Switzerland... the most beautiful country on Earth!

Travel plans. I'm currently making travel plans for next February. I'll have a month vacation, grâce à Yeungjin College, my wonderful work~ which means I need to pack a years' worth of plans in 30 some-odd days. Here's what the itinerary looks like so far:

1. Week 0-1: Fly into New Orleans from Seoul with JuYeong. Spend roughly a week visit family and friends in Alexandria, LA and Birmingham, AL.

2. Week 1-2: Ahsan flies into New Orleans, and we take a road trip up to Seattle, WA ~ taking the Pacific Coast route. Rental car baby! Spend approximately 6 days up the cost.. yeah, it's called doing some major driving and speed site-seeing!

*UPDATE: Something which I believe I have forgotten to mention THOUGH THEY ARE IN THE PLANS (!!!!!)(thanks to some lovely readers out there...) ~ One HUGE-mega stop to a hokey urban neighbourhood in the middle of Dallas to pick up Paul and schoot up to Washington!

3. Week 2-3: Visit the family in Seattle and sitesee ~ imagining wild family parties and good grub face-plowing! Oh, and if they're is snow, you know we'll be going!

4. Week 3-4: Fly over to Switzerland about 10 days (time permitting) and see what havoc we can wreak!

Alrighty.. time for a little bit of Taekwondo (see YouTube vids here and here!) Still working on that 1st Blackbelt test, dated for December 10th. ARGH! Check out what I have to KNOW (Poomae's 1-8 on YouTube.. mind blowing indeed!)

Check back to this link for updates!

"Space-time displacement" in the wee-hours of the morning...

It's already 4:00am.

I expect the sun to rise here in about 2 and half hours from the East, and hopefully by then, I'll be fast asleep.

The sound of the floor heater rumbles in the background, and my love is sleeping soundly---weezing occasionally. It's soft background noise apart from my computer fan, rumbling to the waves of fatigue that are starting to hit me now.

I've felt this strange sense of urgency lately to make change; and while much of my life here in Korea is a constant adjustement in acclimating myself to that change, part of me is displaced between the boredom of daily life and the speed of light with which the events in my life are taking place.

Parts of my daily life are becoming a little ritualistic--motorcycle it to Taekwondo, then put on a happy face for gruelling work and kids, off for tutoring, coordinate dinner, feed the rabbit, shut eye bed-time. On the other hand, so much change is taking place that I cannot keep up: thinking primarily due to this guy that I'm totally enamoured with, combined with ballistically learning Korean so we can communicate better (mind you, he's not Korean, but he sure does speak like one~ more on that subject later!) So when the weekend hits, I usually end up stairing at the ceiling Monday morning, wondering where the weekend went! Where did the time go, and why do I feel bored with I'm moving faster than I can remember?

I think back to how I dealt with this strange occurance of what I call "space-time displacement" in the past; college life set me somewhere in the middle of this madness, so this feeling is nothing new. However, the difference between then and now, is simply how I'm gonna deal with it this time! Sure, being proactive is the key. But it's interesting to note, though, that it took me some 5 years to come up with a shortened explanation of this phenomenon. Actually, it was apart of my French thesis in college, stemming way back into the studies of Freud and Le Refoullement, or repression, and my stance that everyone stands on a fine line between repression and sanity, and it's up to our creative side to filter that madness; creativity is the transferring medium with which we materialize that energy or substance, from the organic to the concrete or inorganic. We have to materialize those repressed feelings and thoughts into a concrete resolution in order to maintain that balance; and the only way we can do that is to make that transfer from repression to material through creation. So it's not so much the end result, but the transferrence process that one goes through...

Okay, okay.. it's too dense. And it's too late to remain on that awefully weighty subject. GAWD!

Anyway, the acronym I've coined is called ACME, which stands for analyze, create, materialize and enjoy. So in other words, you assess your situation, realize you need to do something about it, create something (like an art piece, a song, a new danse move, write a book, etc.) and materialize it, making it real, and thereby enjoying the process, culminating with the end result.

Ta-da. Wow, talk about reliving your thesis... way too many nights, did I spend typing page after page, in French for Christ's sake, over a bottle of good port or red wine. Ahh.. those were the days.

Earlier, I spent a good part of 2 hours searching the internet on Switzerland, thinking of all the places I visited, remembering how fast the year flew by as I traveled the country and watched the seasons change working as an au pair. Another mental note: finish writing my story on my Swiss travels, and somehow manage to put up the 3,000 some-odd digital photos I have of my year there on Flikr. Ahhh.. alright, so the prospect of me achieving this by the new year is, well, slim. But it's food for thought.

Closing in on 5:00am. The eyes are drooping. The floor is cold and I know the bed is warm next to my sound sleeper. What's in for tomorrow? It's Sunday. Weather willing, a little trip to Woobang Towerland and the sports park. Wooppee! Time for a little picture-taking, park walking and... a spin on this super cool 2 wheel skateboard. So check back for flikr pictures.

Until then, happy dreaming ~ sheesh, this is NOT the time to be thinking about FREUD! :)

Word on the street is...

This Daegu weather is seriously getting cold. Chelsea has yet, once again, managed to get a cold. Lung cold, the fluid stuff, the can't sleep cuz your coughing kind... and yes, it's probably due to me--the stubborn girl as I am--not wanting to finally park my bike. Er, my TWO bikes for that matter (thanks Paul).

Just a tad before this picture was taken (you like the new Blog heading picture too?) I had a big run in with Paul's Hyosang 'not turning'.. yes, indeed, the battery had died. Pushed the bike back and forth, turned off the lights, tried to start. Running and kick start method? No dice. Dead.

So I called up the little bike store where I bought my Daelim daystar from ~ and they rescued me. Two little guys on a vespa equivalent, bring a new and used battery for me to choose from. Awsome! 15 minutes later, and a newly 'used' battery for 25,000KWR, and my bike was running in no time. Took some videos of the incident too (which I'll put up on YouTube soon~ yes, yes, we know what Chelsea's 'soon' means: a month! lol.) and shot a few pictures, with JuYeoung's help, which are now up on Flikr. So check it!

By the way... does having 2 motorcycles in Korea mean I'm going to stay longer? Hmmm... well, I know I've got to master this Korean language, and I'm due for another Black Belt test here (December 10th exactly!)...plus, I have another 8 months on my contract at Yeungjin, and I have YET to break 10k on my bike. All I know is, I'm gonna keep on riding~ cold, sickness and all~ until either my hair freezes or the snow gets so packed on these Daegu streets, I won't even be able to PUSH my bike! hehe..

Later all~

Halleluia! It's about DAMN time...

Bush should apologize.

I am smiling both inside and OUTSIDE.

Finally, I came across a news clip on MSN video whose "Countdown" commentator host, Keith Oberman (which aired on November 1st, 2006) all hands down, I completely agree with. This is a MUST WATCH if you haven't.

There is no way I could have watched this on tv here in Korea. Politics are not just this liberal here ~ think about it! I had to search a bit for my own news to get some of what I call the "American shock-factor 9" back into my system. Word.

Why can't the American people wake up to seeing the true nature of this incompetant President, who, we have watched, push this country into ruin since 1994? Truly amazing...

Check it: http://video.msn.com/v/us/v.htm?g=E5EBEADE-A29C-4AB6-850A-E900E1DB7299&f=&fg=copy

~ Rock on America, it's about freaking time.

The Elevator Phenomenon

There's this sort of phenomenon here in Korea, that I've recently dubbed as being an integral part of the Korean culture that both outsiders and insiders should know about.

I call it ~ the 'Elevator Phenomenon' and here's why.

By the way, for all my peeps, I'm keeping you waiting in anticipation about my trip to Beijing, as well as, oh, alot of other ongoings that I've previous stated that I'd soon talk about. Wait a bit more, I promise it's coming!

So I walk into work today. I hop off my bike, grab my helmet, and estimate roughly 3 and 1/2 minutes it would take me to cross a bit of campus and take the elevator up 5 floors to get to my desk. Yeungjin College is a small, but admirable private juniot-college, so it doesn't take long to get to where you need to go.

