They Don't have Turkeys in Korea

For the second time in my life, I've not been home for Thanksgiving. 

In 2008 I had Thanksgiving in London, with James and Haith at Wagamama, around the corner from the London Eye. 

And this year, 2011, I was in Korea.

Really, Thanksgiving at home is just a big, BIG meal, that my family eats in our formal dining room.  It used to be a little bit more - traveling to see family, all the relatives getting together - but then people got older, people left, planning a date got complicated by multiple schedules and activities, and soon it was just the Reddings stuffing themselves with turkey and Waldorf at home.  

Not a bad way to spend the day though.  

And not a bad tradition to extend to friends in Korea who do not know the joys of over-eating on Thanksgiving!!

On November 19th, the 1st Annual SK Thanksgiving Potluck Extravaganza was held!  20 people gathered together in a Korean-sized apartment, eating tasty treats and dishes they made to share (that's what potluck means for those that don't know).

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The food, drinks and evening were a great substitute for not being at home.  And a great start to hopefully a lasting tradition here.

Millionaire... in won

More like half a millionaire.  

Thanks to some extra classes I was teaching for my school and the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education. 

For my school:

I was asked to teach a "training course" for the teachers using a pre-made, online, 'Screen English' course. 

Do I never learn!?  Wasn't I forced to use a pre-made, online course during my summer English camps?  Weren't the programs terrible and 85% in Korean?!  Didn't the program crash or refuse to work half the time?!  Yes!!!!! Yessss!!!!!!  That was me!  That happened to me.  So silly.

So why would I agree to use another program just like it again?!  Why?  Because the Vice Principal asked me, and really you can't/don't/shouldn't say no to the VP.  So I agreed to use it.  Like a fool.

Perhaps this program will be different.  It is a "Screen English" course.  We get to watch English movies.  

Silly me, again!!  They're some of the WORST movies I've ever had the misfortune of watching!

And of course!!! the questions, analysis, and breakdown are all in Korean.  What is an English course without 85% of it being in Korean?!  

But it was ok.  I made my own worksheets, scrapped the program (although a bit limited by the VP and the teacher's willingness to talk) and made it work... kind of.

It was kind of like volleyball, after a certain point the teachers just wanted it to be over.  :-/

For the BMOE:

These classes were very different!  In this course, Korean teachers (non-English teachers) signed up to improve their English skills.  I was told - not a lot.  Do task work.  WTF is task work?!  So again I just made stuff up.

I used facts I got off the internet to have the teachers practice exchanging information.  I used tongue twisters to have the teachers practice confidence building.  I used articles to have the teachers practice general discussion skills.  But beyond getting the topics and materials, I didn't have to do a lot.  The class took what I gave them and went with it.  

They were so involved, so willing to try and participate it was amazing!!

And I got a free kimbap roll everyday!!  Superfantastic!!

Having Some Work Done

Asia lovessss plastic surgery.  Loves it!

So why not have some done when you visit?!

Me, I'm all for plastic surgery.  Trim it down.  Pump it up.  Do what you like.  

So I thought I'd have some done too... There's always room for improvement.

One quick call (by my Co-teacher) and I was scheduled at Ryn to have some changes made (on 11/4).

So long underarm hair!  What's the point of you anyways!?!

Zap! Zap! Zap!! (stings like a *$&*!!!*$%()#%) and 10 minutes later I'm only 4 appointments away from being hairless! (although I don't think it will take all 5 appointments.  I haven't had to shave once, since the first procedure!)

Did I mention the best part?!  It only cost 50,000won.  I love Asia's love for plastic surgery! 

Not So Wise

At some point I had noticed that I could feel a little hole in my gum, near my back left molar.

I thought it was a bit strange, but when I asked Jill what her mouth felt like when she had her wisdom teeth came in she said nothing about a hole.  So I left it.

But I didn't really leave it, my tongue kept playing with it.  So finally I used the flashlight app on my phone and had a look.

A tooth!!  I saw a tooth!

A quick visit (10/5) to Friend Dental Clinic, a full cranium x-ray and sure enough!  Wisdom teeth.

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I'd like to say that I'm not a vain person, but I have endured a significant amount of pain, anguish and procedures for my teeth.  So I wasn't about to have that all ruined by one little tooth forcing its way in.

Get it out! and take its friends!

However, it turned out to be a solo party.  The Dentist would only take the one out, stating that the others hadn't come in enough to be removed - if I wanted them out, I'd have to have it done at the hospital.  A bit intense.. so I'll just stick to one for now! Thanks.

Wednesday (11/2) I was back in the chair, with a doughnut shaped towel draped over my face as the Dentist went to work, pulling, cutting, drilling and finally freeing my wisdom tooth.

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How much?!  I know you're curious!  18,900won.  That's less than $20!!  Insane!!

Happy as a clam I was.  Or was until the numbing agent wore off. 

Oh my god my face hurt!  Hurt so much I asked, no begged! for pain meds, and readily dropped my pants to get two shots in the butt!

