Purchasing a Scooter in Seoul

This can be a rather daunting project. Who do you trust? At least, that's how I approached the matter. I am a scooterist in the States and have experience buying scooters: one modern and several vintage. In my opinion, two things matter most: knowledge and trust.

Trust is difficult away from home. Not speaking but a little Korea and knowing that much is lost in translation, I was worried about walking into an autobike shop and negotiating with an ajossi about a new or used ride. The prospect of shopping via Craigslist or 4OKs was equally as aggravating. Many foreign scooterists in Seoul know nothing about the machine they are riding. Understandably, they have absolutely no idea about their scoot's condition.

Take my advice, I'd stay away from a bike being sold by a temporary, foreign owner unless you have someone you trust check it out first. (Even if you know the person selling the bike. Nothing like a bad sale to ruin a friendship. Trust me. I've seen it happen.) Buying a scooter from somebody because the bike looks good and not knowing anything about its history could very well be a ticket to a hospital bed. Scooters are simple machines, certainly, but because they are simple it doesn't take much for them to become dangerous modes of transportation. Remember we don't have garages here in which to get under a bike and check it out on a monthly basis. People, especially foreigners, ride their scoots until they break. Then have them fixed cheaply. Then ride some more. Why would you be willing to give money for that bike without first knowing about the bike? A bad front fork from slamming the scoot down curbs and in and out of street holes or a weak braking system and you're in trouble. Just sayin.^^

So, first there's trust. And I'm picky. I didn't like a lot of what I saw, though I wanted something specific. In the end, Praise and I began planning to go to shops and sussing out a trustworthy ajossi. What we learned is priceless.

First, find an ajossi who wants to do business with a foreigner to increase his own business and this guy will bend over backwards to find you the scooter you want. They're easy to find because most small business owners in Seoul operate via word-of-mouth. If an ajossi wants your business, he'll tell you as much because he'll see you as a good investment. If he's uninterested in your business, he'll ignore you and I'd suggest going to a shop where you're not ignored.

Of course, you're going to pay a little more than you would if you bought from a foreigner exiting country. But I can tell you the experience is worth 20-30 manwon more. There'll be a finder's fee of around 10manwon and the scooter will be worth more, too.

I should say that the guy who helped us hooked us up with a scooter with less than 700km that goes in the US for 2800$ for what came to 900$. In Korea, the Bella goes for around 1.8 to 2.0 million won, and we bought it for half that. He basically sold me a new, 125cc scoot from Suzuki that is popular in each international market under various names (in the US, Genuine sells it as The Buddy,) with a good reputation for being a solid performer, for almost 60% off. I'm ecstatic.

But it wasn't luck and it wasn't only my knowledge of scooters. Anybody can get this deal. The only reason my seller did this was because I'm a foreigner and he wants other foreigners to come to him to buy scooters. He made an investment. He could have held that scoot and sold it to somebody else for 1.3-1.6 million won. Now I don't know how he got the scooter and, quite frankly, I don't care. It wasn't stolen or abused or in an accident, so I don't need to care.

I was going to make offers on used scooters on store lots until I got a good deal. But there are so many Chinese scooters around it was looking as if to be safe I'd have to buy a new scoot. Let me make it clear to my friends reading this: those Chinese-market scooters may look cute and be cheaper but they will end up costing you more because you constantly repair them or you will be in an accident. Either way, it's heartache. Don't buy them. It's super-simple in Seoul to find a used Korean (Daelim,) Taiwanese (Kymco,) or Japanese (Suzuki) scooter for between 80 and 150manwon.

In addition, it is highway robbery to pay for a popular scooter like a Genuine Stella or a Piaggio Vespa in Korea because it will cost you at least 2,300$ to ship it home. You simply will not find a buyer who will pay you what it's worth when you leave Korea. They are expensive new and you'll want at least half back for what you've paid. The nice scooters, the vanity scooters, are far too expensive in Korea because only rich Koreans ride them. Even the restored vintage scooters are cheaper here than Italian or knock-offs like the LML or Genuine Stella. In addition, I've been riding my scoot for 300km and I can tell you that Seoul is murder on a scooter. Without a garage and tools and parts, a good vintage or fancy modern scoot is like throwing money away. Anyway, I'm getting off point.

I was going to make an offer on a used scoot but the ajossi at the store asked me what I wanted. I had told him that I was in a scooter club in the US and that I knew how to work on scooters and knew what I wanted. He immediately told me not to buy the used scoots on his lot because I'd have trouble. So, trust is good folks but knowledge is how you find a deal. He knew he couldn't sell me the junk because I was looking under the bikes and checking out wear and tear and asking questions. And wouldn't you know it, he said he'd find me a bike. In 48 hours, I was riding with Praise on the back of a cute, durable and stylish modern scooter that was like new for almost a third of the price.

I'll hook anybody up with this man. And when I have time this weekend, I'll be taking some more photos of my bike and his shop. I'll post the info. I told him I would. If you're looking now, get in touch with me and I'll send you his info. He doesn't speak English. You will need somebody who is fluent in Korean.

So, photos to come and some more scooting in Korea info as I have stories to come.

Seoul Playlist

Arthur Russell

Google Fix: No Country Redirect

Little did I know.

I have Google set as my home page in Firefox.  Not that I'm there that often, but I use Google Reader almost every day.  Google.com always redirects to google.co.kr by default.  I think Google does this for better results while searching in any given region.  Problem with Google's Korea site is that it takes almost a minute to load.  I just discovered Google's NCR option, which stands for "no country redirect."

I set my home page url to "google.com/ncr" and "google.com" pops up immediately.  No more minute long waits to get working online.  I love it.

The Spasmodic Contraction of the Diaphragm that Repeats Several Times a Minute

I had the hiccoughs yesterday for 12 hours. Tiring, annoying, and heartburn inducing. I could not write. Something I ate, I'm sure of it. Still bloated. I really hate being bloated.

(cross-posted on dagzine)

Halloween Class: the early talks

For some reason, my coteachers think permitting the kids to have a costume contest for Halloween is a bad idea.

More on this later. Too bad for them I got them to agree to let the students vote on it. What kids aren't going to want to work in groups making costumes, then judge each other to pick the best costumes for each class?

They'll love it.

Stay tuned for an mini-series of posts where I share with my readers how incredibly difficult it can be to create lessons at a Korean high school.

A little 찜질방 in your home.

We Are Family by Ole Jensen & Claus Molgaard | materialicious

Posted using ShareThis

Korea: Things I don't Understand

I don't understand why Korean adults are intimidated by children. I guess a HOW might be better than a WHY. I know why children and young adults scare older adults and parents. But this is a peculiar kind of intimidation. Maybe I'll address it more as I think more about it. (UPDATE:  see the comments.)

From government to parents, every child leads a highly-structured life. After middle school, which ends at what most of my readers know as Freshman Year, students move on to High School and become the scariest thing Korean adults encounter on a daily basis.

High School women might rank as the most intimidating group of youth. In 대학동 (my neighborhood Daehakdong,) the young women from my school congregate mornings and afternoons off campus. They lurk in tiny alleys and in the alcoves of buildings just off the street. In these little spaces, they gossip, sing songs, and smoke cigarettes. They bully each other, make friends, tell horror stories about school, and talk about romances and fantasies.

Any noise in Korea is frowned upon by folks over 30. If you or you and your friends are being loud, you'll hear about it. That groups of school children scream and yell their way to school every morning is proof enough for me that Korean adults don't like to speak to children. But this isn't a simple dislike. These kids can pretty much get away with what they like.

On my walks to and from school, I often catch them smoking. They don't like to be caught. I'll often crush their cigarettes. But my teasing and hassling them is far less punishment than they'll receive if their homeroom teachers smell smoke on them in class.

Imagine waking up to a group of ten, 18-year-old women standing under your window shouting and smoking. They're screeching and screaming and their smoke finds its way into your flat. I can't think of anything more irritating. Especially at 715 in the morning. When I see it, I chase the students away scolding them for being rude and unhealthy. The ajumma and ajossi refuse to speak to the high school students and tolerate the daily annoyances. I asked my colleagues and was told "Koreans are intimidated by school children." I thought it couldn't be that. But after a year, I've realized that the students, especially high school students, have an incredibly bizarre power over adults, even their parents. And some students, those wise to their black magic, really torture the adults.

I've never seen anything like it. And I don't understand it. Because the students' powers vanish as soon as you step into their private space and ask "What's up?" They giggle, give up the power and scatter.

It's one of those things I find both cute and disturbing. What do you think? Have you noticed this? Do you have any similar stories of the young men and women turning the tables on their oppressive authority figures?

Who's Afraid of Korean Students? (Their parents....)

Wednesday Music: "Onions" Versions, 1974 & 1973

나 어떡해 by Sand Pebbles

"What Should I Do?"- Sand Pebbles, from a 1977 MBC broadcast.

I love this song.  Please share any audio files you have with me.  Or videos.  I'm always looking for lps, too.

Happy 추석 Everybody!

