My game of 10 fingers

There’s a game called 10 fingers, or Never-have-I-ever. If you don’t remember how to play, go to any freshman dorm’s common area and take notes.I believe only those of us living in Korea should be able to relate to this series of questions, therefore putting all ten fingers down - losing. Keep track on your own for optimal effect.

Never have I ever…

1.     1) …had a conversation that starts and ends as such, “Hello, you’re handsome, I love you, goodbye.”

2.     2)…been told to be quiet on a bus.

3.     3)…had a child lick me because he thought I was chocolate.

4.     4)….solved a majority of disputes with a game of Rock, Scissors, Paper.

5.     5)…been involved in a basketball game where the players smoke before, at halftime, and after the game.

6.     6)…worn socks with childish, sometimes offensive, illustrations on them to the delight of all my co-workers.

7.     7)…said “hello” in native tongue and received a standing ovation.

8.     8)…been in a conversation and had my name called by someone else, and upon turning to face that person, had food shoved in my mouth.without my permission.

9.     9)….legitimately thought war was raging because of a country-wide drill.

10   10)…been asked by another grown man if I was, “going to go pee-pee.”

A

        Game. Set. Match. 

       

        On another note: somebody come and look at this...

how my students view me...

A

My literary mirror

Just got through reading Thomas Kohnstamm's  Do Travel Writers go to Hell? A pretty interesting read that talks about the little known perils (and pearls) that are involved in travel writing for the Lonely Planet. I found one excerpt to be especially relevant to my time out here in Ulsan, as well as to some of the trips I’ve made this year. Here:

When a human becomes unbound from his or her place, it also affects the perception of time. The senses are inundated with new sights, smells, and sounds. The flow of new, often-shocking details make us more like wide-eyed children than jaded adults. There is more concentration, recognition, and appreciation given to details throughout the day. With no tether to a place and no base of reference, relationships and plans become hyperaccelerated. New best friends are made and then never seen again. Romances develop with the bottle-rocket trajectory of the Challenger. For my generation, the first that has always had a computer at home and that considered video games a normal childhood pastime, life on the road is one of the few things that actually overwhelm our tolerance for stimuli and shock us into the here and now.

My quandary

I wanted to steer clear of serious negativity in my blog updates, but I also felt a need to provide a comprehensive picture of my experience out here.

The other day at lunch I had the pleasure of eating in the school cafeteria with my co-teacher. Note the italics, and duly note the sardonic tone. The lunch started off as usual, not much conversing other than the, “Hi, how are you” or “today’s lunch is pretty good, no?” formalities that I’ve learned to use to hide my distaste for Kim Hyuk Teacher (as Nathan and I have been ordered to call him).

Side note: Sarah, the teacher that was at my school before I arrived, was told to call him Johnson. When Nathan and I arrived, he asked us to call him Kim Hyuk Teacher. And now that Sarah has gone back to the states, and we’ve gotten another native teacher, Kim Hyuk has asked her to call him Mr. Kim. So, me thinks this is a guy with some serious power-trip issues.

Back to the story. Lunch: kimchi, rice, and some meat.  At the table to the left of us are two kids playing around; some kind of tag game from what I saw. This is lunchtime, mind you.  This is what kids do during their free time. But this was unacceptable for KHT who stood up, called the two students to come to him, and in a diatribe appropriate for murder, began verbally deriding and physically punishing them. Similar to the record skipping at a dance, the cafeteria heard this and halted all activity. The spotlight was now on KHT and the two kids. What was he to do now? Why, seize the opportunity to inflict fear in the entire student body all at once, of course. His voice was booming and unrelenting. There were numerous times that I picked up in which he called them idiots. He repeatedly hit them on the forehead and poked them in the chest, even as they exhibited signs of retreat - stepping back, cowering, lowering their heads, and hunching their shoulders. This lasted for a solid 5 minutes. Enough for anyone to lose their appetite – I lost mine.

What is the right thing to do here? A quote that I heard a while ago (can’t remember the source) is that “indifference to evil is more evil than evil itself. It becomes a way of life; it begins to permeate every nook and cranny of culture. It reinforces cowardice and the worse of what we are as human beings.”  In another program that brings English teachers to Korea they actually tell their teachers that they are not here to bring about changes in the education system; they’re to teach English, and if they witness anything unnerving, turn their heads. Not a comforting set of instructions to start your teaching career. Everyone has a threshold, and this experience forced me to take a look at mine. At what point would I intervene? It felt like a Stanley MILGRAM psych experiment.

