Heat, Private Schools, and Controversy In the Classroom.

Well readers, I'll tell you one thing.

IT'S HOT!

Yes it is. It's just as hot and humid here in the beach towns of Busan as it is back in the South. The moment you walk outside you can feel the oppressive wet heat soaking through your skin.

You know, I actually wouldn't mind it that much since I come from a similar climate. But....

MY AC IS BROKEN!

Well... not broken exactly. It still blows cold air just fine. However, it leaks like crazy. I have no idea what's wrong with the thing, and I'm not too keen on going to my school for assistance on the matter. I've learned via observation that asking them for help on any issue concerning the apartment is just not a good idea. (Barely restrains herself from going into details.)

Anyway, my apartment is sticky and uncomfortable at times, which makes for the occasional semi-cranky attitude.

TOPICS

Well, there's quite a lot to talk about today. This week has been full of revelations and plan making. Things have really been changing lately. None of those changes are bad, they're all either good changes, neutral changes, or just expected changes that can't be controlled.

I thought that I'd start off with yapping about a topic that's come up, especially lately, a lot in conversation with foreign teachers.

Private schools for kids: Are They Establishments of Satan?

We've all pretty much drawn the same conclusion about it. No one can be sure exactly, but the answer has come to be - It wouldn't surprise me.

There are so many complaints about the mistreatment teachers (foreign and Korean) receive at the hands of private institutions (especially the ones catering to children). Unfortunately I didn't hear the warnings until after I'd already signed on for a position with one of these places. Of course, I naively thought that if my attitude was good then I could face anything. Generally this is true!

I guess my downfall with the 'good attitude' plan was that I'm not used to letting people spit in my face and walk all over me. Back in the States if my work environment would have been even remotely similar to the one I first experienced coming here, I would have bailed out ASAP and possibly even filed a complaint with the labor board.

I'm sure that this isn't EVERY case, and I do know that there are teachers that are very happy at their private school. Unfortunately I hear negative feedback from the majority.

You know though, I do have a bit of an issue.

It's unfortunate for the rest of us who have LEGITIMATE problems and complaints that we're stereotyped as UNGRATEFUL because of other people who are just LAZY.

I'd like to say at this point that if you are a person complaining about having 40 hour work weeks, you need to shut your whiney yap. 40 hours a week is standard full-time. Get over it.

Would I love to have a 30 hour a week job that had all the perks of my 40 hour a week job AND better pay? Who wouldn't exactly?

But those jobs are few and far between, and certainly aren't the standard. No one should EXPECT to find a job like that. If you have one, consider yourself darn lucky.

What you SHOULD expect though is decent pay, a good working environment, supportive directors/supervisors/head teachers, and a work load/stress level that DOESN'T try to crush you every day.

Another thing I'd like to point out is that no one feels any sympathy for the people that choose to marinate in alcohol the majority of their free-time and then complain about having 'too many hours' or about their job being 'too tiring'.

At least for 40 hours a week you aren't destroying your liver.

I have no problem with people drinking alcohol and weekend shenanigans are totally cool (and expected). You don't have class, you don't have work obligations, do what you want. However, during the week it's your responsibility to make sure that you'll be fresh for class the next day. If you have a hangover on WEDNESDAY don't be offended when no one seems interested in your problems.

Anyway

What I'm trying to say here is that there are plenty of people out there with legitimate problems with their working environment, but those issues are sometimes overshadowed by the brigade of ridiculous complaints from people who thought they were going to be working 20 hours a week for 2.1 mil a month.

Korea is not a desperate nation, and the number of QUALIFIED teachers has gone up over the years. Just like anywhere else you're going to have to work for the good jobs. Experience and credentials (or just plain luck<--- definitely don't depend on that) are going to get you the farthest. That means that you're going to have to put in your time at the bottom of the totem pole.

I'm not saying you should ACCEPT bad situations. No way. If you're being mistreated, threatened, swindled, taken advantage of, or lied to then you need to start sounding some alarms. But if your main complaint is that you're at work for the standard 8 hours a day then maybe it's time for you to take a weekend trip to the little town of "GROW UP".