Midterm Week Ends

I spent the last week sitting in classrooms watching my students take multiple choice tests. It's a frustrating week for me. I struggled with multiple choice tests. I read slowly and I have no ability to focus on something like that for more than 20 minutes. Though I was always able to perform well on standardized tests, I know I often knew the right answer because I could eliminate the wrong answers. I much prefer essays and short answers: I can almost always write what I know clearly enough to communicate I know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, tests like these are not about evaluating a student's knowledge, they're more about finding a place for the student in his class of students. In Korea, they're used to rank students, regardless of their knowledge.

I'm happy for my kids that they'll get to spend several days with their families for Chuseok. And in 3 hours, I'll be away from school until Tuesday.

I have to prepare a couple of lessons tomorrow.
I'm meeting Praise's relatives on Saturday.
The weather is slowly turning cool and dry.
I won't miss the humidity.

The hiking is wonderful this time of year.
The leaves begin to change and fall and
late flowers are in bloom.

Maybe I'll head up Gwanaksan are Suraksan this weekend, or both.

One Year Down, Two to Go

A year has passed. A little too quickly for my pleasure. Nevertheless, I'm very happy with Seoul.

I'm writing this post in a PC bang. The Internet connection in my apartment is great some days, slow others. I head to the PC bang whenever I want to use youtube and facebook, or stream video and radio.

I'm a fan of MonkeyTown. In 대학동(Daehakdong,) it's one of the only PC bangs that's non-smoking and where the computers and PC stations are kept clean. I keep an account with them: for $35, I'm able to utilize a personal login and work for 47 hours. My last payment has lasted the entire summer and I have 11 hours left as of this post. Pretty good deal.

I live in what was recently known as 신림9동 (Sillim 9 dong.) Sillimdong was an 11 district neighborhood within 관악구 (Gwanakgu,) the most populated area of Seoul. My neighborhood is now known as Daehakdong. Daehak means academy or college as it points to where students assemble and dong is a place where we live like a neighborhood. It's a good name. The neighborhood is home to students of Seoul National University as well as 고시 (goshi) students who are studying for law tests, like the bar in the US.

From what I can gather, all the old Seoul neighborhoods where the poor lived and are undergoing slow gentrification are being re-named. Not that anything progressive is being done to combat poverty in old Sillim; the buildings, on the other hand, are being renovated and folks are taking advantage of the cheaper real estate.

I've promised myself to post more. I want to get back to posting once a day. I have little scrapbooks filled with notes and miscellany. I really should be getting my more of my thoughts down.

I'm going to begin looking for office space to write. Most likely, I'll rent a little room like the law students do while in Seoul for several months studying for their exams. I'm working on my novel again. Finally. I'm no hermit while I write. If anything, I'm more social, more energetic. I certainly sleep less, dream more, and I consume more text.

I'll try to get some photos of my neighborhood up.

I'm back to work in Seoul and will have the blogging thing happening again. Am trying to get a revision of the blog design up by tonight--tomorrow morning for some of you.

^^

In Berlin

First day in Berlin has begun well. I had a breakfast containing the staple western foods I have craved since moving to Seoul. I had sourdough rolls with cheese and nutella. Now, the nutella is not a staple of my diet, but I love it. In Seoul, it is too expensive and often demands a trip to a distant international foods market. But cheese and white bread. White bread without sugar.

First night in Germany--last night--was almost surreal. More later.

Comment Moderation

Comments have not been working on DagSeoul. I discovered that the combination of settings I had selected was causing the problem on some browsers--most. I fixed the problem. Comments should appear in a pop-up box now after the Comments link is selected.

I really wish that I could get the comments to appear below my text so that readers could see their posts in conjunction with mine. I like that. But when I set this function in Blogger, it never works properly.

Please continue to inform me of any probs with the functioning of my blog. Cheers.

Back on the Bus with You (and Your Other-ing Elbow, too)

More than once on this blog, I have tried to address how quick US citizens, especially white folks, are to cry Xenophobia while living in Korea. It's true that Korea has a reputation for being rude to foreigners. People are pushy in the streets; they will look at you, but won't talk to you; they'll even talk about you while looking at you yet ignoring you.

But let's not kid ourselves: this is how foreign others are treated in the US as well as, well every other place I have been come to think about it.

I have yet to experience racism, though. Koreans have told me how rich I am, how lucky I am, how educated I am, etc. They like to draw rough caricatures of me: all end up representing me as an Ugly American of some sort. That is, until I get to know them.

I once got into an argument in my public school classroom with a teacher because I told a student who insisted Americans are all rich that I wasn't and the majority of Americans are not either. I told him, "in fact, we are poor." Speaking on behalf of millions of poor Americans, I felt proud of myself not permitting the nonsense in my classroom. My co-teacher stepped in and mentioned my clothes and then my wealth. After all, I was a traveler and living in Korea. Well, I stopped class. Turned on my laptop (a sign of wealth by the way, and it is and I must admit that,) turned on the projector, and connected the Internet. I showed them the poverty in the US. They shut up. The students ALL apologized. The adult teacher said nothing else about the matter. I had embarrassed her. It's not nice to do that to an adult here. Confucius still clouds daily life in Korea. On the other hand, I wasn't going to permit lies in our class to save her face.

I am a teacher. I am here to teach. I am not in this country to piss and moan about my personal treatment. I am here to work with others. If I were here to make money, to travel, to be tourist, I'd be at a hagwon (a for-profit, language education business) and tutoring. But I believe in public education and I am decidedly not a tourist.

I have found that by engaging my hosts, I am always treated well. Always. But engagement with others is difficult. I understand. I also understand that some people who travel are not cut out for traveling. What many travelers want is to be catered to in a manner that meets the satisfactions they are accustomed to in their native countries and as consumers in their local markets. Or, they want to treat Korea as their Zoo. I think it's unfair to come to a country like Korea and expect to be treated as anything other than other. Unless. Unless you are willing to take some shots, to be hurt, but to push back and insist your permanency in your new local environment.

Each time I return a shove in the street or a rude look or whatever weirdness I am given by a strange Korean I don't know yet, I try to return the action with a smile and some Korean language. If another return is offered it is always kind. The worst thing that happens is that I receive a grimace from an old man or lady. And I love the older Koreans. For what they been through in their lives--occupation and war--they have earned the right to grimace at foreigners in their land.

***5/27, 12:44 pm: It has been suggested to me that my use of "return" above makes it sound like I am returning a shove with a shove-with-a-smile. No. I am using return to implicate the return in discourse. The shove is a speech act. People push me out of the way rather than speak to me for a reason. It means many things, but one of the most significant ideas communicated by the shove is "I don't want to talk with you." I have learned that Koreans are incredibly shy and so are apt to appear incredibly obstinate. I return the shove with a speech act that invites a revision of their act. I think insisting that they "see" me again (revise) is important.***

AND LET US NOT FORGET KOREA'S HISTORY. You all do know that the Korean War has never ended. No treaty was ever signed between the US and Korea. We are still at war with each other. It's worth considering that Koreans know this and that Americans seem to not give a shit. Well, let's be honest. I am willing to wager that more than half of the foreigners in Korea, American or not, do not know this.

It is not an exaggeration for me to say that most foreigner teachers (not the students) I meet, including the Korean-Americans here know less than I do about Korean history, geography, and its local culture. Even the foreigners who speak the language well are not necessarily informed. How is this possible?!? Maybe they have read wikipedia. I think this is suspect. I did my homework before coming here and I assumed that others who wanted to live here would feel the same obligation. Well, I actually started doing the homework years ago when I wanted to come here. My point is that there are many reasons for Koreans' lack of trust. Foreigners come here to make money, eat, drink, have sex, make friends, buy stuff, and leave. And many foreign teachers make a lot of money. Many foreign teachers also often talk as if it is their right and privilege to come here and make as much as they want without doing anything. In other words, they do not behave as guests who are asked to be here and granted limited access; they act as if Korea is theirs to do with as they wish. Yes, they are little Imperialists and they are colonizing Korean space. And many Koreans hate it.

I am not going to surprise any high school or University teachers who read DagSeoul by saying this. But I will piss off almost every foreign teacher in Korea who will read this. We do not do much teaching here. The students in hagwons are studying for multiple choice tests. The majority of their teachers are teaching Idiomatic Expressions and some of their teachers are great performers and tell fun stories and use neat technology. In the high school I teach at, I see 20 classes of 35-45 students for 50 minutes once a week. Really. What can I do as a language teacher? Not much. Koreans do not work on composition and do not involve much reading in their language education. They work out of text books that target certain learning areas in language so the students can score well on tests. The students can read English and with prompts in the form of questions written in Korean language, they can tell you some basic things about English syntax and grammar. I do more for my students just talking with them in English, to familiarize them with the language, than I can teach them English.

