Well the clock struck midnight here in Korea just over 1 hour and 42 minutes ago. It's still about 12 hours away from 2008 in NY & 15 hours away in CA where my girlfriend Flo is right now. I spent a wonderful evening hanging out locally in Miryang. I went to the Sauna/Bath House, and enjoyed lying down in the Steam Room & Sauna as well as dipping myself in the hot and cold bath tubs. Then I went to yoga class from 7:30-8:30pm (no Judo tonight b/c of New Year's). Then I rode my bike to the DVD Bang (room) where I met Orion and his girlfriend Theresa from Minnesota. He bought a pizza, I bought french fries & apple pie from McDonald's along with some beer & Korean plum wine. YUM YUM!!!! We "rented" watched DejaVu with Denzel Washington & Val Kilmer. It was a fairly intense, mind-boggling action thriller which we enjoyed. It's fun to be able to bring in food & drinks into a semi-professional movie room to enjoy while watching the movie. After that, there was still 35 minutes left until midnight & we decided to go to the local pub for a pitcher of beer. At the bar were many Koreans there with their families (wives, children, etc) A few (of the brave) Korean said "hello" to us and "happy new year" I proceeded to grab 3 tambourines from the karaoke section of the bar and shake them vigorously to make some noise, since it was only 10 minutes till New Year's. But evidently the owner didn't appreciate that gesture & took the tambourines out of my hands. I don't know why he did that. Maybe it wasn't appropriate thing to do. I don't really know. But we did end of making friends with these very nice Korean people who came over & introduced themselves to us. Gave us some of their beer, and welcomed us to Miryang & to Korea. It was great!!! These young couples were their with their precious lil, adorable children, who were visibly tired & cranky at well past midnight. It was really fun
Then I rode my bike home to my apartment & proceeded to stare in awe at all the beautiful twinkling stars in the sky. They really do twinkle, have you noticed that?" I was standing there in the cold, dark night, in awe at the beauty of the night sky. Since Miryang is a small city, without many lights, the stars are much more visible then they are back home. It was nice to stand there and reflect on the huge vastness & magnitude of this great universe (one song) of ours. Uni = 0ne and Verse = song. And just think that the same moon I see here now is the same moon that my mom & dad will see 12 hours from now in New York & is the SAME moon that Flo will see 15 hours from now in California!!!! That is just so cool to me!!!
So the holidays have come and gone. Did everyone get what they wanted? Here in Korea the favorite items on all the children's wish list seemed to be:
Nintendo DS
MP3/mp4 Player
Play Station 3
Money
Soccer Ball/Soccer Shoes
Puppy
Cell Phone (hendapone (hand phone) in Korean
Computer
Books
toy doll
WWE (wrestling) tickets - the kids (boys) LOVE WWE wrestling out here. They always talk about John Cina, Batista, Triple H'ee', Undertaker, etc. It's actually quite amusing to talk about wrestling with them & they just love when I mention Hulk Hogan and some other names with them!!
Some kids joking asked for a car, a house, airplane, etc. BIG Thinkers, I'll give them that much.
It's simply amazing to see how curious and wonderfully fascinated the elementary school kids are by me doing, what I would consider the most simplest things. For example, it's precious to see the way they all clamor around my desk in the morning, or before class begins to peek over at my computer screen to see what I'm doing. Most times it's just writing an email or chatting with a friend in Korea or back home via IM. They just stand there for several minutes looking with wide-eyed wonderment at what I am doing. It's really quite flattering but I must admit, it can be quite annoying and bothersome as well. It gives me the chance to practice LOVE, PATIENCE, COMPASSION and UNDERSTANDING rather than anger, upset, violation, etc. Instead of looking at them as being "nosy, rude, or inconsiderate," I remind myself that they are 8, 9, 10, 11, & 12 year old Korean students who have never had this much interaction with a real, live Westerner before. They are fascinated & intrigued by me & that is exciting to them. I must also admit that it can get a bit annoying and quite old after a long while of the same old repetitious/admirable/adoring behaviour. As much as my ego LOVE the attention, after all day of constantly being bombarded with waving, hugging, bowing, saying "hello" it can get pretty old very quickly. Now I know a little bit of what celebrities go through everyday of their lives being constantly bombarded with raving fans who want to touch them, grab them, say "hi" to them, be introduced to them, etc. I really can see & feel what John Travolta, Billy Joel, Micheal Jordan, and Madonna must go through everyday of their lives. No wonder why Princess Diana's car sped away from the paparatzi the night of her fatal death. They just want to live normal, simple, quiet and peaceful lives away from all the craziness that their stardom creates. I'm not saying I'm anywhere near thew status of these people, but on a very small, microscopic scale, perhaps I am.
Well it's good to be able to update everyone back home as to what my most recent thoughts and feelings are. It's been a long while since I've consistently had the chance to update my Blog. That's mainly due to this long and arduous manuscript that I had to write and hand in on December 8th. My paper ended up being 58 pages long and took an enormous amount of time for me to complete. I wrote this manuscript b/c I have been assigned (along with 7 other English teachers) to train approx. 50 Korean Middle School English teachers. The main purpose of the 5 week Winter Camp is to help enable these teachers to gain confidence and practical skills with their English speaking ability. We will be training with them from 9am-8/9pm Mon-Fri in Changwon (the capitol of my Province). They put all of us up in a dormitory, feed us, and pay us an extremely nice salary above & beyond what we are currently getting paid to teach English regularly. So all the is work and preparation is definitely worth it.
Stay tuned for more updates from Winter Camp in Changwon which starts on Wednesday January 2nd and runs until January 31st.
Good Night & God Bless one & all with the BEST & BRIGHTEST year ever!!!
With Purpose & Passion,
Darren
Monday, December 31, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Today it Rained in Miryang - Thank Goodness!!
I don't think I've ever been so happy to see rain as I was today when I walked outside my apartment. It's been so extremely dry here that I had to go out and buy a humidifier. During the past two plus months, it's rained all of two days. I get so happy now when it's cloudy, overcast, and rainy. It's a much welcomed change from the bright sun, clear blue skies and puffy white clouds. Like Bijan (another mentor of mine) says: "I like the rain on rainy days and I like the sun on sunny days." That way you are ensured to have an enjoyable, great day everyday regardless of what the weather is like; pretty cool huh?
I had a great evening tonight. I left school early (3:15pm) because we did not have our weekly volleyball game. We had a very fun volleyball competition between 4 different elementary schools last Wednesday. Our school held "emergency" practice on Monday & Tuesday in preparation for the big tournament!! Our school did not do so well, both our women's and men's team lost the Best 2 out of 3 match. I went to accunpuncturist from 3:30-4:30, went to Judo class (which is actually starting to get fun now). After the first 4-6 weeks of getting my ass kicked all over the place by these really big & strong Korean men, trying to learn "how to fall safely" and trying to learn how to do this one particular flip/throw that, if landed properly would automatically win the match in one shot. I'm just now finally starting to enjoy practice only because I'm engaging in "live" action with these younger, smaller middle school students (who are a lot easier to throw than these 220+lbs. men). I was actually able to land some effective takedowns/throwdowns; I was excited to be able to successful land a few headlock throws, armbar flips, etc. Then my Judo teacher asked to spar with me. He is a Black Belt Judo Master who is a very quick, powerful, middleweight guy. It was my first time in live action with him. I am very pleased to report that he was not able to easily throw me around like a rag doll (like my previous partners have). I was able to get some throws and takedowns in against him. I put up a good fight and was very pleased with the results I produced against him. It kinda feels like it did when I used to wrestle in high school and college. I was a very good workout!
After Judo, I rode my bike to another elementary school where I had the absolute pleasure of enjoying an amazing performance of Yerim Elementary school wind orchestra. I must tell you that ever since they played the first note, I was blown away with how AMAZING they sounded!! I must tell you how brilliant, how robust, how moving and how professional they were!!! I mean these kids consisted of 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th grades. They all came out with white shirts with red vests & bow ties, and just dazzled the audience with their song selections. they played somewhere over..... you were very good "i know"
I had a great evening tonight. I left school early (3:15pm) because we did not have our weekly volleyball game. We had a very fun volleyball competition between 4 different elementary schools last Wednesday. Our school held "emergency" practice on Monday & Tuesday in preparation for the big tournament!! Our school did not do so well, both our women's and men's team lost the Best 2 out of 3 match. I went to accunpuncturist from 3:30-4:30, went to Judo class (which is actually starting to get fun now). After the first 4-6 weeks of getting my ass kicked all over the place by these really big & strong Korean men, trying to learn "how to fall safely" and trying to learn how to do this one particular flip/throw that, if landed properly would automatically win the match in one shot. I'm just now finally starting to enjoy practice only because I'm engaging in "live" action with these younger, smaller middle school students (who are a lot easier to throw than these 220+lbs. men). I was actually able to land some effective takedowns/throwdowns; I was excited to be able to successful land a few headlock throws, armbar flips, etc. Then my Judo teacher asked to spar with me. He is a Black Belt Judo Master who is a very quick, powerful, middleweight guy. It was my first time in live action with him. I am very pleased to report that he was not able to easily throw me around like a rag doll (like my previous partners have). I was able to get some throws and takedowns in against him. I put up a good fight and was very pleased with the results I produced against him. It kinda feels like it did when I used to wrestle in high school and college. I was a very good workout!
After Judo, I rode my bike to another elementary school where I had the absolute pleasure of enjoying an amazing performance of Yerim Elementary school wind orchestra. I must tell you that ever since they played the first note, I was blown away with how AMAZING they sounded!! I must tell you how brilliant, how robust, how moving and how professional they were!!! I mean these kids consisted of 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th grades. They all came out with white shirts with red vests & bow ties, and just dazzled the audience with their song selections. they played somewhere over..... you were very good "i know"
I am TRULY BLESSED!!!!
I feel as if I am so so lucky, fortunate, & truly blessed with so many of the things that I have going on for me here in Korea. First of all I teach at a really great elementary school which is only a 10 minute bus ride (15-20 min by bike). I teach at the SAME school 5 days a week, I have 1 main co-teacher who is the greatest!!! She is so nice; very warm, sweet, helpful, supportive, and is very active (hands-on) with me in the classroom. We have so much fun teaching together in the classroom. I've learned to become comfortable with the basic, simple, monotonous, (in my mind boring) routine of the English text book lessons and have decided to "go with the flow" and add my own little bits of creativity in the beginning of each class for warm up. I have the kids put the hands in the air, clap 5 times, touch their head, shoulders, knees and toes, etc. My co-teacher usually pulls up this song and other cute kids songs from the Internet & will play this song, all with "If you're Happy and you Know it, Clap Your Hands!" on the TV screen. I have 4 other co-teachers that I teach 4th grade with and they are all so fun and great as well. I have a great relationship with many of the other faculty members here as well as with the Vice-Principal (we are on the same volleyball team) "B TEAM, B TEAM Pieting!!!" (fighting). He is the most enthusiastic, supportive & encouraging guy you will ever meet. It's so much fun to see many of these teachers playing FULL OUT on the volleyball court. We usually have food & drinks in the gym afterwards!!!!
I love Miryang, the town I'm living in, it's small, quiet, quaint and centrally located in btw. 2 major cities. I am especially thankful & most grateful for the 15 other English teachers that live here as well. We all keep in touch weekly to plan activities together. Whether it be bowling, dinner, hiking, traveling, rugby, or going to the bar for drinks, etc. everyone treats each other like one big family. There is a great sense of community here and is no wonder that many of these teachers here are re-newing their contracts and will be staying an extra year. I have a nice, new, clean apt. with 2 great neighbors who live next door to me. I feel as if I have been truly blessed by the grace of God, and I know that He has been looking over me, and taking care of me ever since I left NY on August 28th. I knew it was a good omen when we left on the day of the Full Moon of Virgo.
Unfortunately I can not say that about many of my other teacher friends. Many teachers teach at 3, 4 or 5 different schools, having to drive 30 min to each school. Some of them have co-teachers that do not even stay in the room, and who leave them alone with the students in class. Some of my other friends teach in schools where the children are wild, loud, and very disrespectful. They scream, curse, and say all kinds of rude, nasty things to these teachers; and they are challenged with how to elicit help from the teachers or from people at the school. One guy teaches in most rural town where he has to walk 2 miles just to get to the nearest store & their are no taxis available either. It baffles me has to the crazy and absurd conditions some of them have to go through. I feel as if I'm living in a dream world compared to them!!!
