Pictures Coming Soon. I Promise!!

The Worst Blogger Alive Lives

First off, I want to say thank you to all the people that have actively pursued me and asked me to continue writing my blog. If it was not for you I would not do it (seriously, I would not do this). Secondly, I am sorry for my oft-delayed and sometimes weak literary offerings. I have been very busy but not that busy (mostly, I do not go on the computer that much, and writing in a blog is not the Dojo Yoshi's favorite activity). As a result, this blog will offer several photos for there may be I a lack of words (ha). Luckily, many Americans have practiced the use imagination and can make stories with all the pictures I post. So, let's get into my people. Word to Donovan McNabb's shoulder!!

(p.s. there will be several grammatical errors in this post)

Alright, since we last talked, the Olympics started, finished, and the leaders of China and S. Korea had a conference (lol). A lot has happened. I moved into my homestay. My co-teacher and Vice Principal (some cool peoples indeed) came and picked me up from Yonsei University in Seoul (about a 2 hour drive) and took me to my house. So I met my mother first and her first words (being translated by my co-teacher) were that I was now a part of the family and that I better act accordingly. That I can do. Alrighty then. Next I met my two brothers, Chang Il (17) and Chang Bawm (14). They were shy at first. Lastly I met my sister, Chan Mi (15) and the father (Hong). Very welcoming family. The father is a doctor (hemorrhoids style, among other things). The mother was a nurse but now stays home. Soooo, they have a 3 floor house. The first floor is his practice, 2nd is where me and the grandparents (89 and 83 and they know how to handle their own business) live, and the third is where the rest of the family lives. Its a nice mix. Indeed, I have my own bathroom and computer room so I can take Stanley Steamers and watch Ace Ventura clips in privacy.

Okay, since I took so long to write this post so much has happened that I have forgotten. Sorry if you get general descriptions of important events. What have I been doing????????? Well I gave the family Uno, Guess Who, Cards, Monopoly, and something else (??). They love games. We have played Uno, Guess Who, and several Korean games so far. I love it. They love it. Everyone loves it. This family is great (don't worry Mom and Athy/ Hoye/ Sanders family, no one could ever replace you!!). The mother is extremely nice and after a few days they invited me to their bedroom (in the attic) where they have a projector to watch (horrible) movies like Freaky Friday and New York Minute. I truly feel like one of the family. The children treat my like a big brother and the parents are comfortable asking me anything (or taking me to the market to hear a dude scream at customers to buy food while they hold a live food auction. It was bizarre to say the least). Also, the mother can cook (even though we seem to eat rice cakes all the time). Koreans love them some rice cakes and the word "maybe". To sum it up, I feel like I have been accepted as one of the family. Blessed.

Lastly, I started teaching this week. I went to lunch with all the English teachers and the principal. It was real nice. They think I am a genius because I can speak Korean (you should have seen their faces when I recited the numbers in Korean and Chinese). However, now I think they think I know more than I actually do. HA. There's this one teacher that just yells at me with a great big smile, but he speaks no English so we have awkward moments where he says a long sentence in Korean and I say 1 of the 5 phrases I have mastered. He loves it that I just try. The teachers are very nice and for the most part are all women (45 of 55). In fact, the first question I was asked was "Do you have a lover?" which apparently is common for them to ask a foreigner. Okay, back to business. I have taught 5 classes so far. 4 went really well while 1 class had no idea what I was saying. The students treat me like a rockstar. It is very awkward but I can't even lie, I like it. I feel like a fresh ear walking through a Mike Tyson dream. The boy's call me a handsome guy and the girls giggle, blush, and make funny noises/ scream when I pass. I'm sure this will go away soon and it's only because I'm a new foreign teacher. However, for now, I kinda like it. Can't lie.

So, life is good. I cannot complain, and the life that I am living is a true blessing and I don't even know how lucky I am to have this opportunity. I want to thank everyone that had a hand in this movie. I'm sure there are several spelling and proofreading errors in this post (and after this post they will still exist, sorry). Honestly, I will try to update my blog on the regular. Word to John McCain's 7 homes!! I love all you guys. Keep sending the love.

R.I.P. Big Homie

Bernie Mac helped me take my mind off of any drama or negative situations. I' grateful for that. Before I came here I told myself I would put up a BMAC quote of the day. However, I never did. I hope to soon. RIP Mac Man.

The Worst Blogger Alive

Ok. So the worst blogger birthed from Dawn Athy is back. So much has happened over the past week and I have not told my people anything. Ill try my best to sum things up. Last Saturday I visited the DMZ and got to see North Korea (4KM away). Also, I was randomly put into a Tomato festival in this small Korean town. It was one of the strangest hours of my life. One minute I was on a bus and the next I was I was marching down a street being cheered on by Koreans. It was a def. a first for a kid from Philly. On Monday I had my Korean language final exam and it went very well. I graduated and they gave me a very nice diploma (I'll put up pictures soon). A couple nights after that everyone went out and partied with the teachers. It was off the chain. The teachers are real cool and I'm going to miss them. Oh yea, there's this girl I met that has become an acquittance of mine. This woman I met that worked at the local store wrote me a letter (all in Korean...) and we went out to get ice cream. It was real nice. I practiced/ butchered my Korean and she practiced her English. I intend to stay in touch with her. Okay, next....

I also performed in a talent show in which I performed/ sang/ danced to "Gone" by N'Sync. Sweet.