It was shocking when I first got here. To the point, the majority of "native speaking English teachers" (NSETs) in Korea do not teach much at all. They work. We all work hard here. But most of the NSETs are not teachers. It's obvious talking to some of them that they don't know what they are doing. Now public school teachers here are more with it. But many are young and inexperienced--in fact, here to get experience. I don't understand what the Korean government is thinking bringing new teachers here to teach the English language. They should bring experienced teachers. (And this no offense to recent college grads coming here to teach, have fun, and get experience. Good for you.)

At any rate, the students are my concern. And many NSET folks care more for themselves and their lifestyles as travelers than they do care for their students. In other words, they are not teachers.

Your Korean Big Brother & You: Free Speech & False Courage

The Prosecutor's Office here, which has the kind of authoritarian power DAs and AGs across the United States salivate over, is looking to find ways to make any protest in a public space illegal that--no kidding--"might turn violent."  Basically, this means that any protest would be deemed illegal because the Prosecutor says it isn't a good protest.

***added at 2:24PM: Not many people have been smiling about the Prosecutor's Office seeking to harass and arrest peaceful protestors.  The Prosecutor's Office is looking for a means to be able to insist any protest can be illegal and the determination is to be made by the Office.  This isn't about violence.  If it were, there would be serious ramifications for several members of the police force in Seoul as a result of recent events.  This is about targeting activists and bullying them and/or arresting them.  Let me be clear, a violent protest in Korea is a protest where old people throw raw eggs and vegetable at cars and sometimes people.  Most protests are sit-down candlelight vigils, with singing and prepared speeches read over megaphones.  Moreover, we know how most nonviolent protests turn violent.  The police show up and harass people.  They have many tactics they use to provoke citizens to violent action.  And if those tactics fail, the police beat people with sticks.***

It's strange to live in a place that calls itself a Republic, a democratic republic, but has an elected government that permits such unethical use of power.  After all, a cornerstone for modern Democracy is the ability to peacefully assemble and freely speak.

In Korea, "peaceful assembly" is used against the assemblers.  Everything deemed inappropriate, read not in support of the government and corporate interests, is deemed not peaceful.  In addition, freely speaking is pitched against libel.  If an author publicly disagrees with a corporation on a web forum, for example, the corporation can file a dispute and for 30 days the posting would be suspended while the government, the corporation and you arbitrate about the validity of your claim.  The Korean government, and jawdroppingly many Korean citizens, will argue that this kind of arbitration protects free speech.

Such arbitration should not be considered free speech at any time nor for any reason.  Public criticism is the price of doing business and government.

It's simple.  We make claims.  Our claims, no matter how opinionated, have logic.  Something is explicit and implicit in each of them.  As well, whoever listens to our claims might find reason to, through inference, see things in our claims we did or did not intend.  By requiring real names to be used on blogs and Internet postings and by requiring arbitration about disputed claims, the Korean government proscribes inference from public discourse.  It's incredibly absurd. (I hesitate to write too much about politics on DagSeoul for a reason.  I'm not going to link to anything in this post.  Safe to say all news about protests, arrest of protestors, prosecution of bloggers, laws about blogging and posting online from mainstream news agencies in Korea will tell the story I have summarized whether the author or agency sympathizes with the laws/rules or not.)

In the United States and in much of Europe, free speech is an act.  We choose not to define speech acts because to regulate such acts might proscribe them and future acts, whatever they might be.  Such freedom permits and encourages active and aggressive exploration of the possibilities speech has to offer.  And much of our debate becomes centered on what speech acts are, not how to prohibit them.

In Korea, there is much handwringing about the difference between free speech and what we can call false courage.  Free speech is whatever is freely uttered in public that is proved to be correct.  False Courage, when applied to speech, is applied to anything the government says is not correct.  Or, that citizens find scary.  Certainly, I do not fully understand what Koreans who use it mean by false courage, but I understand what it means in the Western Tradition.  We might talk about false courage in an ethics course when we discuss the application of courage and the precision, accuracy, timeliness, what have you of its application.  The problem with associating false courage with free speech is that it punishes the person who is brave enough to step into the public discourse and speak his or her mind freely.

One thing we learn as teachers, even after only a few years of dedicated teaching, is that students who speak their minds make mistakes.  A good teacher has to come to terms with cultivating active learning in public spaces that permit mistakes.  A poor teacher in any department is inevitably a teacher who refuses to permit student mistakes.  Another way to put this:  the teachers who consistently punish mistakes by lowering grades or subtracting point are not good teachers.  Such teachers are good cops maybe, good purveyors of State Ideology maybe, but they never produce students who can critically think and write well.  Nor do they produce students who enjoy education.

Students who speak their minds will only speak their minds freely when they know they are permitted, at times encouraged, to make mistakes.  When we say that free speech that is mistaken, for whatever reason, is false courage--that to speak freely somebody must speak correctly, then we proscribe the freedom from speech.  It's really that simple.  And without free speech people do not speak, and people who do not speak do not learn.

And what is a public debate without the peanut gallery?  False Courage is a tool the ruling classes use to justify labeling any group or individual who disagrees with their minority conensus opinion as uninformed and stupid, a group or individual who should not be permitted to speak.

I often wonder why the Korean classroom is so silent.  Ask the students a question, they will not answer.  They will sit silently and await a cue that gives them permission to speak.  A teacher need not give them the answer, but the kids want a cue--they will often ask politely for a hint--about how they should answer.  That cue and the desire to receive it tears my heart in two.

What I miss about the American classroom is the noise.  Don't get me wrong, my classrooms here are noisy.  Adolescents are noisy.  The noise here is based in utter ennui.  My students--sophomores and juniors--get excited about playing bingo and winning prizes.  They are most definitely not excited about learning.  Their burden is learning because they are ranked as a result of their series of multiple choice tests into a line that will utterly determine their future.  The pain associated with this base ranking bleaches the joy from their educational journeys.  In many ways, the educational system infantilizes the Korean student.  And so the aging adolescents would rather play children's games and be rewarded with pieces of candy than be tasked to write three reasonable claims in English about what they think about something that affects their daily lives.

I grew up itching for an argument, I think, as many Americans do.  I couldn't wait to participate in adult discussion.  When I was younger I was always speaking up when I should remain quiet.  I was disobedient to the core.  Still am.  But I was encouraged to direct my energies in such a manner that permitted me to become the teacher I am today--a free thinker who wants to dedicate his life to service to his community.  The disobedient students here are pysically punished, forced to apologize for having a voice, and frightened with a future of poverty if they don't score high enough on their exams to go to a "top Korean university."

And you do know why this conversation turned from free speech to the classroom, too.  Because educational reform in Korea is the key to finding political leaders in the future who will truly transform the Korean government into the Democratic Government the people here have fought so hard for....I didn't write a post on DagSeoul commemorating the two important dates to Korea's struggle for democracy.  Now I have.  I love this country and am obsessed with its history.  I am learning why.  The longer I am here, I am figuring it out.

April 19

May 18

Important dates to remember.

So Free Speech is branded as False Courage here because it can be mistaken.  I think the point of free speech is that even when purposefully saying improper comments, we are free to do so and suffer the consequences.  After all, what does a Republic have to fear of such brazen incorrectness?  Oh wait, I know.  If people are permitted to speak without fear of punishment, they will undoubtedly speak about what troubles them most:  Oppression, Hunger, Poverty, Health, Mistreatment, etc.  All the things governments can't stand listening to.  The Korean Democracy suffers from what ails American Democracy:  both are intolerant of the poor, the working class, and minority interests.

And yes the education system here depresses the shit out of me.  In fact, I think many of the arguments I have had with my partner are based in my general sadness.  My disposition isn't quite right.  I am out of sorts.  But I love my students so much.  I care for them.  I wouldn't leave them.  And of course, I love my girlfriend.  And today I am remembering our trip to Gwangju and keeping in my heart all those who have lost their lives here fighting for their freedom.

Because I love you

My routine with second graders--high school Juniors--at my school: listening, group work, writing, and speaking.

Today, this week actually, we will be debating how strict teachers should be in the classroom. The teachers hit the kids here. I should say some are very strict disciplinarians and remind me of College Prep at Cascia Hall with the Sisters and Brothers throwing erasers, slapping and pulling hair. Also the punishments usually involve something physical like repeated low bowing or push ups, for boys, or cleaning the school, for girls.

Some teachers are not disciplinarians. There really is no grey area. They either yell, scream, smack or not. Now, Jansori (patronizing scolding) is something that everyone does. It's a bad habit, in my opinion, but catching. As in, I am catching it--for another post.

So, I finished a presentation on vocabulary to use when debating. Some discussion about using the word because effectively. We'll see how this goes.

Korean students refer to this sort of exercise as PROS & CONS. Some are familiar with the process, some not. I hope they get into the spirit of arguing about how their teachers treat them. It may flop, though: I believe the students here think the teachers do not deserve criticism even though the students do not like their daily regimen. It's the culture.

In addition, I have been slowly working on building critical thinking skills. The students here are woefully lacking the ability to argue with reason and to speak their minds. They often prefer to be given answers they can learn--memorize--in order to score high on multiple-choice exams. So, in my classes, the students write and speak opinions based in reason.

Because is an important word.

