Ring ding dong Ring ding dong Ring diggi dingdiggi... [The Soccer DreamMatch]

Oh yes! Oh hell yes! I was blessed by the presence of many popstars today. Oh god... let me tell you a story of epic'ness.

Jeju, back in the day, hosted the FIFA World cup and had built a massive professional soccer stadium. Now in all honesty I think the field is actually a bit too small and the nets are definitely too small, but that doesn't matter cus this wasn't any mere normal game... no! This was the soccer game to remembered for an eternity !! (Well the Zidane headbutt MAY beat this)

[Note: that there is literally a moat between the stage and the soccer field.]

First off the Soccer game was between Jeju and North Korea. Or maybe some northern part of China, but the players were north Korean! SECOND AND MOST IMPORTANT was that after the game there was a K-pop Exxxxxtravaganzzza Concert! Yes there was about 10 K-pop bands playing their #1 hits! You literally can't get any luckier than this, especially when you consider....

it was FOR FREE!

So we got there at a reasonable time, but unfortunately it was one hell of a cold, wet and windy day. Oh Jeju... known for Rocks, Women and Wind. And we sure got the last 2 with the raging wind and the screaming girls (I guess not really women). Actually thank god we found a sheltered place and free jell warmers or else I would have been a cranky Jenny. The odd thing about the entire weather experience is that everytime I thought I saw snow flying about, it turned out that it was just garbage floating in the air. At one point my friend received a massive chunk of ash on his arm. Delightful.

[Jeju United in jerseys that were clearly stolen from construction workers]

So we first sat through the game. And to be frank... it wasn't quite up to the standards I was expecting. I've kinda seen the same stuff from some of the advanced teenage teams in Canada. But the game was entertaining enough with Jeju winning 2-0. Which is a miracle when one considers the last game my friends saw with them in it, saw them lose 8-0. But it delivered in entertainment to be sure. It would have even been worth the 10,000won the ticket claimed to be worth!

Now for the K-pop. The stage was pre-set up and let me tell you, it was sexy! Of course... it was across the field and I ended up watching the TV most of the time. Which sucked a bit.

The presentation included:

Kara

Brown Eyed Girls

4Minutess

Girls Generation

Jewelry

f(x)

Some Japanese group that had big paw mittens and cat ears and sung something that we think was 'luck-y' but sounded much dirtier

U-Kiss

SS501

SHINee *Girlish Squeel*

2PM *now all the Koreans squeel*

Park Jin Young aka JYP Entertainment CEO (the name of the company is his initials) [He should stick to being a CEO]

And some annoying comedy group

[Kara performing sooooome sorta song. You'll be distracted by their bums anyways, they're quite hypnotic. However if you look closely I'm up in the stands to the left towards the top. Covered from the wind]

I'm pretty sure I'm missing more K-pop people. But I mean this gives you an idea of how epic this presentation was. These are all groups with either current chart topping hits or had some in the past. And they were ONLY singing the chart toppers. It was filmed on tv live and had fireworks and well.... fire.

[SHINee. Addictive music & terribly underaged (for me anyways) ]

Not all groups were quite as energetic of course. A couple groups were flat out lazy in their dance routines, and one band.... was oddly boyish looking. I'm still not sure I believe my friends insistance that one of those girls was NOT a guy. SHInee which I am a fan of (despite the cutest one being 16... we won't discuss that), really turned out to be very skinny. Christ, all of these K-pop stars are skinny, but boy do they take the cake. And it's not as though kids don't notice. My students dubbed SHINee as 'beggars' because they look so mal-nourished.

I've posted up the video of 2PM -Heartbeat which is currently making the girls go wild. Partly because the lead singer (whose actually American) got in a big fiasco for calling Korea 'gay' (which is ironic when you consider that many Koreans don't think Gays exist) back in his youth and it came up to haunt him later on. So he ran away to America. So this is a bit of a comeback. But mostly I posted it up cus the opening made me laugh so hard!

This was basically the K-pop Experience of a Lifetime! And it was Epic!!!





Oh... And the soccer was cool too!

EDIT: I decided to upload this video. It's epic. The lyrics.... boy well they sounds dirty. The lyrics are actually bo-peep bo-peep but enjoy listening anyways. Enjoy the paws...

The Incredibly stupid (but AWESOME) Museums of Jeju

So you may or may not be aware of this fact (it should have been a giveaway with the Loveland post) but Jeju is filled with a massive amount of stupid museums. One could argue that this is because of Jeju trying to boost its image as a honeymoon destination, or maybe it's because the Japanese long ago burnt down all their traditional buildings and they needed new attractions.