I guess part of living in a foreign culture is learning to live with the uncomfortable norms. None of the Koreans seemed too bothered. Well, besides the two victims…er…students. 

My summer set

For the Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) vacation 3 friends and I took some much-needed vacation time to visit the Philippines. Here’s the crew:

Yoon (Seoul), Tina (New York), the two Ulsan ruffians...

We spent two days in Manila followed by a getaway to island resort, Boracay. First: Manila. We visited Quiapo Church and the surrounding area or Roxas Boulevard. It was bustling with activity – people worshipping, vendors selling, and kids playing. Here’s a few pictures from Quiapo:

outside the church...

inside, during service, sans priest...

vendors outside the church...

nowhere to play...

We followed Quiapo up with a visit to the oldest district in Manila, Intramuros, which was a city enclosed by walls that featured some great Spanish architecture. Touring Intramuros in a horse-drawn carriage made it hard to take quality photos, but here are a few. Take a look:

Each of the sunsets that we witnessed while in the Philippines were worthy of postcard status (is that the pinnacle of picture perfect pictures?). He was the first of many more:

The next day the crew went to take a hike up and around Tagaytay City which features a view of Taal. It's a lake within an island within a lake…within an island… Mira mira:

notice the lake inside that little volcano out there...

ready for its closeup Mr. DeMille...

on the way out...

after the hike, from the top...

The hike lasted a couple of hours as locals followed us on horses asking us if we wanted to pay for rides. They followed us, literally the whole way up, but what was funny was as we got closer to the top their prices went down. Local-“100 pesos…70…25…” Me-“But we’re here now.” Local-“Ok, so no horse?” On the way down the mountain I was asked if I wanted to play some pick-up basketball with some of the guys who lived on the mountain. The answer (with cocked eyebrow), an emphatic yes. So we played a quick game to 5. It was great to hoop with these guys and see how far reaching basketball is in the world. These guys gave us a real run for our money, playing without shoes mind you!

for the nonbelievers...

the homies...

That night we got a taste of Manila nightlife. EZ was offered male enhancement pills, strip club doors seemed to open up as soon as we passed them, Yoon caught a guy mid reach into Tina’s purse, and we met some guys who spoke to us about Philippino life for a few hours. They were law students who spoke of brain drain, low employee wages, and religion. It was one of the more powerful talks on the trip as they spoke about how they had the opportunity to study abroad and make more money, but want to be part of a movement of young, educated peoples to uplift the Philippines from the inside.

oh, hello manila...

the future of Manila, today...

Goodnight Manila, Good Morning Boracay

The majority of our trip was spent in Boracay, and my only regret is that I couldn’t stay there forever. In the pictures to follow I will try to convince you why.

what we saw when the boat pulled in to the harbor...

the tuk tuks that got us from A to B. not without some negotiation of the fare first, though...

view from the hotel room. mmmhmmm...

            

courtesy of Yoon. the second picture was taken minutes after the first one, on the same tuk tuk ride...

this is for all the "Obama Teacher!" comments in korea...

drink.it.in...

One day we went on a 5 hour tour of different islands around Boracay as well as snorkeling and cave diving.

one of the small islands...

looking out from in, the cave...

While in the Philippines I tried to eat as much of the local food as I could. In Manila I ate a few dishes that I couldn't pronounce, thus can't remember. But in Boracay I came across Balut. This name I can't forget, nor the taste. BALUT? Yeah, I did that (as did Tina and EZ).

before...

during...

as the sun sets...

The night life on the island did not disappoint. It was a full moon for a few of the nights we were there, and at a remote bar appropriately called the Jungle Bar, there was great live music and ambiance. Somehow one of our crew members was invited behind the bar and was able to hook the rest of us up with free drinks for the night. I can dig it. 

With two days left in Boracay for EZ and I, Tina and Yoon had to make their way back to Manila before heading home. And in a serendipitous twist, we ran into a Unicamp friend from UCLA, sir Andrew, who was on vacation at the same time. It was as if Lady Fate wiped the tears of farewell off our cheek with a chance meeting with a good friend from home. Too dramatic? Let's continue...

