to try to write this post in her style. (Let me know I do)

Dear friends,

Maybe you're curious about my everyday life. Maybe you're not. Here are some random observations about my life in Korea:

1. American Chinese food = Americanized. Korean Chinese food = Koreanized. Oh how I miss real Chinese food...

2. My host mom does my laundry, cleans the bathroom, and cooks for me. I'm not complaining.

3. But she won't let me do anything to help out. She even REMAKES my bed everyday! Come on I'm 22!

4. My host brother has the hardest time getting up in the morning. It takes 15 minutes of host mom yelling to get him up. He has to be at school in 20 minutes? Doesn't matter.

5. I teach a lot of kids (931!) so many so that last week I taught two classes for only the third time yet this semester due to scheduling conflicts. Do you think they missed me? I got a standing ovation when I walked in.

6. I finally was able to put MP3s on my cell phone. After a month and a half. It's still in Korean. Oh, joy.

7. It was my grandmother's 85th birthday yesterday! You go Grandma!

8. Next week my school has their annual festival. No class on Tuesday and Wednesday (or Friday). I will be doing the Napoleon Dynamite dance for the school (and the teachers and parents). Lovely.

That is all.

Love, Ben

The Seoul of Clones

2005-10-20T08:33:00.000+09:00

A good article about why South Korea is the leader in stem cell research, with some highlights of differences between Korean and American society.

Seorak San Weekend with Michael Jeter

2005-10-19T10:47:00.000+09:00

Last Friday I went to Seoul to see Mike Jeter, who is now a hagwon English teacher in South Korea. A hagwon is an extra academy that students can go to after regular school. So Mike has to teach until 9 on Friday nights, which makes my schedule seem pretty good. I took the high speed KTX train to Seoul for the first time, and it is fast. Also a little expensive. We met in a subway station near his apartment. Luckily it wasn't too hard for us to spot each other.

Saturday morning we went to Seorak san(mountain), a very popular mountain in Korea. We arrived in the afternoon and found a cheap motel. We were looking on some side streets for a motel, and found several abandoned places. We were walking by one with lots of overgrown grass on its front walkway, when a Korean guy with work gloves asked us how much we would pay. We said $30 and he then took us to a motel on the main street, but there was no one there. So he hopped behind the counter, got a key, and showed us a room. We weren't sure if he really worked there, but we decided to take the room anyway.

The closer we got to Seoraksan the more we noticed the leaves hadn't actually changed. Seeing mostly green was a little disappointing, but saturday and sunday were both beautiful weather-wise so it was okay. Sat afternoon we did some exploring of the rock basin at the bottom of Seoraksan and then had a nice little Korean dinner. There were other ETAs in Seoraksan but they didn't want to meet up with us. Pretty lame. Maybe they were afraid of two WM kids together.

On sunday we hiked part of the mountain and it was beautiful. After a post mountain meal of Chinese food (koreanized though, like Chinese food in America is amercanized) we said our goodbyes and each headed to our buses home. The weekend with Mike was a lot of fun. We of course reminisced about WM, but it was fun to experience Korea with someone else from back home. I'm sure it was the first of many weekends together.

The traffic was bad on the way back. I didn't get into Daejon until 10:30pm, so I just missed the last bus back to Gyeryong. I had to take a taxi. My host family called while I was waiting, and I told them. And they weren't worried! Sweet. I think my host family actually thinks of me as an adult.

Check out some pictures of Seoraksan:

Picnic

2005-10-13T14:02:00.000+09:00

Yesterday our school had field trips. Each grade went somewhere different. I was told 1st grade was going to the science expo in Daejon, 2nd grade was going to a temple, and 3rd grade was going to a park to have a picnic. Not much of a field trip, I know, but I chose to go with the 3rd grade because this way I could sleep an hour later, and some third graders can speak enough English to communicate. I went to the park with my host brother, who couldn't get out of bed as usual so we were late. Every day, Host mom consistently yells at him off and on for at least 10 minutes before he gets up. "Ji-hyun-a!! Ji-hyun-a!!" That day I think it took a half hour! Maybe he shouldn't stay up so late watching... just an idea.

The picnic was nice. The kids were supposed to write 5 line acronym poems in Korean using the syllables from Umsa Middle School. Some did, some didn't. Basically the kids just got to hang out. There really wasn't anything to do so we came back early. But that didn't take away from the day. The weather was beautiful, and the kids got to wear normal clothes, run around, listen to music, the teachers weren't beating them, and the stress from studying every night for the midterm was gone. The atmosphere was carefree; things seemed right.