If you want a better job with less hours then keep looking. Keep applying. Keep searching. You might find one, and that's great! But don't expect, or feel like you deserve one right away.

Aaaand.. On to the next topic.

ENGLISH CLASS: NOT YOUR SOAP BOX.

I'm not going to go into too much detail about this situation that I've come across on a forum. I just wanted to express my opinion about it.

Apparently there was a teacher who had some problems with other instructors at his Christian school. They were rather liberal and were advising the children/teens that they should be who they are. I would have no problem with this, because that's an awesome thing to advise children and teens.

However, the guidance continued on to introduce sexual freedom. The instructors were telling the kids that they are in control of their own bodies and can make their own choices in regards to their sex life/sexual relationships and what not.

This is where things crossed the line. Children should not be so openly exposed to the idea of 'sexual' freedom. THEY'RE CHILDREN. Even the teenagers have too much to be confused about without foreigners teaching them that sexual freedom is totally cool when their society says "NO WAY!". Besides, it is NOT the place of the teacher to instill those sort of personal moral values/beliefs into the students.

If I were the parent of one of those students I would be absolutely outraged.

As teachers it is our job to encourage the students and guide them into a brighter educational future. We are not their parents, older siblings, or their priests. It is not our place to discuss personal issues such as sexuality with them. Aside from sex education (which is highly technical and based the majority on fact and statistics and NOT personal feelings or opinions) topics of sex and sexuality should not be brought up by the teacher to students.

A teacher can live their life the way they want. Their life style is their choice, but it is not appropriate for them to encourage others to live the same way that they do, ESPECIALLY when their life choices are controversial. This is the very reason why religion can't be taught in public schools.

A teacher discouraging discrimination is a different story. Teaching children to be tolerant of people is one thing, but encouraging them to 'sew their wild oats' as much as they want is downright revolting.

I think that those teachers should be dismissed. Mostly my feelings about that are based on the emotional health of the children who don't need to be thinking about such complicated emotional issues anymore than necessary or BEFORE it's necessary. The rest of that opinion is based on the fact that it was apparently a Christian institution. A parent sending their children to a Christian school are going to be expecting a certain kind of environment and a director/manager/administrator should know better about how the parents will probably react when their kids come home with conversation topics on starting a sexual revolution in their country.

Anyway.

I have some other things to write about, but I'll separate the posts for the sake of keeping things organized.

By the way...

Highly serious topics finished for the day. No worries.

Until next post,

~A.

Emergency Rooms and Substitute Teachers

Well, another weekend has arrived. This is one of those weekends where I have absolutely no idea what the plan is. I know what I’m NOT going to do, sure. I guess I’ll use this weekend to chill, relax, and recover from the week. And YESTERDAY.

Yesterday I woke up with the same cough and stuffy nose I’ve had for about 4 months now. I also had a very bad pain in my left back gum, right around my back tooth. I’d been having some discomfort there for a day or two, but nothing big. I thought I just might have eaten a tortilla chip funny or something.

This morning though, the pain was a little more intense. I checked it out, and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. No swelling, no uber redness. I just made sure to brush gently and rinse a couple of times with extra strong mouthwash. The pain subsided for about 10 minutes.

By the time I was at work my mouth was REALLY hurting. I couldn’t even chew on that side. You never know how difficult it is to eat ONLY on one side of your mouth until you can’t use the other side for whatever reasons (dentist numbed you, got a tooth pulled out, soreness, etc.)

I had two classes in the morning, and after about an hour my throat was starting to hurt too. My thoughts were WHY?! WHY?! WHY?!

My guess is my lymph nodes were swelling up to fight whatever it was that was going on with my gum. But it was hurting enough that I had a hard time speaking, and I was getting really really irritated.

I had planned on going to the doctor that morning before work, but was hit with some shocking news from back home. I spent some of my morning talking to family, and ran out of time to see the doctor before work.

So, during lunch break I headed out to the doctors office. I got there to find an empty office, no one at the front desk. I called out and finally a nurse came out to greet me with her mouth mostly full of food. I tried not to think so, but that was actually pretty obnoxious. She motioned that the office was closed for lunch.