I am especially excited that I've booked my ticket for Bangkok, Thailand and will be spend 6 nights down there enjoying the beautiful warm weather and gorgeous beaches at the end of Feb. for my winter break. Then from Bangkok, I fly directly to Seoul where I will be picking Flo up at the airport that evening as she will be flying in from NJ!!!!! She will be in Korea with me for 14 days and will travel all around the country during that time. I am so so excited!!!! My first visitor!!! Yipeee!!!!!! My mom wants to visit here as well, but my dad doesn't seem to have any interest. Anyone else wanna come visit me? I picked up a used sofa from Dan & Kim that you can use to sleep if you choose. Just a thought.
I'm learning to speak Korean a lil more each day, and I can pretty much read everything I see in Korean. The alphabet is really cool and easy in the sense that each vowel (letter) only has ONE sound. Not like in English where a letter like "o" "e" "a" "g" can have a different sound based on the word. Like George & gum. Or like all the difficult and different sounds vowels make in English.Vowels like "a" and "u" can sound several different ways such as "uniform" "umbrella" "put" etc. But in Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, each vowel only has ONE distinct sound and it never changes. So once you memorize the sound of each letter, (vowel or consonant) you can easily start to read signs, menus, cities, etc in Korean. It took me a while to actually get the 'correct' pronunciation of some of the unique Korean sounds, but after listening to them over and over, I finally got it correct. I was pleased to get a nice compliment from a few of the native Korean teachers here. When they asked me where I lived and told them the name of my apt in Korean (Haeng bok Villa) they, replied: "Darren, this is not your first time in Korea, right? You have been here before haven't you?" I was proud to say, "No actually, this is my first time, I've nearly been here 3 months now." They just assumed that b/c my pronunciation was so good, that I had been here before. I was very flattered to receive such a nice compliment from them because it made me feel good and helped boost my confidence that I'm actually learning more than I think. It has been several weeks since I've actually listened to one of my Korean Language lessons I have on my iPod and this compliment, has actually encouraged me to continue listening to more lessons this past week.
I'm also starting to realize how much I doubt myself and "beat myself up" for "not being good enough" not preparing lessons well enough, not doing enough (as much as I know I can do), etc. But what I'm also getting, is that I am a pretty darn great guy, person, teacher, friend, etc. And I'm also finally starting to realize that I can very easily use my good looks, charming personality, and my GREAT attitude and outlook on life to take me pretty far in life, and especially far here in Korea. This could be looked at as both a good and a bad thing. I guess it is good for now because I don't have to try so hard to do well here, and I can just relax, take it easy and enjoy the "easy" life here. This can be looked at as a bad thing if I allow myself to get lazy, complacent, and just rest on my laurels instead of challenging myself to STEP UP and demand more of myself. For now I look at it as a good thing. It's nice knowing that I'm liked, respected and well-received just because of my great attitude, my humble & grateful personality, and my thirst, passion and curiosity to learn about the Korean language and Korean culture.
If you come to Korea with the right attitude, you will no doubt find yourself having the time of your life here. If you come to Korea expecting things (the way they run/handle business) to be exactly the same as it is back home, you are undoubtedly setting yourself up for failure. I just can't understand understand some of the ridiculous and petty little things some of the English teachers here complain about. YOU are the one who voluntarily chose to come to Korea... don't expect them(Koreans) to change the way they do business just because you come from a country with different standards and a different set of values. So what I think I'm trying to say is that maybe the reason that I've been BLESSED with the fortunate situation in which I've been placed is because of my open, humble, grateful attitude in which I've approached this whole trip. Even when I was first told that we were being assigned to a 'rural town' in a 'rural province' in southern Korea, I was like, "OK, I guess that is where I'm "supposed to" be teaching English." By totally being open & trusting God, I have created lots of good karma that has been coming back to me ever since. Maybe that's why I get these most beautiful, adorable, and precious children running up to me at school with their arms wide open, wrapping around my leg saying, "Darren, teacha, Darren teacha, I love you!" My heart just melts when I see this beautiful expression of love and gratitude towards me. As Tony Robbins, one of my first mentors always reminds us:
"Live everyday with an ATTITUDE of GRATITUDE!"
I love Miryang, the town I'm living in, it's small, quiet, quaint and centrally located in btw. 2 major cities. I am especially thankful & most grateful for the 15 other English teachers that live here as well. We all keep in touch weekly to plan activities together. Whether it be bowling, dinner, hiking, traveling, rugby, or going to the bar for drinks, etc. everyone treats each other like one big family. There is a great sense of community here and is no wonder that many of these teachers here are re-newing their contracts and will be staying an extra year. I have a nice, new, clean apt. with 2 great neighbors who live next door to me. I feel as if I have been truly blessed by the grace of God, and I know that He has been looking over me, and taking care of me ever since I left NY on August 28th. I knew it was a good omen when we left on the day of the Full Moon of Virgo.
Unfortunately I can not say that about many of my other teacher friends. Many teachers teach at 3, 4 or 5 different schools, having to drive 30 min to each school. Some of them have co-teachers that do not even stay in the room, and who leave them alone with the students in class. Some of my other friends teach in schools where the children are wild, loud, and very disrespectful. They scream, curse, and say all kinds of rude, nasty things to these teachers; and they are challenged with how to elicit help from the teachers or from people at the school. One guy teaches in most rural town where he has to walk 2 miles just to get to the nearest store & their are no taxis available either. It baffles me has to the crazy and absurd conditions some of them have to go through. I feel as if I'm living in a dream world compared to them!!!
I am especially excited that I've booked my ticket for Bangkok, Thailand and will be spend 6 nights down there enjoying the beautiful warm weather and gorgeous beaches at the end of Feb. for my winter break. Then from Bangkok, I fly directly to Seoul where I will be picking Flo up at the airport that evening as she will be flying in from NJ!!!!! She will be in Korea with me for 14 days and will travel all around the country during that time. I am so so excited!!!! My first visitor!!! Yipeee!!!!!! My mom wants to visit here as well, but my dad doesn't seem to have any interest. Anyone else wanna come visit me? I picked up a used sofa from Dan & Kim that you can use to sleep if you choose. Just a thought.
I'm learning to speak Korean a lil more each day, and I can pretty much read everything I see in Korean. The alphabet is really cool and easy in the sense that each vowel (letter) only has ONE sound. Not like in English where a letter like "o" "e" "a" "g" can have a different sound based on the word. Like George & gum. Or like all the difficult and different sounds vowels make in English.Vowels like "a" and "u" can sound several different ways such as "uniform" "umbrella" "put" etc. But in Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, each vowel only has ONE distinct sound and it never changes. So once you memorize the sound of each letter, (vowel or consonant) you can easily start to read signs, menus, cities, etc in Korean. It took me a while to actually get the 'correct' pronunciation of some of the unique Korean sounds, but after listening to them over and over, I finally got it correct. I was pleased to get a nice compliment from a few of the native Korean teachers here. When they asked me where I lived and told them the name of my apt in Korean (Haeng bok Villa) they, replied: "Darren, this is not your first time in Korea, right? You have been here before haven't you?" I was proud to say, "No actually, this is my first time, I've nearly been here 3 months now." They just assumed that b/c my pronunciation was so good, that I had been here before. I was very flattered to receive such a nice compliment from them because it made me feel good and helped boost my confidence that I'm actually learning more than I think. It has been several weeks since I've actually listened to one of my Korean Language lessons I have on my iPod and this compliment, has actually encouraged me to continue listening to more lessons this past week.
I'm also starting to realize how much I doubt myself and "beat myself up" for "not being good enough" not preparing lessons well enough, not doing enough (as much as I know I can do), etc. But what I'm also getting, is that I am a pretty darn great guy, person, teacher, friend, etc. And I'm also finally starting to realize that I can very easily use my good looks, charming personality, and my GREAT attitude and outlook on life to take me pretty far in life, and especially far here in Korea. This could be looked at as both a good and a bad thing. I guess it is good for now because I don't have to try so hard to do well here, and I can just relax, take it easy and enjoy the "easy" life here. This can be looked at as a bad thing if I allow myself to get lazy, complacent, and just rest on my laurels instead of challenging myself to STEP UP and demand more of myself. For now I look at it as a good thing. It's nice knowing that I'm liked, respected and well-received just because of my great attitude, my humble & grateful personality, and my thirst, passion and curiosity to learn about the Korean language and Korean culture.
If you come to Korea with the right attitude, you will no doubt find yourself having the time of your life here. If you come to Korea expecting things (the way they run/handle business) to be exactly the same as it is back home, you are undoubtedly setting yourself up for failure. I just can't understand understand some of the ridiculous and petty little things some of the English teachers here complain about. YOU are the one who voluntarily chose to come to Korea... don't expect them(Koreans) to change the way they do business just because you come from a country with different standards and a different set of values. So what I think I'm trying to say is that maybe the reason that I've been BLESSED with the fortunate situation in which I've been placed is because of my open, humble, grateful attitude in which I've approached this whole trip. Even when I was first told that we were being assigned to a 'rural town' in a 'rural province' in southern Korea, I was like, "OK, I guess that is where I'm "supposed to" be teaching English." By totally being open & trusting God, I have created lots of good karma that has been coming back to me ever since. Maybe that's why I get these most beautiful, adorable, and precious children running up to me at school with their arms wide open, wrapping around my leg saying, "Darren, teacha, Darren teacha, I love you!" My heart just melts when I see this beautiful expression of love and gratitude towards me. As Tony Robbins, one of my first mentors always reminds us:
"Live everyday with an ATTITUDE of GRATITUDE!"
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Lovin Life in Korea
So I am now finishing up my second week of Judo class which I'm taking 4 days a week; Mon, Tues, Thurs, & Fri. from 5:20 - 6:30pm. On Wednesday I give myself a break and go for acupuncture (basically I get to lie down on a heated table for 1 hour) while cute lil Asian woman attends to me, puts a warm heating pad on my legs for 20 minutes, then the doctor comes over and sticks approx 12 needles in me for 25 minutes. I usually get to enjoy nice 20 minutes of REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. Then I head to the MCC (Miryang Culture Club) meeting from 6 - 7:30pm. This schedule it's really awesome as gives me a nice, structured routine to follow each week. Today I got my brand new Judo uniform!!! It look so friggin cool!!!! It's a dark royal blue, with yellow Korean letters on front and my name "DARREN" in yellow on the back, with a nice, brand new white belt. It looks bad ass!!! Can't wait to take pictures of me and post them!!
Wednesday's & Thursday's are definitely my two biggest days of teaching at my school. I teach 4 classes back-to-back both days (6th grade on Wed & 5th grade on Thurs.) Then on Thursday's I have an additional 3pm English lesson followed by a 40 minutes class for the Korean teachers. A few Thursday's ago was even more intense b/c I added 1 extra 6th grade class that day!!! Seven classes in total that day. I was feeling good and ready for the challenge and excitement of giving my all for these classes. I can clearly remember the feeling coming out of the teacher's lounge after "Tea Time" 10:40-11:00am (which takes place after 2nd period everyday). I can clearly remember the feeling I had coming out of that room. It was as if I was Eric Mangini (head coach of the NY Jets) coming out of the locker room at halftime with my team (my co-teacher) walking behind me gearing up for the second half of the game (my day). I had 2 classes down with 5 more to go!!! It was a rather surreal, serene, exciting feeling of being alive, fulfilled, and that of being totally present, in the moment. There is nothing quite like teaching Korean children English, especially little elementary children!!!! Totally, precious, sweet, innocent, and SO SO EXCITED to see me and learn English each day. I was telling Flo how exciting it is for me to see my 4th grade students (def my most favorite grade by far!) b/c EVERY SINGLE one of them is 100% engaged, attentive, participating in the lesson from start to finish. It's amazing I tell you to scan the room & see all 30 mouths moving at once in unison (like the good lil robots that they are hehe)!!! That def does not happen in 3rd, 5th, and certainly not in 6th grade. In fact, I have copied a few emails from my one 4th grade student, named Mirae who has been emailing me; check this out and tell me how precious this is???
Below are 3 emails she has sent me:
Simply adorable huh???
Wednesday's & Thursday's are definitely my two biggest days of teaching at my school. I teach 4 classes back-to-back both days (6th grade on Wed & 5th grade on Thurs.) Then on Thursday's I have an additional 3pm English lesson followed by a 40 minutes class for the Korean teachers. A few Thursday's ago was even more intense b/c I added 1 extra 6th grade class that day!!! Seven classes in total that day. I was feeling good and ready for the challenge and excitement of giving my all for these classes. I can clearly remember the feeling coming out of the teacher's lounge after "Tea Time" 10:40-11:00am (which takes place after 2nd period everyday). I can clearly remember the feeling I had coming out of that room. It was as if I was Eric Mangini (head coach of the NY Jets) coming out of the locker room at halftime with my team (my co-teacher) walking behind me gearing up for the second half of the game (my day). I had 2 classes down with 5 more to go!!! It was a rather surreal, serene, exciting feeling of being alive, fulfilled, and that of being totally present, in the moment. There is nothing quite like teaching Korean children English, especially little elementary children!!!! Totally, precious, sweet, innocent, and SO SO EXCITED to see me and learn English each day. I was telling Flo how exciting it is for me to see my 4th grade students (def my most favorite grade by far!) b/c EVERY SINGLE one of them is 100% engaged, attentive, participating in the lesson from start to finish. It's amazing I tell you to scan the room & see all 30 mouths moving at once in unison (like the good lil robots that they are hehe)!!! That def does not happen in 3rd, 5th, and certainly not in 6th grade. In fact, I have copied a few emails from my one 4th grade student, named Mirae who has been emailing me; check this out and tell me how precious this is???