As I walk up to the elevator, I have but a moment to spare to hop in, as there were about 3 other folks going up before me. And just as I keep telling myself, over and over, people here in Korea DO NOT push the "keep the door open" button for you, so watch out -- there I go, like a major slow-mo moment in an action film-- the doors come crashing at my shoulders, fast like a cat lapping at milk or the Pacific crashing into the Atlantic. The words "sheh-sheh" (or Chinese for "thank you", which I recently learned on my Beijing trip: 謝 click to hear what it sounds like ~ don't worry, it's just a sound file!) It was a moment of pure elation.

Next, going up to the 5th floor, I wait as people get off at the 2nd, 3rd, AND 4th floors. They don't walk here. Up on the 5th floor, I think how much time it's taken me to get to that point. 3 minutes. The door opens, and like I keep telling myself, no, Chelsea, you do not wait for the people to come ONTO the elevator before you GET OFF... wham. 5 people crowding the elevator like mice at their cheese dish--all coming at me, wanting to get on the elevator. Hello? Do I NOT want to get OFF here?

I push my way through. They got the point.

THIS, my friends, is the very Elevator Phenomenon I'm talking about. It's crazy stuff, and again, do these people not know how to use an elevator? Elevator etiquette, people. Somebody ought to write a book!

I did in fact reach my desk at 4 minutes flat.

September rolls in...with Shark Diving, a houseparty, new wheels AND a hot date!

Holy smokes. It's September. And NEAR THE END, too! Just a preview for you all because I'm short on time, but I tell ya, the last 2 months have literally FLOWN BY! I haven't left, promise ~ I'm the first to admit I've been a slacker in updating! Now that there's internet at home, and a consistent Taekwondo/work/tutoring/life-in-general schedule, I can proudly say I've got a SHIT load of stuff to update folks! Here's what I'll post in the next few days (mental notes included):

- New job talks about Yeungjin: English camp and seriously funny Adult classes
- End of summer events: Shark diving in Busan (see above pic), Nights out and recent exursions
- New apartment and "ToKi" addition (rabbit ~ he's seriously a spastic King dwarf rabbit!)
- Good friend JuYeoung: Starts Taekwondo and tutors me in Korean (check it: 2 hrs/day!)
- My new hot wheels: 2000 Daylim Daystart Moto that I recently bought
- Recent HOT date with a guy from Changwon
- Plans for China and a Tour-by-Motorcycle of Korea
- My cousins trying out for Seattle's American Idol Auditions
- Hearing recently that my Bro in Alabama is GOING TO HAVE A BABY!

See what I mean? Lots to update ~ and there's more! So stay tuned... there's alot to look forward to (oh, and some crazy vids and pictures to put up on Flikr/You Tube!)

Later all ~ Asssssaaahhhhhrrrriiiiii!~ It's Friday!!! :)

Chelsea

Ponderings and Changes: Must all good things come to an end?

Hey, everybody. Here goes a well-overdue entry that gets a little personal.

The funny thing is, I realize that after nearly a year of living and teaching here in Korea, I've barely discussed 2 important factors that keep my own life rather interesting: 1) my teaching experiences and 2) my personal life. There are blogs on teaching. There are blogs on teacher's personal experiences. There are blogs that discuss just about anything and everything. And there are mixtures between the two. I personally try not to categorize my own blog, but make it but my own creation, an account of my experiences, observations and life here in Korea. I've tried to make it a resource for myself, my family, and others looking at teaching ~ here or elsewhere. And in the long run, I just hope that I've made it readable, somewhat interesting, and a tiny similar to a reflection of myself and how I see what's going on around me.

Strictly speaking about personal experiences, I've chosen not to discuss a whole heck of a lot mainly because this blog is public. But, seeing as there have been lots of changes lately, particulary on the teaching front, I've decided it's time to open up a bit. That, and I've really been slack on communicating with the ties back home! ~Don't worry, you won't have to skip anything or close your eyes, Mom and Dad (Roger, Debbie, Brandon, Uncle Andy, Aunt Marci, or my cousin twice removed, LOL.) In other words, I won't get that personal!

Relations. I heard good news that my Australian coworker, Mel, who had left more than one month ago already, made it safely home and is busy with the family. Like the photo Mel? We took this photo during one of the Korea verses (insert team name) games at a local pub. I believe it was against TOGO. That's right. You can check out the photos here, and (as if you hadn't gotten enough about the sport, already) check out Korea's scores at the FIFA World CUP official site.

It was a pretty fun night indeed, watching TOGO verses KOREA, and really one of the first times I had witnessed what Korean nationalism was all about: everyone within ear-shot was hooping at hollering, either when Korea made a goal, or made the attempt and missed. With the following games, it was the same all over: everyone wanted Korea to win, and the streets were literally filled with a "Go Korea" spirit that permeated every material, whether living and breathing or inanimate. You could buy Korea soccer-team support shirts at every block, or buy the Korean national flag disguised as hankies, or showed your spirt dawning red socks that told the onlooker either you're a supporter or you're just a wannabe.

There was literally so much hype. I remember vividly a sea of red walking downtown, everyone wearing "Go Corea!" "Korea Fighting!" or "Dae Han Mi Guk" (Korea) shirts during the games. You could just see the Korean pride definitely apparent during the 2006 World Cup soccer games. I was astonished and sad to see that fade fairly soon after Korea lost to Switzerland, and lost hope to participate in the finals. Now as I walk the streets, I don't see so much as a hint of that nationalism I witnessed during the games.

After Mel left, I found it difficult to get back to 'regular life.' The teaching situation changed, the Taekwondo situation changed, and so did my appeal to be here--in a way. Although Juan arrived in Korea shortly after my mother did, I really felt like I lost a good friend: someone that I could bond with, on a different level than one's significant other. I don't want to dig too deep into this, but I can definitely say I learned a thing or two from this Australian lassie.

I guess this is one case when all good things must come to an end; both for the games, and for my colleague, Mel, who is definitely missed.

Japan. Next week, it looks like I'll be heading off to Japan. I'm a bit nervous, actually! Juan is now wandering the streets of Fukuoka as I write this, walking around and experiencing Japanese culture for the first time. He just wrote me to say he made it, alright, although not without searching endlessly for hotels/hostels with rooms available. Not playing ahead certainly didn't pay off! So I'm digging into the search now, and making plans ahead of time to avoid any problems. I'm hoping to head over to Osaka to see my friend Aya. In that event, I'll stay a few days, and really dig my feet into the Japanese savoir-faire. I'll keep you updated on the plans, and how it goes!

Teacher out, teacher in. Next week, if all goes fine and dandy, JungChul should be having a new teacher in to replace me. Since Mel left, I had been exasperated in searching for new teachers; not just to replace Mel, who had left for family reasons, but to replace moi before I depart for Yeungjin College. Believe me, the search hasn't been easy. Now that I know Juan will replace Mel for at least 5 more months, I've only had to focus on one teacher who would be replacing me. I guess that's been the good thing about recruiting for your school; not leaving it to fate to find a good teacher. I get to hand-pick the teachers, and benefit from the recruitement fee the standard agencies get paid for recruiting teachers. Not to say I'll drop everything and recruit full-time (that definitely not where my passion lies), but it's a nice pocket-money maker.

In any event, I want to make a big shout out to our new teacher, Dorian, who should be starting with JungChul by the 24th of July. I'm thrilled that I found a great teacher to replace me; I wouldn't have been able to leave JungChul if I didn't think I could leave it in good hands! Now that Dorian will be in, that means I'll out. Well, not until the end of July that is. It looks like I'll be training at Yeungjin from the 26th-28th, in the morning, and working in the afternoon/evenings at JungChul, until the 28th.. training Dorian and finishing any last-minutes that need to be done. It'll be a doozy week, not just with work, but actually moving too on Monday, July 24th! Good God, give me strength!! When everything is all said and done, I'll invite everybody over for a nice little house-warming party. Stay tuned for that. Until then, I'll be going through a little phase, I'm sure, in realizing what I'll be missing at JungChul: the co-workers, to some degree, but mainly my director, and especially my students. It's been the students that I teach that have made my job there--working crazy, sometimes stressful hours, all the more worthwhile. I can go on and on about them, but I'm sure the memories with my students will be what I miss the most. Another reason why all good things must come to an end.