Also, my host sister got a haircut and a new hair style. I've recently been trying to see if my host brother and sister interact socially (I don't think they do), so I asked host brother what he thought. He had to think for a minute. Later I asked host sister if her brother liked her haircut. That's just one small example. New goal for the year: get host siblings to interact. This could be even tougher than learning Korean.

Not sure what I'm doing this weekend. Maybe Seoul, Seoraksan or Songnisan.

Jeter has landed

2005-10-10T23:20:00.000+09:00

Mike Jeter (Pop ups) is now in Korea. It's only a matter of time before we hang out and show some Koreans what tribe pride is all about. He's over in South Korea teaching English (surprise surprise) at an academy. If only the karoake rooms had the alma mater song.

Busan Internation Film Festival

2005-10-10T22:39:00.000+09:00

Last weekend most schools had midterm exams. In South Korea those are serious tests, and many students had been studying for them for a month. Yes, not just the night before the test, but weeks of staying up late studying. The midterms last three days at my middle school, and I didn't have to go into school! So I went to Busan to see a film festival.

I could have taken a train from Daejon to Busan, but I decided to go for the "excellent" bus. It takes longer than a train, sure, and it's slightly more expensive than a regular train, but I've become a big fan. The seats are about as big as first class airplane seats. And the bus is hardly ever even half full. So I get to read, study Korean, sleep, listen to music for 3 and a half hours. Not bad traveling.

When I got to Busan I met up with Rachel, Rose, Becky, Liz, Kathleen, and Linda. Side note about Linda - she's a W&M grad! She graduated in 2004 and was over here last year as an ETA and she liked it so much she decided to extend for another year. Friday night we saw Parzania, a movie inspired by true events, about a massacre in India in the mid nineties. At the center of the movie are the age old struggles between religions, extremism and reason, violence and peace, etc. If you have a chance to see this movie do it, it's that good. After the movie, the director and lead actress talked to the audience and took questions. We weren't expecting it but that made the event even sweeter.

The next morning we got up pretty early and stood in line to see if we could get tickets to some films that were almost sold out. We got tickets to Paradise Now, a film about suicide bombers in the Palestinian Israeli conflict. Also a great movie, one that I had to think about. Again highly recommended. We couldn't get tickets to Broken Flowers, so we went to Nine Emotions. Not bad, but pretty weird. I feel asleep during the movie so after that it was naptime.

Our night movie was called Queens. It was a Spanish comedy about five gay guys about to be married and their mothers. It was pretty funny and I'd recommend it. I had wanted to see the Hamburg Cell about the 9/11 terrorists but everyone else wanted a comedy. It was probably better that way, I ended the film festival on a high note instead of after another intense movie. We met up with another ETA named Jason for that movie, so after the movie we went to hang out and drink at a "Mexican" restaurant. It was pretty Korean though. The decor Mexican, and there was one nacho dish, but NO TACOS! or quesadillas, burritos, etc. It was fun hanging out and comparing experiences.

Some people got up early the next morning to check out the fish market. If you're ever in Busan, they recommend it. I chose to sleep in. The "excellent" bus back to Daejon was even more excellent than the first one - the bus televised the England vs Austria soccer match.

Hot links: dancing and campaigning

2005-10-06T15:06:00.000+09:00

By popular demand, here are some entertaining links:

The video of me doing the Napoleon Dynamite dance during orientation. It's a large file, 200MB, so you should have broadband if you want to see it...

The website for the famous Baldwin Devereaux 2004 campaign for the presidency and vice presidency of W&M, which shook William and Mary to its core. Not really, but it was fun. And the explanation about why we dropped out of the race. Can you guess which reason is the real one? Number 3.

Long post about ETA Fall Conference!

2005-10-05T20:57:00.000+09:00

Last weekend was the ETA fall conference, so I saw all the ETA's for the first time since we left in August. It was a chance to see everyone, talk about our experiences, and compare notes on teaching. It was fun from beginning to end. Sarah and I met in Daejon to take an express bus to Gyeongju, and it was a good thing I met her in Daejon because the bus I was taking to Daejon got stuck in traffic and she had to hold the express bus a minute or two for me.

The hotel we stayed at was very nice. There were four twin beds in every room so we didn't have to share, a real shower, western food at breakfast, and random live jazz music at night sometimes. We were right next to a lake so we could hang out by the water at night.