Whatever the case, Jeju has a plethora of the most ridiculous museums, ranging from a Miniature Land (world landmarks, like the The Great Wall of China, in mini form) to even a Hot Air Balloon maze park (I have no idea what that would be...). I honestly can't tell you how many of these museums/lands there are! I mean, what is Alligator Town? Or Happy Town? Or Dreamland? I don't know, but I'll find out!


But today I'll discuss 2 museums that are very stupid but awesome! Teddy Bear Museum (I visited this months ago) and Trick Art museum (which I visited last weekend).

Teddy Bear Museum

Basically this is a museum of teddy bears that reinact famous moments in history or in film. I hate to say this, but there really isn't much to say about this museum... I mean it's a bunch of bloody teddy bears.

There are paintings of teddy bears, and there is even is a outdoor... park?... of teddy bears! Sometimes they're cute and sometimes they're creepy. At the end of the day, I was left thinking about whether or not my Grandfather (who fought in WWII) would have appreciated WWII being represented by teddy bears.

Trick Art Museum

This museum was actually far more interesting than the Teddy bear museum. Basically this museum has a bunch of classical or famous paintings recreated on a brick wall. They're recreated with extra shadows and also have portions of the painting popping out of the frame. The idea is to put yourself as a part of the painting so that it appears as though you are somewhat a part of the painting.

Luckily my friend Mike came with me, and his camera (and his camera skills) were really quite amazing. So his shots looked very much superior compared to mine. This museum is perfect for anyone who likes to take silly photos. Which seems to be most Koreans. There is an entire store in Jeju that has nothing but those small photo booths you find in malls & amusement parks and costumes to dress up in. Furthermore, for whatever reason, it appears that EVERY Korean owns a huge professional camera, and yet I sincerely doubt they're all avid amateur photographers. So i'm pretty sure that this museum is targeting that audience in particular. Either way, it's still a fun museum

In the end, the museums were definitely worth it. You certainly can't find any like this at home. And there are plenty more for me to check out!

New Theme!

Ok, so I want to give a quick description of my new theme! Of course it is now winter (not really for us) and soon it will be Christmas. My blog theme is reflecting the new things that I've learned about Koreans and winter.

First off, Korean buildings have no central heating. I'm also pretty sure that they don't have insulation either.

Secondly, Koreans live by two temperatures. Super hot or super cold. They hate super cold, so inevitably (thanks to portable heaters) you'll experience the super hot.

Thirdly, Korean winter fashion is... interesting. They usually just wear thin coats with layers and layers of sweaters underneath. And otherwise freak out if you wear short sleeved shirts. They don't really wear mittens, but they do have nifty earmuffs with mp3-players inside

Fourth-ly and finally, the hats. The hats are awwwwesome. And that is what has inspired my new theme. Koreans LOVE cutsey hats. Particularly the animal-themed hat. My male student has the very same hat as the old man in this picture, and this is the 'cool kid' of my class. My friends often joke about what kind of Korean men these boys would end up like if it wasn't for the 2 years of conscription they all have to take.

PS- I will be buying one of these hats for myself. LOL!

Up, Down, All Around, and Sick as a Dog

So it's been awhile since I've posted up an update and I do apologize. I've been sick for about a solid month and it has zapped the energy out of me. So most of my weekends have been me feeling miserable, singing a large amount of K-pop to myself, gift shopping, letter writing and on one special Halloween me being extra sick after I drank 2 glasses of wine.
My little black dress will never be the same...

So this weekend I finally had some energy and went on an adventure with my partner in crime, Liz.

Oh finally... freedom from my smelly bedroom!

So this post is the tale of this Saturday and another mini-adventure I had in the city.

Majanggul

'Gul' means cave in Korean, so the name literally means Majang Cave. Majanggul is actually not a cave, it is a system of lava tubes that are some of the largest in the world. (For those of you who don't know and will be too embarassed to ask, lava tubes are the tunnels formed from where lava once flowed.) And walkin through them you can quickly tell that they aren't exagerating about the size. Sections of the tube are approximately 23m wide and over 30m high. So while it is too dark to see much of the tube formations, it still is an enjoyable 1km walk.




Actually Jeju has tons of lava tube systems, but this one is an actual UNESCO world heritage site and... well huge! The tube runs for kms and kms but only 1km is open, and quite frankly that's enough for me. As awesome (and I mean that as in awe-inspiring-some) as it is, 1km is suffiscient. It's dark and one can only spend so much time wondering how Korean girls can walk in high heels in this place, or spend time looking into the deep dark (Hence why I only used my own photo once for this post, cus my camera usually only took photos of what appeared to be my friend in front of a black abyss).