DagSign is fresh

am reading Invisible Man with Praise and just posted an entry on DagSign.

Looks like I might get DagScreen going again, soon too, with my friend Philip.  He's in Denver.

삼성고등학교 . Notes and Link.

my school's web page: like many web pages in the Republic, it runs best on Internet Explorer and is full of little programs that tend to run slowly even on Korean PCs.  Firefox would be best for Macs.

But you can see my students.  I love them with all my heart.  They absolutely look after me.  I don't want to forget my colleagues--my fellow teachers always care about my best interests.  I know many foreigners complain about treatment.  I have had bad experiences, but I am very happy here.  I am feeling like a teacher.  This is a renewal of a spirit I enjoyed prior to leaving teaching in 2006 to attempt finishing my dissertation--an attempt that failed.  Working full-time has slowed my writing down to hours a week rather than per day.  I think it's acceptable.  I am willing to be patient with finishing my novel.  However, I yearn for Time To Write.  I think I could finish in 6 months without work.  But it ain't gonna happen. 

I thought it would be fun to show the link because it will give you a good idea just how immersed I am in Korean daily life and language.  No English to speak of except for me.  The myth about English in Korea shattered my first week in Korea.  I have been thinking a lot about this: what it means to speak with others.  Everyday language--and I am thinking about Ordinary Language here, you know, what does it mean to say something, to say what you mean, etc--everyday language is completely different for me in Korea.

I want to post about this in a manner suiting the topic.  Later today, maybe tonight.  For example, I am called a native speaker here.  Of course, native is regarding English itself, not me-speaking-English but the idea that I come from there, there being the place they speak English everyday.  This is nothing ordinary:  it is a highly developed since of how English works in a presumed wealthy global culture with abundant opportunity.  English language is seen as part of the endeavor to succees in a capitalist culture.  Believe you me, English is here in Korea.  It's all over the place.  It's a more self-aware sense of English than most English speakers possess.  Now, when I look at a Korean student--my high school students, for example--and witness their anxiety regarding English education, I realize I am witness to a communal dread about the future of Korea and Korean citizens, their individual dread about their future and their families' futures.  The students may not be mature enough to say it this way, but their shoulders are already familiar with this cultural weight.  They began carrying the burden when their mothers, and sometimes fathers, offerred their first 잔소리 regarding The Future, tying IT to Education and, inevitably for the middle class here, to English.

Of course, English is a global language or we might say English has been in the process of becoming global for some time.  After all, it is hard to deny that it has long been the most acceptable for of global imperialism and the white power structure.  In this respect, the term native speaker just doesn't suit me, for me, as a means to describe me.  Nevertheless, it does suit the perspective Koreans inhabit regarding an approach to learning and using English.  I feel that, regardless what Korean might call me, I should reject the modifier "native" and simply speak with others.  I think I should attempt through teaching English--mechanics, grammar, vocabulary, et al--attempt to simply find a means to speak with others about what needs to be communicated.  I should also attempt, if not succeed, to speak the Korean language.

I will doubtless get into the classroom politics discourse here:  I abhor white folks who demand English Only environments.  In Korea, we really do have what a bilingual culture.  (We do in the US, as well, no matter what the politicians and guardians of the white power structure say.)  I listen to native speaker teachers proclaim with pride that they "insist" their classrooms are English Only.  Who are they kidding?  Do they believe the students think in English?  Don't they understand the value of using both languages to learn the other?  For some, though, teaching is about power.  We all know fellow teachers who aren't in it for the vocation but are in it for the authority and the claim to wisdom.  Many capitalist entrepreneurs teach.  They find profit in their lessons as they work FOR others rather than WITH them.  I don't really know how the exchange works in every instance, but I do see capitalism at work in the sense that out of the exchanges those teachers participate in the classroom the value of their own self-worth grows.  And this is often regardless of their students' successes of failures.

Inevitably, I'll have to address hagwon culture and the foreigners who flock to make cash working day and night "teaching" English.  I really don't have much to say about folks who come here to teach at hagwons (for-profit "Academies.")   I simply cannot think about hagwons without thinking about the market and culture of Education here.  I am opposed to hagwon culture for many reasons.  This does not mean I am opposed to hagwon teachers.  SO, you know, I am reticent to speak about hagwon teachers because I don't want folks to think I am saying "You are a bad teacher."  I am sure that good teachers exist in the hagwons in Korea.  Nevertheless, I refuse to teach in the Private Education Industry in Korea.  They are the death of community and public education.  They instituionalize education in a manner suiting standardization of ideas in an attempt to make culture monolithic and linear.  Hagwon culture also represents the death of critical thinking.

I wouldn't have come to Seoul unless I was able to teach in the public schools.

Look at my school's home page.  Imagine flying to Seoul.  After your 15 hour flight, you are picked up by a young man who drives you to your new school.  And not more than 90 minutes after your arrival, your job begins.  You simply cease being the teacher and writer, whatever I was, and begin a new daily life.  I really felt no break until December 19th.  An important day for me for two reasons:  first, I met Praise Lee; second, Winter Break began.  From September 5, 2008, until December 19th, 2008, I encountered a continuous renewal of attempting to get by in a place where my everyday language did not (and still doesn not) work.

Many people who travel here, live with their foreign coworkers.  Most hagwons put foreigners up in apartment bulidings where their coworkers live.  My situation is different.  Most of the public school teachers I know live by themselves and are fortunate if they have foreign neighbors.  Our schools find us places to live near work.

I have wanted to come to Korea for some time, so I was very happy to learn that I wasn't going to live with foreigners.  I want to learn as much as possible about the culture and language.  I am not exaggerating though when I tell you that I did not have a conversation for two weeks after arrival.  I live in a neighborhood where no foreigners live.  I like it; I hate it.  I had no phone for 60 days, so I wandered the streets of my new home yearning to talk.

...time to work...

More later.  I just wanted to get some points out for a more detailed discussion:

• what happened to my everyday languge?  (I think the answer is Nothing happened to it, it is not English and never has been.)
  
• what is wrong with Private Education Industry and why "Native Speakers" should radicalize it, alter it, or simply refuse to support it?
  
• what does it mean that English is a global language?  (Koreans are so focused on "accent."  Korean English teachers like to talk about "accent" and I get many questions from teachers and students alike about appropriate "accents."  I'd like to reflect on what they mean a bit more thoroughly, but I always ask, "what accent do you think is the correct one and why?"  I believe English is everyone's language and we are afforded an opportunity here to either betray the cultural imperialism usually accompanying ESL education by freeing it from the rigors of the American English-British English binary.)
  

and I am going to redesign this page.  it will look like DagSign.  Easier to read.  I don't know why I thought this design worked.

Getting On With It: How it Goes

I have a lot to put up here in the next few days.  I just posted to DagSign as did Praise.  By the Way, Praise will be posting often to DagSign and to DagSeoul, I imagine.   I like collaboration and I like her.  A Lot.  Call it Love.  Just don't think of that Alain de Botton novel.  Get used to her.  I had to.  (sarcasm.)

Uhm, so: photos of local love motels, students, classrooms; stories about riding buses, trains, Korean "mountains", food, local folks I love, local folks I don't get, and language.  And don't get me started about education and the Korean Government's habit of arresting journalists who write negative things about it and the economy.  That's the forecast.  I am full with words; thoughts falling all over the place, tinkling shiny metalic baubles, littering my path, enticing you to follow.

Yesterday, for example, I was up at 6AM.  By 8.20 I was teaching my first of four classes, visiting 35 of 150 students I will see every Tuesday until late June.  We worked on minimal pairs, -s ending sounds, and discussing "interests"/making "plans".  I ate something--I really don't know what it is called and neither do my colleagues--for lunch around Noon and chatted with Praise whenever I had a break.  We wrote about dinner with her Cousin at 8PM, which quickly followed the first meeting of my new students at Seoul National University student union from 4:30 till 6PM.  The walk from school to Seouldae campus was wonderful but quick as I left my classroom at Samseong High School around 4.10.  Dinner with Praise's relative was wonderful as was my meeting with my new students, soon to be friends I hope, as was the walk to Seouldae with many of my highschool students lagging behind and shouting at me, as was my day at school, as was my morning walk to campus.

I got home.  I laid down.  I fell asleep.  Turn the page and it's already 2.40PM the next day, near 120 more students seen, and I am preparing to see off my good friend Jan as he leaves Seoul, I hope not but perhaps for good.  But before that happens I have to teach my weekly Faculty English class from 4-5pm.  We will discuss our families tonight.  I'll get home around 5.45 and leave by 6.15 for Sinchon and dinner.  And goodbyes.  I hope I get drunk.

I miss nothing of the United States and this has me feeling down.  Vacant.  I do miss my family very much.  But the being there that I thought I would miss has been replaced with a being here that I much more interested in.  Do you understand what I mean?  I don't know if I do fully.  I am trying to wrap my mind around it.

Somehow, I am finding time to write, play soccer, cultivate a healthy relationship, and learn a new language. 

