first snow of the winter

well the first real snowfall of the year has hit Daegu. I know northern parts of the country have been hit hard already and are getting through it just fine, but for us Gyeongsan folk snow is a rare and inconvenient thing. It's actually like Vancouver, where when we get six inches of snow the city shuts down and Toronto and Montreal are laughing at us but are also secretly really jealous that we aren't freezing our asses off 6 months of the year. Gyeongsan and Jeolla provinces get comparably less snow and cold weather than Seoul and the northern areas (and suffer the same jokes/envy from people in Seoul, Suwon, Incheon, Daejeon etc.) so hopefully it won't last long.

Actually I do like the snow, it's the lack of salting that can get frustrating/hazardous. While Seoul has a fleet of salting trucks Daegu can barely keep the main roads salted let alone the sidewalks (which are like ice rinks today). Especially since the line between road and sidewalk is somewhat less distinct than in Vancouver, I would assume that it would be a bigger priority, but I guess for the 3-4 days of snow they get they jusy expect you to put up with it. I have enjoyed watching the kids make snowmen and having a few snowball fights with them and feel lucky that I stocked up on winter clothes when I did so I can really have fun in it :)

Either way, now that I am home safe I am going to sit back with my warm ondol system and enjoy the white bliss.

Christmas Day 2010

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas this year. I know I sure did :)

It started when I opened a gift sent from my mom all the way from Vancouver. I then talked to family for a couple of hours. It was wonderful to hear from family again, as it's been a while for some of them. We then made a huge meal (a sort of brunchupper) and went out shopping.

It was exactly what I felt like for Christmas this year and, short of going home for a week to do a family Christmas, it was exactly what I wanted.

The Korean Christmas spirit pt. 2. no Happy Holidays

You know the Koreans do something around Christmas time that Canadians would find totally unacceptable these days. Offensive, rude and outdated. You know what it is? They wish each other a.... I'm ashamed even to write it...... a Merry Christmas. That's right. No Happy Holidays, a Merry Christmas. It's on cards, TV shows and Christmas apparel. Apparently someone forgot to tell them that wishing someone well in a non-denominational way is actually offensive. I certainly know that when they give me lunar new years presents or Chuseok cakes I want to punch them in the nose.

In case you haven't picked it up I'm being sarcastic.

When I worked retail we were told, specifically, to use Happy Holidays (I tried not to anyway, for which some people actually thanked me) because you could actually offend someone. Yes, offend them. I never met this person who was actually offended by it, but apparently they exist, otherwise why the change?

Though to be fair, the Koreans do get offended at this time of year. They've been really offended by north Korea shelling their citizens and killing two marines last month for reasons that have nothing to do with anything except internal politics up north. They are offended by the planned visit by the Japanese Prime Minister to the Yasukuni shine (the shrine that honours Japanese war dead but also houses several military leaders of Japan from the 1930's and 1940's who were responsible for colonial policy and WWII) and the continued refusal to return cultural relics plundered during the colonial era (it comes up every new years with the planned visit).

Being bombed by communists? Colonial era pillaging and raping of their country being celebrated by the purpetrators? This is what they find offensive? Not wishing someone a Merry Christmas? What a backwards country!

But wait. Is it just possible that we've forgotten what offensive actually means? That we have so little to be offended about that we find denominational greetings offensive? You would think that, at a minimum we'd find stuff like: War in Afghanistan, 3rd world conditions of many Indian reserves, skyrocketing cost of living or inadequate and highly overpriced healthcare (it's called taxation) offensive... but I guess not. So while Koreans are offended by the likes of bombings and colonialism Canadians have found the real evil in this world: denominational greetings (unless it's a religion not associated with Christianity, then it's okay). Well done.... schmo's.

So, at the risk of having hordes of the PC gestapo send me off to the PC re-education centre (I think it's at the Centre for the Arts at the University of Toronto) I'd like to wish you all a Merry Christmas.