Gimnyeong Maze

Woot! Hedge Maze! Who doesn't love those? I mean honestly! Well actually this maze is on the way to the tubes, and since the tubes were free and the hedge was only 2$, we figured we'd spend some money on this. Apparently this hedge maze was created by an old foreigner, Fred, who built (grew?) this as part as his retirement project. Some people play golf, some build (grow? seriously I don't know!!) hedges! Why not? The purpose of the maze is to make it to the middle and climb up the stairs to ring the bell. So Liz and I went our seperate ways and raced to the center.

Highlights of this maze include: somehow giving myself motion sickness while going through the maze (Yes... my own motions made me sick. It was all the bushes!), the random Korean boys who caught me off guard and said Hi (and then proceeded to giggle like a little school girl with his friend) to me while I looked at them blankly, me cheating, and finally KICKING LIZ's BUTT!

Thank you! Thank you!
Don't worry, she looked at the map too, I just cheated faster than she did.

Samseonghyeol

Finally the activity I did while I was sick. This is a famous place within Jeju-si that my Korean friend John (that's his English name obviously) took me to. It's a very famous shrine within Jeju and quite frankly it was quite a priviledge to be able to see it. What follows is the legend that surrounds this shrine:

Go, Bu and Yang were 3 demigods that rose from the earth at the Samseonghyeol shrine. One day, while they were hunting, they met 3 maidens who had wased up on the shore with grains and animals. They married the maidens, started up agriculture and each man began their own tribe. They are credited with populating the island with the tribes that the three men began. Even today, it is not uncommon to see a Jeju'ian with one of those demigod names as their last name. Actually a couple of my students have Bu as a last name [Boo So Young being the cutest name].

So twice a year, descendants come to the shrine and conduct a ceremony to worship their ancestors. The place itself is really quite nice and relaxing. The truth is, Jeju-si is one of the more ugly cities in this world (doesn't beat Waterloo though) and Samseonghyeol is one of the few beautiful parks. It has traditional Korean buildings, 3 shrines, a miniature museum about the shrine, and of course the actual spot where the 3 demigods emerged from the earth. The entire place actually made me the most relaxed I've felt in a long time!


So there you have it! I'll try to update more often, now that I'm finally well and over this horrid illness!

The Post That You've Secretly Been Waiting For

This will be my post about things I really hate about Korea. Or at least Jeju. Jeju is its' own self-governing province, so to compare it to the rest of Korea is a little unrealistic. Jeju has less English than the rest of the mainland, and they are more conservative and set in their ways than the mainland. To what extent they are different, is hard for me to gadge as I haven't spent any time on the mainland. But after complaining to my Seoul friend about the things in Jeju, it was clear that much of it was a Jeju thing. That I wouldn't find these problems in Seoul.

Things I HATE About Korea!

Mosquitoes. They're not like Canadian ones. They're smart. They don't make any sound when flying and there is always ONE hidden in my room. Hello mosquitoes bites on my ass, breast, knuckles, palm.... you name it. Today it was the face. ARG! Why my face!? And where are you hiding!?!!

I Smell Like Kimchi. Once you start eating the food here, every bowel movement, every natural scent from your body smells like fermented ingredients of kimchi!! My farts, my pee, bowel movements, EVERYTHING smells like bloody fermented kimchi. If you think this is disgusting to hear, it is disgusting to experience! It is one of the most disturbing things I have ever witnessed.

I Have to Mispronounce my Own Language. That 'French Kiss' sushi roll I so love is now ordered as French-e Kissu rolle. You know how westerners always get those Chinese tattoos thinking it looks super cool? Same with Koreans and the English written language. So there is a lot of English, but they pronounce it so completely different that for me to pronounce it correctly would lead to confusion. Sometimes I just want a bloody hot chocolate without struggling to figure out which retarded mispronounciation they'll understand...

Korean Driving Is The Most Frightful Thing I Have Ever Witnessed. Jessssus Christ. Yes I have almost been hit by scooters and cars multiple times WHILE WALKING ON THE SIDEWALK. Scooters are the worst. The damn drivers always slip past all the cars so that they're at the front of any 4-way, and they think that a sidewalk is just a shortcut. I've actually been warned to not walk down the sidewalk while listening to music, or I may not hear the scooter from behind me and get out of his way. I can't explain it... It makes one too speechless to put it into words.

Finally the #1 Thing I Can't Stand About Jeju!