Peter is going places

Yeah so needless to say though I am in Korea and living a dream life right now for a guy my age, I am jealous. Jealous.

Have a blast, Peter. Here's to you and me never stopping doing whatever it is that has permitted us the opportunity to explore. (Though apologies to those we have left in the wreckage of our miscreant behavior. Sincere apologies.)

On English Grammar and Usage

Note:

I just re-read my last post and am learning how incredibly difficult it is to maintain a strong command of English usage.  My prose sounds tweaked/forced at times and I've stopped using contractions.  (And I've only been here for six months.)

I'm not going to worry about it.  What can I do?  I have to attempt to teach five, seventeen year olds a thing or two about Articles in ten minutes.

Frustrating inverse proportionality: as my skills improve in explaining complex grammatical subjects to EFL learners, my own writing skills decline.  In shorthand: Explaining Grammar goes up AS Using Grammer goes down. 

광장 Tourist Hotel, 부산

Korean Motels

If I were to tell you about the hotels in the Republic of Korea, I'd have to talk about western-style hotels. I gather you know about such places and how incredibly over-priced they are.

To travel throughout Korea and to stay in western, name-brand hotels would be one simple way to miss Korea. Western hotels tend to be in the wealthy Korean districts or, as they are in Seoul, stuck into the foreign districts. These districts are designed to be unlike Korea: the worst bars, the worst food, the highest prices, the cheapest cheap stuff, etc.

My advice while in Seoul, for example, is to stay out of Itaewon and Gangnam. You miss nothing by staying away. Nothing. And Sadang, too, though there is great hiking not too far from the Sadang Subway Station. Rich Koreans are annoying pigs (I know, I just say what's on my mind, right!) and the foreginers who live in these areas tend to roam in packs, binge drink, and whine about how stupid and intolerant Koreans are while blowing smoke in your face.

I have learned two things from my first six months in Korea: 1) Foreigners think they know Korea better than Koreans; and 2) wealthy Koreans appear more out-of-touch and callous than wealthy Americans. So, why a traveler would want to stay in an international or western hotel in Korea is beyond me.

If you come, stay in one of the many dozens of motels in every district in every city you visit. (You don't have a choice when visiting the smaller cities and towns.) There are two kinds of motels: "Tourist Hotels" ($50-80/night) and "Love Motels" ($20-80/night).

I suppose you can guess what a love motel is. You'd be right if you guessed place where I take that special someone I've been dying to see naked and sweaty. But you'd be a fool to let the shennanigans in neighboring rooms scare you away. These motels are often modest, stylish, clean, and (very) cheap places to spend one or two nights. Of course, a love motel is no place for the kids. They are kind of seedy and do have porn channels mixed in with the regular Korean Cable TV offerings.

I refer to Tourist Hotels as motels because they are very much like clean, quiet, and safe Super 8 Motels or Days Inns but with Korean style. They are often easily confused with love motels, too. Look for the word "tourist." Also, love motels tend to have small parking lots that are hidden behind half or full curtains to respect (not protect) adulterers' privacy. (I am only half-joking: while many of the guests are cheaters, many are simply enjoying an afternoon's or evening's roll in the hay.)

Love motels litter the bigger cities like coffeeshops, kimbap cafes, and convenience stores. This is a benefit for wise travelers permitting them to move around a cosmopolis like Seoul with relative ease. In addition, there are no Check-In times and, generally, no need for reservations. You just walk in and pay for a room through a window and head to your room. Moreover, if you like to sleep in, no worries. Nobody is coming into your room until you drop off the key and leave. What? Your chosen love motel looks seedy? Not to worry, there are more around the corner. And the pricing is super-competitive. In Seoul, some of the love motels are super-chic. Enjoy.

I'll post Love Motel photos in the future. (I told Peter I would: sorry for now but I have been a slacker.)

I spent a week (with Praise-awww-) in 부산 & 광주 (Busan & Gwangju) and stayed in one love motel and one tourist hotel. In 광주 we stayed at Classic Motel, a love motel. Our room was great. Many larger motels will have classes of rooms. I suppose you could classify them by liaison desired: quickie, all-nighter, and romantic. Most love motels have 3 choices: small, standard, and suite. The suites are referred to as VIP Rooms. (Pronounced "vip" not "v-i-p.") If you are one to desire VIP treatment, then find the local tourist motel. The standard rooms are similarly priced, minus the seedy environment. Moreover, for an additional $10-20, you can get a suite.

What's all this mean? The love motels in safe neighborhoods often are the best pick for clean and affordable lodging. As a traveler in the US, I learned very quickly that spending more money is often the only way to insure safety and security, and cleanliness. Not so in Korea. (A note: the standard of cleanliness pertaining to bathrooms is different here. The person cleaning your room may not clean the toilet or bottom of the tub.) If you aren't sure about the neighborhood you're in or if you're simply creeped out by what has been happening in your love motel bed (really, though, this stuff happens in your Hamilton Inn or Sheraton 4 Points, too, right?) then you can get great deals at a tourist motel.

The tourist motels offer a front desk rather than a counter behind a window, which means you get a staff who is willing (and able) to help you. The Gwangjang Tourist Hotel in 부산 rocks. For W80,000 (Under $70,) we stayed in a suite. We could have spent around $50/night to stay in a small room. The staff was very helpful. The laundry service was cheap. The facilities are dated, but clean; this made our stay charming. And Korean customer service is amazing.

Enough on lodging. More later.

Future posts: Why I love the PC bangs and the noraebangs; train traveling; Trip Notes; Love Motel Photoshow; Hongdae or Sinchon?

Did you hear that The Beastie Boy's Paul's Boutique has been remastered (finally) and reissued (again)? I wonder if I should download it?

Sparkling Korea

I have always disliked the tourism logo for Korea--Sparkling Korea. I suppose it's better than something to do with kimchi; but I have seen it as a harnessing of Korea's obsession with all things cute. And as you can see from the image to the left, the government apparently thinks Russian models are better suited to sell the trademark than regular Koreans. There is a rank consumerism in urban Korea that I will write about some other time.

To the point: Sparkling Korea is actually not some cutie creation.

Now I find out that it comes from Koryo--where the modern term "Korea" originates--and Koryo comes from Wang Kon, who viewed himself as the successor to Koguryo. You can see that Koryo is a shortened form of Koguryo. Koryo means "high mountains and sparkling waters." Seoul is anything but sparkling, let me tell you. But there is undeniable beauty outside the city. And Koreans love their land and all of its nature. So, now I get It.

Short history lesson about Koryon and Wang Kon: this all happened in the late ninth century when Wang Kon helped Kyonhwon, the estranged founder of Later Paekche, take back Later Koguryo from his first son who had usurped power when Kyonhwon attempted to have his fourth son succeed him. This kind of made the first born angry.

Wang Kon was the son of Kungye who founded Later Koguryo at Kaesong, in central Korea. (Wan Kon believed that he was the proper successor to what was left of the Koguryo legacy, so he was more than happy to help estranged father take on estranged son while at the same time helping finish off the third, ailing kingdom, Silla.) I do believe it is Wang Kon who fought relentlessly against Later Paekche and who got Silla to surrender. To make a really long story too short: Wang Kon unified Korea. His Koryo dynasty ruled for almost half a millenium. He is viewed by Koreans as being one of the great, magnanimous rulers from the past.

SPARKLING.

dagText

Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History, Updated Edition by Bruce Cumings

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I am loving this book and I am only finishing the first chapter, Virtues.



So many books on Korea speak about the country and its culture as if the Koreans were Chinese or only known through their coping with the Korean war or struggles with Japan.



I have been looking for a book about Korea and about Koreans. And Bruce Cummings attempts to do this.



The first chapter handles the history prior to the modern era. Korea had its own history and culture, something quite unique: a history I have been interested in for some time.



So far so good.


View all my reviews.

dagText

Confessions: Books I-Xiii by Augustine of Hippo

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love this book. I am reading it again. A chapter a night. The sincerity and passion and earnest curiousity of the narrative is only slightly undercut by an intelligence that sometimes overcomes the rigid reading of Biblical texts that litter his writing.



In other words, Augustine works (right from the beginning of Chapter I) at manipulating the Biblical text to fit the constraints of his religious doctrine. He transforms both the Biblical texts and the doctrine creating a personal rubric for his spirituality.



Also, he makes me giggle.


View all my reviews.

I am my Revision

I have had to come to terms with my classroom pedagogy on a number of levels since moving to Seoul. I will attempt to address an issue or two in upcoming posts. I am still organizing my ideas.

I have been busier, as a teacher, in three months, than I was in any given year at home. It makes it incredibly difficult to head home after work to blog. Never mind blogging, I am writing a dissertation, too.

I have some catch-up posting to do. And will.

Each day, I post to my facebook page everything I look at online. Much of that will end up here and on my other blogs.

Contacts and Football

From newphotos

Picked up my contact lenses today. I have broken two pairs of glasses playing football on the weekends. Last week, I went to make a heading pass from a 50 yard, monster of a goal kick. The ball hit low on my forehead and my glasses shattered. If you look at my picture closely you'll see the tape holding my glasses together.