Dear Santa Claus, go f*ck yourself!

as you may have guessed from the title, this is a Trailer Park Boys post (actually amazed at the lack of them in my blog to date). Last night was the Trailer Park Christmas special down at Sydney St. We actually had a solid turnout, including a few people who had never seen it before and everyone seemed to really like it. We were trying to figure out how to make a Christmas evening without being all sappy and homesick so Kurt and I (Kurt as a guy from upstate New York who love the show as much as I do, I've only met him a few times but he's a solid boy. We'll get along just fine :) came up with this scheme. Mark decided to have discount Rum and Coke's for the show (provided you never put it down) which was a great addition. In fact, we decided to make it a semi-regular Trailer Park Tuesdays. Kurt and I have already started planning Swish, which at present is Dong Dong Ju (for the bits of crap), soju, rum and cider. I figure that'll be a dirty, shitty tasting liquor that you can barely get in to you, but my fuck will it ever get you some drunk. We'll see if we can keep it going for a bit. In any event, it was a great way to get in to the holidays) which in Korea are not actually holidays) and a lot of fun.

$10 FUCKIN DOLLARS, A MONTH!

the Korean Christmas spirit

might sound funny, but they have it, and the real it.

Christmas here in Korea is an interesting thing. About 30% of the population are Christians, and not the ones who go to church to be baptised, married and for their own funeral or the ones who check Protestant on their census forms but can't actually name which denomination but the real ones. Church every Sunday, prayers before bed etc etc etc. There's even Korean Pat Roberts' and Jerry Falwell's who essentially use the church as a money making scam or to preach hatred and intolerance of everyone and everything. They have it all!

However, for the other 70% of the population it's all rather unimportant. They are mostly Buddhists, mostly the never actually meditated, not sure which sect of Mahayana Buddhism they are and go to temple only when they want something without seeing the inherent contradiction in that kind, but there are a few devout ones as well. However, the first group, in my opinion, has nailed Christmas. Sounds funny but here's why:

For them Christmas is celebrating, at most, the birth of a man who advocated peace and more usually just a public holiday with the importance of the Queen's birthday in Commonwealth countries. So what do they do? Couple's go out for coffee and do a bit of shopping, some might go on an overnight trip together. Friends go to eat together or go to get a few drinks. Parents take their kids to the park or to a movie or just give them a day to play video games and hang out (something they get to do far far too little here). Gifts may be exchanged but they are small. Earrings for the girl, new shoes for the boy etc. There's no mad dash to the shopping malls (E-Mart was quiet last night), no spending three paycheques on buying garbage for people who don't need it anyway. Retail at Christmas in the west shows you the true evil of humanity (there's only one $800 gaming system left! Rampage!).

Now that's not to say the nominal Korean Buddhists have Christmas figured out exclusively. Korean Christians do something that virtually no Christians do on Christmas Eve and day (the census Christians). They actually go to church. For real. They have realized that Jesus actually plays an important role in their religion (in fact, I think the idea that he is the saviour is what differentiates them from Muslims and Jews) and the importance of celebrating his birth. One of my students (a Christian) told me that her family gets up Christmas morning, goes to church, then the father drops them off and goes to Baskin Robbins for a big ice cream cake that they then all eat together. That is Christmas for her, and she can't wait.

Now that isn't to say that Koreans have it figured out with all things. As mentioned above the older generation all go to the Buddhist temples to pray for their grandchildren's test results, or their son's promotion or their own hip surgery etc. I'm fairly certain that the central tenets of Buddhism involve shedding yourself of desire and that Siddhartha specifically said NOT to worship or pray to him. So praying for him to satisfy your desire seems to me to be the opposite of what you should be doing, but hey, maybe in 2500 years they'll mess up Christianity as much as we have (Buddhism is that old, it's not a type-O). I just think it's funny that they have shed away 2000 years of bs and, as a society, and have come up with their interpretation of Christmas, and it's far more faithful to the original idea than ours is.

Spanish food. Feliz Navidad?

On Saturday I woke up still feeling the full effects of the virus mentioned previously, but with a few trips to the pharmacy (among other places) I managed to get myself feeling better. With that in mind I decided to go downtown for Spanish food and some shopping. I didn't get there til around 5 and so didn't do all the shopping we had planned, but did manage the bookstore and a scarf . Then off to Spanish food, which was fantastic. I haven't had that in.... well years so it was a great change from what I normally eat (no kimchi was served). I then went out for coffee and back home.