Rainy weather. Having that said, Pohang has been rather rainy. Myunghee, her son Sang-Su and husband, made it out here together for a family gathering during this holiday weekend. Don't ask me what the holiday is for--I just know when it's a 'red day' on the calendar, it means there's no school! Yippee! So we have Monday off, which has made this lovely, rainy weekend a 3 day stretcher! Aside from the rain, Myunghee's family (brothers, sister in law and the 3 kids) when out to eat Galbi last night. Thereafter, once the kids went to the local PC Bang (room), the adults went to 2 cha and 3 cha (2nd and 3rd places) to drink, take a bite, and eventually sing at a Noraebang (singing room). We stayed out late, and had a fun time eating various food and talking about.. well, I can't rightly say! Let's just say, there was alot of Hangul and not alot of English spoken! The 4th cha landed at Myunghee's brother's house, where we were to be staying; a nice fruit cocktail and 12 year old Whisky as a night cap!

After a rough wake up from sleeping on a hard floor (Korean-style), we've pretty much grazed the day indoors, listening to the rain, chowing down on Korean soup, and myself, reading my current book: Albert Camus' "The Myth of Sisyphus." Although it's a strange, philosophical read on the absurdity of life and suicide, it's intriguing!

Well, it's time to leave this smoke-filled PC Bang. With Myunghee's son, Sang-su at my side (I'll have to drag him from playing another computer game), we'll part to join Myunghee and her family for some sushi. I'm looking forward to that... and, perhaps, a nice, good ending to this rain!

Later ya'all :) Chelsea

Photo updates are so SANDY!

Lovely photos. I love photo updates. There's no rhyme or reason to photo updates, really, except that you have new pictures to present to the world. This particular one, which I call the "Sandy Lobster" was taken on June 4th, during a festive day at Hyundae Beach, in Busan.

Check out my full LOAD Flikr of photogs HERE.

As far as updates go, in my case, I've got a ZILLION or so that SHOULD have been written. And this is just one of them! So hold on to your shoulder straps, belt buckles and knee-highs, folks. (Side note: sometimes I question my dry humor...)

Ah, another Worldcup segment. Exactly 15 days and some odd hours ago, I posted about Korea's soccer team playing in the World Cup. Just Google search "2006 World Soccer Cup" and you'll get a frenzy of info about every freckle and birthmark relating to this huge event. As I'm sure the whole world knows (well, those paying attention to Korea's progress in the game), that our "Dae-han-min-guk" Korea lost in a bitter battle on last Saturday morning's Korea verses Switzerland pre-lim game. I knuckle swear, every person and their mother talked about how Korea should have gotten that goal point, which didn't even count because a Ref decided to pull a yellow card... but alas, the resulting 2-0, Korea losing, meant it'd be expunged from a change at playing in the finals.

Now, for those people who know me, and know as well that I spent a great year living and working as an au-pair in Switzerland ~ who do you think I rooted for? Switzerland or Korea? Hheheh, you'd be surprised!

In any event, now that at least the BIG hoopla is over, onward to a few updates, eh?

Bye Mel. My favorite Taekwondo partner, Mel, left for her home of Perth, Australia, last Thursday, June 22nd. Her sister fell ill, and she knew she needed to be home with her family, who needed her the most. I can't say I haven't been bummed. She nearly kicked my bum in Taekwondo ~ literally dragging me into it back in February ~ and I've learned a neat trick or two on teaching, various Aussie lingo and well, you guessed it, how to down a 250cc cup of beer Australian style. Thanks Mel. You can check out my recent uploads of Mel's good-bye party (at Jungchul), her last day of teaching, as well as the little going-away party I threw for her at Thunderbirds, the Saturday prior to her departure. In any event, it's a bit strange going through a little 'transition period' with Mel leaving. I suppose one might say all good things must come to an end, sooner or later.

The new teacher. With that said, Juan has replaced teaching the bulk of Mel's classes, at least until we get a couple of new teachers in to start by the end of July. It's been a bit of a tangle emailing prospective teachers, while working on progress reports, teaching an already-hectic work schedule.. and balancing a 'work-relationship' with Juan while somehow maintaining our own relationship as well. I highly suggest not working with your significant-other if it can be helped at all; I have to say, Juan and I have had a few close calls on the 'uh, that wasn't an appropriate thing to say at work' situation. But we're working on that!

Tutoring. Otherwise, I've started to tutor a 16 year old named Huan-Hee, and his little brother Jin, who studied about 2 years in the Philippines. They recently wanted their neighbour friend, Min-Ji, mixed into the tutoring session with Jin. It takes up a bit more of my time now, seeing as I tutor all three of them close to 4 hours a week. Add that with my 8-10 hours of tutoring-by-phone, and my present 27 class work schedule at JungChul ~ and boy, you might agree that I'm a little busy worker bee. Too busy actually ~ heck, I can't even update my darn blog!

Argh. I forgot to mention. I'm updating from work. Yes, it's that time again ~ the feared PROGRESS REPORTS are back, and due tomorrow. Thank GAWD for templates: cut, paste, change the date and go! Another bummer in addition to a laptop that, as far as I'm concerned, unfixable {total exasperation here}. Voici the schoop.

The damage. In a nutshell, Juan and I were thinking of moving into Mel's old apartment, last weekend, after she left; we thought a change of scenary, even for a month, may do us good. Well, you leave a laptop open on the floor, a clumsy person like Juan (tsk tsk) carrying something into another room, and presto! A liable situation to cause damage. Yes, you guessed it: the thing he was carrying fell on the open laptop, causing a HUGE dent in the keyboard, and a what-appears-to-be, a cracked LCD screen. Wailing from start to finish, I pressed the ON button, and nothing. I couldn't believe it. Pressed again, nothing. Green light on, but no-one's home. I just spent 320,000W (roughly $320 bucks) fixing my computer because the processor supposed died, and now, I have a $2,000 Dell computer that may not be fixable. I'm thinking now of a clip in Terminator the movie, where a robot sifts through odds and ends of robots to fix himself: THIS IS A SUCH NIGHTMARE! Ahhhh!

Computer blues. So at the end of this week, I'll be taking a break from phone tutoring; calling my students on my cell would be too expensive for the phone tutoring company I work for to continue paying for. Plus, if my laptop is confirmed to be unfixable (as I've taken it, yet AGAIN, to Jonny Computer's by Camp Walker), then I'll have to go through the measure of buying another computer. Desktop or laptop yet, I'm not sure. Certainly my first buying alone if that'll be the case. But I don't want to keep putting money into this laptop, when it's ALREADY been jinxed TWICE with Juan being here! {No worries, I'm not superstitious by nature. I just believe in coincidences!}

Anyway, I'd say, this has been ONE hell of a good reason for not updating!

Back to the grind. Ahh, and now I hear my lonely, cumbersome progress reports calling me again to finish. I love this time of the month. Writing progress reports for parents who subsequently don't understand them, let alone the 3 line minimum comments you make ~ (sigh) just another formality in teaching-turned past-time of mine. Ya gotta love it!

Until next time,

~ Chelsea

Happy...Ps. Oh, and because I'm a slow-polk, one big HONKIN' shout out to my BRO who has turned, what, 32 ?!?!?! last Sunday, June 25?!? HOLY SMOKES... HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANDON! Your sista LOVES ya!! :) xoxoxoxox

대한민국!! World Cup Soccer 2006

Excellent: World Cup Soccer time. Tonight it's KOREA verses TOGO. Who's going to WIN? I predict KOREA with an outcome of 3 - 2. What do you think? Will follow up later with results. For now, I'm heading off to meet MEL and follow the game from a local pub. Updates coming up..

Go 대한민국!!! Go Korea!! :)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12: 53am. UPDATED!

Alright, it looks like Korea won--I got THAT right. On the other hand, the score was NOT 3-2 like I predicted, but 2-1. There were a few close calls, and TOGO scored first, but once after Korea made it 1-1, it seemed a sure thing that Korea would win. Korea still FIGHTING!

I ran over just a hair before ten to catch up with Mel at a local bar in Dongbyundong. Small place of course, and it seems like every face you see you recognize. We finally settled on a bar called Joki Joki, after checking out another with a not-so-good view of the game. Between 2-1700cc pitchers of beer and two plates of fries and miscellaneous potatoes, we had a ball watching the close game and listening to the local Korean folks go mad over the goals! Every few minutes the crowd in the bar would roar, "대한민국!!" (Dae-han-min-guk ~ the longer name of Korea; whereas in Korean, "한국" ~ Korea, is the shortened name). We had a ball, and decided to call it a night just half-past twelve.