The next day Andrew and his friends, as well as EZ and I, signed up for a trip to Ariel's Point. A 6 hour getaway to a remote part of the island where for about 25USD there's unlimited food, drinks, snorkeling, and cliff diving. Let me tell you this, that was by far the scariest thing I've done. I jumped 3 times, but the jump was no easier the 3rd time than the 1st.

UCLA in the Philippines strong...

4 stories high is no joke...

the monkey snatched someone's bottle with beer in it, and took it to the head...

leaving ariel's point...

The entire trip anytime EZ or I saw anyone that remotely resembled a Korean person we'd go, "Oh! Hanguk Saram!?" (Are you a Korean person) More times than not we were correct and had a quick stop and chat with Koreans who were also vacationing during Chuseok. On the way back from Ariel's Point we did the same with a Korean couple. We basically said all the phrases we knew in Korean, and shared a few libations. Little did we know at the time, but we had been cheers'ing with the CFO of Samsung.  

the last one...

That, being one of my favorite pictures, is worthy of being the bookend to the volumes of stories and insights that this trip afforded me. Conversations with Philippinos, close friends, and new friends are as fresh in my head today as the day they were had in the Philippines. Revisiting is a must.

My summer wheelings and dealings

Greetings.  I hope the readers of this post are enjoying their summer as it comes to a close, this being late August. Today marks the 6-month mark for my stay in Ulsan. Although at times it seemed as if time was snailing, here I am at the halfway point. The first semester is over and done with and I don’t believe I’ve posted enough pictures of my students so here goes:

this was the "crazy" picture; calm down girls in the front...

when I say "yeah the kids were bouncing off the walls" I mean what I say...

blue shirt in the front is Jon from my "loogi story"...

First order of business for vacation was my trip to Jeju island for a one-week getaway with about 7 of my guy friends from Ulsan. We rented a van and were able to drive the entire island making stops at the various must-see’s of the island. The first night we stayed at a 민박 right on a picture perfect family beach. In fact, the first morning there Nathan and I were able to join in on some wedding photos:

Most of our adventuring was of the hiking persuasion, including a trek up the most famous mountain on the island, Mt. Halla. There was also a giant crater that we were able to climb to the top of and have a look over much of Jeju.

view from below...

the view, of Jeju...

If you go to Jeju Island, it’s crucial to make a stop off at Loveland. Its so uncharacteristic of Korean sexual attitude and appears to be a blatant call for tourists’ cash-money (Wilmer Valderamma voice). I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, though:

the door of the women's restroom, notice the door-handle...

how many sex images can you spot in this pic?

no means no...

not all of it was vulgar...

but most was...

All in all the week was a much-needed retreat from all the stresses of teaching. Here are some more visuals:

all of us packed into the van...

one of our morning hikes led us to this...

on the way up mount halla...

the view from our minbak window...

these statues are all over Jeju. i guess if a pregnant women possesses one of these it will give her unborn child much...strength...

In other news, I ate dog in Ulsan. It comes in a stew form and is actually quite good. My friend asked me if it tasted “gamey” but I wouldn’t say that would be the word to describe the flavor, but it was palatable nonetheless. This is the joke I told a few people after having eaten Bosintang (as it is called in hangul), “Yeah, we ate a dog named Ringo…He was a Beagle.” Verdict? It got mixed results, but I thought it was great.

During the searing hot days of summer we had three weeks of English summer camp. Summer camp was approached with a different mentality by the teachers. Knowing that we only had the kids for three weeks we took a much lighter approach to the classroom, and it turned out to be pretty fun. Here are a few pics from camp:

this kid was rockin' a cigarette brand hat!

today was backwards day, so he wore upside down glasses...and a cape...

crazy hair day winner...

ok this is sally#2 (there's another, older, sally in the class who is sally#1). sally#2's summer schedule is as follows: Chinese character camp (1 hour), English camp (4 hours), piano (1 hour), Science camp (1 hour). oh yeah, she's in the 3rd grade...

Lastly, as is the custom of Korean business dealings (short notice), I found out on the last day of summer camp that I would not have only one week of vacation before the next semester begins, rather, I have two. Good and bad. Good – I get two weeks of paid vacation. Bad – I didn’t plan a trip. Thus I will start and finish a book or two, and see what other shenanigans I can conjure up with my Ulsan chum. Stay tuned.