Saturday started too early with some talks by fellow ETAs. Some were interesting, but were often too long to keep the majority of people's interest because everyone's teaching situation is so different. I led a little discussion about teaching low level students, and we had a few good ideas. I think we managed to avoid people feeling too futile about teaching low level students. I think one of the keys is extraordinary patience, which is possible to develop over time... Saturday was kind of a long day, but I'm sure our students feel like that every day.

Some quote highlights:
"If you can stomach it, picking up smoking is a great way to bond with the male teachers. They smoke in between classes all day long." - Roger
"What do you do if your host family has a 5 foot long statue of a bloody jesus on the cross hanging above your bed??" - Shoni (who happens to be Jewish)

On Sunday we went sightseeing. We had to get up early, and I admit I fell victim to the seen-one-temple-seen-them-all mentality for the first stop. But at our second site, something incredible happened. When we walked through the entrance, another ETA named David said he wanted to introduce me to a friend. I knew all the ETAs so I'm wondering what's going on. David brings me over to Jae! our friend from orientation in Chuncheon. We hadn't seen each other since orientation and had no idea the other was going to be here. He was on a rollerblading trip around Korea, camping out in the forest overnight. And he happened to rollerblade to the exact same spot that we were going to at the same time! The next day he was going to rollerblade for 13 hours on the way to another city!

So it was interesting to see some of the Gyeongju sights, especially watching the pottery making. The potter starts with a small block of clay, shapes it and thins it out while spinning it a circular table that he's moving with his leg, and after about 10 minutes has a pot. I can now see why one of the ETAs, Beth, said hanging out with the potter in her town is fun.

Monday morning I said goodbye to the other ETAs and then took a bus back to Gyeryong. I feel energized and ready to be a better teacher. The motivation is back in full force... so watch out kids.

Almost 3 months

2005-09-29T23:53:00.000+09:00

Tomorrow I'll leave for Gyeongju, the 'museum without walls' city in Korea. I'm going to the ETA fall conference, so I'll get to see all the other ETA's again, most for the first time since we left Seoul and went to our own little corners of Korea. So next week I should have some exciting pictures, stories, etc.

I'm excited. This also means that I've been in Korea for nearly 3 months. Wow, time has flown by. I'm definitely feeling somewhere in between the US and Korea. I could go back and see friends and family and I think it would feel like the last time I talked to some of them was yesterday. But I feel adjusted to parts of Korean life, like the food, crazy middle school students, unexpected English phrases from anyone, and in general just not knowing what will happen next.

Homestay Pictures

2005-09-28T15:14:00.000+09:00

Here are some photos from my homestay experience in Gyeryong. The first one is me with my first host family at a temple in Gyeryong-san, a famous mountain in Korea. I swear they were happy to be there with me.

Saw Yong and Chun Yong actually looking happy.

My permanent homestay family and I at a cultural musuem on the monday of the Chusok holiday weekend, minus my homestay sister. She studied all day. She's only in the first grade of middle school, and the midterm she wanted to study for wasn't for another 3 weeks. That's just a small example of how intense education is in Korea, and why I'm really happy I didn't grow up having to go to Korean schools. From L - R: my host brother Ji Hyun, me, host mom, and host father

The two cousins, Ji Hee and Ji Hay looking cute as ever during Chusok

Cousin always looking cute

Hotel California or Tom's Apartment

2005-09-26T17:10:00.000+09:00

Last week I went out to dinner thinking it would be like any dinner other I go to with my host parents - I meet some of their friends, we speak some broken English, I try a few Korean phrases, and then I say it was so nice to meet you at the end. But this time it was just my host mom and four of her girlfriends, and during dinner they asked me if I had anything else to do that night because they wanted to go to karaoke with me. After dinner I went to karaoke with them, and singing "hotel california" wasn't enough, they wanted to dance the whole time. So we danced and sang. Luckily two of the husbands came after about 20 minutes so I had some guys to hang out with. But imagine singing and dancing with some middle aged Korean women who you don't really know that well and can't really have a conversation with. At times, a little awkward. But I was thinking if it was awkward for me, maybe it was awkward for them too. Maybe they were doing it because they wanted me to have fun, and that's what young Korean adults do. So if that was the case, I did appreciate. Among other things, it was a good bonding experience... At least now my host mom got her wish and got to see me dance.

Last weekend I went to Cheongju and saw Tom again, and we also met up with Forest and Annie for some night life fun. Sat night = So much fun. It's just really nice to be able to relax and freely communicate with friends, and not have to worry about how fast I'm talking.