What a coincidence too ~ Korea is up against my two favourite countries : France next and then Switzerland. It's going to be HARD choosing WHO to root for! ehheheh.. you guess that one!

Gotta go, off to bed. OH. And THANK YOU, Thomas from SEOUL how the US got the shit kick out of them (3-0). Bummer...I didn't even KNOW the US was playing on Monday night (after the Australia verses Japan game) at nearly 1 or so in the morning! Unbelievable!!

Anyway, for latest INFORMATION on the WORLD CUP on matches/results: go HERE.

8,000 Hits...

Well, I'll be.. 8,000 hits and counting.

Thanks everyone for reading. It's been a great journey so far..

To 8,000 more hits :) Bottoms up!

~ Chelsea

PS> Happy Happy Happy Birthday to my Momma! .. keep that counter tickin' !!

I did it. I got the perm. AND the job.

Are you saying what I THINK you're saying?!

I had been pondering over this moment for quite sometime. Was I or wasn't I? Did I want to take the risk? What if I don't like it? Can I reciprocate on the girl if I can't stand to look at myself in the mirror after the deal's done? You guessed it. There were many things rolling summersaults in my head as to whether I was going to, ahem, finally visit a hair salon after 11 months of teaching in Korea.

So with a firm decision, and without further ado, Juan and I headed downtown. We had spent over an hour tutoring 2 kids--on a Saturday of all days--whose mother was no less than demanding as to how she wanted her kids taught in English. A sigh relief, and a trek back to our most familiar side streets, and we soon found ourselves outside the quasi-front door of the White Hair salon.

Why did I decide on the White Hair salon, you may ask? Well, just a week prior, I was picked up a discount coupon from a stylist handing them out while crossing the street. I thought it was worth a shot; afterall, what's the chance I would find a place whose stylists spoke but a lick of English.

Well, the whole deal took over 3 hours, a phone call to my Korean friend Myunghee for translation, and a conditioning treatment to prepare my hair for what seemed like hours of head-hair rolling.

Imagine having 3, 4, no wait! 5 people all helping one another roll curlers in your hair. Now that would have been a sight; thankfully, I didn't have my camera, because Juan would have made sure the whole world (aside from those local folks then-visiting the salon) know that I looked no less than ridiculous with my head rolled in green and pink pieces of circular plastic.

Nice imagery.

Onward to the moral of the story: the perm turned out pretty good, I think. When I was younger and had frequently permed my hair at that oh-so-annoying stage of growing out one's hair, I was usually pleased with the result. But I know a little better. In a country where I've finally gotten used to things being done a bit backwards, I know now how to take those precautions you otherwise wouldn't take so vainly at home.

Now that it's over, I can breath a sigh of relief. No more uncontrollable mess to somehow plunge into a bun before work; now it's wet, gel and go. Talk about easy fun for the lazy folk!

Oh, and did I mention before further delay ~ I got the job at Yeungjin!?

I can just imagine: waking up every morning with a beautiful view atop a 14 story apartment building, my instant mocha in one hand, kim pop using chopsticks in another ~ just 20 hours max a week in classes, and more free time to persue my music, art and, yes, book writing...

Okay, okay, okay. My updates have NOT been so easy to comeby. First my mother visiting. Then Juan arriving during my mother's visit over a month ago. THEN it was the computer (poor PC.. :'( Now it's those damn PC bongs with quasi-non-smoking sections. In any event, I'm due to update more often. Sorry about that folks...

So back to my story: Yes, Yeungjin. In a nutshell, last Tuesday's interview turned into a little nerve-racking (incessantly asking myself what I could have done better!), yet in the end comforting ~ by the following evening, Wednesday night, I was called after work, a near fifteen minutes to 10 to recieve the good news that Yeungjin's FLI (Foreign Language Institute) wanted to hire me. I know the clan at FLI, and with nearly 10 hours a week less in preparation and classes, overall I think working at Yeungjin will be a great experience.

Cool stuff indeed. Now comes the tricky part: if my official contract with JungChul ends June 29th, should I stay an extra month (July) to make up for my month-long December 2005 vacation... or work at Yeungjin July 1st (essentially getting no previously planned summer traveling break) OR better yet.. start working for Yeungjin August 1st and take the entire month of July off to travel and catch up on changing the color of my ghost-white skin? I'm not quite sure yet, but I'll keep you all updated. As of now, the decision is that I'll be staying here at least another year!! (sorry for all my friends and family who thought just one year would be enough :)

In the meantime, however, I'll just work on getting my PC back to working condition and updating this blog. And, at 3:30am on a Saturday night---sleep.

Night ya'all! *^^*

~ Chelsea

Ack ~ Another month goes by! And the blue screen tale ensues!

Ack. I hate this blue screen of death. Hence the sporatic updates. Sorry about that ~ it appears my computer, having been once fixed, now spends the majority of its precious time either being tinkered by Juan or resting in a state of uncertaintly at Jonny Computer's near Camp Walker.

Computer update: The processor, whose 'hyperthreading' didn't work (which I spent 150 thou getting diagnosed such as and having Jonny disabling the function * scratching my nails against the keyboard because I could have done it myself.. *) turns out, in the end, to be dead. Completely. Literally. Stupidly. So, woh is the cash flow, I decide to spend another 170,000 Won replacing it. Good decision, bad decision? We shall see on Tuesday when I go pick it up...

As far as my PC literally 'up in smoke'... damn, I hate PC bongs! There's no such thing as 'no smoking section' here???

~ Chelsea

Laptop blues...and back to normalcy. Well, sort of!

Well, as my worst fears have been realized ~ I'm now updating my blog from a PC bong near my house because my laptop is out of commission. People are smoking, which is a definite bother; but even more so are the folks who have stupid headphones but choose to blast their game aloud while they're playing. Nerveracking. In any event, I'm bummed, but I'm determined to get my laptop working again, even it takes a few sessions of nail biting and hair pulling. So here's an update.

BACKTRACKING. On Thursday, April 20th, my mother and I left for Seoul to spend a few days poking around the northern province. I managed to squeeze an extra day off, pulling some classes together and struggling through my work day without any breaks so Mom and I could spend the most time together during the last few days of her stay here. Before our excursion to Seoul, my mother told me she had to turn my PC off early in the day because the 'blue screen of death' had appeared while she was writing an email. Blue screen of death, what?! Well, that 'blue screen of death' turned into an innability to even start Windows because there seemed to be a .dll file missing. System error, yo: Windows was trying to access a thread that did not exit.

Deep breath. No idea. So long story short, I tried remedying the problem, running diagnostics, but to no avail before mom and I went North. Crap. How am I going to phone tutor when everything gets back to normal and my Mom leaves!? All worries temporarily aside, I was nevertheless estatic about a 4 day-off quasi-vacation with my Mom. That, and my boyfriend arriving from the DR for a 3+ month stay. Big yay, but oh no: how am I going to manage showing not only my mother around, but making sure Juan's okay during his first 5 days here alone? And to make matters worse, the Ma don't quite like my Oh-Pa, so there's practically no way I'd mingle an outing with my mother and my boyfriend. Ahhhhshhh...

And thus, Juan arrived on Tuesday, April 17th, from the Dominican Republic, just a few days after my mother arrived actually. Kudos to you Juan for making it ALL on yer own! So the intention was for him to kick it in Seoul while we were in Daegu ~ and perhaps, just perhaps I'd squeeze in a visit with him when my mother and I went to Seoul.

While the situation with my PC was on the back of my mind, my Mom and I ended up having a blast in Seoul. Not quite the blast though, when everything goes a planned.

We stayed at a ratty Yohg-wuan called A-Traveler's Motel which I sincerely do not recommend unless you don't mind just the bare-necessities (aka. a receptionist that speaks neither English nor Korean because she's a Russian inplant; a smelly, moldy bathroom with a 2 foot square tub (a bathtub for dwarves, perhaps?); or a hard bed with pillows stuffed with recycled plastic.) Yep, that was our 30,000 WON per night deluxe motel situated near Dongdaemun market. Central location, very cheap price, not worth it for one even bigger reason: the website stated there's a coffee shop attached to the Youth Hostel, which doesn't even serve freaking coffee! Go figure... it's Murphy's law, and little girl's voice saying "Welcome to Korea!" pops in my head as I'm remembering this.