Below are 3 emails she has sent me:
hi!!
yes, i love english class
nise to meet yoo to.
gilr friend good!!
do yo like banana?
see yoo naxt time..
-mirae-
thank you for your kindness.
I like banana.
Did you have a good night's sleep?
darren teacher speak english well and be good-looking.
good bye~
hi!
i'm mirae.
english class happy
engilsh sing very good.!
expecting a responos to this letter
see yoo next time..
have a nice day..
-mirae-
Simply adorable huh???
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
More Proof on the Korean Intense, Extreme Work Ethic
During a discussion I had this past Monday afternoon with a few Korean teachers that come each week for English conversation class, we discussed an article from the NY Times that my dad sent me. The article was about all the new trendy western style brunch restaurants that are becoming quite popular among many of the Koreans in Seoul (now that they recently have the luxury of enjoying 5-day work weeks). The article suggests that a big reason for this was the shift from 6-day work weeks to 5-day work weeks. This has only recently come into existence in Korea over the past 3 years. In 2004, the Korean government passed a law saying that was illegal for companies of over 50 employees to require their workers to work 6-day work weeks. This is a very new concept for Koreans who are used to working their buns off to get ahead, succeed and achieve (for the good of themselves, their country, and the companies they work for). They work relentlessly, day & night at whatever costs necessary to finish a project on time (or usually in record time). I was impressed that the pole my c0-teacher hit, bent, and smashed into was repaired & fixed in less than a week!! Right now any company under 50 employees are not required to give their employees off on Sat, but this law will be changed to mandate 5-day work weeks for ALL companies starting in 2011. It simply AMAZED me to find out how common it is for Koreans to work on Saturdays. Can you imagine the US government requiring companies to force 6-day work weeks?? Whaddya think that would do to the productivity and profitability of US corporations?? Would that go over well? Do you think it would do more to boost & increase profits, productivity & morale?? or do you think it would have an adverse effect on the overall productivity of the company? While talking with my teachers, they informed me that they are required to come in to school on alternate Saturdays. So every 2 weeks they have a full 2-day weekend. This again, absolutely shocked me!! I couldn't believe that they would even fathom coming into school on a Saturday. (they NEVER require/allow any of the English teachers to work on Saturdays). So I took a vote on what they thought about making 5-day work weeks mandatory. While most of the teachers (all but one) were in favor of 5-day work weeks, one woman said she doesn't mind working on Saturday's twice a month because that way she doesn't/can't spend money on others things she may do if she had the day off. I was so shocked and rather intrigued by her response & her rationale. It made me wonder if other Koreans had this same philosophy? I could totally see her point and thought it was an interesting answer she gave me. I wonder if any Americans (or other Westerners) have to same philosophy as this Korean woman. Maybe she is not the norm, and is was just expressing her personal viewpoint with no correlation to how the majority of Koreans feel. I will have to ask other teachers opinions on this debate btw. the 5 & 6 day work week and will get back to you soon. Until Next time
Have a Great Night & always remember to:
Live With Passion!!!
Have a Great Night & always remember to:
Live With Passion!!!
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Fun, Funny & Unique Korean Experiences
One thing that cracks me up (or amazes me) about Korea is that so many people seem to be so obsessed with talking on their cell phones. OK, no different from back home right? Wrong!!! Koreans will go to ANY length to grab their cell phones, pick it up, and answer it whenever or wherever it rings. I was fist taken back by this at school when all the teachers were in a big board room, sitting around the table with the Principal, the Vice-Principal & all faculty members. If a teacher's phone would ring, they will pick it up, say hello, and talk right there in the meeting!!!! They would put their hand over there mouth when then talk (has most Koreans do this normally). I found it so shocking and kinda disrespectful & rude that they would give the phone call more precedence over a school meeting. Apparently nobody says anything, and it's an accepted practice here. This behavior doesn't end at school however...I've seen it happen while hiking; here we are descending down a very steep & narrow mountain path, I'm holding on to rocks, trees, and other people for dear life, and this Korean guy behind is answering his cell phone while climbing down the mountain. In the temple, a holy, sacred, quiet place of rest, reflection, meditation, etc. and you have people reaching into their purses to pick up & answer their phone. Is nothing sacred for crying out loud?? Even my Judo teacher will run off the mat in the middle of class to grab his ringing cell phone and answer it. Does anybody find anything wrong with this picture? Is there ever a time when a Korean WILL NOT answer their phone?? I think I may know of one last remaining sacred place, and that is.........???? Can anyone guess??? Yup, you guessed it...the Popularly Famous Korean Saunas/Bath House. I have yet to see a naked Korean guy carrying his cell phone around with him while lying in the steam room and relaxing in the Hot Tub. Thank God there is at least one sacred cell-phone free zone in Korea. Hopefully they won't make waterproof cell phones so we can keep this one last remaining place cell phone free.
And what's up with Korean people putting their hands in front of their mouths all the time? They do this mainly when talking with food in their mouths, but also often do it when they are engaged in normal conversations as well. That's a nice, fine, respectful thing to do. Even my friend Tina from NJ has picked up this habit of covering her mouth with her hand while she talks. I have no problem with it. It's their tradition, cool. What I don't get though is some of the elementary kids at school who sneeze or cough & don't cover their mouths. You cover your mouth when you talk, but not when you sneeze? What's wrong with this picture? Speaking of sneezing, apparently, they don't have the custom of saying "Bless You" when someone sneezes. It's very very odd for me not to hear "God Bless" when I, or anyone else sneezes. I tried teaching this concept to one of my classes, but it did not register with many of them, or I didn't repeat the lesson properly again. I think I will bribe them to say "Bless You" with candy this week. I've created many lil monsters who come up to me everyday & say, "Teacha, teacha, how are things? Candy candy please!!" So I had to reneg on that agreement and just give them a sticker b/c I'm going through way too much candy.
I wanted to briefly share a wonderful experience I had a few weekends ago on a Sunday afternoon. I got picked up by one of the teachers from school & drove with her, her 7 year old son, to drive to her mother's farm to pick sweet potatoes. Has anyone had the joy and pleasure of ever picking sweet potatoes? I haven't, and let me tell how much fun it is!!! First of all we were there with her son, her daughter, her brother & his wife (their 2 children), and her mother. Talk about family bonding!!! We all headed out to a small lil patch of land where they had planted seeds just a few months ago. We had buckets, shovels (digging tools) etc. We started at one end by pushing aside the dirt with our hand (mine was bare) or using the little shovel-like tool she gave until I felt something in the ground. Once I identified it, I dug away the surrounding dirt with my hand or shovel and slowly started to grab, pull, and loosen the potato that was lodged underneath the dirt in the ground. Let me tell you how much fun this was!!!!! It was so great being outside, so close to mother nature, pulling out all different sized potatoes that were growing straight down into the ground!!! To me it was like digging for buried treasure. Sorting and sifting through the dirt, searching & waiting to "hit" something, and come across a real, live potato lodged in the ground~!~! Her lil 7 yr old (really 6 yr old) son was so cute in helping us push away the dirt. We had to be gentle & take the pulling of the potatoes with caution b/c if we pulled up too hard, too quickly, we'd break the potato in half leaving one end still stuck in the ground. It took me a little while to get a feel for this technique. You had to gently move the potato back & forth till it was loose enough to come out easily. This was especially great for me to do on a Sunday, because that is the day that correlates to Deepak Chopra's First Law of Pure Potentiality where he suggests you do 3 things on that day 1.Practice silence, sit in meditation twice a day for 30 min each 2. Spent time each day in nature, watch a sunset, listen to ocean or stream, smell a flower, etc. (I felt as if picking sweet potatoes was a GREAT way to spend time with nature; there was no better feeling than picking up a living, organic piece of matter that had been quietly growing for several weeks in the ground). This was a real treat to and and experience that I will not forget for a long time!! 3. To practice non-judgement. I can't for for sweet potato season again next year!!!!
Oh, and by the way, the reason why I said her son was either 7 or 8 years old is because in Korean, you are either 1 or 2 years older than our regular ages we go by in the US. This is because they count the 9 month gestation period as your "first" year of life. So when you are born you are either 1 or 2 years old already, depending on what month you were born in. So on the baby's first birthday (a HUGE celebration) in the Korean tradition, the baby is either 2 or 3 years old instead of 1 years old.
And what's up with Korean people putting their hands in front of their mouths all the time? They do this mainly when talking with food in their mouths, but also often do it when they are engaged in normal conversations as well. That's a nice, fine, respectful thing to do. Even my friend Tina from NJ has picked up this habit of covering her mouth with her hand while she talks. I have no problem with it. It's their tradition, cool. What I don't get though is some of the elementary kids at school who sneeze or cough & don't cover their mouths. You cover your mouth when you talk, but not when you sneeze? What's wrong with this picture? Speaking of sneezing, apparently, they don't have the custom of saying "Bless You" when someone sneezes. It's very very odd for me not to hear "God Bless" when I, or anyone else sneezes. I tried teaching this concept to one of my classes, but it did not register with many of them, or I didn't repeat the lesson properly again. I think I will bribe them to say "Bless You" with candy this week. I've created many lil monsters who come up to me everyday & say, "Teacha, teacha, how are things? Candy candy please!!" So I had to reneg on that agreement and just give them a sticker b/c I'm going through way too much candy.
I wanted to briefly share a wonderful experience I had a few weekends ago on a Sunday afternoon. I got picked up by one of the teachers from school & drove with her, her 7 year old son, to drive to her mother's farm to pick sweet potatoes. Has anyone had the joy and pleasure of ever picking sweet potatoes? I haven't, and let me tell how much fun it is!!! First of all we were there with her son, her daughter, her brother & his wife (their 2 children), and her mother. Talk about family bonding!!! We all headed out to a small lil patch of land where they had planted seeds just a few months ago. We had buckets, shovels (digging tools) etc. We started at one end by pushing aside the dirt with our hand (mine was bare) or using the little shovel-like tool she gave until I felt something in the ground. Once I identified it, I dug away the surrounding dirt with my hand or shovel and slowly started to grab, pull, and loosen the potato that was lodged underneath the dirt in the ground. Let me tell you how much fun this was!!!!! It was so great being outside, so close to mother nature, pulling out all different sized potatoes that were growing straight down into the ground!!! To me it was like digging for buried treasure. Sorting and sifting through the dirt, searching & waiting to "hit" something, and come across a real, live potato lodged in the ground~!~! Her lil 7 yr old (really 6 yr old) son was so cute in helping us push away the dirt. We had to be gentle & take the pulling of the potatoes with caution b/c if we pulled up too hard, too quickly, we'd break the potato in half leaving one end still stuck in the ground. It took me a little while to get a feel for this technique. You had to gently move the potato back & forth till it was loose enough to come out easily. This was especially great for me to do on a Sunday, because that is the day that correlates to Deepak Chopra's First Law of Pure Potentiality where he suggests you do 3 things on that day 1.Practice silence, sit in meditation twice a day for 30 min each 2. Spent time each day in nature, watch a sunset, listen to ocean or stream, smell a flower, etc. (I felt as if picking sweet potatoes was a GREAT way to spend time with nature; there was no better feeling than picking up a living, organic piece of matter that had been quietly growing for several weeks in the ground). This was a real treat to and and experience that I will not forget for a long time!! 3. To practice non-judgement. I can't for for sweet potato season again next year!!!!
Oh, and by the way, the reason why I said her son was either 7 or 8 years old is because in Korean, you are either 1 or 2 years older than our regular ages we go by in the US. This is because they count the 9 month gestation period as your "first" year of life. So when you are born you are either 1 or 2 years old already, depending on what month you were born in. So on the baby's first birthday (a HUGE celebration) in the Korean tradition, the baby is either 2 or 3 years old instead of 1 years old.
Great new Pictures of Korea recently uploaded!!!