“Until when?” I asked?

Until 2 was the reply.

Well, That’s a pretty sweet gig. An over 1 hour lunch break at a DOCTORS OFFICE in the middle of everyone else’s lunch time when most people would be making their trip from the office to get something checked out since they close at 5 and no one gets off work until then!

Anyway, I decided to make a trip to the doctors office today. Of course, I had no idea about the mouth thing. I didn't know whether to see a doctor (because I was pretty sure it was infection), or go to a dentist. I planned to to go both. Dentist first, then the doctor.

For the last few hours of work the pain in my mouth and throat started to worsen and I was so swollen around my back tooth that I couldn't close my mouth properly. One of my beautiful co-workers had volunteered to take me to the doctor today so that she could help me explain to the doctor EXACTLY what was wrong. Well, I asked her whether or not she thought I should just to a hospital. A few of the other foreign teachers at my school had told me to go.

The reason I was asking my Korean co-workers opinion was because I didn't want to go by myself!!!! Hospitals are scary. They're even more scary when you don't speak the language. Besides. The EMERGENCY ROOM? Don't people only go to the Emergency room when there is an... I don't know... EMERGENCY?

I was in pain, but not prepared to enter an emergency room.

Anyway, my Korean co-worker (bless her, she's so sweet) was really concerned but she didn't get my hint that I wanted someone to go with me, so I left it alone. I decided that I would just wait until the next day.

However, on the way home another of my new workers (brand new, only 2 weeks in Korea) got in touch with me and said that he would go with me if I felt uncomfortable.

I still wasn't sure if I was ready to brave a trip to the hospital for mouth pain.

HOWEVER

My mind changed quite quickly when I got home and went to a mirror to check out what was going on back there. The gum was so swollen you almost couldn't see half of my back tooth. And... here's the kicker... the gum was turning BLACK! WTH!?

I got myself out of that apartment ASAP, swung by to grab my co-worker out of his apartment and headed to the Emergency room.

MY TRIP TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM

Some of you might be thinking that I'm just a big baby, but that whole gum being black thing really freaked me out. Tissue usually only turns black when it's dying, right? Yeah, I wasn't ready for that infection to possibly spread into my blood stream.

My throat was hurting really badly by this point as well. So I was ready to brave a Korean emergency room.

My co-worker and I arrived at the hospital emergency room quickly... since the hospital is literally just right across the street from out apartment building (the lights on the hospital sign shines through my window and sometimes keeps me up at night). There were some patients wandering around the lobby, and a group of middle aged women all talking with each other over a cup of tea in the lounge area.

There was no one at the information desk, and I wasn't sure if we were allowed to go through the emergency room doors. Luckily my co-worker is braver than I am and he opened the emergency room door and looked around. Saw no one.

Uh... now what?

Anyway, finally one of the baristas helped us out and lead us into the emergency room where some nurses were sitting behind a desk that was out of view from the door.

There were no patience in the emergency room. It was extremely quiet. The doctor finally came out, obviously having just been interrupted in the middle of his dinner. When I told him what was going on and looked at me kind of funny and said...

"Well, as you know we aren't dentists."

I felt something inside of me break. Perhaps it was the last thinly woven strand of control that I had left after that ridiculous day. I may have sounded a bit too harsh, I think, when I said "I KNOW that. It's not my tooth that's hurting it's my MOUTH and THROAT."

He said "Okay okay okay okay, we'll look."

At this point, I already feel stupid for coming to an EMERGENCY room for my problem. But it's not like they were busy.

Anyway, he gave my mouth a look and was like "Ah. I see."

He went on to tell me that it was an infection (duh). He said that this type of infection was most often caused by STRESS.

He said that with antibiotics and rest it would go away in a day or two.

The blackness of my gum ended up being (prepare for gross out) blood trapped underneath the tissue caused by the infection. It pooled and caused my gum to look very black in that area. Uh, ew.

His prescription ended up being about 40 pills (antibiotics, pain killer, and some pill to help with my digestion, I think.)

I took the first dose last night after eating something, it took about two or three hours but the swelling started to go down and I could finally close my mouth all the way.

