21 Days Later....Hagum, Asperger, and the Village People

What it do folkers? Your favorite earthling blogger is alive and back like he left his house keys. Its been some time since we last connected, how've you been. I hope your answer was "Fine. Thank you, and you?" Well I've been good. Let's catch up. I started taking this music class with the instrument being the hagum. Its an ancient, traditional Korean instrument (did I really need to say ancient and traditional?). I believe it was created to see how long P.O.W.s could play it before their fingers started to bleed. The class is 2 hours and when I'm finished the tips of my fingers look like Popeye's red beans. Also, the instrument is similar to the violin in the sense that if you don't know how to play it sounds like what Spartan soup must taste like. Man, hearing 15 people play at the same time was not pleasant. Plus, the notes are in Chinese, not even Korean. But with all that said, I really enjoy the class. I'm getting the hang of the instrument, the class is improving to the point where we almost sound half-decent, and I once my fingers become numb I don't feel the pain anymore. Fashiggady.

What else is on the plate? How about my relationship with family. It has reached a new level of comfortability (is that a word??). I'm really glad my family members speak some sort of English. It allows us to connect on a more substantive level. For example, the youngest brother is what I call a brat with an attitude problem, but me and him have the closest relationship. At times I don't appreciate the way he treats his mother and siblings but it wasn't my place to jump in. Until, one day, me and the mother had a long talk. She told me about her oldest son who has Asberger syndrome. It is a form of autism with the biggest symptom being difficulties with social interaction and restricted, stereotyped patterns of behavior and interests. This explained a lot. She went on to talk about how she looked after him very carefully for students would tease him and, even today, he has no friends. Its a shame because this kid is one of the sweetest and smartest people you'll meet. He's a gentle soul. Her other children did not receive the same amount of love, and the youngest acts out because of that. As a result her guilt, the mother allows him to behave like a problem child. She asked me to have a talk with him (he locked himself in her room). So after a while I persuaded him to watch a movie with me. We rented, yes, Terminator 2. HAHAHAHAHAHA. When my mother had to tell me something she always made me watch this (I guess she was telling me she would kill me or have someone come from the future to kill me if I didn't listen). J/P. She never did that. Long story short, we talked and things are getting better, albeit slowly. The mother was very appreciative. Its an ongoing process. Ill keep you posted (sike). And he likes the movie esp the part where John says, "Do you have to kill everybody?" and Arnold looks at sternly and says, "I'm a terminator." What kinda question was that?

Lastly, there is a school festival tomorrow and its sort of a big deal. Each class performs and they've been practicing for weeks. There are cool games, face-painting, contests, performances, art displays. Its crazy. And yes, yours truly has to perform. I chose to sing Y.M.C.A. by Clay Aiken's favorite band because Koreans know the chorus and it comes with 4 choreographed moves. Additionally, I am dancing with one of my girl classes (shh...its a secret). They sort of adopted me and we've been inseparable since. So be on the lookout for pictures and videos. Until next time (hahaha), holla at your gwolla.

Go Phillies. Bud Selig is a chump.

I Turned 22 Today, Yes I Did

So today, Korean time, I lived to see another year and I hope that one I day I will fully appreciate birthdays (because I go out of my way not to celebrate them). However, today I had no choice and I was pleasantly surprised. (Sidebar: I am currently listening to some Disney Classics, Les Poissons to be exact). Ok, back to business. My principal and my main co-teacher gave me some gifts (one in which is Ginseng candy, which sounds like an oxymoron). Also, the second floor teachers gave me about 2 lbs of grapes and 20 rice cakes (yumm). The highlight of my day was when I went to my 2-7 class where they prepared a surprise party for me. The co-teacher, the young one I've told you about, and her class bought me a cake, wrote HAPPY BIRTHDAY on the board and sang me a song. It was truly special. I guess that's what it feels like when you let someone surprise you. Later in the evening I got a phone call from some good friends. Also, my mother sent me an e-mail letting me know how much she loved me which is always good. Thanks to everyone that showed me some love.

Funny moments of the day: Me and the host parents go walking and she keeps asking her husband, "Do you have stress?" He ignores her. Then she says, "You are very calm outside but your mind is a wave." She goes on the make waves with her hands. It was hilarious. He really did not want to have that conversation. Later, we watched (and participated) in the ajima late-night workout where about 50 middle-aged women get together and do their thing (also hilarious). However, it would be nice to see this in my neighborhood. Lastly, earlier in the day a student was trying to describe ketchup and he kept saying, "It is mayonnaise friend. It is mayonnaise friend." As you can guess, hilarious.

Once again, thanks for all the love. Much appreciated.

Trip with the 2nd Graders

On Monday, my school took the 2nd grade class to one of the more famous mountains in Korea, sawlracksan. I had the pleasure of riding with class 2-7, a group of girls, and their homeroom teacher Mrs. Ju. Mrs. Ju is 30 years old and speaks English very well. I'm glad that I we were able to ride together. I feel as though, out of all my co-teachers, I am becoming closer to her for two reasons: her English level allows us to communicate on many different levels, such as using sarcasm, inside jokes, and discussing social topics. The second reason is that she is very young and many of her views, actions, and interactions with the other teachers reflects that (we have a lot in common). She is more willing to honestly express her sentiments on the other teachers, Korea, and many other topics. Additionally, she is more willing to talk to me about her personal life (one in which I get the feeling that she is not too happy with her husband). It was a great pairing.

The fact that I was with 2-7, one of my favorite classes, made the trip that much more fun. On the ride home I decided to sit with the students, because Mrs. Ju was resting her eyes, and we played some games, joked around, and I tried my hardest to memorize some of their names (I actually got 3 down). Being with the 2nd graders was nice, real nice (Bernie Mac style). I, along with Mr.s Ju, played in a potato sack race (you should have heard the girls scream when I started to hold her hand). We won the first round but lost the second because she is terribly out of shape (but weighs about 120 lbs, maybe). She wheezed for about 7 mins after a 30 second race. Also, they had this talent show where each class (there are 10) had to perform, but before the performances, there were several activities. One included a group of 5 girls picking 5 male teachers and dancing with them. It was hilarious to watch me, the youngest teacher, go toe-to-toe with the oldest but the kids enjoyed it as well as the Dojo Yoshi. I took many pictures and video so they will be up in about 5 days (tom. I am going to a 4 day conference).

Today, as I write this all over the place narrative, I taught one of my most successful lessons. In Korea, students almost always answer "How are you?" with "Fine. Thankyou, and you?" Its like they were trained to say this. As a result, I decided to teach them different answers to that question but I was very animated. Needless to say, these were my most fun classes thus far. Aight, well I'm about to finish my B-Mac and go to bed. Peace and Love.

Oh yea, today I was walking with my homestay father and it was cold so I put my hands in my sleeves and he asked me to talk them out because he didn't want the unnecessary attention (I think he actually said "strange man". I thought to myself, you're walking down the street with a black dude in Chawngju, people stare at me no matter what. While we're on the subject, I taught my siblings how to say their name using the izzle system (I know, I know.) One started calling me Athizzle (which is hilarious in their accents). Chang Bizzle, Chan Mizzle, and Chang Izzle. HAHAHAHAHA.