YES, YES, That's right!!!! Please feel free to go to my Flickr site at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skorea2007
To see recently uploaded pictures that I haven't updated since the end of September. To view these pictures in the correct chronological order, please scroll down to the bottom and view the pictures on the previous page first & work your way back up to the beginning. The pictures at the top are the most recently taken; so to view them in order you have to scroll back a few pages. Either way, I'm excited to finally have them updated so you can see my beautiful city of Miryang, views of my apartment and neighborhood, my school, the cute & adorable Korean children, a few of the fun trips I've been on, etc.
There are many things I want to update you on. Let's start with the most recent, this past weekend. Right now it's 8:38pm Sunday night in Korea, 6:38am Sunday morning in NY. I just got off the phone with my buddy Dave (one of my best friends from my Men's Team) He's doing well pursuing his passion of singing, & performing at bars and clubs a few times a week back in NJ & NY. We had a great conversation. He shared how awesome he thinks it is that I'm out here in Korea, actually following through with a dream of mine (at a relatively young age) instead of just talking about it as "someday/oneday" type of thing. As my friend Dr. Paul Turro (Landmark Wisdom Course Leader) says: (I'm paraphrasing here) "How come most people have to wait for "someday/oneday" to come before they have the courage enough to get their "stuff" together and go after their dreams? The problem with waiting for "someday" is that it never comes!!! I'm clear if I wake up and the calender says it's "Someday" (instead of Tuesday) a lot of great shit all over New York City (and the world) is going to get done!" It's so so true Paul..... So many of us are waiting for "someday/oneday"... Someday I'm gonna start taking piano lessons, oneday I'm take my son/daughter fishing in the mountains, oneday I'm really gonna volunteer at the homeless shelter, oneday I'm gonna start that diet, oneday I'll decide to move half way across the world to Korea to teach English. Let me tell you something folks, "Oneday never comes!!!!! It's time to STOP waiting for oneday to come; for the kids to get older, for the kids to start school, for the kids to finish school, for the weather to be better, for the economy to improve, for the troops to come home, blah, bla blah, bla BLAH!!!! It's NEVER going to happen. The time to do things is RIGHT NOW!!! My one friend who is a HS teacher from the Bronx, was really surprised to hear how great of a time I'm having here in Korea. He had his doubts about whether I would like it or not, and then he said the words of death: "I would really like to do something (teach in Asia) like that, but I just don't think I have the time." HELLO McFly!!! Anyone home McFly??? When is ANYONE going really ever have "the time" to pack up everything & go away to live & work in Asia for 1 year?? If everyone thought like my friend, the world would be a pretty boring place wouldn't it? Nobody would be doing anything extraordinary, they would just be at home, living in their "comfort zone" watching the time go by. I guess this works for some people, but not for me thank you. I've decided to live my life FULLY, in the MOMENT, NOW!!! There is no time to wait; Life is WAY to short!!!
Ok, let me get off my soapbox & get back to this weekend:
I went hiking again this weekend (Koreans are fanatical with their hiking) with teachers from all the schools in Miryang (6 of us from my school). I forgot to mention that a group of 10 English teachers went hiking at Pychungsa Temple which is only a 25 minute ride from our place. We spent 4 glorious hours hiking way up to nearly the top of the mountain and walked down a very very long road to get down the mountain. It got very chilly, cold, and dark by the time we got back to our car. It seems to get awfully COLD here at night & in the mornings, but is usually, sunny, warm & pleasant during the day. Really good weather for catching I cold. My nose has been running a lot the past week since hiking last week. Earlier that day, 16 of us gathered for a game of touch Rugby at the field y our apartments. It was my first time playing Rugby which was lots of fun!!! So this past Saturday, I went hiking with my Korean teachers; we took 2 buses to Gyeongju where we hiked up Nam San Mtn. It was an other gorgeous fall day perfect for a hike. We saw lots & lots of old ancient relics from the Silla Dynasty (650AD). Bascially it's just of bunch of really really old rocks, stones, statues, etc. In my opinion there really isn't anything spectacular about this National treasure which is so frequently visited. That night I came home, showered, changed and hopped on a train to Daegu (44 min ride) which cost $3.70 where I met up with 5 other friends at a bar. It was a pretty popular bar with a live band and many westerners. Lots of them were American GIs who are serving their duty at the Army base in Daegu. The Korean band members played several American rock songs in English and got many people up jumping, screaming & singing on the dance floor. Later that night we headed to a HUGE night club which was packed with people!!!! We had a blast dancing all night and the place was still packed when we left at 3:30AM. To sleep, we decided to find the nearest "Jim Jil Bang" (Korean bath house/sauna) to sleep at. This was the first time I did this, but it's fairly common among young Korean men (and some women). For $7.00 we got a checked in, got a locker for my shoes, and another locker for my clothes; for 20 cents extra I bought a toothbrush; you can buy a razor there as well, but I didn't bother. We showered, dipped in the hot tub, sauna, steam room, etc. and then I put on this shirt & shorts (uniform) that they gave us. Then we headed out to the main common area where many men & women were sleeping peacefully on a padded floor with a blanket and square foam block pad for a pillow. It wasn't the most comfortable place ever. But at 4:30am and for $7.00 it did the job!!!! The next day we woke by 10am, showered, checked out & headed for food. Had a delicious peppery steak soup with rice, kimchi, and other veggies. (It cost us $5.00 each). I went to the bookstore there (large English selection) Where I bought a book called "Korea Unmasked" which is a GREAT educational overview of the Korean people, their culture, history, economy, religion, etc. I already read it, but wanted my own copy b/c there are so many fascinating topics for discussion that I can as lesson plans for my classes with the Korean teachers. I also bought a copy of the novel, "Dead Poet's Society". That I want to read for enjoyment & inspiration. It was great getting a care package from my girlfriend because she sent me two of her favorite fictional children's books that she enjoyed as a little girl. I throughly enjoyed reading "Danny, the Champion of the World" by Roald Dahl and am currently reading a book called "The Giver". I was impressed how quickly & easily I was able to breeze through these books in a week. Because it has been taking me such a long time to get read a book called "The Power of NOW" It was such a nice, refreshing change of pace to read this easy, fun, light, leisurely, fiction books instead of all the non-fiction, spiritual, self-help books that I usually am wrapped up in. It's definitely a much welcomed break. I actually let Lisa borrow my Deepak Chopra book that I was reading over & over again, week to week for the past 10 weeks.
This past week I started taking Judo classes (or as the Koreans say "Yudo") at a school next to my apartment. I was looking around comparing Judo, to Hapkido, and Taekwondo. I decided on Judo because I like the studio, and the people there. Most of the teachers at these places don't speak any English, but this Judo teacher has a sister that is fluent and can translate for me which made me feel comfortable. It cost $60 to join for the month that includes classes Mon - Fri. from 5:20-6:30pm It is supposed to cost $50 for the uniform, but he said he would give me one for free. It was so so great being at practice 3 times this week. I absolutely love practicing many forward & backwards roles, flips, hops, jumps, etc. I got so so dizzy & light headed the first few times and still get light headed every time I go. I feel so good after class because I'm bringing some much needed Oxygen to my brain, which hasn't had a physical stimulation in a while since being in Korea. It's feels so so good to get "out of my head" and INTO my body for a change. I've been itching to do something physical out here and now I have a nice outlet in which to do something each week. I'm in a class with 8 other young elementary and middle school kids; one goes to the school I teach at, and other students are mentioning me to their native English teachers at school. It's a small town, so word gets around quickly!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skorea2007
To see recently uploaded pictures that I haven't updated since the end of September. To view these pictures in the correct chronological order, please scroll down to the bottom and view the pictures on the previous page first & work your way back up to the beginning. The pictures at the top are the most recently taken; so to view them in order you have to scroll back a few pages. Either way, I'm excited to finally have them updated so you can see my beautiful city of Miryang, views of my apartment and neighborhood, my school, the cute & adorable Korean children, a few of the fun trips I've been on, etc.
There are many things I want to update you on. Let's start with the most recent, this past weekend. Right now it's 8:38pm Sunday night in Korea, 6:38am Sunday morning in NY. I just got off the phone with my buddy Dave (one of my best friends from my Men's Team) He's doing well pursuing his passion of singing, & performing at bars and clubs a few times a week back in NJ & NY. We had a great conversation. He shared how awesome he thinks it is that I'm out here in Korea, actually following through with a dream of mine (at a relatively young age) instead of just talking about it as "someday/oneday" type of thing. As my friend Dr. Paul Turro (Landmark Wisdom Course Leader) says: (I'm paraphrasing here) "How come most people have to wait for "someday/oneday" to come before they have the courage enough to get their "stuff" together and go after their dreams? The problem with waiting for "someday" is that it never comes!!! I'm clear if I wake up and the calender says it's "Someday" (instead of Tuesday) a lot of great shit all over New York City (and the world) is going to get done!" It's so so true Paul..... So many of us are waiting for "someday/oneday"... Someday I'm gonna start taking piano lessons, oneday I'm take my son/daughter fishing in the mountains, oneday I'm really gonna volunteer at the homeless shelter, oneday I'm gonna start that diet, oneday I'll decide to move half way across the world to Korea to teach English. Let me tell you something folks, "Oneday never comes!!!!! It's time to STOP waiting for oneday to come; for the kids to get older, for the kids to start school, for the kids to finish school, for the weather to be better, for the economy to improve, for the troops to come home, blah, bla blah, bla BLAH!!!! It's NEVER going to happen. The time to do things is RIGHT NOW!!! My one friend who is a HS teacher from the Bronx, was really surprised to hear how great of a time I'm having here in Korea. He had his doubts about whether I would like it or not, and then he said the words of death: "I would really like to do something (teach in Asia) like that, but I just don't think I have the time." HELLO McFly!!! Anyone home McFly??? When is ANYONE going really ever have "the time" to pack up everything & go away to live & work in Asia for 1 year?? If everyone thought like my friend, the world would be a pretty boring place wouldn't it? Nobody would be doing anything extraordinary, they would just be at home, living in their "comfort zone" watching the time go by. I guess this works for some people, but not for me thank you. I've decided to live my life FULLY, in the MOMENT, NOW!!! There is no time to wait; Life is WAY to short!!!
Ok, let me get off my soapbox & get back to this weekend:
I went hiking again this weekend (Koreans are fanatical with their hiking) with teachers from all the schools in Miryang (6 of us from my school). I forgot to mention that a group of 10 English teachers went hiking at Pychungsa Temple which is only a 25 minute ride from our place. We spent 4 glorious hours hiking way up to nearly the top of the mountain and walked down a very very long road to get down the mountain. It got very chilly, cold, and dark by the time we got back to our car. It seems to get awfully COLD here at night & in the mornings, but is usually, sunny, warm & pleasant during the day. Really good weather for catching I cold. My nose has been running a lot the past week since hiking last week. Earlier that day, 16 of us gathered for a game of touch Rugby at the field y our apartments. It was my first time playing Rugby which was lots of fun!!! So this past Saturday, I went hiking with my Korean teachers; we took 2 buses to Gyeongju where we hiked up Nam San Mtn. It was an other gorgeous fall day perfect for a hike. We saw lots & lots of old ancient relics from the Silla Dynasty (650AD). Bascially it's just of bunch of really really old rocks, stones, statues, etc. In my opinion there really isn't anything spectacular about this National treasure which is so frequently visited. That night I came home, showered, changed and hopped on a train to Daegu (44 min ride) which cost $3.70 where I met up with 5 other friends at a bar. It was a pretty popular bar with a live band and many westerners. Lots of them were American GIs who are serving their duty at the Army base in Daegu. The Korean band members played several American rock songs in English and got many people up jumping, screaming & singing on the dance floor. Later that night we headed to a HUGE night club which was packed with people!!!! We had a blast dancing all night and the place was still packed when we left at 3:30AM. To sleep, we decided to find the nearest "Jim Jil Bang" (Korean bath house/sauna) to sleep at. This was the first time I did this, but it's fairly common among young Korean men (and some women). For $7.00 we got a checked in, got a locker for my shoes, and another locker for my clothes; for 20 cents extra I bought a toothbrush; you can buy a razor there as well, but I didn't bother. We showered, dipped in the hot tub, sauna, steam room, etc. and then I put on this shirt & shorts (uniform) that they gave us. Then we headed out to the main common area where many men & women were sleeping peacefully on a padded floor with a blanket and square foam block pad for a pillow. It wasn't the most comfortable place ever. But at 4:30am and for $7.00 it did the job!!!! The next day we woke by 10am, showered, checked out & headed for food. Had a delicious peppery steak soup with rice, kimchi, and other veggies. (It cost us $5.00 each). I went to the bookstore there (large English selection) Where I bought a book called "Korea Unmasked" which is a GREAT educational overview of the Korean people, their culture, history, economy, religion, etc. I already read it, but wanted my own copy b/c there are so many fascinating topics for discussion that I can as lesson plans for my classes with the Korean teachers. I also bought a copy of the novel, "Dead Poet's Society". That I want to read for enjoyment & inspiration. It was great getting a care package from my girlfriend because she sent me two of her favorite fictional children's books that she enjoyed as a little girl. I throughly enjoyed reading "Danny, the Champion of the World" by Roald Dahl and am currently reading a book called "The Giver". I was impressed how quickly & easily I was able to breeze through these books in a week. Because it has been taking me such a long time to get read a book called "The Power of NOW" It was such a nice, refreshing change of pace to read this easy, fun, light, leisurely, fiction books instead of all the non-fiction, spiritual, self-help books that I usually am wrapped up in. It's definitely a much welcomed break. I actually let Lisa borrow my Deepak Chopra book that I was reading over & over again, week to week for the past 10 weeks.