I'm hoping too that the antibiotics will help with whatever is going on with my throat, and maybe even help with whatever else is going on that's kept me coughing for the past 4 months.

THIS MORNING

I woke up this morning, and the pain in my gum was pretty much gone. The swelling had gone down considerably. It's still very red, and there's still a black circle on the back of my gum, but it's no longer painful. However, now my throat is really hurting. Hopefully it's just my lymph nodes still fighting whatever infection I've got. The last thing I need on my plate right now is tonsillitis or strep throat.

I realized something really disturbing last night, too. When I first started using my AC, I found black mold in the vents. I cleaned it out myself and double checked and thought that I'd gotten all of it out... but I just started thinking that there might be more there than what I can see or reach. That could very possibly be the reason for my coughing/sinus problems. Or maybe it's the city air, I don't know. But man... COME ON.

WHY I'M SUPER IRRITATED

Yesterday I was in quite a bit of pain. I couldn't speak well and I couldn't eat or even drink a beverage without it hurting. I had 9 classes yesterday, luckily it was test week so it wasn't necessary for me to do a lesson. I tried playing review games with my first two afternoon classes but it required too much talking, so I ended up just giving everyone puzzles when tests were done.

Back in the states I would have called in to use one of my sick days. Unfortunately my current school doesn't have a system of substitute teachers. They don't have ANY WAY of covering classes if one of the teachers is sick.

What does that mean? It means that asking for a sick day is like trying to get permission to set the building on fire.

My poor co-workers have been sick too lately. No one's able to get a day off to stay home without someone having a fit about it.

It's not just my school that's like that though. I've heard from a lot of people that most private institutions are structured that way. I guess there aren't enough substitute teachers to go around.

ANYWAY

That's enough of that. Aside from the cough, weird sinuses, and sore throat, I am feeling better (no sarcasm there. I really am feeling much better). I haven't had a fever at all, which means that my body hasn't yet had to go into 'war' mode against any illnesses. I hope that is a good sign that whatever it is I have isn't anything to fuss over.

Well, a good day awaits. Got to finish up some laundry (washing machine is old and slow, takes 1.5 hours to wash a single load of clothes), clean up a bit, and then go see a movie later on this evening.

Anyone seen KNIGHT AND DAY? Heard it's crap, but have to see it for myself before I can judge.

Everyone have a great weekend!

Stay safe!

Until next time,

~A.

Mishap Hair

Alright everyone.

I want to let you in on a little bit of craziness that's happened recently.

It's called... THE WORST HAIRCUT OF MY LIFE!

I won't tell you where I went to get my haircut, because I don't think that the guy is bad at what he does. In fact, I think he's pretty good. He just has NO clue about my hair, and I am super duper picky. Back in the states, the same guy has been doing my hair for years.

It takes a long time to get a feel for someone and what style they need.

Anyway. I posted a few pictures a little ways back depicting my hair style THEN and what I WANTED it to look like.

Here they are:

This was what my hair looked like in June. Right before I got it cut the first time. It was the longest it had been in quite a few years.

This was the style that I wanted for my hair. I loved this haircut, and was really excited to get it back.

So I went to the stylist, gave him these pictures, and got this:

Uh. YIKES! I look like a soccer mom! The mushroom look wasn't exactly what I was going for. Everyone was nice about it, but I know it looked bad!

I couldn't stand it anymore, so this weekend I went back to get my hair done again.

THIS WAS THE DISASTROUS RESULT:

Here's a sarcastic smile to start you off.

This is how my current hairstyle makes me feel.

Seriously? My hair is yellow.

And cut funny.

This side is longer than the other.

WTH?

But that's okay. I'll rise to the challenge.

Maybe once it grows out a little bit it won't look so awkward.

You're laughing at me. Aren't you?

That's alright. I won't hide!

I'm gonna laugh in the face of this hair mishap!

And be a tough cookie!

And so is the current story of my unfortunate haircut, which a friend of mine lovingly referred to as "The 80's british, James Bond lady, mushroom cut." Flippin' wonderful.