I am Stared at like an Animal in a Zoo. Anywhere you walk in Jeju, people stare at you. Older men tend to be the worst, and definitely hit a level of creepy I don't want to describe. I've had old men suddenly stop walking and start watching me randomly in the street. Some people stare because they're curious, but often there isn't the most friendly expression behind their eyes. The worst is at night, when the men have been drinking. I've been walking home alone at night and have had 2 drunk men start slurring out English to me and laughing. Very creepy. In Korean society it IS rude to stare, so it really pisses me off when they stare at us. Particularly since, while English teachers is rather new, there are TONS of us around. We aren't the first white person they've seen.

There you go. I know you all wanted to know this secretly. There are other things, but I tried to keep it light-hearted and not too serious for the most part.

Chuseok!

Chuseok is the Korean Thanksgiving. While it doesn't celebrate the Brits and Natives finally getting along, it is a basic Korean celebration of the harvest moon (or at least according to wikipedia). In the weekends leading up to Chuseok, families go back to their ancestral tombs and pay respect to their beloved lost ones. Ancestral tombs are usually just walled in mounds with a tombstone infront of it. You can find these tombs almost anywhere, from hillsides filled with them, to just a random tomb in the middle of a tourist area. Most of my students ended up studying or visiting their grandparents house to cook traditional Korean food for Chuseok.

For Chuseok I ended up getting Friday off, and originally planned to visit an island to the east. However due to less-than-favorable weather forecast, my friend and I opted to drink too much soju the night before. So when we slowly woke up around noon on a beautiful Friday afternoon, we decided to shop. I'll skip explaining the shopping experience because it was less than thrilling or fruitful; however, we did stumble upon a beautiful set of recreated Korean government buildings. And literally stumble, because we came out of the Underground mall and suddenly there they were. In the middle of a city...

Jejumok-Gwana

Sadly these buildings were burnt down multiple times throughout history (including a nasty burning during the Japanese occupancy of Jeju), so the buildings we saw were rebuilt. To say they were gorgeous, would be a terrible understatement. Sadly my camera was only once able to capture just how vibrant these gorgeous paintings were. The colors alone left me absolutely breathless. Because of Chuseok the government buildings had local Koreans visiting and flying kites there. We decided to join in and, I would just like to say, we represented westerners' kite flying skills very well!

On Saturday, my friend Justins' friend from Seoul was down visiting. So we took her to the south of the island to check out an old Dutch ship. The ship itself is rather boring, but when you walk inside it explains the history of a Dutch ship that came ashore at that very beach.

The Story

There was a group of Dutch traders sailing from Thailand over to Japan; however, their ship crashed off the coast of Jeju, killing about half the crew. After crawling ashore and asking for help from the government, they were forced to perform manual labor for about 7 years. During this time they tried multiple times to escape and steal food, which resulted in brutal beatings. Finally after a well planned escape, they found a way over to Japan where they were unfortunately imprisoned for a full year. It was only after that year, that they managed to finally make it to the Dutch trade outpost and freedom.

Not the luckiest men as you can see. The two top floors told us that story, while the bottom floor was just a history of the soccer stadium Jeju island has. Which was dull to say the least.

We then headed to the beach and the beautiful rock penisula that the ship is beside. While I can't remember the name of the formation, from up the hill the penisula looks like the back of a curving dragon. It actually is very neat! But mostly it was a delightful and relaxing walk! After that, we headed home!

On Sunday we headed out to check out the Teddy Bear museum and the Sex & Health museum. Which I shall discuss in another post!

Pok Po!

Pok po is the Korean word for Waterfall. They chose this word because Pok Po is the sound that the water falling makes when it hits the water beneath. So basically Pok Po is the word to describe the sound that a waterfall makes!

So my friend Liz and I decided to visit the only other city on Jeju island, Seongwipo,and check out the sites around the immediate city! On Saturday we hopped on a bus and took a trip down. The bus trip itself was adventurous, including a moment when another passenger (male in his 40s) dropped a lighter. I picked up the lighter for him and gave it back. 10-20mins later he hands me a note with a 'Thank you' and his number and name written on it. Creepy...


The theme of Saturday was basically going to 2 waterfalls : JeongBang and Cheonjiyeon, but seeing whatever we wanted along the way!


We first headed to JeongBang and came across a cultural centre for Chinese and Korean relations explaning all about JeongBang waterfall. It was absolutely gorgeous and even included a beautiful garden and multiple stone art works.