I haven't worn contacts since I was very young. Both Glasses and Contacts are cheap here. I bought Rayban glasses, paid for an eye exam, and two lenses with all the bells and whistles for 190,000won. This is about 150$, on a good day. My contacts cost about 120$. The contacts I bought are the most expensive kind available: I wanted contacts that would be easier on my eyes.

I am headed to northern Seoul tonight to watch a few movies with a friend on his giant screen. He has a cool HD projector set-up and actually lives in an apartment the size of an average studio in the US. My place, in comparison, is about 420 square feet.

From newphotos

Tomorrow I will play football on this field. It is typical of most fields around Seoul. Grass is a luxury nobody can afford. We play on sand. It tears nasty holes in your skin and is extremely hard on your ankles. But it makes for a very fast game. Koreans are fast and actually quite skilled compared to most Americans. My teammates are over 25 and most are under 50. They are all surprised that I am a skilled player. I think they are more impressed that I can run for 90 minutes. They all think Americans are unhealthy. So, my ability to run fast for the entire game and my strength has led them to assign me the striker position, which I would have never played when I was younger. I love being the one to coordinate plays at the top of the midfield or take many shots.

From newphotos

Here is a photo of my high school's gymnasium. It gives a good impression, I think, of how hard the football pitch is.

Seoul Shows. Weekend 11/28/2008.

Nothing on Friday. And Saturday does not look too promising, but then I am playing soccer on Saturday and will likely be drinking with the team afterwards.

Sunday, however, looks fun.

At 4pm, Yogiga, there will be a noise show.

Bulgasari - experimental noise night. featuring: Sato Yukie, Lee Han-ju, Hong Shine, Michael Oakley.

I looked up Bulgasari and the web site hasn't been updated in a while. But it looks pretty promising. I will go if I can find Gallery Yogiga.

Then, at 8pm, FF, Jens Leckman

Jens Lekman, with Pink Elephant, We Need Surgery and The Fist
Time: 8:00pm. Admission: 25,000 won.

Sounds great, but 25,000 won is a rip-off. Leckman is great. But even Sonic Youth doesn't cost 25bucks in the states. Can't see some singer-songwriter making it worthwhile. Esp, since I'd have to catch a cab home from Hongdae (about 13,000 won) afterwards.

Let's face it. The underground music scene in Seoul suffers because there is no solidarity between clubs and club owners and show promotion is an absolute joke. I'd love to help, but all my shit is in storage in the US. And I have no time to do anything with my work schedule.

The opportunity for a killer music scene exists, but...

Anyway,

Like NOISE. Let's get together and check out Bulgasari. Should be pretentious fun. At least my brain will get a work out.

Oh. I think Samchung is playing Saturday night. HOT. That's what to do on Saturday. The Spot has a show. More than 10 bands--metal to hardcore--15,000 won. Should be loud, sweaty fun. But I am digging playing striker for Hae Woori too much to ditch for music. I smelled goal last week. I will score this week.

Seoul Life

[Note: I am still experiencing Internet access issues at my flat. Some days the speed is so slow, I cannot tolerate working online. So, I haven't blogged as often as I like. My landlord recently fixed my cable access--though I don't watch the TV, save for soccer--and now, strangely, my Internet access has improved. Maybe somebody did something that somehow helped my situation. Anyway...photos to come in subsequent posts.]

I am sitting in my favorite cafe--Cafe Good. It's one of the only ones near my flat that is not named Dog's Nuts or some French Phrase Although The Menu is in Italian. It is the first sub-freezing day in Seoul this Autumn. So, I am drinking hot chocolate.

Actually, the cafe above is named Nut's Dogs; however, even the teacher who first walked me through my new home was embarrassed to note, as we walked past the coffeehouse, that she believed the name "might mean something about the dog's body." I told her she was right, and asked her if she knew about nuts.

She laughed.

I work with wonderful folks. That is, I know they work hard and know they like to play hard, which I admire. I am invited to every social event and never have to pay. Although I insisted last weekend and gave money to my hosts. The teachers at high schools work Monday through Friday from 7:30 until 5 or 6, and they all work on Saturdays until 1, or later. My contract stipulates no work on Saturdays. I don't go in, but I do feel guilty. On the other hand, I inherited developing-the-curriculum for the First- and Second-grade classes for the remainder of this school year--end of January 2009--and the entire 2009-2010 year.

You might think this wouldn't be such a chore. After all, the students have attended English classes at Samsung High School for over a decade. A catalogue of classwork must exist. Unfortunately, I am the first "Native Speaker" at the school; A curriculum does not exist. I'll admit that it is good to be the first for many reasons, not least of which is that I am gaining incredible ESL teaching experience each new day at Samsung. And it is nice to be the one to develop what I will end up having to teach.

However, many problems have already developed as a result of being first. I use a relic PC that has an English version of Windows XP Pro and Office 2003. This would suffice in most situations. I streamlined the software on it, modified a few settings, ran updates (that took over one week to successfully download and install,) and I added Firefox. The computer is slow at times but works as best as it can. Everybody else at school has a Korean version of XP and uses a word processing software called Hangul Word Processor. They tried to make me comfortable by providing a computer that looked and ran like a PC would in the U.S., but in doing so they effectively made it impossible for me to work with students' powerpoint presentations and essays. Most unfortunate is that I am not connected to the school network and messaging system. I always find out about scheduling changes and meetings too late to prepare.

It is incredibly difficult to get to know my male colleagues. They are all older than me and--I think as do my younger, female colleagues--try to save face by avoiding me at all costs. We believe the men don't want to illustrate their lack of English at work. I have hiked with the men on the weekends and have had wonderful exchanges and experienced sincere camaraderie. Oh well. I will say that outside of the silence I am offered at school and other than my undergraduate life at Metropolitan State College of Denver, I have never experienced the warm friendship that men have offered me in Seoul. The men in Korea are very close. They show emotion. They are not afraid of physical contact. For crying out loud, they bathe one another at the sauna. They are affectionate guys. It makes it easy to be friendly. I have always had crappy relationships with men. So, this problem with the male teachers is a very minor one.

I have had several problems with banking that I have yet to sort out. Nobody is able to help. Who could, anyway? I needed to be informed of a few economic realities before I arrived. That should be the Korean government's concern, not my co-teachers' anxiety. So, I am struggling to pay my U.S. debts on time, if at all. I cannot contact my creditors to figure out a method of paying my bills. And I cannot send money to my U.S. bank because they Korean Won loses close to 50% of its value in exchange right now. Anyway, I need a coworker to go to the bank and translate for me, but we work until 5. The banks close at 4:30. My school never thought about this kind of problems that are likely to occur for any new resident. On the other hand, as a government employee, I received speedy access to my Alien Registration Card, my pension plan, my healthcare account. In addition, my landlord will do absolutely anything to attempt to make me at home--like pay my cable bill. I am poor; so, the gesture is welcome. The hospitality I receive helps alleviate major stress I would usually feel while encountering financial problems I have at the moment. (If the economy were better, none of this would be an issue.)

Of course, my school asked for an experienced English teacher and one with experience with Korean students. I fit the bill with 7 years of teaching experience. It's nice to be wanted. However, the teachers were not prepared for somebody with ideas about ESL education--both practical and ideological--to come to their school and begin taking over one third of the curriculum. (The students have English class three times each week; I see them once a week.) When I enter a classroom, I take charge. I don't need help. I was worried about teaching 40 adolescents, but the kids like me and I have made the adjustment from college Freshman and Sophomores to High School Sophomores and Juniors without too many snags.

The teachers are very protective of the students--especially the boys. I am progressive when it comes to classwork, and I insist that the kind of work attempted and possibly completed both builds upon prior lessons and shows visible and applicable results. For I don't know how long, my students have been playing word bingo and solving crossword puzzles for choco-candies. And from what I can tell of other foreigners teaching in the public schools here, many of them proudly carry on the tradition of treating the children like cutie-pies who need special attention. I shouldn't be so critical: many of the teachers hired to travel to Korea are, in fact, not teachers; or, if they are, they are recent graduates from Undergraduate Institutions and are trying to gain a little hands-on experience. At any rate, there is the notion that if a student does something, then that student is LEARNING BY DOING. Of course, the first thing I learned as a teacher was that is complete bullshit; or, WISHFUL THINKING.

If I try to challenge the students I am told they aren't smart or knowledgeable enough to complete the exercise. The problem is that most of my students will interview with several of Korea's Universities in and around Seoul in less than 24 months. The more prestigious schools, which all students dream of attending, all include some type of English conversation in their interviews. My students will struggle with an interview, yet they have been learning English since Primary School. This frustrates me. They cannot read well and don't even think about writing sentences. In addition, the Academies

(########battery is dying to be continued. I wrote the content below before revising here. I'll finish when I get home. Everything below is unedited.)

