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.

.....

My lil sis on the go.

The Three Amigos: English Bear, Mr Wiggles, and Mr. Squirt

In my class I have three props, one is called the English Bear. Before I start each class I take him and throw him at certain students, ask them a random question, and have them answer. The students enjoy it though sometimes they need help answering the questions. My next friend is the Mr. Wiggles. He is a footlong wooden stick with a horse head. You see, corporal punishment is legal here in the big K so the teachers carry these sticks. Unfortunately, because of my US citizenship I cannot hit students so I bought this funny looking stick that does not add to my authority (probably lessens it), but its funny. Whatever. My next friend is Mr. Squirt. He is a small elephant-shaped watergun (we got into some trouble today). He tends to wake up students and say hello to kids that can't keep their mouths shut. So far, the kids have enjoyed all three of my buddies, and I enjoy using them.

As for the school pics. As you can see, it is hard to get pictures of girls because as soon as you pull out the camera they either turn the other way or put their heads down. I actually had to sneak some pics. I also keep forgetting to take my camera to class so I only have pictures of maybe 3 classes.

So, me and Mr. Squirt went on a rampage today, doing our best Dick Chaney impression by shooting up people by accident. Well I ran into some students (the 2 individual photos above) that had their own sawed-off squirties and we went at it, Ok Corral style. These are two students I always play Ping Pong with. They don't speak much English but me and the one kid always go back and forth debating who the "ping pong" king is. Mad fun. So we faught for about a good 20 mins. Water was everywhere, and I kept thinking that my behavior was not teacher-like, but we did not get caught so, shhhhh.

In addition to the English Bear, Mr. Wiggles, and Mr. Squirt, I now have some Korean friends which, apparently, is not easy. A few are from Church and some others are girls I met from the nurse's daughter (if you remember that story). Its been real nice hanging out with them even though they might be a lil bit older (24, 25). Things are good right now. More school pics are to come. Holla at your gwolla. I know, this post was kinda weak.

Indeed. Oh yea, the Pictures (tons) Are Up and More are to Come

Okay, the pictures I promised last lunar eclipse are finally up. Stop stalking me Tracey!! To enlarge the picture just click it. I have many more but it takes a long time using blogger.com to post. However, soon I will put up (what does he mean by soon????????) pictures of my school, the teachers, my students, and some traditional Korean town the fam hit up. As for an update, things have been going really well lately. I truly enjoy teaching and the students have responded well to my lessons thus far. Also, I have become a Badminton king because my ping pong skills are lacking. The students are great are there is only one class that truly gives me problems (mainly-because there are several students whose English skills are non-existent. As a result, (IMO) many students resort to acting out in class instead of making mistakes in English or even trying to participate. They would rather not "look stupid" so they disrupt constantly. Therefore, since I cannot connect with them in my class I have begun playing Badminton and ping pong with them during lunch. Let's see if it works. The kids are great. What can I say?

What else? Well I was introduced to the school nurse's daughter and, at first, it was extremely awkward. Especially when everyone in the room in staring at you screaming "hangukmal hangukmal" (Korean Korean) because you are speaking in English!!!. She is an extremely cool person and very smart. Indeed.

In addition, even though I told everyone that I would go to Seoul to get my haircut, my host mother set up an appointment for me to go to her hairdresser. Of course I went and it was quite the adventure. First, she showed me a flip book of Korean dudes and asked me to pick what style I wanted. They either all looked like women, had weird geled up dews, or had these ridiculous hairstyles (like extra thick cornrows or some obscure looking dreds). Soooo, I asked my mother to just say shorter and then I drew a picture (which didn't work). I decided to just get in the chair and go from there. As I sat in the chair, EVERYONE in the shop stared at me for about a good 5 minutes. It was wild, like I was seal in an orange jumpsuit jiggling a pancake on my nose. So her first trim took no hair off. The 2nd took off about the same. Needless to say, we went through a few trims and then came, yes, the shape-up. Never in her life had she seen a head like mine and the Korean men don't usually get sharp shape-ups like moi. After about a 5 minute convo about the length and form of my sideburns she went in (with the forehead all I said was straight! straight! straight!). I can't front, she did her thing even though the burns were a bit uneven and my forehizzle wasn't straight. I still looked fresh, and it was much cheaper than going to Seoul to see my African connect (where the shop smells like straight 3 day-old musk).

Lastly, the family situation gets better and better. I have talked to my parents about the education system, the Korean image of women, what type of women I like, and a whole gang of other things. We even talked about their daughter and dating and what I thought about it. They call me their son to other people and I even now have a Korean name, hong chawn sa. The other night we played a game where I choose a Bible passage, say Luke chapter 6, and read a verse in English and they have to find it in Korean. They mainly keyed in on certain words and named all the verses with that word but it was still fun. They are some great people and I couldn't have fallen into better hands. I truly am blessed.

Oh yea, where are my care packages (my address is in a previous post)??? I need some American chocolates and candy ASAP. Lol.

I'm so sorry I don't update my blog enough. I forget to tell you guys so much (and a lot of interesting things have happened). And some people even stopped checking for me and I don't blame them. I think I'm getting the inspiration to go in at least 2 or 3 times a week. Let's see.

Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) and Pear Huntin Season Has Begun

During Chuseok, many Koreans visit their hometowns and pay tribute to their fallen ancestors. It is an extremely important holiday here and I'm glad I was able to grab a piece of it. Also, my homestay father's father has a pear farm and they are....delicious.

The Fam.

These pictures were taken the night of the parent's wedding anniversary. Their children decided to throw them a surprise party and it was real nice. An amazing experience. I could not have asked to be a part of a better homestay family.



These pictures were taken the night of the parent

Living Quarters-3rd Floor Style

There are 3 bedrooms where the kids sleep and the parents sleep in the attic. Balling. However, it is not a big house.