I'm going to try to wait it out and not venture to get my hair cut again until I visit home and can go to my own hair dresser. Until then, I'll just have to put up with this 80's throwback hairstyle.

Well, there it is.

Until next time,

~A.

On Coughing, TMI, and a Special Vacation Plan!

Ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome to the 3.5 month mark.

Of what? You might be asking yourself.

Well... of my COUGH of course!

That's right. I've been coughing like veteran smoker for the past 3.5 months. Everyone's advice has been "Get thyself to a doctor! AND FAST."

Well, you know, I wouldn't have a problem with getting myself to a doctor if there was one around that I was comfortable with. As of now there's only ONE doctor's office anywhere near me that has a doctor that speaks English. Hold on... I take that back....there's an ENT doctor who can speak English well, but coughing isn't exactly in his field of expertise I wouldn't guess.

Anyway. I went to the doctor a few weeks back and was prescribed a ridiculous amount of medication for what was diagnosed as "Bronchitis". Someone tried to explain to me that the reason I was taking 15 pills a day was because it was illegal to 'combine' medications into one pill here in the ROK.

I don't know how legit that statement is, if it's true I guess it explains why I was taking 5 pills at breakfast, 5 at lunch, and 5 more at dinner time for 3 days.

But it wouldn't explain while, after all that medication, I'm STILL coughing.

I was supposed to revisit the doctor 2 weeks ago, but I chickened out. I wasn't ready to go on another 45 pill binge so soon after the first one.

I guess it's time that I get myself back there again to make sure that there isn't really any serious problems going on. Mom is freaking out about a possible pneumonia, but I feel fine. It's just the cough.

Doesn't an pneumonia come with exhaustion, aches, and a fever? I've had none of those symptoms, so hopefully it'll be diagnosed as "pesky, stubborn, bronchitis".

In other news

This weekend has been a basic emotional train wreck. Way too many ups and downs for my liking, and I'll tell you what... I never missed the "being confused" part of my life. And now, right when I had a plan all figured out for myself, I go and let myself get all confused again with the most ridiculous things.

And I'll tell you something else... I'd LOVE to tell everyone about what's been going on. Mostly because I just want to just rant my little heart out about it. It would make me feel better. Unfortunately, you're reading the blog of a girl who thinks her personal information should remain... well... personal.

So even now, while I'm fighting the urge to go into details, I have to remember that... I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU!

That leads me into something else...

Freedom of speech. It's a beautiful thing. But just because you have the FREEDOM to talk about something doesn't mean you SHOULD. You get what I'm saying?

Ran across too many blogs lately that were filled with TOO MUCH INFORMATION. I get lured into a false sense of security with the cutesy presentation, or decent writing style, only to be blind sided by a WAY TOO DETAILED paragraph about a one night stand.

WOAH Y'ALL! WOAH! Back that pony up!

Shouldn't there be some kind of WARNING in posts like that? I mean, geez.

I've read some dating blogs that I found quite enjoyable because they were funny, witty, and clever. But, I think people begin crossing the line when they start divulging highly personal details about what goes on after the 'date' part is over.

I wouldn't think the kind of attention you gain from that is in any way positive.

But whatever, to each their own. I mean, at least put an 18+ rating on your blog there cowgirls.

Anyway, enough of that.

Good News

For those of you who I haven't called and screamed excitedly over the phone to about it... I'll let you know.

I'M COMING HOME FOR A VISIT IN SEPTEMBER!

That's right! My last day at old job is the 28th of August. I don't start my new job until October, and I have to make a visa trip out of the country anyway.

There was the option of sticking around here in Korea without an apartment for a month. Which, I'm sure, to some people seems highly exciting. However, that just isn't for me.

A few friends offered to let me stay at their place but very few things make me more uncomfortable than potentially burdening someone. Besides, I like my privacy pretty well. So, I'd want to stay in a hotel. Hotels may be cheap here, but not if you're living in one for 30 days!

And besides, I have a love-hate relationship with hotels. I love the feeling of being in a hotel room. It's fun, and there's an aire of adventure that adds to the excitement. That's the love part. The hate part? I can't sleep in hotel beds. Nope. Noway. Nohow. They gross me out. Just THINKING about tucking myself into sheets that have been used by thousands of people makes me want to go and get all ill.