And this is what we learned about the myth surrounding the waterfall:

A Chinese Emperor was powerful but was no longer in his youth and worried about his old age. He had heard about an Elixir of Immortal Youth, but no one seemed to know where one could obtain such a thing. One day a wizard claimed that he knew of an herb (on Mt Halla in Jeju) which could make this elixir. He claimed he needed many virgin boys and many virgin girls along with archers and scribes to help him procure this herb. So this wizard went across the ocean, fought a sea dragon and eventually found this herb. Before he left he made multiple prayers to his god in front of the JeongBang waterfall, as well as inscribing "I was here" on the stonecliff wall beside the waterfall. [Actually he wrote his name, but I can't remember the name]

And so we went to see the waterfall!

The waterfall is actually right up against the sea. The sea is literally 5 meters to the left of me there. And of course we did find the inscription on the rock!

Actually a very nice inscription considering that it is just graffiti saying "I was here". It's actually just to the right of the waterfall (perhaps you can notice the wet rocks to the left in this photo)

So afterwards we headed to the Cheonjiyeon waterfall, which is substantially more touristy than this one was. Of course as with most things on this island, it was filled with newlyweds and newborns. To my horror along the way back from the waterfall I saw a grandmother help a little boy pee into the grate, despite a washroom literally being a 1 minute walk away. The entire walkway up to this waterfall is paved and less natural than the last one. But of course it was still very pretty (and who can complain when I can get in for free!)


After this, we decided to wander around aimlessly. We ended up finding a beach with ancient fossilized shells stuck within the rocks. I think that experience would have been more interesting if it wasn't for the fact that the rocks were surrounded by these earwig-cockroach type bugs that were EVERYWHERE and at times got just got a little too big for comfort!



Finally after climbing up a brutal hill we headed to a peninsula that had very beautiful rock formations. A lot of Seongwipo ended up being rocky cliff edges, but there were a few neat places where you could climb down stairs and go onto the rocky shore. One place had a bit of a natural rock pool, so Koreans made a cement wall and actually created a semi pool (I know, a vague description)


By the time we got to the peninsula, the sun had set and you could see little white lights on the horizon from the Squid Fishing Boats. Cus, as it turns out, the squid are the moths of the sea and are attracted to light! Tiny delicious squid happens to be Jeju's specialty, and you can see many restaurants with mini aquariums infront of their store with the Jeju delicacy swiming within.

After that we headed back to Jeju-si and got more Pot-bing-su

Pot-bing-su

Hello Korean Desserts!

First off, I don't tend to like asian desserts. Almost everytime the sweetner is red beans, which is deeply wrong and disturbing for me, and the actual sweet taste... well it is INTENSE. Often the sweet is so overpowering that I almost feel sick to my stomach and start having nightmares about my next dentist visit. So believe me when I say that I was pensive about my first true Korean dessert experience.

Pot-bing-su... which if you mumble fast enough, comes out as poppinzoo (or at least that's how I say it and hear it) is an interesting delicacy.

First imagine a bowl that looks very beautiful. There is a delicious pile of ice cream at the center on top of a massive mound of shaved ice. Surrounding the ice cream is well...

Rice Cakes

Watermelon

Tomatoes

Corn

Corn Flakes

Kiwi

Banana

Pineapple

Yes indeed folks... cherry tomatoes and corn. Then you grab a bowl of red bean sauce (full beans still intact) and begin pouring it over top of everything and start mixing it all together. And then you are left with a bowl... of what may appear to be cold sweet oatmeal. You are also given milk, but I was told that the secret is not to add the milk as it makes the concoction too runny.

My friends who took me can't get enough of it.

I can.

Your Blood Type and Personality

One of the other many quirks of Korea is their belief in personality based upon blood type. Sorta like a blood horoscope.

It was invented in Japan and became popular in the 1930s. It was actually more of a reaction to a European survey that basically said that because Asians tended to be of a certain blood type (I believe A) they were closer to animals who also tended to have that same blood type.

Of course this was blatant racism but still one Japanese man reacted and created the personality blood type concept. His research was ultimately just as faulty as the European and had about as much validity as the Germans did when they made claims about their Aryan blood.

Japan in particular will not only ask for your blood type in a job application but also seperate employees into groups based on blood types. Matchmaker sites in Korea and Japan of course will ask for your blood type to help with compatibility.

I have blood type AB and when I asked my students what that meant the students sorta laughed and looked uncomfortable. They believe that AB is a type that is a mix of both bloods so is a mix of two personalities. A bit of a neurotic and unpredictable personality.