I feel the students are being over-protected because they are poor and underprivileged and work so unbelievable hard--15 hours or more a day, 6 days a week, for some every day of the week. I want to hug them, too. But they need to learn to speak English well enough to speak it each day at school and work.

Though I like it here, the cultural differences can be infuriating. I haven't experienced the culture shock that I have seen with other foreigners. My culture clashes can become rather over-significant on any given day because of the amount of work I am asked to accomplish. FOr example, on Monday morning I arrive to school with a new lesson plan for the week and have to make 800 copies of whatever I have for the students. I work from 7:30 until 9am preparing for the week. Then, I teach until 4pm. I teach 5 classes. After seeing 200 students and wearing-in a new lesson plan, I eat dinner and can get home around 8pm. Three days of my five day work week are like this. On the other days, I don't have it easy. In fact, I work later hours. I teach the non-English speaking teachers English on Wednesdays. And I teach 12 students from 5-7pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Mix the cultural misunderstandings with the tremendous workload and you have the potential for anger, not simply frustration. I am happy to say I have had only one argument with a colleague and maybe two verbal disagreements with Koreans in my neighborhood.

I will say: never, never, never get a Korean woman mad. Korean Women have the ability to scream with their entire being: and they like to do it in public. I think I made the colleague who yelled at me (after a ridiculously absurd misunderstanding) initially more angry because the spectacle of her yelling was so intense all I could do was smile in admiration. Such amazing passion; to be honest, my heart only grew fonder. After all, to scream like that at me, she has to care. When I explained to her what was actually happening, she apologized. I apologized as well for causing the problem: I could have done a better job of communicating to her. The entire school heard her yell at me. And nobody spoke about it.

<>>

Word Choice

Word choice is important. I used "whore" in my last post. Maybe I shouldn't have. I'll admit that the word carries too much signification for me to be using it in a careless manner.

But I will reiterate what an eye-opening experience it is to see educated Americans acting like extras in a Girls Gone Wild video. If you come to Korea and you want to see white folks--the British, the Australians, and the Americans, and some folks from Canada and New Zealand as well as other places--acting like extreme consumerists and/or prostitutes, then you should hang in Itaewon. Oh, and you get the added benefit of spending quality time with the military and the sex industry that thrives around American bases.

Itaewon is a shithole.

Anyway, with the Americans: Maybe it's more Nerds Gone Wild. Whatever it is, it's obscene. And these young women would not behave this way at home. (Unless, they are University of Colorado students.) Or maybe it's just always the behavior I expect from men I know but not women I know. Or maybe it's the alcohol, as I stated in my previous post.

I prolly shouldn't be using "whore". Not loosely anyway.

Allergic to Shrimp and Soccer in Suwon and Guy Stuff, too

I have had a tough week: bad allergic reaction to food, more American friends acting like psycho-tourist haters and whores (for beer and attention, apparently, American women in Seoul will do anything for you,) and I just found out I need to prepare an entire year of lessons by the end of February for two grades.

Now, I am not hating Korea. I love it here. And the teaching challenges are good for me and my craft. I just need to stay away from Americans.

And shrimp, too. I have always said I am allergic to shrimp. Honestly, I had recently begun believing that I have always claimed an allergy because I hate the taste of shrimp. Instead of confessing my fear of tasting new things, I just said, "I'm sorry, I'm allergic...". I guess at some time many years ago I must have discovered that I am allergic to shrimp and forgot about the incident completely. After eating something made with shrimp and shrimp paste Sunday night, I ended up in the hospital with what could have become a full-blown anaphylactic attack. I almost stopped breathing, my face and throat and chest were red, and my lips were swollen. Fortunately, I acted fast enough and took a taxi to a close hospital--with the help of my teachers and their friends via phone. The doctors hooked me to an IV and an hour later my symptoms subsided. With three days of steroids and meds, I am fine again.

On the bright side, I am playing soccer at Suwon World Cup Stadium on Sunday. I will have photos.

Also on the bright side, I have happily learned how to make friends with guys again. I have had my hate on for men since childhood. And my male companionships have always been dicey. I hit my last male buddy so hard, I knocked his tooth out. No kidding. But that could have been the alcohol. In Korea, guys get along. They look out for each other. It's ok to touch another man to show affection. That might be part of it. Men have plenty of masculinity issues here, don't get me wrong. It's simply nice to be able to hang out with other men and not have to suffer privately all my problems.

Visited the Contemporary Art Museum today. It was a joy. I will write about this and more after some rest.

I bought postcards, finally. I am going to try and write my friends at home. So off to the other corner of my flat--ten feet from this corner. (heh.)

In Korea two months and already the Americans suck ass

I don't know what bothers me most about part-time foreigners' persistent whining about Koreans: their whining about Korean intolerance (apologies to EP who has righteous reason to be pissed) or their mass-mind mentality.

A quick search through Google will result in many blog stories, journal rants, and public forum posts about how Korean hate for foreigners erupts in the public sphere. Never mind the countless mentions of intolerance on Facebook and Myspace and the stories I have the misfortune to hear whenever I sit with more than two North Americans at a time.

I am not implying that I agree with some Koreans' intolerant, rude, and sometimes criminal behavior towards foreigners. There are locals who will take advantage of me if I let them. I am explicitly pointing out to many of the thick tourists posing as teachers that this Intolerance is not a Korean trait, it is a Human trait. In other words, the majority of Koreans are quite warm, welcoming, and helpful. Foresaking the many for the few. It is at best careless, at worst willful.

The typical complaint I have read and heard is shared in a shocked tone by a speaker who simply cannot believe that Koreans are so mean, so crooked, so callous, or so racist. I don't mind someone complaining out of frustration. You know: blowing steam. I do mind hypocritical, petty whining based on some incredibly selfish assumptions.

First, I have had to come to terms with the alienation and solitude that everyday life offers in a country where I do not speak the language and most people do not speak mine. Some days are emotional trials, for sure. However, Koreans owe me nothing. I am not owed anything. I repeat this to myself as a daily mantra. I have to remind myself that I have become quite accustomed to a level of everyday, spectacular consumerist culture in North America, so accustomed that I find it almost instinctive to insist that some of my desires and most of my needs are met simply because I walk into public and begin to participate in various exchanges with other folks around me. I cannot get by in Korea by living a lazy life. I must work hard, remain focused, exercise, attend to my health, and aggressively participate in the public sphere. For example, I must work hard everyday to acquire a new language. (Yes, there are Americans here who bitch about having to learn Korean and about Koreans not wanting to learn English.)

***many foreigners roam the streets of Seoul in packs insuring that most Koreans will never attempt to make that social contact we all so desperately crave, Friendship. I can't speak for Canadians, but I know that the manner in which Americans socialize is strange to Koreans. When we roam in groups, we are louder and more boisterous than most Koreans. In addition, we are simply more obscene. Hit the OED. What I mean by obscene is that we tend to share with everybody what is on our mind. We like to be noticed. We stare at people. We overtly flirt. We talk a lot. And when we roam in groups, we tend to ignore the rest of the world and expect that they leave us alone. This is simply not the way things are done here.

I have been lonely here my first seven weeks. My lifestyle has dramatically transformed. But my emotional trauma is not fairly transferred to Koreans. Moreover, the complaints about hatred and discrimination strike me as completely inappropriate. Even on the worst day I have had in Seoul, I have yet had to confront the institutional racism that a Mexican or Central American immigrant laborer faces on his or her best day in North America. I will not equivocate on this point. The cries of bigotry are quite absurd. (Once again, some Koreans are racists. Calling Koreans racist, though, is like an American middle class white dewd bitching about affirmative action and reverse discrimination: it is stupid, self-centered, ill-informed; basically, an attempt to re-establish the comfortable order found in the white power structure.)

Let me make it clear. I have been in Seoul only seven weeks. I already have a home, cable tv, broadband Internet access, a cell-phone, a health plan, a pension plan, my alien registration card, a renewed VISA with multi-use privileges, a bank account, direct deposit, and membership in a soccer club; in addition, the locals have begun calling me by name, students and teachers look out for my health, the school's administration insures I am taken care of, and my landlord is responsive to my complaints. In the United States, no immigrant receives the treatment I have received in Korea with such sincere rapidity. The majority of the immigrant labor force in North America, never mind the US, covertly labors everyday for scraps and is entirely ignored by the majority of native citizens.

I'll recap:

• I find many North Americans here, especially my fellow U.S. citizens, to be whiners--spoiled, self-centered shits. For as educated as many of my fellow teachers claim to be, they are incredibly naive and, as a result, incredibly insensitive to the very rational, logical dispositions of others. (Of course, many native speaking teachers in Korea are under 25 and have no experience of the world outside of Mom, Dad, High School, and University life. I think they choose to come to Korea because of the pay rather than the culture. Hence, the roaming in packs: intoxicated, loud, immature, clique-ish, imps. They never will care about Korean culture. They are on vacation.)
• I find much of the whining about Koreans to be based in the social superiority that is quietly cultivated in the white power structure that is still a part of everyday life in North America. I don't think much of this superiority is intended; I think it is learned. On the other hand, the naivete I see in it makes it that much more pitiful and infuriating. I believe it is our duty to make the corrupt power structures visible, to betray the white order at all costs, and bring about some equality by any means necessary. Anyway, no matter what your beliefs are, this is true: Only an individual who willfully ignores the pain and suffering of others... . Oh, wait a minute. I know how to put it: they all have taken the capitalist pill called ATLAS SHRUGGED. If you know what I mean, say amen.