This past week I started taking Judo classes (or as the Koreans say "Yudo") at a school next to my apartment. I was looking around comparing Judo, to Hapkido, and Taekwondo. I decided on Judo because I like the studio, and the people there. Most of the teachers at these places don't speak any English, but this Judo teacher has a sister that is fluent and can translate for me which made me feel comfortable. It cost $60 to join for the month that includes classes Mon - Fri. from 5:20-6:30pm It is supposed to cost $50 for the uniform, but he said he would give me one for free. It was so so great being at practice 3 times this week. I absolutely love practicing many forward & backwards roles, flips, hops, jumps, etc. I got so so dizzy & light headed the first few times and still get light headed every time I go. I feel so good after class because I'm bringing some much needed Oxygen to my brain, which hasn't had a physical stimulation in a while since being in Korea. It's feels so so good to get "out of my head" and INTO my body for a change. I've been itching to do something physical out here and now I have a nice outlet in which to do something each week. I'm in a class with 8 other young elementary and middle school kids; one goes to the school I teach at, and other students are mentioning me to their native English teachers at school. It's a small town, so word gets around quickly!!
Thursday, November 8, 2007
A Tale of Two Trips
These past two weekends I found myself going to Daegu (3rd largest city of 3.5 mil) on back to back weekends where there is a big US Army base, and hence a BIG Costco Wholesale Club. The first trip was on a Saturday with Sarah, Lisa, and Jo (3 women) and myself. This started out innocently enough at first, until we got off at the wrong exit and proceeded to get lost for about 1 hour. Up to this point their was already enough drama, whining, bitching, complaining about everything under the sun. I just sat in the back of the car, quietly, not saying a word because I felt that my optimistic, rosy, positive outlook on life in Korea would really be a damper on their "pity party" and I didn't want to spoil all the "evidently" fun time they were having complaining about everything. At one point, while we were hopelessly lost & confused driving around Daegu, trying to find our way to Costco, I put my iPod headphones and listened to my music. After 2 hours in the car we finally got there. It was a HUGE relief to be able to get out the car and do some shopping. I bought a HUGE container of Salsa, 2 fresh tubs of guacamole, a big bag of almonds, pasta, fresh tomato sauce, ravioli, frozen veggies, etc. I was able to satisfy my Italian food craving at Costco. I really like Korean food, but after having it everyday, you want a little variety, some cuisine from another culture. What I really miss about Hoboken is the VAST array of food selection available. Everything from Indian, Italian, Mexican, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, etc. And who can forget the BIGGEST & BEST pizza slices in all of NJ at Benny Tudino's!!!! There have been times here when I've dreamt of having a nice, warm, juicy, slice of Benny's pies. Unfortunately I will have to wait a long time before I can enjoy one of those slices again.
So needless to say, I was very glad to get home from Costco after spending nearly 5 hours in the car & shopping with 3 women. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE women, I adore, respect, and admire women, and it's a fact that men can have an entirely different conversations when they are around other men then when they are in mixed company. There are certain ways we (men) have to be when we are amongst women, that we don't have to worry about when we are with only men. I guess what I'm realizing is how much I'm really missing being away from my Men's Team, and having an outlet where I can go be with other men for 3 hours once a week, and deal with all the "stuff" we need to get rid of & handle as men. Not having a group a powerful, masculine, men to reach out to, be in contact with on a regular basis, and to share my "stuff" (fears, anxieties, emotions, concerns, etc) with is a REAL MISSING for me in my life right now. I'm trying to be more involved, and in communication with my Men's Team (Team BITE) from back home. I even had the pleasure of listening into the team meeting for a full 2 1/2 hours last week. I was so great to listen in via speaker phone, to contribute, and to get a bit of the juice, energy & excitement I get from being around so many masculine men that are all committed to becoming better men (husbands, fathers, sons, teacher, professionals, etc) in their lives. It's truly an inspiring honor & privilege to be around these men.
So my second trip to Costco the following weekend was 100% times smoother. I went with Mick, Patrick, his wife, and myself. We got there NO PROBLEM in less than 1 hour!!! What a HUGE difference. I bought winter socks, gloves, dried cherries, fresh salmon, pasta Alfredo, canned tuna & salmon, etc. We ate lunch there and drove home smoothly. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation in the car on the way up & on the way back. At the rest stop on the way there, I tried a hot herbal drink which is made from tree bark. It was Gosh awfully terrible tasting. I could hardly finish a lil dixie cup sized sample. I don't know how the Koreans could drink this stuff in bulk, especially 2 liters jugs of it that they were selling.
After we returned from Daegu that Sunday, I went to the Bath House/Sauna here in Miryang to soak my tired & achy body in the hot tubs, sauna & steam room. I was so sore & tired b/c the day before, on Saturday we (16 English teachers) played a fun game of touch Rugby for about 1 1/2 hours before going hiking at Pychungsa Temple later that day. We started the hike at 2:15pm and didn't return until 6pm. Nearly 4 hours of an intense, grueling hike up mountainous rocks and steep hills. It was great fun being out there with a group of 10 Westerners. I just continue to thoroughly enjoy myself every time I go to Bath House because of the fun and different experiences I have there. Since it was a weekend, it was rather crowded there with Korean men and lots a young Korean boys running around naked jumping in & out of pools. They have so many great facilities to shower, shave, sleep, swim, soak in tub, etc. I especially enjoyed watching one man taking a shower, while brushing his teeth & at the same time taking a piss in the lone urinal that is located within the the shower stalls. Talk about multi-tasking!!!! It was definitely a sight to see!!
So needless to say, I was very glad to get home from Costco after spending nearly 5 hours in the car & shopping with 3 women. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE women, I adore, respect, and admire women, and it's a fact that men can have an entirely different conversations when they are around other men then when they are in mixed company. There are certain ways we (men) have to be when we are amongst women, that we don't have to worry about when we are with only men. I guess what I'm realizing is how much I'm really missing being away from my Men's Team, and having an outlet where I can go be with other men for 3 hours once a week, and deal with all the "stuff" we need to get rid of & handle as men. Not having a group a powerful, masculine, men to reach out to, be in contact with on a regular basis, and to share my "stuff" (fears, anxieties, emotions, concerns, etc) with is a REAL MISSING for me in my life right now. I'm trying to be more involved, and in communication with my Men's Team (Team BITE) from back home. I even had the pleasure of listening into the team meeting for a full 2 1/2 hours last week. I was so great to listen in via speaker phone, to contribute, and to get a bit of the juice, energy & excitement I get from being around so many masculine men that are all committed to becoming better men (husbands, fathers, sons, teacher, professionals, etc) in their lives. It's truly an inspiring honor & privilege to be around these men.
So my second trip to Costco the following weekend was 100% times smoother. I went with Mick, Patrick, his wife, and myself. We got there NO PROBLEM in less than 1 hour!!! What a HUGE difference. I bought winter socks, gloves, dried cherries, fresh salmon, pasta Alfredo, canned tuna & salmon, etc. We ate lunch there and drove home smoothly. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation in the car on the way up & on the way back. At the rest stop on the way there, I tried a hot herbal drink which is made from tree bark. It was Gosh awfully terrible tasting. I could hardly finish a lil dixie cup sized sample. I don't know how the Koreans could drink this stuff in bulk, especially 2 liters jugs of it that they were selling.
After we returned from Daegu that Sunday, I went to the Bath House/Sauna here in Miryang to soak my tired & achy body in the hot tubs, sauna & steam room. I was so sore & tired b/c the day before, on Saturday we (16 English teachers) played a fun game of touch Rugby for about 1 1/2 hours before going hiking at Pychungsa Temple later that day. We started the hike at 2:15pm and didn't return until 6pm. Nearly 4 hours of an intense, grueling hike up mountainous rocks and steep hills. It was great fun being out there with a group of 10 Westerners. I just continue to thoroughly enjoy myself every time I go to Bath House because of the fun and different experiences I have there. Since it was a weekend, it was rather crowded there with Korean men and lots a young Korean boys running around naked jumping in & out of pools. They have so many great facilities to shower, shave, sleep, swim, soak in tub, etc. I especially enjoyed watching one man taking a shower, while brushing his teeth & at the same time taking a piss in the lone urinal that is located within the the shower stalls. Talk about multi-tasking!!!! It was definitely a sight to see!!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
You what the thing about Korea is... it's the "little differences"
Just like the line John Travolta (Vincent Vega) uses in Pulp Fiction when he's talking to Samuel L. Jackson about his experiences in Amsterdam, France, etc. "You what the thing about Europe is? it's the 'lil differences'" Samuel Jackson says, "What do you mean?" Like you can drink beer, a glass of beer in a movie theater in Paris, they put mayonnaise on their French Fries in Amsterdam and in McDonald's, they don't call a Quarter Pounder with cheese a "Quarter Pounder with cheese" in Paris b/c they use the Metric system, and they wouldn't know what the heck a "1/4 lb er" is. They call it a "Royale with Cheese." Well, it's the same thing here in Korea.....It's the lil differences...
For example: no one really uses designated places to park their cars in Korea, they kinda just park along side the road somewhere where "they think" (huh is that an oxymoron, Korean's thinking??) is out of the way. My friend Lisa from the US has this "think opposite theory" that's been working well for her over the past 8 months. It goes like this...just imagine what "you" (Westerner) would think is logical and do the EXACT OPPOSITE of that thinking!!! For example, we were in a hotel room in Busan, (the same EXACT room that Kim, Dan & I stayed in a few weeks earlier) and Lisa was trying to turn the lamp on near the bed. I told her, "Yeah, I tried to figure how to work that thing last time, but I had no luck." But Lisa using her "EXACT opposite" theory figured it out. There was no switch up top, around where the light bulb & lamp shade where, so she looked in the total opposite direction and found the light switch on the floor near the power outlet. I was impressed that she found it and figured it out using her theory.
Getting back to the car parking I was mentioning earlier, what mostly all Koreans do is have their cell phone number's printed or written in some form on the dashboard of their car. Most of them have it quilted on a little pillow (pin cushion). I have a picture of this pillow I need to post on my flickr site soon. Another things Koreans do when they park is not put their car in Park or use their parking brake. The first week we were here, we saw a car slowly pull out into the middle of the street and just stay there. We then noticed that there was NO ONE in the car!!!! It had accidentally rolled back into the street b/c the owner did not put the brake on or put the car in Park.
When Koreans drive, they use their hazard "sorry" lights often when they are inadvertently pulling out into traffic trying not to cut anyone off. The way it works is that if someone puts these lights on, they are "immune" to offending or pissing anyone off my cutting them off. They also beep their horn gently to alert people in front of them that they are coming up behind them. Not in a rude, obnoxious, arrogant way, but in a rather polite, courteous way. I find there is a fine line btw. being impatient (obnoxious, road rage) and a polite, gentle reminder that there is someone coming up behind you. And that's another thing, there doesn't seem to be ANY rushed, impatient, annoyed people anywhere in the entire country. There is no such thing as Road Rage...is simply DOES NOT EXIST out here!!! They are all just going about there business rather calmly, peacefully, joyously without any rush, or need to "get" anywhere hurriedly.
Another thing I've really enjoyed observing is seeing how these little children signal cars to alert them when they want to cross the street. I've seen young (8-10yr) children raise their hand over their head clenched in a fist, then they wait for the cars to stop & they safely cross. They do this right on the main road that runs through the middle of town. I needed to cross the street this past Wednesday to get to the Multicultural Meeting, and the traffic was heavy, so instead of being patient and waiting for a lull, I took a page out of the Korean children's book my raising my fist overhead, waited for cars to stop & I crossed. This amused Lisa to no end!!! She was cracking up witnessing me do this.