Actually if you watch Anime (Japanese animation) you'll find that almost all of the bad guys have an AB blood type. Ultimately this blood belief has led to mistreatment of certain blood types. Jobs being lost, abuse, etc.

While it is more extreme in Japan, it is very prominent in Korea and it would not be uncommon for someone to inquire about your blood type. I will be sure to discuss it more as I find out more about it.

One last thing to ponder: On Average Japanese tend to have an A blood type, while Americans tend to have B.

Love Land Baby!

Now before you ask this is a strictly 18+ Park! None of my students have even heard of this park, and the only people inside were giggling adults and absolutely no children!

When I first arrived in Jeju I was given a map of Jeju island. One of the first 2 things I narrowed in on was 'Love Land' and 'Psyche Land'. This past Sunday my friend Mike and I headed out to check out Love Land.

First: A little Information

Jeju island is basically a honeymoon destination for Asia, and I have been told that places like Love Land and the Sex & Health Museum have be created to teach newlyweds about sex. Now when I went through high school I went through 4 Sex Ed. classes, so this theory was a bit strange for me. But after speaking to my students and learning just how... well little they know, I would not be surprised if there was a grain of truth to that theory. But don't worry Koreans aren't getting pregnant left right and center as they are rather more conservative than our culture; so, while they may be uneducated in safe sex, they aren't really having it. (Mostly, a 11 year old student was recently knocked up in Jeju-si according to my students). I've asked a few Koreans and many say that the average age for sexual activity is about 17. I hope by then they've googled some of the basics...

Onto Love Land!

Mike took me there on his motorcycle up until a fateful red light, where his gear switch wire broke from the handle. So after pushing it down into some random road and leaving a note asking that people not steal the bike, we walked the rest of the way to Love Land.

Love Land is basically a park with sexual statues depicting 'interpretations' of sex. I can't even really say that it shows off all the Kama Sutra moves, because it really doesn't. So Mike and I headed in. It basically is a giant garden (of sorts) with a pond in the center and numerous themed statues dotted around the area. The interpretations were varied, from extreme abstract statues of 2 people having sex, to a horrendous fat woman chasing an old skinny man, to world themes, and even a man and his dog both doing perverted things.

There were a couple of buildings you could enter as well. One building had numerous sex toys and old 80s photographs of porn scenes. Luckily (?) there was a store where you could buy most of the toys in the showcases. In that same building there were little boxes with miniature scenes being acted out, reflecting supposed scenes of reality (strip clubs, voyeurism, prostitutes, classrooms, etc).

There was one scene of a an all-male bath house where men were laughing at one mans small penis. Do men really do this?

The other buildings housed more souvenirs. Although most of the souvenirs were big phalices carved from wood... which I'm not sure I'd ever really want sitting in my house as 'art'.

Ultimately this 'museum' was worth the 7$ I spent and gave me more than one laugh and definately a couple of awkward moments. However I have no idea what sex education any human being would have grabbed from that place. Since most of the statues were 'imaginative' to say the least, it wasnt' educating in that form. And apart from a store where you could buy protection, there was no section on safe sex, or AIDS, or STDs. But it certainly a good definition of Amusement Park!

White Hair Sexy?

I haven't been updating as much lately because to be honest, I haven't had overly much to say. Sadly I haven't made it out of the city yet, and I still haven't seen very much. A fact that is becoming embarassing to say the least.

So instead of telling stories of drunken nights, I figure instead I'll talk a bit about K-pop. K-pop can probably be best described as very formulaic. They're definately sticking to a known style of music that inevitably becomes very popular. My kids will probably be more likely to talk about the 'hip-hop' (and believe me, I use that term very loosely with these bands) bands "2NE1" and "Big Bang". They were created by the company, YG entertainment, who at some point decided that Hip hop was an untapped market in Korea and decided to form the 5-boy band: Big Bang. They were of course a hit, and so YG decided to create a female counterpart, having just released the band 2NE1 this year.

Because the music is so formulaic there is a definite 50% chance of you liking the song or at least having it stuck in your head. It wont change the face of music like Bohemian Rhapsody, but it will be your favourite guilty pleasure.

The latest hit is "Heartbreaker" by G Dragon (the leader of Big Bang). G Dragon is famous for having a different look for every song/album release. Sorta like Madonna... but perhaps you'll find yourself staring at G Dragon a whole lot more.


>>



As you can see he looks a bit like an anime character, and I honestly can't tell whether I find this sexy or not. I think so? In Korean music videos, the dance moves can make the song more popular than the song itself. So you'll find that every video will have signature dance move :D. In case you can't tell, the signature move would be the running move he pulls off twice in the vid.