So, aside from the fact that I TOTALLY MISS MY WONDERFUL FAMILY, it just seems the most practical to head home for the month.

I'll be happy to get some rejuvenating in.

Anyway, update over. There's plenty more to talk about, but there's too much to do today.

I'll keep you all updated.

Until next time,

~A.

Stationary Wisdom Part I.

Just a quick jot.

I'd like to share a little bit of wisdom, bestowed upon me by Korean stationary.

"Everything Might not be as smooth as silk... but don't don't stress out too much."

"You will have the inner strength and ability it takes to accomplish what you desire."

"Action is the foundational key to all success. Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other. Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally."

"If you don't believe that you are the best, no one will think that you are. So, you need to bring it out by believing in yourself first."

"It is obviously quite difficult to be no longer loved when we are still in love, but it is incomparably more painful to be loved when we ourselves no longer love."

"Somewhere there's someone who dreams of yours smile,

and finds in your presence that life is worth while.

So when you are lonely, remember this is true:

Somebody, somewhere is thinking of you."

Enjoy!

Until next time,

~A.

Stagnant Waters but a Hopeful Future

안녕하세요!

你好!

こんにちは!

Well, the week is over. I'll refrain from using any expletives to describe it and just say that this past week was tense.

Had to put up with a bit of ridiculousness from certain individuals, but only for a bit more, and then I can start anew in a different town.

I'll tell you what people, I'm really missing Uni. right now. All of that studying, test taking, paper writing... yeah, that's my kind of atmosphere. This going to work and doing the same darn thing every single day is really starting to grate on my nerves. I wasn't cut out for monotony.

Hopefully new job will offer a bit more spice. I'll be working with adults as opposed to children. While I'm going to miss my little adorables (Kindergarten through 11 yrs old), I would not be able to truthfully say that I'm going to be all broken up over leaving the and 12-13 year olds. I like the kids, I really do, but I have to put up with major attitudes, and they're sometimes just plain rude.

Since I'm a foreign teacher I get a lot more crap from them than the Korean teachers do because those kids know that I'm not going to punish them the way that the Korean teachers would.

Also, since I work at a private school (after school hours for the little munchkins) usually the older kids are sick and tired of class by the time they get to academy. They have no energy, they moan, they space out, they stare at me listlessly, they straight up ignore me, and they even sleep sometimes.

Honestly, I feel bad for them most of the time because I know that a lot of them are just overworked and stressed out. But then there are those small few who aren't either of those, they're just disrespectful in general. But it's my job and responsibility to teach them, so I've got to do my best to push them forward in their learning whether they like it or not.

I'm now sorry to all of my high-school teachers who ever had to put up with any crap from me. Specifically my Spanish Teacher. Thank you Senora Pathman for all of the hard work that you put into giving me a good education. Thank you for encouraging me and being kind even when I didn't deserve it. Thank you for getting onto me when I didn't pay attention in class, and you were an awesome teacher so I'm sorry these days that I didn't listen to you more. Thank you for gently but sternly showing me that to get what we want we have to work hard. Sliding by isn't going to cut it, and if we don't work hard and as a result we do poorly we shouldn't complain.

I hope that in the future I can become a better teacher and teach the way that she did, with love, encouragement, enthusiasm, and passion.

How I Feel About Teaching

So far though I really love being a teacher. I didn't realize it up until recently, but I actually ENJOY the English language. I remember hating grammar in school, but now... When we start talking about present progressive and object pronouns in class I get this weird extra burst of energy.

Me: *backflip, toe touch, cartwheel* "OBJECT PRONOUNS! YEAH!!!!!!!!" *\(^.^)/*

Students: "Scary teacher...."

I know. Not that interesting for students... but this is their reaction when I try to talk about anything else.

Me: "What kind of music do you like?"

Students: *Blank Stare*

Me: "Uh... music anyone?"

Student: "Teacher... I music don't like."

Me: "What? Why?"

Student: *shrug*

Me: "Videogames. Who likes them?"