SIDETRACKING 1. My mother and I wake up extra early on a Friday morning, the first morning of our stay, a tad bit earlier than normal to prepare for a Seoul city tour. Naturally, we want coffee; so we dressed, and trekked down to the Youth Hostel's supposedly notorious cafe near the entrance. What a surprise it was to find that, not only was our Ajjuma-receptionist sleeping at 8:15 in the morning, and we've just woken her up (she had a nice 'do by the way) ~ but, get this, there was no coffee in the coffee shop. Up-sahh-yo. I blinked a few times to settle that in. There was no coffee. Son of a... looking at my mother, who's in disbelieve at the icing on the cake we've just experienced, accompanies me with a grumble back upstairs and together, we swear never to visit this motel again!!

So there we have it ~ a neat Seoul city tour, a few wrong subway stops along the way, some interesting shops and restaurants experienced, and a lunch meeting with Juan combined with a few stressful moments. Did I mention I couldn't imagine mingling my mother with Juan? Yeah, it happened; cordially, but with the hair of my chinny-chin-chin. Check out my pictures of Seoul in a nutshell on Flikr! On Saturday, my mother and I headed to Busan for a ... (ahem, would you believe *I* recommended it...) a Barbie Story exhibition. Yes, the story of the Barbie. Plus, we stayed in a terrific, cheap motel with all the ammenities you could ask for, right by Busan station ~ but more on that later because it was neat stuff, and there's plenty of pictures to still upload!

Back to Daegu for a roundup on Sunday ~ nearly losing my purse having left it on the train back from Busan...my mom's stay finishes up with a few tears and probably some sighs of relief. I think we were both happy in a way to 'get back to normalcy'... and though it's been nearly a week since she's left, I still feel her presence here, and I still wish in many ways her stay was just a bit longer. I probably would have done a few things different, and I know for a fact I would have told my mother more often how glad I was that she was here visiting me.

FLASHFORWARD. One week flash forward to today, and it's back to work. Mel's got her new apartment in Dongbyeongdong, and Juan's taken residency with me in our little cramped apartment in Seobyeongdong. It's been fun but a bit stressful so far. Luckily he's remained patient enough to deal with my needless stress about possibly moving again, fixing my PC and oh yes, the phone tutoring...argh. Real fun stuff.

SIDETRACKING 2. A note about the teaching bit. Did I mention that my work schedule has only gotten worse since Mel's arrived? We had a near 3 week blissful moment, between her arrival and when we finally set the schedule: I thought having 2-3 hour breaks per day was too good to be true. Now it's non-stop teaching from 3 to 10 (3 times a week), aside from an hour lunch break, that is, let me tell you, COMPULSORY in my book. I'd go insane otherwise! Needless to say ~ though I know I'm complaining ~ I really, totally, absolutely thought that my teaching schedule would lighten up a bit when Mel arrived. But I should have known the Korean way: you add another teaching and they're not going to DECREASE your work load. They're going to INCREASE your work load by adding classes! Such is life, and should be expected...but I tell you, life never gets boring here as a teacher!

So the teaching load, and life back to 'normal', with my computer down...Well, I guess all I can do is laugh, right? Because that's the fun part; when all hell brakes loose (not to mention losing everything on your computer, hmmph!), you gotta learn to roll with the punches and prepare for the next dramatic intermission. Which reminds me, I think I'll take mine right about.... now.... :)

Until next time, wish me luck on the 'blue screen of death'! Love to all ~

Chelsea

A few days catch-up ~ Mom's visit resumes!

Mah-Mah-Mah-Mah~ Don't we look good! :)

On Sunday, Mom and I went downtown to catch some good grub at a neat Italian restaurant called Italy-Italy. We munched on our own customized Italian pasta dish and talked about, well, what you can expect from a mother and daughter! Check out our fine view from the top floor ~
We took the top floor of the restaurant and sipped on some red and white wine, amusing ourselves with our cameras and slurping up the delicious meal!

Later, Mom and I took a taxi over to a little town called Padong, where I tutor Windy ~ We ended up waking up the entire household, as it appeared everyone had taken a mid-afternoon nap after their church activities. Wooops! In any event, Mom got to see me tutor Windy for an hour, and we played a few games and had fun in general.

By a hair past 5:30, Mom and I took the bus
to the next town, Jung-dong, and headed over to a beautiful Buddhist temple. I had already visited the place, and new Mom would enjoy seeing the inside decor and learning a little about the Buddhist religion.

Next plan, over to Chilgok to have dinner with my friend Myunghee and her son. Myunghee made a beautiful display of the meal with plenty of side dishes. Was a good time indeed ~ and I think the days' travels wore Mom out. With a little bit of soju and a full meal, Mom was tuckered ~ so we decided to head home and took a taxi back to Seobyundong about 9:30pm.

Monday, on the other hand, was another story! I decided to take Mom to work with me to check out my school, and the kids I teach. I definitely didn't realize it would be a crazy scene, with all the students going wild and seeing a foreign lady with beautiful, long-red hair! As the day wore on, I knew my mother was not jiving the rowdy kids and the noises they were making. When the evening was all said and done, and I knew my mother had a longer day than I had teaching!

Headed home, and boy.. was I tuckered out! I couldn't even think to update, let alone brush my teeth and hit the sack! :)

Check out the next entry for today's happs ~ with mom's experiences watching Mel and I get down and funky at Taekwondo! :)
~ Later, Chels

The funniest Korean video EVER!

You've gotta check this out: I just came across this on YouTube while uploading some of my own videos, and my mother, Mel and I just fell over laughing! Tell me what you think.. :)

Palgong Mt: Dongwasa Temple

Alright, I'm going crazy with the updates..but hey, it's been months since I've truly updated, and I've got a ZILLION pictures to show the world! :)

Short entry on the neat Saturday April Fool's trip up to Palgong Mountain. Beautiful place. Anne, Jocelle and I really enjoyed the beautiful scenary but chilly day. Huge Buddha statue, crops of people walking to and fro, and well.. the hiking up Palgong Mt. turned out to be a 'let's check out Dongwasa temple' day! No probs ~ there was plenty to see, and the grounds were fascinating to check out alone. When the weather gets better, a real hiking trip will be due to see the scenary that Palgong Mt. has to offer.

Note to prospective Palgong Mt. day-trippers: pack a lunch, prepare for chilly weather, and bring plenty of film/batteries/storage space concerning cameras because there are plenty of beautiful opps to take pictures and contemplate the scenary.
How to get there: take the Daegu city bus number 1 from Milgiore (the parkside) from downtown Daegu. Bus comes every 10-15 minutes to take you up to Dongwasa temple. Bus cost is 1200 Won. Highly recommended!

Complete Dongwasa temple visit set: My flikr photos.

Yeungjin College trip to Gyeongju & Pohang

Another WOW trip!

Saturday, Mom and I woke up swollen-eyed and half-asleep at the crack of dawn to meet my dearest friend Anne, for an all-day Yeungjin College teacher-guest trip to Gyeongju & Pohang. What a delight! And my poor Ma just flew in the night prior ~ we knew NOT what was in store for us, only that it'd be a long day, and we were bound to have fun!

The photos nearly speak for themselves! (check out my Flickr set for the low-down) We enjoyed a nice, rented tour bus (equipped with Karyoke and all, which we didn't find out until the some 2 hour trip home!) We ate a fantastic meal where lost in Gyeongju (don't ask where!), and finally, a great, relaxing barbeque by the seaside. It was just what we needed to kick off mom's 10 days Korean stay.

Just a few more goodies for ya:
Get to know me, Mom and Anne's wackier sides and find out how we reacted to a bit of red wine, Cass beer and boredom, with the following YouTube videos I recently uploaded.

1. Coffee Anyone?: Mom tries coffee from a Korean vending machine
2. Green Cheese: Mom and Anne respond to the meaning of life
3. Ham and Bacon: Mom and daughter duo liven up the sea-nary

Enjoy! :) Ps. I'm stoked: new job possibility update ~ I networked and found out that the two main dudes hosting this excursion were just the guys I needed to talk to in order to get my foot in the door to working at Yeungjin. Do you think I chatted up a storm and made a good impression? Boy, you better count on my application package being sent via email Monday morning for SURE! ;) Looks like it just might be another yet in Korea afterall! ....fingers crossed.