More on these differences next time. - Darren your Far East connection
For example: no one really uses designated places to park their cars in Korea, they kinda just park along side the road somewhere where "they think" (huh is that an oxymoron, Korean's thinking??) is out of the way. My friend Lisa from the US has this "think opposite theory" that's been working well for her over the past 8 months. It goes like this...just imagine what "you" (Westerner) would think is logical and do the EXACT OPPOSITE of that thinking!!! For example, we were in a hotel room in Busan, (the same EXACT room that Kim, Dan & I stayed in a few weeks earlier) and Lisa was trying to turn the lamp on near the bed. I told her, "Yeah, I tried to figure how to work that thing last time, but I had no luck." But Lisa using her "EXACT opposite" theory figured it out. There was no switch up top, around where the light bulb & lamp shade where, so she looked in the total opposite direction and found the light switch on the floor near the power outlet. I was impressed that she found it and figured it out using her theory.
Getting back to the car parking I was mentioning earlier, what mostly all Koreans do is have their cell phone number's printed or written in some form on the dashboard of their car. Most of them have it quilted on a little pillow (pin cushion). I have a picture of this pillow I need to post on my flickr site soon. Another things Koreans do when they park is not put their car in Park or use their parking brake. The first week we were here, we saw a car slowly pull out into the middle of the street and just stay there. We then noticed that there was NO ONE in the car!!!! It had accidentally rolled back into the street b/c the owner did not put the brake on or put the car in Park.
When Koreans drive, they use their hazard "sorry" lights often when they are inadvertently pulling out into traffic trying not to cut anyone off. The way it works is that if someone puts these lights on, they are "immune" to offending or pissing anyone off my cutting them off. They also beep their horn gently to alert people in front of them that they are coming up behind them. Not in a rude, obnoxious, arrogant way, but in a rather polite, courteous way. I find there is a fine line btw. being impatient (obnoxious, road rage) and a polite, gentle reminder that there is someone coming up behind you. And that's another thing, there doesn't seem to be ANY rushed, impatient, annoyed people anywhere in the entire country. There is no such thing as Road Rage...is simply DOES NOT EXIST out here!!! They are all just going about there business rather calmly, peacefully, joyously without any rush, or need to "get" anywhere hurriedly.
Another thing I've really enjoyed observing is seeing how these little children signal cars to alert them when they want to cross the street. I've seen young (8-10yr) children raise their hand over their head clenched in a fist, then they wait for the cars to stop & they safely cross. They do this right on the main road that runs through the middle of town. I needed to cross the street this past Wednesday to get to the Multicultural Meeting, and the traffic was heavy, so instead of being patient and waiting for a lull, I took a page out of the Korean children's book my raising my fist overhead, waited for cars to stop & I crossed. This amused Lisa to no end!!! She was cracking up witnessing me do this.
More on these differences next time. - Darren your Far East connection
Hello to all my NY/NJ Peeps back home (Happy Halloween)
So how is life back home in the Big Apple? Still plugging away as the city that never sleeps? I'm so excited b/c I just download the Best of Frank Sinatra from the web which contains 43 AMAZING songs from Frankie Blue Eyes, or as my new friend from Scotland refers to him simply as "the voice." That's right, I was down visiting friends in Changwon this past Sat. night Oct 27th wearing a BIG Curly Blonde wig (which I borrowed from the school's teacher's lounge). Had my Hawaiian shirt on over my "Hoboken, NJ" tee shirt, wore my friend Lisa's swim goggle's, put white toothpaste on my nose, borrowed my friends beach ball & went as an 80's surfer dude!!! While we were outside hanging out on the sidewalk of the local "Family Mart" (that's really the actual name) I met this coolest Scottish lad (or is it chap) named Keith; I don't know the different terms these other English speaking folk use....but this guy blew me away with stuff he knew about my hometown. Like he KNEW that Hoboken was the birthplace of "the voice" (Sinatra). He also is a Miami Dolphins fan and he knew of the most famous shootout in Jets/Dolphins history. Yup, I'm talking about the O'Brien vs. Marino 400+ yards passing day in 1986 in the Meadowlands!!!! I was actually at that game with my dad & my brother when we left early b/c the Dolphins had such a big lead at the end of the guy & my dad wanted to beat the traffic home. To our surprise, the Jets made a MIRACULOUS comeback, tied it up at 45 - 45 and won in overtime 51-45. He even knew that Wesley Walker (who caught the game-winning pass) was blind in one eye!!!!! Needless to say, I was most impressed with the random encounter we had hanging on the sidewalk outside of a mini-mart. He even knew which Jets player was nicknamed, "the GREEN Lantern". Does anyone know who he is talking about??? I had forgotten myself because it was not very widely talked about. He was actually referring to one of my favorite Jets of ALL TIME, Wayne Chrebet!!! WOW, how impressive it that?? He told of the 2 best Westerner bars in Changwon (IP Bar & O'Brien's Bar). He informed us of the 15,000 Won, all you can drink from 9pm-12am (which they extended until 1am) b/c everyone was having such a good time!!! Many English teachers dressed up as Elvis Presley, Homer Simpson, Miss Australia, Beetlejuice, and my favorite was "Whitetrash Man" (this guy wrapped himself up in garbage bags, painted his face white, and asked everyone to stick garbage in his plastic poach. I took the liberty to use his costume and stuck my beer can in there. That's another cultural difference among North American and the Brits & Aussies. They don't call it a "costume"party when you get dressed up in silly outfits.... they call it a "fancy dress" party. Well good, huh? As my friend Kim from London would say. Needless to say, we had a blast that night!!! Spent the night at the Hotel Diana for 40,000 Won, and treated myself to another AMAZING massage at the sauna/spa at the Olympic Hotel. For 5,000 Won, I showered, bathed, used the sauna, steamroom, Hot Baths, etc. Then I went to the Barber Shop which is joined to the spa to get a shave, and I wound up enjoying the most vigorous, intense, full service massage ever. It started out with 3 Korean women massaging me at once. One on my head, neck, and shoulders....and one on each of my legs (hamstrings). I think there were probably 4-5 different women that rotated on & off for close to two hours!!! It was one of the longest shave/massages that I've ever gotten. It just kept on going & going, flipping me back & forth, front to back, with pillow, w/o pillow, with hot steam towel, etc. The best was when she finished shaving me, she pulled out these freezing cold, thinly sliced cucumber pieces and applied apprx. 10-15 strips all over my face!!! And she left it there for well over 25 minutes while another woman massaged my legs, feet, and hips for the second or third time. No joke, this massage was PHENOMENAL!!!! And it only cost $70. No tip needed either.... WOW, what a deal!!!!! That was a great end to a fun fun weekend. I treated myself to nice, juicy Bacon Cheeseburger with french fries & a LOADED baked potato at TGI Friday's for lunch earlier that day (which was such a treat b/c we don't have any of these "luxurious" Westerner restaurant in my small town. I was in super-slow motion the entire day, trying to recover from all the drinking the night before. I slept until 1pm, tried to drag, and peel myself out of bed and get moving. just slowly wandered around all day. It was great. I was so slow, in fact, that I missed all the final buses that go back to Miryang and was considering staying over night and taking the bus at 6am the next day. But I got a Taxi driver to drive me 40 minutes home for $40. It was a good deal considering it would have cost me that to stay in a hotel over night.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
What do I do after School?
One teacher asked what I do everyday after school. I just absent mindedly answered her by saying, "I go to the gym." That's really I lie b/c I haven't even joined a gym yet. But if I think about it, what I do is different each night. Let's see.....last Monday (after I spent an hour visiting the acupuncturist's office which I do every Mon, Wed, & Fri) I went over to my friend's Mick's (from New Zealand) apartment for Monday Night Football. It was actually the Jets pathetic showing of their Sunday game against the Eagles. Didn't you just "love" those "cool-looking" throwback uniforms? NOT!!!! Anyway, it was fun, b/c Terry, Pawn, his wife from Thailand, Warren from Canada, Patrick from USA and his wife from Peru, all went to Mick's for Pizza, Chicken, Beer and NFL football, what could be better than that? A Jets win, perhaps!!! I plugged my laptop into Mick's HUGE 42 inch flatscreen TV & we watched the entire game with picture perfect sharpness & picture quality. That was Monday. On Tuesday, I was tired and achy, so I went to the Bath House and enjoyed almost 2 hours of steam rooms, hot tubs, showers, cold pools, etc. I enjoyed switching from the steaming hot tub to the freezing COLD pool. It was so good for me b/c I need to get "out of my head" and the freezing cold water was just the trick I needed!!! I got to sit, lie down on the reclining chair and sleep, meditate, and I was able to release, to let go and FINALLY surrender all my thoughts, fears, worries, anxieties, doubts, etc. to God. This was such a HUGE miracle for me b/c ever since I've arrived in Korea, I have never really been able to be present, aware, comfortable, or conscious of actually being in Korea!!!! I was always "someplace else". I was here physically but my mind, my being, my soul, was elsewhere. Usually thinking of being back home in NJ with all my friends, my family, and esp. my girlfriend and my Men's Team. This was actually preventing me from truly enjoying Korea and really being here, fully present in the moment. But hanging out that night in the Sauna really was a miracle that created a tremendous SHIFT in my entire being. I was able to "let go" of all the fear, worry, doubt, loneliness, anxiety (all the "mind chatter") and just give it up to God and ALLOW myself to finally FULLY BE here!!!! Now I can truly say that I am just now, finally able to fully experience the joy, the passion, and the adventure of being in Korea. Before this awakening took place, I was literally counting down the days, weeks, months, minutes, etc. until my contract ends and I can go back home. This was such a DISEMPOWERING , unproductive way to live life. After I had this shift in perception, I went from "counting down" the days, to: "Oh my, I ONLY have 10 1/2 months to go out here in Korea, so I better best utilize my time & take full advantage of EVERY minute I have out here. Because before you know it, 3 months, 6 months, 1year will fly by and I would have missed an entire year my life. Being in this funky daze; this illusory world of the absent, far off, and the lost.
So needless to say, last Tuesday a big day for me!!!
On Wednesday evening, after playing badminton at school, and after acupuncture, I attended my first meeting of the Miryang Culture Club, where Terry, Mick, Lisa, and myself gathered with a bunch of native Koreans (and 1 Philipina lady) to discuss cultural issues, like movies, TV, books, jobs, hobbies, etc. It was a very nice gathering and I'm looking forward to my second meeting on Wednesday which will include a nice pork dinner, followed by a few hours spent lying in the Jin Jil Bang. "Sauna/Heat Room" I tell you, these Koreans love EVERYTHING HOT!!!! From their Hot & Spicy food to the hot saunas and Bath Houses!!! It should be a great time & I'm looking forward to it.
On Thursday I was taken out to dinner by my co-teacher along with the four 6th grade teachers. The reason we were invited to was to "celebrate." We were celebrating the luck & fortune my co-teacher had of accidently driving her car in reverse, over the curb, down the hill & nearly crashing into the school!!!! Luckily there was a metal pole in the way that she backed into, saving her from hitting the school. She is a new driver who accidently hit the gas when she meant to hit the brake and wound up giving herself a big scare. Thankfully she didn't hit anyone else & nobody got hurt. I felt so bad for her, but she was able laugh about it the next day. We also got to enjoy the most delicious "ma shi ta" in Korean, fresh whipped cream cake topped with fresh kiwis, orange, and cling peaches. UM UM Yum. This was also a treat from my co-teacher b/c of the accident she got in. I told her that the cake and the dinner is very nice and all, but she better not make it a habit f accidently putting her car in reverse and nearly smashing into the school. Definitely not a good idea. She now asked if I could drive her car down to a meeting we both have to attend about an hour away from here. I might do it if I can apply for an Intl. Driver's license in time.
After, dinner, we stopped by the batting cages by my apartment to try our luck hitting baseballs. You get 15 pitches for 50 cents, what a bargain!!!
On Friday, the fifth night, I rested. I was at home on my computer, blogging, emailing and trying to stay warm b/c the temperature was down around 34 degrees and was very windy. My apartment was shaking b/c the town was shooting off fireworks by City Hall which is right near my apartment. So, I guess I didn't do myself justice when I answered: "I go to the gym" when asked what I do after school, huh?
What do you do after work?
So needless to say, last Tuesday a big day for me!!!
On Wednesday evening, after playing badminton at school, and after acupuncture, I attended my first meeting of the Miryang Culture Club, where Terry, Mick, Lisa, and myself gathered with a bunch of native Koreans (and 1 Philipina lady) to discuss cultural issues, like movies, TV, books, jobs, hobbies, etc. It was a very nice gathering and I'm looking forward to my second meeting on Wednesday which will include a nice pork dinner, followed by a few hours spent lying in the Jin Jil Bang. "Sauna/Heat Room" I tell you, these Koreans love EVERYTHING HOT!!!! From their Hot & Spicy food to the hot saunas and Bath Houses!!! It should be a great time & I'm looking forward to it.