Tom is an English teacher in Korea with another program, and he gets his own apartment instead of a homestay. Sure, there are pros and cons to both, but right now I liking that fact that I have a homestay. It's always fun to mess with little siblings. And my host mom is such a good cook. Tom and I also played basketball saturday afternoon at a university near his apartment. I hadn't really played a real game since Chuncheon (over a month!) It was a perfect day for ball, and I found some Koreans who are good at basketball.

Next weekend we have an ETA conference, so all of us English teachers will get together and marvel at how fast time has flown (we all left for our placements almost a month and a half ago!) I only got to know the other ETA's for six weeks, but I do miss them (most of them).

Chusok Wrap up

2005-09-22T10:23:00.000+09:00

I experienced one of the most important Korean holidays last weekend with my host family. During Chusok, Koreans go to visit their family and pay tribute to their deceased ancestors. Food is prepared and blessed for the ancestors and then laid out on the table. When I heard things about ancestor worship rituals, and practically of all Korea participates in this holiday, I didn't know what to expect.

Luckily since my host dad is the oldest brother the family came to his house. I think since I am living with the family they did something a little different this year and didn't travel... but I'm not sure. Or maybe since they now have three apartments they could fit everyone in Gyeryong. Friday night I met one of my host father's younger brothers. He's a general surgeon and lives in Gongju, so anytime I visit Sarah I'll have a place to stay. He also said he likes to drink every night. Not sure if that was to impress me, or to worry me about him being a surgeon.

My host family's cousins were soooo cute. Little kids running around being little kids. Using the few words of english they knew with me. Running by my room screaming "BEEEEN! SO NICE TO MEET YOU!" The extended family was really nice. The whole Chusok holiday seemed kind of anticlimactic. There had been a lot of build up about the holiday, so I was kind of expecting something really crazy. But it was relaxed. No pressure to be uber polite and formal to the family, no crazy ceremonies... just a nice time.

Sunday morning we got up a little early and did the jesa ceremony, bowing and laying food out to your ancestors. The men went first and then the women bowed. I talked to some of the teachers at school, and it seems like the traditional aspect of male-dominated korean society comes out at chusok. The women work all day saturday making food, while the men lounge around see their friends.

It was raining Sunday morning, so we didn't go see the family's tombs (a Chusok tradition), and instead the young uncles my age and the little kids and I went to see a movie! It was in Korean so I couldn't really understand it. On Monday I did get to go see some traditional Korean tombs. I will post pictures later today. My host family also took my around to some other cities, Nonsan and Buryeo, to see some Korean culture. My host sister didn't come because she spent all day studying (she's only 13!) and my host brother was in one of his not talking moods, but it was good bonding time with the host mom and dad.

In conclusion, a nice relaxing weekend...

No class tomorrow!

2005-09-15T22:43:00.000+09:00

Something lucky happened to me. On Tuesday when I got to school my coteacher handed me the day's schedule of classes. I have been dealing with a "temporary" schedule since I started, but most of the classes fell on the same day, just during different periods. But Tuesday's schedule had me teaching a class I had taught the day before. I asked my coteacher where the schedule came from and how I was teaching the same class... As usual, when we really need to communicate about something it was tough, but after a while she said "maybe (she starts out a lot of sentences with maybe) this schedule isn't good for you, maybe you can pick your own schedule."

By maybe, she meant Yes, go ahead, pick your own schedule. Music to my ears. Since I rotate around to the other 5 English teachers' classes and teach with a heavy emphasis on speaking, I guess it really doesn't matter when exactly I teach, as long as I hit each class. It was a little tricky, but I managed to make the schedule so that I now have every other Friday off!

Tomorrow I'll go into Daejon. I need to get out a little bit and explore a big city. I need to find somewhere to play basketball... When my host family heard I was planning to take the bus alone to Daejon tomorrow and explore the city, they got worried. All of a sudden my host mom needs to go shopping in the morning in Daejon.

This weekend is the Korean holiday Chusok. It's translated to mean Thanksgiving, but I don't think it's much like American Thanksgiving. I can eat like it's Thanksgiving every night with the amount of good food my host mom makes me. Chusok is one of the most important holidays, and I'll be spending it with my host family. Their extended family will come to Gyeryong to visit us, and what we'll do for three days and three nights I don't know yet. I'm sure I'll be expected to drink with the relatives and entertain the kids, two things I can do well. I'm excited to see what'll happen, but I won't hold my breath for turkey.