So, I understand why people hate Americans. I don't hate. But I am let down. Sad, for sure. I am certainly embarrassed. For as many whining turds that come to Korea to drink and piss away a couple of years before choosing a career at home, there are many travelers here hanging out like I am taking it all in and happy to have a paycheck while doing it. Kind people who are here to learn and work and grow. I hope to continue to find likeminded folks. I think I will.

Oh, and no. I really could care less about the election.

Samsung High School News

I am now writing lesson plans for both first and second graders at the high school. The experience is a bit bewildering. I am still learning where the students are in their English education. Many students can understand only the most basic English; for them, my classroom work is extremely difficult no matter how simple I make it. On the other hand, many students are excellent English speakers for their age and experience; for these students, the basic work I bring to class is an exercise in boredom and patience. I try, therefore, to teach to the middle. I just don't know where the middle is.

This week we are working on basics: parts of speech.

I went with my students to the Contemporary Art Museum last Thursday. They participated in a writing and painting exercise/contest. I was able to spend time with them outside of school. I took many photos. I am posting them in my next entry.

The students seem to be getting comfortable with me. I am a happy teacher. I very tired, but happy teacher.

(t)here i go.

Just when I feel things settling down, everything seems out of control once again.

My first month in Seoul has been too fast and frustrating yet worth every moment. I am very busy with school work this week.

This weekend I am going to Grand Mint Festival. Friday-Sunday: 60+ bands. Yo la Tengo is the main event Saturday night. I am going with my new friend Jan. He's from Belgium. I met him last weekend. Great guy. We're also going to see Korea take on the UAE in a World Cup qualifier match at World Cup Stadium.

I will have photos and more by Monday evening. The next 5 days look pretty exciting; unfortunately, I won't be anywhere near a computer.

phone woes

I need to find a "cdma" usb driver for my Anycall phone (SCH-w390m). I found CDMA driver packages for Samsung phones, but I think the scripting and executive files must all be in hangukeo because I cannot get the computer I use to recognize the driver once I have installed it.

If anybody has any ideas, get in touch.

More substantial blogging tonight.

Back to teaching.

My Weekday Routine

I rise at 6am, not too long after many students head-in for sleep after drinking and eating all night. My neighborhood is full of dormitory hotels for students, who after working all-day socialize all-night. Popular bars and restaurants are open till 5am. Still, the neighborhood is never too loud.

I try to leave my flat by 7:30 so I have time to buy coffee. I walk to and from work everyday. The roundtrip is a little over two miles. I am in school by 7:50. At my desk: I check email, facebook, my blog; I brush my teeth. (Routines are so banal.) Around 8:20 I prep for my classes. Only on Wednesdays do I have an early class. Most days I begin teaching at 9:20.

I eat at the cafeteria with my Korean colleagues at 12:10; I teach until 4; I eat dinner most days with students; I usually leave school around 5:30.

Next week I will begin teaching a series of night classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5-7. I have called the 3, 5-week courses Everyday Expressions I, II, and III. From homeroom surveys, I think I'll begin with something like 35 students. I imagine 15 or so will consistently attend. I am excited about these classes. Not only will I make additional income, I will get a chance to become better acquainted with some of the students here. With 800 students, I can't learn names never mind personalities, hopes, needs--all the stuff teachers like to now about their students.

In January, during Winter Vacation, I will teach a 60-hour English Camp. That will be both a challenge and a joy. No extra pay with this as I am contracted to work during Winter break. I am a trained Lecturer for the College classroom, which is much different than a High School English teacher. So I am learning, too. I hope the students will like my course. I will teach Culture, Conversation, Reading, and Writing: 4 hours of class time with lunch dividing the day.

I seriously strained both my quadriceps playing soccer and am only permitted to exercise with my club until I am healed. I will post photos: the pitches here are dirt. A sandy hardpack that is unforgiving on feet, ankles, and legs. Thankfully, my knees are fine. I usually play a pick-up game around 6pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Across the street from Samsung High School is an elementary school. On the grounds of that school is a beautiful pitch used by the local professional club. Locals are permitted to play on that field in the evenings.

Because I cannot play and until I can again, I visit an acupuncturist after school. Roughly, $3.50 per visit after my healthcare discount. I get two pins in my foot and two in my hand, both rightside, to help control swelling, pain (and heat, I think.)

I am usually home around 8 or 9pm, which is early around here. From what I can tell, the people of Seoul enjoy a night-time culture. I like it quite a bit. I like walking, grabbing a drink from a convenience store, and sitting in a park or on a bench street-side with my neighbors. I probably walk two-four miles each evening.

I am in bed not too long after midnight. If I can't sleep, I read.

Added into this routine is writing, which I am working back into my schedule. I write in the early morning and/or late at night. I always have. I tend to write for 1 to 3 hours at a time.

Have Heart, The Spot (Hongdae, 9/27/08)

Hardcore Seoul: Positive Community Experience (PCE)

So far so good. The Seoul Hardcore/Punk scene seems to be healthy.

The expat crowd whines about it on the message boards. But I find this to be an American Obsession: Scene Health. Scene Health is typically lamented, especially within outsider communities. Anyway, it took me maybe one set to tire of the Army Skinheads Posing as Hardcore Kids scene. It didn't come as a surprise to me when one guy took off his shirt to reveal a pistol tattoo above his belly and some reference to God & Country in text above or below, I cannot remember, the image. He kept making comments about Mexicans.

I have learned, by the way, to ignore the expat crowd and its advice. I know there are many great expats here who are living in Korea and contributing to life here in a positive manner, but many of the teachers, mostly private school folks, are complete bores and professional whiners.

I have two friends here, who I never get to see. Sad. Emily. Vanya. I am sorry I don't live nearer to both of you.

I was told that it would be difficult to get to now Koreans. WRONG. In fact, Koreans have taken me in and look out for me and seem to expect that I will continue to participate in daily life here becoming more Korean with every new experience.

I like the Korean fighting spirit. It is hardcore. And like the kids stage-diving and climbing on top of each other and hugging and holding hands at the Have Heart show last week (The Spot, Hongdae, 9.27.2008,) the men and women I am wandering around Seoul with are very attentive to cultivating a Positive Community Experience (PCE).

Korea has its problems. For example, do not get me started about the sexism.

I am certain to post more about PCE. Right now, I want to post photos from the show and then go to the bath.

grey grey grey

i know the color scheme on dagseoul is poor. i am working on fixing the layout right now. soon, it will be easier to read. cheers.

Getting it Together

Finally, after three weeks I am feeling settled down and a bit of peace has entered my daily life. I am enjoying my new home. I like my neighborhood. The local government has changed the name of my area to "Daehok". I may have it spelled incorrectly. I am still learning.

I used to live in Sillim-dong. Unfortunately, the word Sillim in Seoul conjures up thoughts about the working poor and reminds everybody here about an undefined, yet ever-present dread of poverty. In an effort to improve property values, apparently, (but really in an effort to make it easier to ignore the all-too visible poverty here) I now live in Daehok-dong, or something along the lines of "University Neighborhood" and "Scholar-Hood". I don't think I have to change my mailing address yet...I don't think. Better look into that.


I pulled a muscle, today, in my leg: somewhere high in my quadricep. It could be a bad strain. I will go to the hospital tomorrow and have a sports injury specialist look at it. Oh yeah, I have a health card and it gets me cheap health care at many places. For what amounts to $3.50, I get a 40 minute acupuncture session. I will go for two weeks, four days a week, while my muscle heals. Great stuff. I might not have to pay for anything at the hospital. It depends what the doctor suggests. I can barely walk. Sucks to be in Seoul with a muscle injury. Walking is a way-of-life here.


I am very happy about several things.

• I begin teaching night classes at my public school next week. My classes will consist of 20 hour courses over a five week period. I will begin teaching Idioms: Everyday Expressions I, II, and III. I get paid after I complete each 20 hour period. It's good, legal pay, and I can use the money to pay off the credit-card debt I created while I lived with my folks in Ohio and like a bum, refused to work. Of course, I was sulking about Andrea dumping me and having to possibly leave Denver for an extended period of time. But you softboys out there know how tough it is when another woman dumps us because of who we are. Whine, Whine, I know.
• I am writing again, and in a focused manner.
• I was invited to join a soccer club: Samsung High School Club. I get my uniform and equipment next Sunday. It's too bad I am injured and won't be playing again for two weeks, but I am happy becoming a more significant member of my community.
• I have made several friends already. Jang Jinho and Kim Sooyoung are great folks. I am learning Korean quicker than anybody expected. But I have good help. I hope with these two I can create lasting friendships.