Students * Everyone raises their hand*

Me: "Alright, what kind of video games do you like to play?"

Students *blank stare*

Me: "Come on guys!!!!"

Boy student: *brings his hands up like little guns and points them at fellow boy student* "Pew pew!!!!"

Me: "Oooookay."

Now, keep in mind that this just happens with my older students. My younger students are all over the place with English. They'll talk about ANYTHING.

Me: "Who likes rocks?"

Younger Students: "OMG TEACHER! ROCKS ARE SO AWESOME! ONCE, I WENT TO THE BEACH AND MY LITTLE BROTHER PICKED UP THIS SHELL AND THEN....." *10 minutes later* "AND THAT'S WHEN THE ROCK TURNED ORANGE!"

Ah, who am I kidding. I'm gonna miss all of them a little bit when I change schools. Even the annoying older ones.

ANYWAY

There's really no major news update for the now, other than a reminder to all who are intersted:

EPIC LANGUAGE ADVENTURES project. Info is available in a few posts below. More info if you e-mail epiclanguageadventures@gmail.com.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Also, hope to have something a bit more exciting and interesting to post about next time.

Until then,

~A.

Friday Night Shenanigans and Interesting Commercials

GUESS WHAT I DID THIS FRIDAY NIGHT!!!!!

I stayed at home and looked up language schools and scholarship information until 12:30am, and then made a budget sheet, and then spent another hour after that lying in bed thinking about 'the plan' and missing my family.

Productive!

Oh yes, it was a party to be sure.

Ladies and Gentlemen, if you don't know already.... aside from dancing the night away.... I'm not big into partying.

The minute you say "dancing", I'm putting on my 'dance all night' shoes!

Another thing I'll go out all night for: KARAOKE.

Dancing and singing. If the night includes those two things, you can bet I'll be there.

But if you just want to go hang out at a bar for 6 hours and drink until your liver cries out for mercy, I'd rather stay home and stare at my ceiling.

Do I like to meet people? Yes.

Do I like to hang out with groups and have a good time? Yes.

Do I like it when all of those people I'm meeting and hanging out with get too drunk to even remember that we met and hung out? No. No. No. No.

Anyway, that being said, I stay home a lot on the weekend, because I seem to be the only person I know who actually wants to go out and DO something. If you're reading this and you can relate thank GOD for you.

So what's really in the news today?

Not much.

ECLIPSE is releasing soon, and while I LOATHE the Twilight books (poorly written, overdone story line, with absolutely NO depth) the movies are kind of entertaining.

Speaking of movies...

I finally visited a movie theater here in Korea. It's funny, because I actually get the chance to see some of the good movies BEFORE my family back home does, because some of them release here earlier. Why? Not entirely sure about that... but hey, no complaints from me.

Anyway, quite an interesting set up they've got. The theater is literally RIGHT next to my apartment. I walk out of my apartment building and don't even have to stroll down a quarter of a block to get to the theater.

The tickets are about the same as they are in the States. 8,000 won which is about 7.25$. There's quite a lot more to choose from food/drink wise. The most interesting thing though is the seating. The theater I was in had rows of these couch looking things. Each one sat 3 people. They were cushy, and because I was the ONLY one sitting on my couchy thing, I had a lot of space. I feel sorry for the person who ends up sitting in the middle though, because there's no cup-holder or arm rests there.

That couchy thing is great for couples who want to cuddle, no arm rest in between them. But, I'm guessing it's kind of weird to be chillin' on a couch 'at home' style with complete strangers during a movie.

The seating is assigned. Yeah... that's kind of interesting. You don't get to actually pick where you want to sit. Your ticket has a row and seat number on it. While that seems like an okay idea on busy days or when new movies open, it's just plain annoying when you're one of the 3 people in the theater and you got assigned the back row.

I'm sure Koreans just move to wherever they want to sit in that case, but I'm not that brave yet.

17 TEA

I love this stuff. A couple of friends of mine back in the states said that it tasted 'like dirt', but I can drink it all day long. ESPECIALLY on a hot day in summer, it's an awesome way to cool down and relax. Yummy yummy yummy!