On Thursday I was taken out to dinner by my co-teacher along with the four 6th grade teachers. The reason we were invited to was to "celebrate." We were celebrating the luck & fortune my co-teacher had of accidently driving her car in reverse, over the curb, down the hill & nearly crashing into the school!!!! Luckily there was a metal pole in the way that she backed into, saving her from hitting the school. She is a new driver who accidently hit the gas when she meant to hit the brake and wound up giving herself a big scare. Thankfully she didn't hit anyone else & nobody got hurt. I felt so bad for her, but she was able laugh about it the next day. We also got to enjoy the most delicious "ma shi ta" in Korean, fresh whipped cream cake topped with fresh kiwis, orange, and cling peaches. UM UM Yum. This was also a treat from my co-teacher b/c of the accident she got in. I told her that the cake and the dinner is very nice and all, but she better not make it a habit f accidently putting her car in reverse and nearly smashing into the school. Definitely not a good idea. She now asked if I could drive her car down to a meeting we both have to attend about an hour away from here. I might do it if I can apply for an Intl. Driver's license in time.
After, dinner, we stopped by the batting cages by my apartment to try our luck hitting baseballs. You get 15 pitches for 50 cents, what a bargain!!!
On Friday, the fifth night, I rested. I was at home on my computer, blogging, emailing and trying to stay warm b/c the temperature was down around 34 degrees and was very windy. My apartment was shaking b/c the town was shooting off fireworks by City Hall which is right near my apartment. So, I guess I didn't do myself justice when I answered: "I go to the gym" when asked what I do after school, huh?
What do you do after work?
It feels like Halloween Has Come Early!!!
Last week was so so much fun in school. I got teach every 5th & 6th grade class my own lesson. This is a new change that will allow me to create my own lesson plan each week and teach 120 students in each grade anything I feel like teaching. So this was a great opportunity for me to implement some more bribery...um um YES!!! I began with a lesson on common greetings. I wanted to break them out of the robotic: "Hi, How are you? I'm fine thank you & you?" So, I told them, if they say: "How's it going? How are things? How's life? or What's up/happening" I will give them a candy. Well I taught this lesson 2 weeks ago, and they were all out in full force last Thursday & Friday. I just love having random students come up to me in the hallway, in the bathroom, while walking through the quad in the morning, etc. Say, "Hello Teacher, How's life?" I say: "Excellent and you?" If they respond with any of the following: "I'm wonderful, I'm fantastic, I'm great, I'm not bad." I will give them a candy. But if they say, "I'm fine." NO CANDY!!! Last week was so great b/c once one students take to initiative to come up and ask me "How's it going?" He/she then whispers it to their friend and it starts this BIG snowball affect. I really love it though, I'm constantly running to my desk to pull out more candies to stash in my pockets. It seriously felt like Halloween last week. Or I feel like Santa Claus giving out treats and goodies, or sometimes I feel like a trainer at Sea World throwing out fish (candies) to the dolphins (students) in class. Some students don't get the concept of how to get candy, so they grovel & beg with their hand out saying: "Teachuh, Teachuh, candy, candy please".... and usually they mumble something else in Korean. They don't get that that will not get them a candy. Now I have over 240 students that I've incentivized to say these new greetings in order to get candy. Needless to say, I'm running to the store to buy candy a lot. I think I will also start to use stickers as a reward also. I also told them to say: "a piece of cake" if something is EASY and to say, "a pain in the neck" if something is HARD. Its really great b/c t take almost an entire 40 minute lesson just to teach these 2 phrases. I have promised to give any student who correctly uses these phrases candy as well.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Going Strong in Miryang South Korea
Good Evening from Miryang, South Korea, population approx. 130,000. Did you know they actually made a movie about this city? It's called: Milyang "Secret Sunshine" I'd be curious to see if anybody could find out any info. on this movie. Please let me know if you do. Well things have been settling down quite nicely for me over the past 2 weeks. Starting with last Friday's 4th grade school field trip to Gyeongu, the country's oldest and probably most famous cultural city, known as an open air museum, literally a museum w/o walls. It's Korea's ancient cultural capital city of the once great Silla Kingdom dating back to 600 A.D. In 1979 it was named one of the world's 10 most important ancient cultural cities during the UNESCO meeting in Thailand. To me it was just a bunch of really really old stuff. The best part of the trip for me was being on the bus (one of 3 buses total carrying over 120 4th graders) and enjoying the movies, food, drinks and snacks they all shared with me. We watched Ice Age cartoon movie in Korean of course, and Tom & Jerry which I have not watched in a very long time (at least since I've moved out of Hoboken over 3 months ago.) The Korean students (people) are so so extremely generous and shared all sorts of drinks, juices, crackers, cookies, chocolates, candy, etc. It was a really treat and pleasure to be treated so warmly. One of the other English teachers said that the children try to 'out do' each other by giving the most (the best) snacks. What a crazed culture, but I certainly didn't mind it at all. We went to Bulguk-Sa Temple, one of the most frequented and well known temples in all of Korea. There were tons & tons of people there at 10am on a Friday, mostly young grade school students enjoying their class trip. It was extremely fun being there with all the kids and the four teachers. One of the teachers, "Kenny" was explaining to me th difference btw. a Temple and a Church. Do you want to know what the difference is???? He said that a temple is located up in the mountains, and a church is usually just located down on the ground. WOW, I thought that was some deep, thought-provoking information that you cannot learn anywhere else but in Korea. I was actually waiting to learn some profound, insightful distinction from him, but I guess not. We had a delicious Gim Bap (sushi-like rice roll, with ham, egg, radish, and other veggies) picnic outside on the grass. Again the children came up to me and gave me many many goodies. After the Temple, we drove to Ulsan to see where the Hyundai Motor Corp headquarters in located. We drove by the shipyards where they are manufacturing these ENORMOUS ocean liner cargo ships and transportation vessels. It was so massive to see how much steel and heavy equipment they had there. Then we got out and were able to walk through the Hyundai Motor Corp factory. There we got to see the thousands of cars being pumped out on the enormous assembly line. It was clean, efficient, and quite impressive looking. But I just couldn't imagine sitting there all day with a drill bolting down the same thing all day everyday. Does anyone know if the workers actually shift stations periodically, or do they stay at the same post all the time? That would really stink and be extremely monotonous. But that is the life for many people. Ulsan is a big port city of 1 million similar to that of Detroit. After our tour, we drove to the Soccer stadium where Korea & Japan co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup soccer matches. I believe Brazil won first place that year and Korea actually reached the semi-final round which was the first time an Asian country has ever advanced so far. After this we headed home back to Miryang. That evening I stopped by the acupuncturist's clinic where I got to lay down and relax for an hour on this wonderful heated table where they put a hot heat pad on my legs along with placing this got red heat lamp over my body. It was a wonderful way to end a long day of sightseeing.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
This past weekend was a Blast
I decided to stay home in Miryang this weekend instead of venturing off to the Busan Film Festival with Kim, Dan & 3 other English teachers. I exercised a lot, read, did laundry hiked, etc. On Saturday night I rode my bike to the Health Center and jogged around the track several times; I stopped at watched people playing tennis on these clay courts underneath the lights, and as I was walking back, these 4 young Korean children invited me to play baseball with them. I became the designated pitcher, some of them could hit the ball well, others just swung and missed. I got a chance to bat and was able to crank some balls deep in the outfield for a home run ( I had to run the bases of course b/c there was no fence). After playing baseball, we switched to soccer. Now it has to be well over 20 years since I've played soccer, so I was kinda worried that these kids were going to smoke me!!!! It was three on two and I spent the whole time running up & down the field like a maniac trying to kick the ball in the goal. I scored several times and our team won by a score of 5 - 4. It was very very fun and was excellent exercise. The next day I was supposed to meet some teachers from my school to take a bus ride to a nearby famous Temple for a vigorous hike, but I was too late for the bus (what else is new) so I decided to walk along the river on my own. I crossed over this huge cement dam that runs across the river where people can swim during the summer time. I went up these steeps stairs to a small Buddhist Temple were I walked around and went inside to meditate for approx.. 30 min. After my meditation, I was invited by one of the monks to have lunch with them. There were about 15 people gathering around this long table, where we all sat on the floor and helped ourselves to this lovely (mainly vegetarian) Korean feast. We ate, eggplant, string beans, carrots, potatoes, etc. It was so delicious. One of the monks showed me a magazine from the Oct 2007 issue of CEO magazine in which there was a picture of him & the Temple community. This man was a very warm, friendly, loving and caring person who opened his arms to me in a most sincere and heartfelt way. I really enjoyed myself there and got to take a picture with them. It's been a while since I've uploaded pics onto my Flickr site, and I have lots of new great pictures to upload soon. It was a great, quite, and peacefully weekend here in Miryang.
On Monday I invited my friend Terry from California over to watch some on the football games from Sunday. We woefully watched the Jets lose once again, this time to the Giants. I'm glad I'm not missing much of an exciting football season at least as far as being a Jets fan goes.
Wednesday after the weekly volleyball game, I went out to dinner with 5 other teachers from my school. They took me out for a traditional Korean style restaurant where we once again sat on the floor with these little table close to the ground. We had Delicious Bu Chim Kay, a vegetable patty with lees, green onions, squid, shrimp and light egg batter yum yum; We also enjoy Bi Bim Bap; Rice, noodle, veggie, egg, spicy dish, and this awesome soup with homemade dough, green pumpkin, red peppers, etc,,,,,it was DELICIOUS !!! I also had traditional Korean Rice wine for the first time tonight!!! It was very nice, a lil sweet tasting; I learned a lot about the animosity and hatred the Koreans have for the Japanese because of them annexing Korea and colonizing Korea for a period of 35 years from 1910 until August 15th 1945 (Korean Liberation Day-another national holiday & a day off from school). The Koreans are a very proud, nationalistic, resilient, extreme, intense, fiery & aggressive group of people. I'm reading a great book called "Korea Unmasked" that explains the history, politics, religious beliefs,values & temperament of Korea and it's people. A very fascinating read. Did you know that Koreans have the highest rate of stomach cancer in the world b/c of all the hot, spicy food they eat?? Talk about being fiery, and intense...it shows up literally everywhere in their culture.
Until next time.
Live With Passion - Darren
On Monday I invited my friend Terry from California over to watch some on the football games from Sunday. We woefully watched the Jets lose once again, this time to the Giants. I'm glad I'm not missing much of an exciting football season at least as far as being a Jets fan goes.
Wednesday after the weekly volleyball game, I went out to dinner with 5 other teachers from my school. They took me out for a traditional Korean style restaurant where we once again sat on the floor with these little table close to the ground. We had Delicious Bu Chim Kay, a vegetable patty with lees, green onions, squid, shrimp and light egg batter yum yum; We also enjoy Bi Bim Bap; Rice, noodle, veggie, egg, spicy dish, and this awesome soup with homemade dough, green pumpkin, red peppers, etc,,,,,it was DELICIOUS !!! I also had traditional Korean Rice wine for the first time tonight!!! It was very nice, a lil sweet tasting; I learned a lot about the animosity and hatred the Koreans have for the Japanese because of them annexing Korea and colonizing Korea for a period of 35 years from 1910 until August 15th 1945 (Korean Liberation Day-another national holiday & a day off from school). The Koreans are a very proud, nationalistic, resilient, extreme, intense, fiery & aggressive group of people. I'm reading a great book called "Korea Unmasked" that explains the history, politics, religious beliefs,values & temperament of Korea and it's people. A very fascinating read. Did you know that Koreans have the highest rate of stomach cancer in the world b/c of all the hot, spicy food they eat?? Talk about being fiery, and intense...it shows up literally everywhere in their culture.
Until next time.