Sunday was still having me feeling half dead, so we just hung out in 성서 doing a bit of shopping and eating. It was a nice, low key weekend. Exactly what I needed :)

being sick in Korea

When working with kids, the common cold is a real occupational hazard, especially in winter, and Korea is no exception. With the cold weather finally descending on southern South Korea the usual coughs, runny noses and fevers are making their way around the school and, as has happened the last two years, I have caught it. Now being sick is never fun, but I find it especially harsh in Korea where, short of being on your death bed, you are considered fit to work or attend school. This leads to many... many many many children who would have stayed home in Canada coming to school and spreading viruses everywhere. Combine that with the Korean aversion to covering their mouths when coughing or sneezing and you have cold epidemics :)

Now I should state for the record that I find many westerners seem to feel the need to take a sick day when they have anything worse than the hiccups and that I find many people WAY too quick to say "oh, not feeling 100%. better stay home". The fact is is that I am perfectly able to work, I just don't do a very good job of it now because I'm not feeling well :) That being said, Koreans have swung the other way to such an extreme that people come to work with serious viruses that DO require a day or two to rest. This is equally true of the students who come to work with things growing out of their eyes or noses that would have House scratching his head. I wish the ones who are really sick would just stay home, as they would slow the spread of the viruses and they would get better much faster.

For now, the best thing to do is hit the pharmacy and get their over the counter cough meds (of which they only give you 2 days worth), vitamin tablets and drink lots of fluid..... ie. the common sense stuff Grandma taught you. Fortunately my cold this year is much better than last years (knock on wood) and a good nights sleep should set me right.

a weekend in 서장

this past weekend, I took a trip down to 서장 (I don't know the English spelling, Seochang maybe?) to visit my friend Paul, have a few beers and hang out. 서장 is about halfway between Ulsan and Busan right on the old 1127 bus line (for anyone who has ever lived in Ulsan). It's a small town with a University that specialises in Tae kwon do (it's a BA program in Korea). But as with all University degrees in Korea you need to pass the Korean English language test (TOEIC) so that why Paul and his three co-workers are in the small town. Paul and I met two years ago in Ulsan and have kept in touch regularly since then. His apartment is huge (another reason to get a Uni job) so unlike my shoebox having guests is no worries for him (he has a guestroom....... hell he has a tiolet paper room :P)  서장 is, for me, a great place to visit. The sky is actually blue (Daegu's industry makes the sky here an interesting mix of grey, brown and black on more than a few days of the year) and thus the air is clean, the small town vibe is interesting and a good look at a more traditional Korea (parts of 서장 still look like Korea must have 30 or 40 years ago) and it's great to get out of the city.

To be honest, all we really did was play a bit of Travian, do a bit of Korean studying and went to a few places around his apartment. We had planned to head down to the ice bar, but the -2 degrees outside had us changing our minds by about 8. Anyway, this week is shaping up to be a week just like any other week ("ahhh it just keeps getting worse and worse" - Homer Simpson :) so I'll be hanging out with friends and keeping the hanja and Korean going. Seven weeks til winter break :)

the last 7 days... cold weather, hot food, hanja

Well I've been wanting to blog about something amazing or exciting for the last few days, but with winter belatedly arriving in Daegu I've just been doing my best to stay warm (easy enough at home, harder at work where they seem to want to have the heater on only just enough that we don't freeze) and not doing much else. This past weekend was quiet. The missus and I did some shopping and watched a few episodes of Bones (her favourite crime show that I can't help but get in to, Hollywood though it can be). This week has been low key as well. A long skype chat to Paul and a wed night of food and hangouts with the missus were the highlights. I've also been going hard out on my Korean and started writing some hanja (traditional Chinese characters). They is 바보.

Weekend looks a bit better, with a trip to 서장 and a Sun afternoon downtown planned.