Cheonan and Gongju

2005-09-13T22:59:00.000+09:00

Weekend update: Last Saturday morning I left for Cheonan. I met my Tom and Hannah at a bus station in Cheonan. A different bus station than the one I arrived at, which created a little trouble. I got out of my bus station, and of course everything is in Korean. So I tried to take a taxi to their bus station. But the driver just pointed behind me, not at my bus station, but at one down the street. Why are there two different bus stations a hundred meters away from each seperated by a department store? I don't know, but I'm past being embarrassed when things like that happen, so I thought it was my lucky day I was so close.

Besides seeing Tom, who I haven't seen in more than a year, I got to several other ETAs too. That afternoon we hung out at a coffee shop, went to a mall, and did karaoke. For dinner we went to Karen's homestay and her homestay mom made a great meal. Then we went out to a bar and clubbing, which was fun because I haven't really done that in Gyeryong.

Sunday Tom and I slept in. Then we went our seperate ways at the bus station and I went to Gongju to see Sarah! She was waiting for me across from the bus station in a grass sports field! Apparently some actually do exist here. Almost any other field I've seen here has been dirt, and grass is usually off limits, so I'm a little jealous of her city. I got more stares in her city than I usually do... people are intrigued by what's different I guess (my skin and hair!) Sarah's homestay mom is a great cook and made a delicious dinner.

I think I made a good impression by bringing a gift. I've been getting into the gift giving that is such a big part of the Korean culture. Fruit is a really good gift because it's consumable, more expensive than in the US, and a nice gesture. So Sarah's homestay family got some grapes. I also got some grapes on the way home for my homestay family. Apparently ETA's have ended up on the homestay family's bad side for not thinking of their homestay family (by bringing home a gift) when they go away for the weekend. My family is very relaxed, but I'm playing it safe. And I just end up eating most of the grapes anyway.

Tom and I enjoy a french fry

Girls, ice cream, and animal costumes. Hard to imagine a better time

Jimin and I singing karaoke; Liezl entertained

Sarah and I under a balloon arch. Thank you clothing sale

Are you hungry for dreams too?

How do you pronounce progress...

2005-09-10T02:07:00.000+09:00

This week I started my third lesson. It was a 'Hi how are you?' lesson because all the kids ever say is 'fine thank you.' It wasn't supposed to be too hard and was supposed to be a chance for most to practice their english. But, some low level students don't have that much english under their belt no matter where their class is in the textbook. So... some classes were interesting. For the first grade students, it was their turn to work on pronunciation. You would love to see me teaching them. Some things I've now said twenty times and will say another ten times next week:
"Okay class, make the L sound with me - la la la la la la la"
As I walk around to each student "say Lock Rock"

Tomorrow I'm off to Cheonan and Cheongju to see my friend Tom from the Explo days. It will be a good time. Today I went into Daejon on the bus for the first time. Basically I just found the bus terminal I'll go to tomorrow.

In other news, Gyeryong really isn't that small. When I first heard I was coming here, I was worried. But I think I was misinformed. Gyeryong is not "out in the boonies." It has 100+ small restaurants, at least 30 high rise apartment buildings, golf courses, a bowling alley, and some bars. Tonight I went out with my friend Baum Sheik (my host brother's tutor) and it was a really good time. He thinks next time we play basketball he'll win (Last time I let him get out to an 8-3 lead before I started really trying and then won the game). When I came back home, I thought I would be able to go to bed. But when I came in the door, my host parents were entertaining some guests. So I had to drink some more.

Tonight at dinner my host sister asked me what I thought of Japan. I've encountered many people who say they "hate Japan" or "hate Japanese" people. This bugs me, since Korean is already really homogeneous, and needs to embrace diversity instead of perpetuate stereotypes. So even though my host sister doesn't speak a ton on English, I had a little discussion about the past, governments, prejudices, and why she probably doesn't hate Japanese people but instead disagrees with some of Japan's government's actions. I don't know if I reached her, but I have a whole year to make sure she doesn't hate the Japanese just because one of her elementary school teachers said bad things about the Japanses. If it's one thing the world doesn't need it's another small up an coming nation with a racial chip on its shoulder.

If I was in America, I don't know what I would say about Katrina. So I won't start. The NFL started tonight, it's 40th season. The Patriots have a chance to try to win 3 super bowls in a row, and started off okay with a win against the Raiders tonight. If only life was as simple as football plays X's and O's.

Big news

2005-09-05T22:35:00.000+09:00

I got my cell phone! Fulbright made us get cell phones, but I probably would have bought one anyway, since it's hard to live in South Korea without one. Mine has an MP3 player and camera, but I don't really know how to use either. Not only is it my first cell phone but all the menu's are in Korean. My host sister has been teaching me a few things every night.