So what do you think? Is G Dragon's new look hot?

A Little Bit About Class

So today I figured I'd tell you a little bit about what it is like to teach here.

First off I work in a 'hagwon', which basically is an after school learning program. It is situated on the 3rd floor of a building with 6 tiny classrooms to teach within. I work with 5 very nice co-teachers (one foreigner, Ashlyn, who went to Bishops with me) and the director and his wife.

The one I work at is called Jeju ESL English Academy

Generally the kids come over after a long school day to learn english. (Are they excited to learn English? I'll let you figure that out).

Most of the kids are between 8-14 and have varying degrees of english. Keep in mind, just because they're older doesn't mean they know english better. The classes are no more than 12 people, but most of them are between 5-10 years old.

The kids... well they can be loud and rowdy as one would expect from the age group. Sometimes they can be real jerks as well. Basically they're just being honest, but they simply lack the maturity to realize that some truths don't need to be told.

Occasions When I Wanted to Beat Some Respect into the Kids:

-When we were discussing Jelly and a kid pointed to my leg

- Multiple times where the kid is 'testing' me by either ignoring me or just staring me in the face

- The kid who called me ugly

-Kids who make fun of me because I say 'yap' instead of 'yes'

-Kids that say my writting is very ugly

It isn't that I go home at night and cry myself to sleep, I just have a low tolerance for disrespect and I know that the kids usually know better than to say some of the things they do.
The kids of course aren't all bad. In fact, sometimes they're truly adorable and I just want to take them home and put them on a shelf. Some of the dresses they wear are absolutely gush-worthy and I just want to hug them for the entire class (until I notice them put a pencil up their nose as a way of holding it)


As I previously mentioned, there are intense punishments for those who don't pay attention or mouth off. These are a few of my favorite punishments (that I wish I could do, but can't).

- Standing on one foot while facing the wall and having your hands above your head. This is of course accompagnied by a good dose of yelling

- Holding a chair above your head for the rest of the class

- Touching your toes while in the middle of the classroom for the duration of the class

Often what I find is that their style of learning is complete memorization. Basically they can get to the point where they can pronounce words perfectly and know the meaning of most individual words, but at the end of the story NONE of them will know what it is about. This gets frustrating as even after they reread half the story they still don't understand what it is about.

Furthermore, many of the textbooks were clearly written in America. I don't like it when one of the test questions reads:

"What is California?"

a) A country

b) A city

c) A state

d) A province

No one got that question right, and I really don't expect them to. It is a useless question, and one that doesn't really test their English skills.

Anyways, this is a mere dose of what it is like to teach in Jeju! I'll have more stories later on I'm sure. And many more moments where I'll want to give a good whipping to the kids.

A Definite Learning Experience

So now I've been here for almost a week and I thougt I'd share some stuff.
So I'm in my apt which... Has it's quirks. First there's a big grappling hook [With the words: "Simplicity Descending Lifeline"] beside my window and an emergency rope system in case my apt goes up in flames. My...god. I'm not sure I could use it... Ever.
I got "sheets" for the bed. Thebed itself is a bunk bed but with a double bed on the bottom. I managed to pull my sheets on the bed and turned my tablecloth (since I have no table for it) into a snazzy bedspread. The hospital styled cover that came with it just isn't suffiscient. Because while the weather is warm, the amount of air conditioning I use makes it chilly at night.

The view from my window is admittedly gorgeous. You can see the island spread out and out and slowly elevate itself. And to the side u can see the volcano covered by clouds. The city... Well it's kinda how I pictured China to look like. Not unclean but always a sensation of uncleanliness. And a city with the same inspiration behind it as Waterloo and Kitchener. One of a dull and often non-sensical thinking.

I taught my first class, although not on purpose. I was supposed to sit in, but suddenly Chandra never showed up cus of the director. Voilà. First taught class. One of the kids in the class called me ugly... Well actually had no idea but the kids here rat each other out. They do that a lot here. We are not seen as real teachers so I've been told to expect them to not listen because I don't know Korean. Bleh. They're allowed to be louder here and hit each other. They stand. And while I'm constantly reminded that they're only kids... lets just say that this is not a place for Cades. I'm envious because all the other teachers bring in sticks to class, but I think I'll play out my role as JENNY TEACHER!!!' the foreigner.
The kids are often well meaning. It's just that the pressures of their parents force em to learn English after school. I've been warned that when school break ends to expect them to be tired and unfocused. One wonders why learn english when u consider that most of these kids won't ever leave the island. It really saddened me to hear that if one girl got a bad mark in school she would be hit. Of course they get 50$ if they do well.
As a goodbye party for Chandra we went out to a Korean style dinner. We sat on the floor while rounds upon rounds upon rounds of food came... My lord it never ended. It was a lot of raw seafood and things like kimchi, seasoned pumpkin, flavored tofu,soup, meatball... and unknown things. On top of that, the director was pounding back the booze and in turn so must I. No hangover luckily!