I had no idea that this was a 'diet' drink until I viewed this commercial for the beverage recently (about 1 minute ago).

This is probably one of the STRANGEST commercials that I have ever seen. I actually don't even know how to feel about it exactly. Yet I know that this marketing works!

Using a sexy, sensual female to sell a diet drink to other females is a good idea. Why? Because there are plenty of women out there who will see this commercial, covet the sensuality and beauty of the woman drinking the tea and then relate the tea to that sensuality and beauty.

But forget the commercial before, this one is even better:

I just have to laugh. This commercial looks like it would be better for selling beer, or hard liquor, or even condoms. But tea? TEA?

It just seems like with this type of advertising they're taking the "You too can look like this if you use our product" trick a little too far.

It's tea. Sure it has no calories, sure it boasts some 17 herbs and whatever the heck else that 'may boost your metabolism'. But it also may NOT boost your metabolism, and it certainly isn't going to give you HER body.

Unless your name is Jeon Ji Hyun, you will NEVER have her body.

But aside from that little rant... the tea is REALLY REALLY GOOD!

Body Image in Korea

The diet crazes here in Korea are, as they are in America, insane. The majority of women I see are having some crisis or other over their weight, or the shape of their face, or their eyes, or their nose. I see them and I see perfectly lovely girls with smooth features and pretty faces and thin bodies that girls back in the states would almost die trying to obtain, but their bodies just aren't living up to the standards that are fed to them via media or the standards apparently held by such a competitive society.

More Interesting Commercials

These commercials are for an energy drink called "Hot 6ix". The first time I saw one of these commercials I'm pretty sure I laughed so hard that I had a hard time breathing. I just wanted to share it with some of the people back home. Welcome to ultraconservative Korea!

Anyway, I've spent too much time on the internet today. Time to go out and meet friends, be social, and enjoy my Saturday!

Everyone reading, keep your chin up and a smile on.

Until next time,

~A.

Feeling That Feeling

With the up in visits recently I'm starting to feel the nudge of obligation to post up a little more often.

However, I don't want things to become spectacularly boring for the readers (whoever you are. I mean feel free to leave a comment or something, stranger.)

As I've said before, my life isn't necessarily all that interesting at the moment (though it is undoubtably good). It's actually a tad humdrum. Stuck in a job I hate, have to put up with rude people for the sake of keeping the peace, and I'm just counting down the days until I get to shake off the shackles, the dirt, and the feeling of tepidity and spread my wings again.

This is definitely one of those times when I realize that I'm probably not made for working under other people's thumbs. I'm not office worker material.

Anyway, more on that as my thoughts develop. Right now it's just a big mess, like someone pranced right up to the pool of my mind and tossed in a tiger (that makes it only a fraction more chaotic than usual).

ANYWAY

So, World Cup is pretty much over as far as most of us here in Korea are concerned. Korea's out, USA is out, England is out, and even Japan is out now. The hardcore soccer fans are now picking random teams to cheer for until the end, and the rest of us are slowly coming down off of the World Cup high.

Good go for all of you! KOREA! USA! ENGLAND! JAPAN! You did your best, and you did well!

EPIC LANGUAGE ADVENTURES

Ideas are still being formed, and help is still being requested. Thanks to those of you who expressed your interest in ELA! I hope that more of you will send out an e-mail (even just to say "Good luck!", support is nice no matter who you are.) expressing your interest to participate in the language/culture project.

Looking for:

* People currently living in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, or China.

* Native or fluent speakers of Korean, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese living anywhere in the world.

* Language learners of Korean, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese (all backgrounds and levels. *beginners included).

* Language/culture experts (self proclaimed or otherwise) in all areas regarding Korea, Japan, Taiwan, or China.

*Anyone interested in honing their web development skills.

Also wouldn't mind hearing from anyone who just has some interesting ideas they want to share.

Please send an e-mail to epiclanguageadventures@gmail.com

Looking forward to hearing from you!

IN OTHER NEWS

There's not much going on, actually. Well, that's a total fib. There's PLENTY going on... but I am currently not at liberty to discuss these things.

I'll keep everyone updated as much as I can.

Until next time,

~A.