Last weekend's Busan Trip: Video Blog & Pictures

Photo taken by Fishy McFish@Flickr

Woh! I just found out my new friend Jocelle (click on the photo credit below picture) had posted the video of one of the poetry performance pieces I read during the Poetry 34+ Poetry Slams in Busan. It all happened Saturday, April 8th at the Jazz Monk Club. Check it out ~ totally ROCKED!

Psst! (My own Flickr picture posting of the Busan trip coming soon!)

Definitely had too much fun. If you know a bit of Korean, you'll understand better. It's called "Sem Sem" which is an acronymn for "Song-sang nim" or teacher, in Korean. It summarizes the English-teacher in Korea experience. Check it.

A-L-S-O: You can catch the near ENTIRE FLICKR photo set of the gang (Jocelle, Anne, Katherine and I) hanging in both Busan and Jin Hae here... just click on the picture above!! Thanks Jocelle..

Updated** TAE-KWON-DO & my Mother's Arrival!

Woooooow! I'm a lazy bum ~ my updates have been few and far between.... but I have a good reason! Not only am I working like a dog ~ but my gradiose roomie MEL has talked me and dragged me to taking TAEKWONDO! What a fantastic excuse to get in shape too :) Plus we have a cute teacher... lol (no worries, he's twice our age!)

This picture was taken NOT TOO LONG AGO.. and Mel and I decided to SPAR and take some pictures capturing what we've learned in the past month, working out 5 days per week, one hour a day. Last minute, Mel hauls off and pretend smacks me right at the moment of the picture snap. What a moment!

Now to all my friends and family who'are wondering: MY MOMMA HAS ARRIVED! Yippee.. and we've had such a fun time in these barely 12 hours together, since she arrived last night around 8:30pm. I've missed my momma so much, and we're just like girlfriends hanging out. After picking her up, we went out to a local gal-bi restaurant near my house, where my Mom experienced sitting on the floor and eating with chop sticks for the first time. It was a blast and a half, but a very low-key night as my Mom hadn't slept since packing back home and blah blah blah ~ needless to say, and as presumed, she yawned since arrival to when we hit the bed and talked before turning off the light. We probably talked to our tongues nearly lept out of our mouths from exhaustion ~ only 4 months since seeing my mother back in December when I went home for a visit, but you'd swear we hadn't seen one another in years!

Well we're off today to Giungju for an all-day event with my friend Anne and a group from her work at Yeongjin College. Off we go, and more updates ~ with pictures, I promise!!

See ya! :) Chels (and the Momma!)

----------------------------------------
* April 17th update: I've added some Taekwondo technique practice videos of me and Mel at our Dojang. Fun stuff ~ check it out! :)

1. Taekwondo Part 1: Chelsea's partner practice
2. Taekwondo Part 2: Mel's partner practice (hits Chels in the face with the paddle~ kinda funny!)

St. Patty's Day ~ Fun night update!

I have a confession to make: I have a long-lost sister.

Actually that's not true! Geez, can it be yet ANOTHER month since my last update? Gadzuuks, Chelsea, get with it!

As you can probably tell from the picture, this particular shot was taken on St. Patrick's day, March 17th. What a fun night! Mel and I worked just as hard as usual, and decided to head downtown to see how downtown Daegu celebrated. Well, it didn't celebrate much, that was for sure. But these two little hats that I made from colored papered turned out well. They were a fun addition to the evening, as we went to Thunderbirds and Communes that evening: a few rowdy games of foosball, a few drinks, I guess I had forgotten what nightlife was like in downtown Daegu until Mel got here!

Just a few more takes to add to the St. Patty's day evening:

So all in all it was a great night ~ and Mel and I celebrated St. Patty's day with a fun group of friends. There were many a nights out like this one with Mel and friends, so I hope to get on the ball from my busy schedule to update ya'all!

~ Check out my next blog, as I'll update my mother's arrival and beginning trip of her 10 days stay here with me in Daegu! Woo hoo!! Now that's an excuse to update eh?

Ciao :) Chelsea

New roommate, new school schedule.. life is grand!

Wow, nearly 20 days since my last entry. What's keeping Chelsea busy these days??

Well, the night's still young, but I'm exhausted.

I just came back from spending a splendid evening with a group of Canadian friends--the THAT bar watching live Jazz music in downtown, playing card games (Kings, Stanley and Spoons) along with finishing the night dancing and conversing at Gypsy Rock in the Kyung Pook area. 'Twas a great night indeed.

Among other great things keeping me busy the last few weeks...

Mel has arrived. Let's just say, the hours searching for the right foreign co-worker has paid off!

It's about time!

My new housemate (of course she's new, I've been living alone for the past 7 and 1/2 months!) is fresh from traveling 6 months---jetting around the globe with her traveling companion, from Australia, to the Philippines, now Korea...she stayed home tonight looking to find a little peace and quiet from the last week and 3 days' initiation into my residence of Daegu, the tiny, northern town of Seobyundong. We need a little quiet time to ourselves once in awhile--and by the weekend's end, I'll be looking for some quiet time myself!

I have to say I think we're amazingly paired. In our tiny apartment (see next post), I couldn't imagine staying in such closed quarters with anyone else. Sometimes I think we're long-lost sisters, we're so alike. Luck of the draw, perhaps.

And, well, tomorrow it's art class with my dear Canadian friend Anne in Ji-San dong. We're focusing on contouring and value (shading and shadows)--which in all my years of taking art, I've only focused on everything BUT drawing!

In the afternoon, it's tutoring Windy in Padong~thankfully just a 10 minute taxi hop from Ji-San dong. She's been improving well--only she's inkled toward hanging out downtown, turning the usual 1 hour session into a 4 hour 'let's go shopping' stint!

Thereafter, I'll be meeting Anne again to practice guitar/songs for an upcoming open-mic downtown. I'm looking forward to playing again in front of an audience--particularly with Anne because we compliment each other well both singing and playing guitar. Should be fun!

Last, perhaps another friendly meet Sunday evening at the restaurant Ttulereue downtown, amid more Canadian friends. I usually find myself consumed with political/historical discussions, intertwining Canadian/American/Korean culture with everyone's teaching experiences. Just a great time wining and dining, actually.

Alright--onward to sleep. Tomorrow's sunlight comes early! Check back for entries on recent happs and plans. I've got too much going on to cature everything actually happening....either my body is spinning too fast and my mind's not catching up, or I'm on warp speed--make that mach 50. Time, better stop me now!

Susong Land Trip: Tutoring Windy... on a windy day!

Saturday, the usual day I tutor Windy, flew by when we decided to take the lesson from the home to an amusement park!

Windy lives in Padong, which is a ways to get out there. But, it's worthwhile: this 12 year old girl that I've tutored for nearly 3 weeks now, is the cutest, chubby thing, with a keen eye for sentence structure and speaking English with near accent-free. Today, we took a look at Susong Land, which is near Windy's house.

The photos speak for the fun we had.

I've got some more photos to post (videos, actually) of riding the "Smiley Jumper" that cost us $5 to ride (about 10 minutes or so, not too bad)... as well as a few photos from our "Waeguukine" trip Saturday evening to see RENT, the musical. Awesome time had by all. More later, so stay tuned!

:) Chelsea

When you think you're alone...

Ahem, (drumroll...) It's---

Photocredit: Great photo I came across browsing Flikr and DJChuang's photo stash.

--Chelsea!

Suddenly you realize, you're literally...everywhere. Signs, locations, dog names, districts in London and New York City. Wow, it doesn't stop! Perhaps it seems you can find me multilaterally? Is that even a word?

This fits perfectly in this wanderlust theme I've come across, which really does describe me. The NO PARKING songs symbolizes that there's no stopping or standing when it comes to traveling with this girl!

Maybe my DaVinci Code current-read is making we look at the symbols of everything I come in contact with. Could this be a sign? Hardly. It's Friday, and I'm just winding down from the last, ultimate last day of this Winter Vacation stupidly-hectic schedule, with no breaks and zero lunch time. Ahhh.. this weekend will coast too quickly.