They have soju which is like a tamer vodka. And their wine which tastes more like white port.The most horrid food placed before me came in the form of octopus. I was ready to dig when I noticed that the slices were still changing colors. Yes... Indeed it had just been killed. So as I was trying to pry off the suckers from the plate I was reminded of the Japanese eating them and the hazard they cause if the suckers get ahold of ur throat and strangle u. Did it apply here? Yes it did.I was told to just swallow but instead I munched on that thing until all suckers were made obsolete. Ruined my appetite for much of the meal after. The meal was an art form in itself as you can see:



Ok thats it. This is actually copied from an email to my parents and brother. I apologize for the unoriginality, but I just don't get much time on a computer and not yet able to write out what I want.


[PS- Sorry for lousy english/grammar. Yes I realize the irony of it and me being a teacher; however, I wrote this quickly and initially on an itouch which is less than forgiving on poor grammar and sentences. So I've tried to edit it as much as possible but it wont be perfect! I'm sorry!]

Finally.... I arrive!

First off, I will add images when I get a laptop and actually move into my apt, so I apologize for the dull post.


So I'm finally here, but not without some huge bumps. I was initially to fly off to Shanghai and then transfer to Seoul on Sunday, but as I woke up that morning and checked the flight status I found out my plane had been delayed by 7 hours. NOT A FUN WAY TO WAKE UP. Poor Julia and Emily had come to go to the airport with me early in the morning and ended up getting to experience me freaking out instead. Especially poor Emily who had been to a concert the night before. In the end Julia saved my arse by knowing how to exactly sweet talk the demon company known as Air Canada.


Here is the thing. The flights were booked seperately and the second ticket was done through Eastern Chinese Airlines, which were closed on Sunday. On top of that I had to rebook ANOTHER flight from Seoul to Jeju which wasn't even initially booked by me. I hope this slightly outlines the disaster that day was.

So my first day in Korea was actually spent at an old petting zoo in Toronto! Woo!





I left the next day (awake at 3:30am with 2 hours of sleep) and didn't actually get into Seoul until 5pm the next day.

I don't sleep on planes.

Apparently when you're missing 24hrs of sleep the ground begins to move on its own.

So I finally arrived in Seoul the other day and went through customs quite easily despite the masked men taking my temperature as soon as I got off the plane. Poking something random towards my neck....

I got to Jeju but I am stuck in a motel until tomorrow. A motel that... well despite all the mold, is annoying with its bathtub setup which allows for no showering.

And this is important. Let me be clear... I very much underestimated Jeju weather. We're talking 30+ everyday and humidity that equals to me sweating about 5mins after stepping out of the door. It's disgusting...


So what is Jeju like you ask?



Here are things I've learned since being here:

-The sidewalk IS a roadway, and you're simply in the way



-A shower CAN and WILL have a toilet in it



-Taxis will honk at you on the road to let you know they're empty



-You are a foreigner, even if they 've seen a white person before they will stare



-They love to say Hi to you and laugh at you when you say hi back. Endearment or mocking, you be the judge



-Cold spicy squid tentacles are a healthy part of your breakfast



-Everything here is cheap. 8$= 12 sushi pieces, soup, salad, snack and drink











I best go now because this is just a break between my classes. I will write about it more, when this isn't such an essay!

The First Post

So here I am already with my blog. I figured I would create while I'm still in Canada, because by the time I'm in Korea I'll be so overwhelmed I'll have absolutely no time to be creating something like this.
I have my visa and will be flying out on Sunday! Which is all very exciting and making me slightly nervous!




If you are wondering about the theme of my blog, it is supposed to reflective of Korean fashion. Although I did later find out that the image I used actually was from a Singapore online clothing store called Girl2Beauty, apparently Korea is an up and coming fashion zone. If you want to know a little bit about Shoe fashion in Korea

Check out

http://ispyshanghai.com/2008/10/28/shoe-tuesday-korea-superlocal/

I guarantee you it will give you a smile.


I will try to continually update my blog, including different themes/images for my blog. Just to jazz it up and make it more interesting!

Wish me luck in my year long adventure!