On Friday we packed our bags for good (goodbye Chuncheon!!). We drove to Seoul and I did some cool things. PAT, Koreans are extremely proud of their country and take the Olympics very seriously. I was in City Hall in Seoul and watched an archery match between a Korean and a Cuban and it was real nice because the Korean dude came back and won. Watching the people go crazy was niiiiiiiiiiiice. I have pictures.

Tom. I meet my principal, vice princial, co-teacher, and homestay family. Big day. I'm going to try my best to keep you guys up to date. There will be pictures up soon. The journey countinues and now its on to a new challenge or shall I say opportunity. Its all love over here people. I miss you and am truly grateful for the support. Keep it comming. PCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! Yo Ivan, tell Lauryn to put out some music.

BTW. When I get my cell phone I will tell you guys my number so we can hook up. But you should download SKYPE at skype.com. Its free and we can talk for as long as we would like. My skype name is Michael Athy.

Chuck Norris Status

What up folkers? So your boy is officially a yellow belt and knows the form. Additionally, I was taught by a 7th degree black belt that is known all over Korea and by the TKD association. So know I don't have to do the Fresh Prince tick and "Mind ya business, just mind ya business" to get out of fights. Last night the TKD class went out the the Dojo Master and Dojo sidekick and has some takalbi. It was good for the taste buds. Indeed. I sat with some of the younger students and they were really nice. I practiced my Korean and they understood me for the most part. I had no idea what they said most of the time. It was a lot of fun. Dojo Master and Sidekick pulled back several shots but kept it cool. What else would you expect?

Also, I gave a 2 minute speech in front of my Korean class. No problem. I had one mess up but it was funny. Instead of saying "I am an American person," I said, "I am a person". Everyone laughed and at the time I didn't know why. Other than that my speech went nicely. I have learned over 10 verb tenses, hundreds of vocab words, and several key phrases in only 5 weeks. It's crazy how much we have covered in our classes. I think I'll continue to take Korean language classes once I touch down in my city. Aight good peoples, I'm off to watch the Korean Dark Knight premiere. Pce earthlings.

Check Out CHILLING with the COOL KIDS PARTS 1 and 2!!! Below!

Chilling with the Cool Kids Part 2

Chilling with the Cool Kids Part 1

That's the stare of a Yellow Belt master. They were some chill kids. Little man was a prankster and the girl next to me kept putting food in my bowl. Sweet.

The Waygook Syndicate

Above is the romanized Korean for The Foreign(er) Syndicate. Before I get into more important matters such as what city I will live in and what grade I'll teach and so on, I want to discuss this new cartel. So after I named myself Dojo Yoshi, I decided to randomly give out nicknames to certain others, and the movement has grown unlike any other. Now there are several members and there names go as such: The Deacon, Squidman, Hebrew Slim, Sandy, Sir Scrapdoodle, Master Chef, Big Z Zanderfield, and Curtis. There are more to come. We have established our own greeting, or insa, as well. Get ready world, the Waygook Syndicate is unstoppable.

Ok, back to more important business. This week we received our placements. I was put in Cheongju which has a population of about 600,000 which is considered suburban. I was placed there with 6 other people (3 females and 3 males). It was strange because we are all cool and they placed us together which normally doesn't happen. 4 of us (me included) live in the city while two live directly outside of it. Sweet. Also, I live in the only landlocked province in Korea because it's smackdab in the middle. Therefore, the farthest away I am from any other part of the country is 3 hours, and its only an 1hour 15 ($6) train ride to get to Seoul. Sweet. A former ETA I am cool with now (Jamal) was placed in Cheongju and he really liked it and it going to give me all his contacts (including his barber in Seoul). Indeed.

They also placed me in a co-ed middle school which should be demanding but exciting and rewarding. I'm ready to start teaching, ya dig? What else? Apparently my city makes the best pebeembap (rice and vegetables), and has delicious rice. Since I have to eat that everyday I am quite happy. Life is good, can't complain over here. Blessed, yes I am. I owe it to you, the readers. Till next time, holla at your gwolla.

I Am Legend

So what up my people out there in the internet world? What's the point of a blog if the blogger doesn't actually write anything?? There is not point. So as of today I will try my best to update my blog at least every three days. This upcoming week is going to be a bit hectic because on Monday I have my yellow belt test for TKD, a Korean language quiz, and on Wednesday I have to give a 2 minute speech in Korean (memorization style). I have a feeling that will be a really long speech (for both the speaker and the audience). So it's about to go down real heavy-like, but like the title reads, I Am Legend. Now, I do not write those words because I have a big ego. You see, last Saturday, several Camp Fulbright students came up to me, pointed, and said, "Will Smith, Will Smith". Now, I look nothing like Mr. Smith so I chalked it up to their lack of substantive interactions with black males. I mean, the Fresh Prince is about 6'2'', has big ears, and LOOKS NOTHING LIKE ME. Regardless, they were trying to give me a compliment, and the students I met and taught (3 diff classes) were very nice and compassionate. Also, almost all the scholars were cool people and it meant a lot to know they enjoyed talking with me. However, it will still take come time to get accustomed to being called handsome by little boys while they try to hug me or touch my hair. Below are some pics of the young scholars.

Camp Fulbright Video Performances

The students we taught had a talent show. It was fun, a bit hot, and maybe too long. In the end, it was worth staying the whole time. Here is some video footage. There was this one kid that hit the stage breakdancing and he did the damn thing but I didn't videotape it. Who said Hip-Hop was dead??




My man hit the stage and sang "Back At One" by Brian McKnight. I almost cried. He did his thing.







Some Korean youngsters dancing to K-Pop.


They brought out them Backstreet Boys. "I Want It That Way" to be exact.