But alas! I have reserved 8 tickets reserved for a clan of waeguukine's (and two Hanguukines) to check out the musical, Rent that is here for the weekend, to play at the Daegu Opera House. This is bound to be a blast. Yahoo!

Official article from the Daegu Tourist Info Center:

DAEGU OPERA HOUSE

Location : Across the Home PlusTransportationBus #349, 403, 424, 603, 306(Express bus)Information : 666 6030 http://www.daeguoperahouse.org/

*Musical 'Rent' by a Broadway cast
Date : Feb. 2(Thu)~Feb. 5(Sun)
Time : 7:30 pm(Feb.2~Feb.3)
3 pm / 7:30 pm(Feb.4~Feb.5)
Admission fee : ￦99,000(R);￦77,000(S);￦55,000(A);￦33,000(B)
Inquires : 053-585-0089
http://www.rent2006.co.kr

If the musical is a hit (which I hear it is--but the English version of the Daegu Opera House certainly isn't!) and if you end up not going, don't say I didn't tell you so!! You can call ahead to reserve the tickets, and then pay on arrival; you need to show up though at least 30 minutes before the musical begins. There's supposedly still plenty of seats for Saturday!

And by the way, I hear Constantine Maroulis toured with Rent back in 2003 before he did the 4th season of American Idol (tv.com pix here, and Rent website pic here). Who knows, maybe he'll be in this tour in Korea!

Updates later, maybe some pictures too. Oh, yes. And the movie, Memoire's of a Geisha, is here opening this weekend as well. I just finished the book a few weeks ago. Very intruiging!

Blog searching---in wanderlust

So I invariably do some Korean blog searching and I come across another foreigner in Korea (the foreigner is usually a teacher, of course), who like me, has a hopeless case of wanderlust. His name's Alex. And it just happened to be coicindental, amid my searching for the term wanderlust that I came across his blog.



Photocredit from a temple stay trip: Alex from The Adventures of the Rejected Anthropologist; entitled "Morning light from the mountain ridge, near Pyochungsa."

In the midst of my reading, I am awestruck by a paragraph that I read, as he recollected his teaching experience since the beginning of his current hagwon. I sunk back to earlier times, when our school had teachers meeting, all in Korean...

" The Korean teachers are all excellent and incredibly good people (and I love them all—-one especially) but there was a time when they communicated in the office almost exclusively in Korean. They asked questions in Korean and were answered in Korean. Which means, all the information they were receiving, the foreign teachers weren’t picking up on. We were never insulted by the Korean-speaking in the office, as the bosses supposed. It doesn’t bother me at all. It’s a beautiful language and one that I am slowly learning. The issue was always about communication amongst the teachers. If everyone is to get along and know what to do, people must communicate in a common language. Needless to say, it was a huge mess of confusion 90% of the time. Still, I was positive. I rationalized things—-the school is young, they are still forming a system, still learning. The administration is inexperienced, still figuring out how to make the school work. I gave everyone the benefit of the doubt. I was unbelievably forgiving. I made some careful and very constructive criticisms of certain things and this was taken well. They promised to do better and make some changes for the good. Unfortunately, things just got worse...."

Which was, and yet still is, the same for my case. New school, admin still working out the kinks, and yes, in the preceding paragraphs, Alex talks about~very coincidentally~his office manager Helen...where, in my case, we have an official, self-prescribed princess, named Ellen, who has not only been the longest Korean teacher at my Hagwon, but who has sought since at least my beginnings with the school, to be the office manager (that is to say lightly; she would probably prefer Vice Director if given the choice, I assume with her personality.)

Nevertheless, I got to thinking: perhaps these occasions are all too frequent in Korea. A new teacher, a relatively new schoo, teacher remains positive, school gets worse, finally all-hell breaks lose and nuts begin to crack. I have felt at times, almost to brink of exhaustion, on quitting the school---namely because, as Alex stated in another paragraph, how the other teachers were becoming sick with exhaustion, having to take frequent trips to the hospital.

And yet, I have already made two trips to the hospital this month alone because I have been sick with exhaustion.

First I believed I had the greatest hagwon on earth (well, at least in Daegu). Then, as the months wore on, and I gradually was given less time to break and breathe between classes, everything started to come together for me : was I actually being taken advantage of from my director, who not only has helped me out on several occasions, but seems as well to have sacrified alot for my well-being?

It's apart of the contract.

I come to find that I nearly negotiated NOT to have health insurance simply because (1) I was told it was very expensive, and foreigners normally don't need health insurance, and (2) my director was unable to register me because the last Candian teacher (who yes, was deported, and for privacy's sake, I will not go into that) kept his health registration card, thereby making it supposedly impossible for me to get health insurance with the school unless he sent back the health card.**


Later, I find out, my director kept paying for the last Canadian teacher's health insurance, even though he had to leave Korea last Spring, because she thought he was going to return and work for her. Ha! (I saw with exasperation, because of the circumstances of his leaving he will not be allowed to come back to Korea for 5 years, so she spent all $350 plus dollars on health insurance, in vain.) Now I'm going to request reimbursement for this month's sickness spending... argh.

It's amazing how time shows it's true colors. Be aware, all you teachers out there! ;)

~ Chelsea

--------

* Yes, to my surprise, I have not yet seen another expat teacher in Korea with the term wanderlust in their blog title (yes, there was a little, "hey, you stole my..." thinking--which quickly turned to, "hey, wait a minute.. this is interesting...." realization.) So check out the site.

** Later, I come to find out, this is all bullshit. You simply do not negotiate having health insurance or not. NOW it is required to have health insurance, if you are a foreigner working full-time here in South Korea (see also this link for Jan 2006 Newsflash). Needless to say, with the new Australian teacher addition as support, I will have health insurance!

Metamorphose of images

A slight change from liquification and convolution...

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

... to plasticity, creating a water-like effect,

--alters an image,

metamorphosing the original intention of the form.

That is, if it's original form is known.

I've recently begun to play with my Adobe photoshop CS. I literally have 3, 000 or so pictures, yet to put up on Flikr, and I'm afraid for the sake of the sheer number of photos I have, I'll have to buy a pro account. Unless, of course, I find an alternative to photo hosting.

Today, like any other ordinary day at work, passed like clockwork, almost faster than my usual, but never-boring, teaching schedule.

I am happy to say, that tomorrow is the official last day to our winter vacation schedule. Can I get a halleluia? I'm thrilled beyond words. Juan will be arriving next week; and just about a work-week later, our new Australian teacher joins us from Melbourne. Yet another great change to add to my ever exciting life.

Another thought to note: I realized something today, after shopping at two of the stores I frequent around my apartment (one is the bakery shop Madieu, where I pick up my mid-day caramel latte before work, and the other is a husband/wife everything-shop, where I find usually cheap, miscellaneous kitchen/apartment stuff--like food table, coat hanger, dishware, etc.) The more you shop there, the more they'll recognize you, and the cheaper the products become, because they give you a 'special visiter price' and hence, you get the perk of getting tid-bits of 'service' everywhere--a free pastry, that free shot of caramel, a new sink sponge or knife to add to the newly-bought items pile. This is a networking tool I'm learning to use. And, I think I like it!

Off to my book, The DaVinci Code to keep up with the 100 page-a-day pace I've been reading at. I'm clearly not missing sleep :) On second thought...

'Til another spark of writing flies within these blogging walls,

~ Chelsea

This is what makes teaching ALL worthwhile...

I'm in love with the kids I teach.

It finally dawned on me how much these kids really mean to me. As soon as I set foot in the classroom today, I'm bombarded: my favorite elementary school student, Judy, comes up to me, hold my hands together as if I'm her older sister or her mother, looks straight into my eyes, and smiles--another student, Gloria, standing next to us and drawing pretty girls on the the whiteboard, suddenly turns to us and says "Gayyy--eeemmm teacher!" I return the smile and say in Konglish, "Chelsea ssem will see. Oh-buun chuseo!" (Chelsea teacher will see. Give me five minutes!) Thereafter springing to the teacher's room to snag a few minutes of the ever-intense book I'm currently reading, "The DaVinci Code" by Dan Brown. Of course, if I wasn't so enthralled in the book, I would have stayed with the girls and started class early---but I kept thinking of that intense conflict the character, Harvard symbologist, Langdon was having with a French cryptologist, Neveu, mid-escape from the French police, searching for clues the cryptologist's grandfather and now-dead curator of the Louvre left before his ultimate death. Fascinating, and very hard to put down.