Travian.... god damn Travian

well it happened again. Paul and I started a Travian account a few weeks back, Kris and Miranda have one and they are right next to us, and now even Geoff has an account also near us. For anyone who isn't aware, Travian is an online browser game where your objective is to build up a big empire and attack people, trade etc. You can be Gaul, Teuton or Roman (each with their own pro's and con's). It is highly addictive if taken seriously and it can consume some people (and when you see the bigger accounts you realise that it does). Last time we played, the four of us had one huge account that we shared, but it started to eat away at a substantial chunk of our time so we decided to quit it. We've started again with more modest ambitions, the first of which is to just have fun.

To be honest, I'm not much of a gamer. I find an hour of Civilization II (yes, the 1996 game) a month is more than enough. I'd feel guilty if I spent an afternoon playing games these days for many reasons. One, I'm way too old for it. Two, there are way better things to be doing. Three, it's just not THAT much fun, real life is much better. However, this game has a real social aspect for me, as Paul and I will get together, have a few makkoli's and play for a while, or get on skype with K&M in Halifax and have a chat about strategy that turns in to a "how's life in general" sort of conversation. Actually, I bet I've talked to Paul more in the last 2 weeks than in the two months before that, and that is reason enough to play a round. Also, with much smaller goals, it ends up taking very little time (30 mins a day or so). Being that it hasn't cut in to my "actually doing stuff" time at all I'm happy to keep it up for now.

teaching a genius

Last week I inherited a 1 on 1 class with a grade 4 girl (I don't feel it's appropriate to publish students names, even their English ones, so forgive the omission) who is, without exaggeration, a genius. I don't mean that she is very smart, or has a gift for languages, she is one of those 200 IQ points, the kid in Shine type geniuses. First off she is fluent in English and Japanese as well as her native Korean. Her writing has a few problems, but it's as good as my grade 9 and 10 students. However, by her own admission she is lazy (and she is :P). She tells me that she plays 3-4 hours of computer games a day, hates homework and school and doesn't want to study but does a bit because her parents make her. She tells me she can read books in Japanese except for the hanja (the Chinese characters that have been adopted as one of Japan's three alphabets and was the old alphabet in Korea before Hangeul) because hanja has too many characters and they sound stupid (as apparently does spoken Chinese in her opinion :). She is also doing middle school math and social studies. Now teaching a kid like this is not especially easy, as none of our textbooks are really appropriate (she's done the first 3rd of a 6 month course in about 3 weeks). Also, usual topics for writing and discussing are either below her level or get in to topics that she has no interest in doing. This is because, while her level is that of a High School or even College student, she is still a 10 year old girl. I've managed to improv with articles about things like Japanese animation, KPop and travel articles all from English language websites (where she read it and then answers 10-15 questions) and so far it's been okay. I also give her lots of time just to chat and, unlike so many Koreans who are very reserved and seem unwilling to express opinions on anything, she is very willing to discuss and give opinions ranging from why Jeju-do is a great place to visit but a terrible place to live (she lived there for a year) to why Japanese animation is better than American animation to why spoken Chinese sounds terrible and their writing system is inefficient to why her being blind in one eye is actually a good thing because it makes her different and gives her a free trip to Seoul every year to go to the clinic there. Overall, teaching her poses a few challenges, but it's becoming one of my favourite classes and I hope to be teaching her for a long time to come.

many changes at work

As anyone who's read a few of my posts knows, my work has been going through many structural changes. Our old system consisted of the students having one day with a Korean teacher, one day with us and repeat. The problem is that we were moving way to fast for the average student, so while a few students with a gift for languages or one hell of a work ethic did okay, most struggled. The last two months has been a lot of restructuring and the result is that I've spent many a class sitting and watching my students write tests, essays etc. Personally I find the whole idea of keeping kids quiet in a language class very counterproductive and very boring. The result was that I was feeling fairly bored and useless. After talking about it with Robbie I was happy to know that he was feeling the same way. When you come home from work feeling like you've done nothing you feel down, or feel that you are wasting your time/life. So I was really happy when Min, one of my favourite Korean teachers, came in with a new four day schedule. In our new system some kids will have us once every four days, others every two and my 8pm class everyday (which is great as they're one of my favourite groups). The only downside is that I don't teach all my classes in the same room anymore, but I still teach 70% of them in my room 4 so it's not that bad. I also felt like I had a good day yesterday, and that I did something. I'm hoping this continues.