Live With Passion - Darren
Saturday, October 6, 2007
The BEST Day Ever!!!! (Friday)
Well I must say that my day at school on Friday was one of the best days EVER!!!! First of all, Fridays are a very easy for b/c I only have 2 classes in the mornings, then I'm free until 3pm when I teach my final class before I go home. I love hanging out a the couches in the teacher's lounge, reading my books, listening to music or Korean language programs on my iPod, or sometimes I just meditate or sleep. I'm usually in there all alone b/c the other teachers all have class to teach. I teach the 4th grade on Tuesdays & Fridays. I was in rare form to say the least.... first off I grabbed a BIG, BRIGHT, CURLY, YELLOW Wig from the teacher's lounge and wore it for a skit in front of my first class. They all laughed hysterically. Then the second class (after tea time) was a riot!!! We sang songs, danced, played, laughed, etc. The teacher had picked a few boys to do a dance routine to the song & I joined in at the front of the room. I was jumping, twisting, turning, kicking my legs, etc. The girls were so embarrassed for me that they had to cover the faces with their hands b/c they were laughing so much. I was really enjoying myself immensely. Then the best thing happened; they were playing this game where they had to write down their friend's name is the book when all of a sudden, one student says to me: "Teacha teacha, sign sign!!" So I signed his book; then EVERYONE (all 25 kids) proceeded to run over to me & shove pieces of paper, their books, notepads, etc in my face for me to sign. They literally MOBBED me. They were out of control excited for me to sign (autograph) their books for them; You would think that I was Madonna, Micheal Jordon, or some other famous celebrity!!! I wish I could have taken a picture to show you what it was like. I've been carrying my camera around with me a lot lately and I have many pictures I need to upload on my flickr site. Please stay tuned for the updates. I have pictures of the teachers and students in the bathrooms brushing their teeth, kids playing soccer, cute kids walking in the hallways, the funniest was seeing an ENTIRE class of 30 kids all sitting on their knees on top of their desks, way up in the air. There was no teacher in the room (apparently he told them to sit/kneel in that position until he came back) It's so funny to see the punishments/requests that the teachers gives their children. You never quite know when you are going to have that perfect Kodak moment. I have pics of me eating in the cafeteria and many other interesting shots.
Friday night we went to "Mix Bar" the ONLY bar in Miryang that serves cocktails. (how sad is that?) I had a few Jack & Cokes, some beer and tasted many other drinks from my English Teach friends. It is Kim's 23rd birthday this Sunday so we went out celebrating with her.
Before going to the bar, I went to a furniture store & bought myself a beautiful, comfortable computer chair. The store owner was so nice ( a lil buzzed off of Soju, the Korean vodka) he invited me to sit down, meet his sister and one of his employees; He offered me a glass of tomato juice; I sat down and chatted with him for 10 minutes; He welcomed me with open arms and said that I am welcome there anytime. Then I went in the truck with the other guy to deliver the chair to my apt. But before we went to my apt, I asked them where I could find a decent "Kim Bap" (a delicious sushi-like rice & seaweed roll with egg, radish, ham, etc) He drove me to a restaurant downtown where I order some food to go & then jumped back in the truck to drive me & my new computer chair home. It was so great & I'm having such a blast meeting & making friends with so many Koreans. Hope you are all enjoying the beautiful weather back home in NY. Bye for now.
Friday night we went to "Mix Bar" the ONLY bar in Miryang that serves cocktails. (how sad is that?) I had a few Jack & Cokes, some beer and tasted many other drinks from my English Teach friends. It is Kim's 23rd birthday this Sunday so we went out celebrating with her.
Before going to the bar, I went to a furniture store & bought myself a beautiful, comfortable computer chair. The store owner was so nice ( a lil buzzed off of Soju, the Korean vodka) he invited me to sit down, meet his sister and one of his employees; He offered me a glass of tomato juice; I sat down and chatted with him for 10 minutes; He welcomed me with open arms and said that I am welcome there anytime. Then I went in the truck with the other guy to deliver the chair to my apt. But before we went to my apt, I asked them where I could find a decent "Kim Bap" (a delicious sushi-like rice & seaweed roll with egg, radish, ham, etc) He drove me to a restaurant downtown where I order some food to go & then jumped back in the truck to drive me & my new computer chair home. It was so great & I'm having such a blast meeting & making friends with so many Koreans. Hope you are all enjoying the beautiful weather back home in NY. Bye for now.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Week 5 Coming to a Close
Good Evening,
I'm comfortably sitting on my a pillow on my kitchen floor, I have my laptop on top of another pillow resting on my thighs and I'm watching Tom Selleck being interviewed by Jay Leno on the Tonight Show. Ahhh, all the amenities of home; He also has an an actor named Carlos Mencia starring in a movie called The Heartbreak Kid; Is that a current movie that is out now? By the way, I want to let people know & encourage everyone reading my blog to write a comment based on anything you read here. I want to thank Jerry & Dave N. for posting the first two comments on my Sept. 28th Blog entry. My parents have been telling me how much people enjoy reading my blog back home and I would love to hear people's comments, feedback, questions, insights, etc. Please feel free to post a comment at any time. I really enjoy watching this Armed Forces Network TV channel, which comes in live from Osan Air Force base, Camp Casey, Seoul & Daegu. It has all kinds of news for American service men, and their families living here; I found out of some bowling competition they have going on in Daegu that I might want to check out. I enjoyed watching ER, CSI Miami & Everyone Loves Raymond tonight. Shows that I never watched at home, but I'm watching now.
I forgot to tell everyone that two weeks ago, when I received my first paycheck, I went out and purchased a brand new 21 speed mountain bike with dual suspension; It cost me a whopping 80,000 WON approx $80; I love it and have enjoyed riding it all around town, around the river, thorough town, into the mountains, etc.
After I got back from Busan during Chusok vacation, we (about 15 of us) gathered along the river on an absolutely gorgeous day to relax, play cards, drink beer, and cook an amazing samyeopsal (Korean BBQ) with two grills that other English teachers brought with them. We stayed there from 2pm until 8pm when I left to go home, and they continued on the a Norebang (singing/Karaoke room). Very popular here in Korea. We only taught 2 days that week.
This week has been decent; I've been feeling kinda tired, drained and a bit stressed out this week. Mainly due to the fact that I haven't been sleeping well at all this entire week; I've been staying up way too late & have had trouble falling asleep mainly due to these annoying mosquitoes that fly around my room constantly. I constantly have the fly swatter in my hands looking to kill several mosquitoes per night; but they keep on coming in again from somewhere else. I will have to go buy myself a mosquito net which a lot of other teachers use here. I bought a nice new, pink pillow this week for $5.00 and I enjoy have a second pillow to prop my computer on and to use as a mock couch. I have no really comfortable piece of furniture to lounge out on in my apt. I'm probably going to buy a nice new computer chair tomorrow b/c the kitchen chair I'm using starts to hurt after a while. I've been going back & forth up & down all week long amongst a wide range of feelings and emotions; Being a lil scared, lonely, tired, achy, etc. I went to receive acupuncture 3x this week which relaxed me and calmed me down a bit. I'm missing a lot of my friends back home and especially miss my girlfriend Flo. Then I have days when I just absolutely love being all the way out here in Korea. This kids are all so wonderful, cute, and still very excited to see me every time I walk down the hall (and walk down the street for that matter). I would say that 70% of the kids who see me on the street wave to me, smile, and say hi. They even wave & shout to me from moving buses & vans. It's really quite exciting and makes me feel very loved & appreciated. You really do get a small sense of what is like to be a mini-celebrity. The biggest thing that I learned about myself this week is that I'm always so worried with keeping busy, having things to do, instead of just staying home once in a while & relaxing. Slowing down, relaxing, breathing, meditating, reading the bible, etc These are ALL things I did here on Wednesday during my day off from school. It was so so great, relaxing and peaceful. I was so excited b/c I got to speak with Flo on Wednesday via Skype and actually got to see her sitting at home in her apt. via webcam and she got to see me on my webcam; it was so so great great to see her live after a long 5 weeks of not seeing her at all. That day I started re-reading a book called "The Power of NOW", I read a book on Korean culture and history, worked out with this new exercise/pilates ball a friend here gave me; Finally at 8pm that night I left the house for the first time & went for a bike ride in along in the dark back windy roads along side the mountains. During my ride back, I stopped off and dropped $.50 in to the machine by the batting cages and took about 10 hits with a bat they had there; it was very cool; I think they might actually be open 24 hours there b/c the machine takes coins just like an arcade machine; So I might have a new fun activity available to me to relieve stress, let off some stream, while at the same time improving my batting swing; All for the low price of $.50, what a deal!!!! On the way back I stopped off to buy a beer & I ran across and new flavored Ice Cream I've never seen before. It said, "Cheese & Raspberry" To my amazement, I turned out to be the most delicious, creamiest, cheesecake flavored ice cream with raspberry swirls!!! yum yum!!!!!
That basically highlights week 4 & week 5. Until next time, I look forward to hearing & reading some comments from people reading my blog. Have a Great Friday everyone (Thurs for those of you in back in the US).
I'm comfortably sitting on my a pillow on my kitchen floor, I have my laptop on top of another pillow resting on my thighs and I'm watching Tom Selleck being interviewed by Jay Leno on the Tonight Show. Ahhh, all the amenities of home; He also has an an actor named Carlos Mencia starring in a movie called The Heartbreak Kid; Is that a current movie that is out now? By the way, I want to let people know & encourage everyone reading my blog to write a comment based on anything you read here. I want to thank Jerry & Dave N. for posting the first two comments on my Sept. 28th Blog entry. My parents have been telling me how much people enjoy reading my blog back home and I would love to hear people's comments, feedback, questions, insights, etc. Please feel free to post a comment at any time. I really enjoy watching this Armed Forces Network TV channel, which comes in live from Osan Air Force base, Camp Casey, Seoul & Daegu. It has all kinds of news for American service men, and their families living here; I found out of some bowling competition they have going on in Daegu that I might want to check out. I enjoyed watching ER, CSI Miami & Everyone Loves Raymond tonight. Shows that I never watched at home, but I'm watching now.
I forgot to tell everyone that two weeks ago, when I received my first paycheck, I went out and purchased a brand new 21 speed mountain bike with dual suspension; It cost me a whopping 80,000 WON approx $80; I love it and have enjoyed riding it all around town, around the river, thorough town, into the mountains, etc.
After I got back from Busan during Chusok vacation, we (about 15 of us) gathered along the river on an absolutely gorgeous day to relax, play cards, drink beer, and cook an amazing samyeopsal (Korean BBQ) with two grills that other English teachers brought with them. We stayed there from 2pm until 8pm when I left to go home, and they continued on the a Norebang (singing/Karaoke room). Very popular here in Korea. We only taught 2 days that week.
This week has been decent; I've been feeling kinda tired, drained and a bit stressed out this week. Mainly due to the fact that I haven't been sleeping well at all this entire week; I've been staying up way too late & have had trouble falling asleep mainly due to these annoying mosquitoes that fly around my room constantly. I constantly have the fly swatter in my hands looking to kill several mosquitoes per night; but they keep on coming in again from somewhere else. I will have to go buy myself a mosquito net which a lot of other teachers use here. I bought a nice new, pink pillow this week for $5.00 and I enjoy have a second pillow to prop my computer on and to use as a mock couch. I have no really comfortable piece of furniture to lounge out on in my apt. I'm probably going to buy a nice new computer chair tomorrow b/c the kitchen chair I'm using starts to hurt after a while. I've been going back & forth up & down all week long amongst a wide range of feelings and emotions; Being a lil scared, lonely, tired, achy, etc. I went to receive acupuncture 3x this week which relaxed me and calmed me down a bit. I'm missing a lot of my friends back home and especially miss my girlfriend Flo. Then I have days when I just absolutely love being all the way out here in Korea. This kids are all so wonderful, cute, and still very excited to see me every time I walk down the hall (and walk down the street for that matter). I would say that 70% of the kids who see me on the street wave to me, smile, and say hi. They even wave & shout to me from moving buses & vans. It's really quite exciting and makes me feel very loved & appreciated. You really do get a small sense of what is like to be a mini-celebrity. The biggest thing that I learned about myself this week is that I'm always so worried with keeping busy, having things to do, instead of just staying home once in a while & relaxing. Slowing down, relaxing, breathing, meditating, reading the bible, etc These are ALL things I did here on Wednesday during my day off from school. It was so so great, relaxing and peaceful. I was so excited b/c I got to speak with Flo on Wednesday via Skype and actually got to see her sitting at home in her apt. via webcam and she got to see me on my webcam; it was so so great great to see her live after a long 5 weeks of not seeing her at all. That day I started re-reading a book called "The Power of NOW", I read a book on Korean culture and history, worked out with this new exercise/pilates ball a friend here gave me; Finally at 8pm that night I left the house for the first time & went for a bike ride in along in the dark back windy roads along side the mountains. During my ride back, I stopped off and dropped $.50 in to the machine by the batting cages and took about 10 hits with a bat they had there; it was very cool; I think they might actually be open 24 hours there b/c the machine takes coins just like an arcade machine; So I might have a new fun activity available to me to relieve stress, let off some stream, while at the same time improving my batting swing; All for the low price of $.50, what a deal!!!! On the way back I stopped off to buy a beer & I ran across and new flavored Ice Cream I've never seen before. It said, "Cheese & Raspberry" To my amazement, I turned out to be the most delicious, creamiest, cheesecake flavored ice cream with raspberry swirls!!! yum yum!!!!!
That basically highlights week 4 & week 5. Until next time, I look forward to hearing & reading some comments from people reading my blog. Have a Great Friday everyone (Thurs for those of you in back in the US).
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