Just last week, I recieved a little origami sort of paper art from another great and helpful student, Laura, who wrote on the back of the hexagonal gift, "I love you teacher ~ Laura." I gushed to no end. Recently, another little elementary student, Mary, who's rather new... wrote me a two-page mini note introducing herself and her brother, giving me not only a little girl's hot pink and baby blue eyeshadow kit, which she wrapped in pretty anime paper, but she also included a plastic, lego-like heart fused together with wax. I was bewildered and fascinated all in the same step.

These kids are amazing. They hug me both before and after class, we joke together and laugh at the funniest things; and now, they're thinking of me outside of school, and bringing little miscellaneous gifts I absolutely adore!

And to top this all off, I just about fell over with my GPR+ (middle school) students today. The lesson was to build vocabulary, focusing on the house in general, discussing what we use in the house, what floors have which rooms, etc. I only see these kids but an hour a week, so during this winter vacation, my lessons have to wrap up in just about one hour, or as you can imagine, the following week rolls around and these kids have forgotten all but a handful of the entire lesson of the prior week!

When I inquired of the 4, some 14-15 year old male students specific questions to test their English knowledge about housewares and vocabulary, I nearly lost it. We started with the bathroom, and I first asked them what you call the thing coming out of the wall in the shower/bathtub, that gets you wet, when you turn the faucet/water on. Can you guess their response? They have a limited but reasonable amount of vocabulary by the time they hit middle school. Any clues? You'll just die...shower machine! Yes, a new, ingenious name for the shower head! Here's a few more for laughs I came across for accessories and things in the bathroom:

1. What's the cloth or carpet that lays flat on the floor in the bathroom, and you use it to step on when you get out of the bathtub or shower?
- foot clothes or
- water towel to drink up the water leaving bath (bath mats or bath/tub/sink rugs)

2. What is the bowl-like thing that has a faucet (where water comes from), which sits just below the mirror in the bathroom, and where you brush your teeth, wash your face, etc.?
- face shower or hands washer (the bathroom sink)

3. What do you call the chair you sit on in the bathroom, you know, where you sit down, go pee, and read a magazine or newspaper?
- bathroom chair (the toilet) ~ my favorite!

And so it is, each day gets more and more fulfilling. I'm walking with a spring in my step, in spite of the still-hectic school schedule--but luckily that will all change, now that we've hired an Australian girl named Melanie to work with us starting mid-February. Boy won't that be a huge weight lifted off my shoulders! Now all I have to work on is getting my groove back with traveling, and I'll be set!

Gleefully writing away,

Chelsea 

Domestic Violence in Korea: a difficult issue, but a necessary voice to raise

This is pitiful. But I have to address this issue because I feel heated and passionate about it.

As a woman who delt with domestic violence, for the very first time some months ago, I sit here at my laptop, listening to the women below me screaming, the sound of stuff being thrown around (large items, it sounds like), loud enough for the entire neighbourhood to hear.

I find it hard not to feel an inate desire to grab my knife and slice up that husband that's abusing her. And I highly doubt it's the ahjuum-ma (married woman) yelling at her kid for something he did. That was last week.

The screaming and crying for help makes me sick; and I think about how I had done the very same thing, out in the coridor, screaming with the likelihood of somebody opening the door and rescuing me from the punches. There were at least 3 other apartments next to me, and yet no one, no one came out to help me. I was sure to have woken up everyone in the midst of my sobs.

I soon realized after this incident, that the domestic violence problem here in Korea is ever present. Koreans think yelling, screaming, beating or physical-mental-emotional abuse is a family matter. You deal with it, because it's a part of the culture. It's a part of the tradition. It's how things are done. Having dated a Korean, and learning of his family history just soon before the incidence, along with numerous talks with other Koreans about this domestic violence matter-- I firmly believe that as a Korean, if a mother suffered from domestic violence from her mother or father as a kid, you are sure to find that same mother either being the perpetrator, or the one being violated.

I found the following article to be no less than a despicable article on domestic violence in Korea.

In a 2004 survey lead by The Ministry of Gender Equality in Korea, 1 out of 6 married couples deal with domestic violence. Now there are two points in this article that really hit me:

1st: The percentage of female victims who say they actually report the violent incident to police:

"...the survey showed that only 11.8 percent of female victims reported anincidence to the police while 44.3 percent replied that they did not reportthe case because they thought it would not do any good."

First and foremost, I find it hard to believe that nearly 45 percent of Korean females interviewed WOULD NOT report their domestic violence incident because they simply thought it wouldn't do any good. I took my case to the police. Luckily, my director was there to support me. After a month of uncertainty, believing that his only punishment would be a (quite unbelievable, if you ask me) $500 fine equivalent, I come to find at the end of that month-in-waiting for the case to be considered, that not only would he be required to pay the fine, but that the incident would go on a criminal record that would follow him for at least 5 years.

Alright, now in the US, there would not only be jail time, but fines as well as a probable permanent record. So you can imagine, I was appauled to find initially that he'd only be required to pay a fee after not only beating me, but threatening me afterward on several occasions. After waiting a month, and finally describing the incident to a detective, with whom I had to have a military translator to accompany me (as I later found out, my case was the first time the translator got to actually translate, period--tell me that's not backwards?) Thus he got his just rewards.

Which leads me to my 2nd miff: That nowhere does it state in this article how The Ministry of Gender Equality in Korea will actually address the domestic violence issue, aside from, and I quote,

"...An official said that the ministry would work out measures to preventdomestic violence. "

Followed by,

"...Equal status between husbands and wives is important to get rid of violencein male-oriented families,'' he said. "

Frankly, I am appauled at this. How does The Ministry of Gender Equality actually think they will solve the domestic violence problem here in Korea, with 'working out measures to prevent domestic violence' and merely stating that 'equal status is important between husbands and wives to get rid of violence'??? I honestly wonder if this article was actually printed in Korean for Korean men and women to read. I also wonder about the opinion of the Korean male/female reader of the article. My hunch to their reaction on the matter? Zip.

Riiiiiiiigggghhhhtt.

So not only will women continue to be violated, because they believe nothing will come of reporting their domestic violence incidents, but I highly doubt that The Ministry of Gender Equality will even get back to 'working out measures to prevent domestic violence.' Ha.

The fact of this matter, is that women MUST take a stand on domestic violence in Korea. Creating equality between men and women, particularly on this crucial matter, will only resolute if and only if women regard themselves as worthy of rights, to not be violated and abused, in any shape, way or form. They must discontinue the thought that it's normal, common among Korean families, apart of tradition, and something that is just done; they must stop themselves from believing that reporting the incidence will do nothing. It's almost like believing that your vote doesn't count: I can tell you how many people, my mother included, who have said, "oh, my vote won't count in the next election." Just think about the countless thousands of people of who think the very same way. Before you know it, you have a hurd of people that could move or sway a vote; and all along, they thought only of themselves, and how little of a difference they could make.

Likewise, Korean women (and any female suffering from any form of domestic violence) must believe, if not for themselves, than they must take a stand and be the voice for the thousands of women who have no voice, and who are beaten, abused, and violated daily, by their husbands and significant others. And I am only addressing one side of domestic violence. History does not have to repeat itself. The cycle can be broken. Just because you were violated by your mother or father, does not mean you have to--or have the right--to violate your children or your significant other.

There has to be a solution for this. And the only way that equality will prevail between men and women in Korea and elsewhere around the world, is if women take a stand and demand the rights that are due them. It's the only answer. And it's the only way that the various forms of oppression throughout history, and the inequality of race, color, sex and/or beliefs, have ever transcended tradition and laws set forth by our founding fathers and anscestors around the world: because one person becomes the voice for a great many, acknowledging civil liberties in its most basic, humanistic form.

There, I've said my peace. Now use your voice.

~ Chelsea

Food for thought:

Check out this link of a discussion on domestic violence in Korea.

(Out of date) Stats on domestic violence in Korea. Rather interesting.

Comments are definitely welcome!