This relief was only temporary though.  Soon the meds from the shots wore off and I was again in pain from the stitches holding my gum together.  Back to the doctors hoping for another shot I went! 

Sadly the second time got me pills.  Damn you Dr. Gao and your modern practice.  2 packs a day of who-knows-what and I was able to forget about the pain again.

The stitches were only in for one week.  Thank goooooddnesssss.  They were the worst part!!

Koreans might be small, delicate looking people, but they sure as hell aren't gentle!  Twice - TWICE!!!!! - I had to physical push the dental assistant's hands and tools out of my mouth due to the overwhelming pain she was causing me (11/9).  Then when it was all done, as I collected my bag, eyes glazed over with tears she asked me if I was all right.  Am I all right?!   Nooooo!!!

But now it's all good.  The hole is slowly closing and I'll think extra hard before having the other three out!

Light Up The Sky and Go Out Naked

The Busan International Firework Festival (another festival!) kicked off on Saturday (10/22) down on Gwangalli Beach

You couldn't even see the sand, the beach was so crowded.  But the locals had good reason for coming down - the opening show was fantastic!  

Different countries competed; showing off an eleborate display of lights and music synced up together to make the night dance as the sky burned bright.

Thankfully, I watched from the 18th floor of Mallory's beach-front apartment.

Friends, drinks, and fireworks - great night!

Amazing_Firework!_The_best_you'll_ever_see!_That_was_crazy_-_YouTube9.flv
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And only just one short week later it was time for the grand finale and Halloween (10/29)!

 

October had me dressing up a lot.  First I went punk for Global Gathering.

Then as a Time Warp dancer for a Rocky Horror Picture Show themed birthday party.

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So for Halloween I had to go bigger.  But what's bigger than punk and a 70's cult classic?

Pretty much nothing!

So I wore nothing!

I went out in my birthday suit!!

Waygooks Will Do Anything

What other, normal, way to spend an early Saturday afternoon (10/15) than running around the city, performing tasks and tricks in an attempt to win a scavanger hunt?!

No other way, I say.  Sure, I was a little hesitant at first - a scavanger hunt? doing who knows what? on a Saturday afternoon?... perhaps I'll pass.

But I didn't.  I joined in, sans a costume, and laid tracks with my teammates throughout the eastern corner of Busan.

Tasks ranged from easy (take a picture in the ocean - no biggies we live on the sea) to difficult (find an ajushi to give one of your teammates a piggie back ride - luckily for us, we found an older gentleman who had been on the soju all morning and gladly let our teammate hop right on!).

The biggest difficulties were actually finding or being willing to do all the tasks (have one of your teammates eat a cup of bongdaege (silkwarm larva) not happening!!).

But we weren't going to let these tasks keep us out of the race!  Instead, we capitalized on creativity and art of recreating! ^^

No card ninja in sight?  No problem!  Stand next to a scooter and have a Korean man throw random business cards (that you collected from the stores nearby) at you!

No accessorized dog in sight?  No problem!  Go to Eva's and put your teammate's scarf on her dog!

Check. Check. Check.  Knocking off tasks left and right!

We didn't manage to do all the tasks listed, there were around 40 of them, but we did manage to win 2nd place!  And a free keg of beer!!

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Vlog

Here's a look at what Global Gathering (10/8) was like.

2011_Global_Gathering_Korea_Highlights_Video_(Directors_CUT)_-_YouTube4.flv
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Did you see me in the videos?! ^^

Hide Your Face

Korea has festivals for everything!  I promise you, this is NO exaggeration.

To name a few festivals, there are the: Cherry Blossom Festival, Bull Fighting Festival, Lantern Festival, Harvest Moon Festival, National Folk Art Festival, and there are still many more festivals!!  Like I said, a festival for everything!!

So why wouldn't there be a Maskdance Festival?!

A small cultural gathering in Andong (2 hours away from Busan by bus) celebrating and showcasing the many nations that have/use (not really clear on this point) masks.

At first the festival (10/2) seemed a little like a hodge-podge event, but once we got seated and saw some of the performances it was spectacular.

Thailand performed...

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along with the Phillippines...

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Israel...

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and Taiwan...

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All exhibited beautiful, mesmerizing dances that gave an interesting insight into their cultures.

The best performance by far was from the all male dance troupe from the Phillippines.

Everyone who's traveled to Manilla says it's the slums... they say don't go there!  But I would go, instantly, if I could see these man dance again!! 

It was beautiful.  Strong.  Graceful.  Moving.  It drove every emotion through you - their movements, their power washed over the crowd.  It was a bit exotic at times, but it was amazing.  You were captivated with no hope of escape.

What wasn't amazing, was the performance from Israel.

An all female group, directed by an... I don't even know the adjective!

It was awful!  It was absurd and not even in an artsy way.  It was absolute garbage.

If I were in that ballet company and the director told me to dance around in a black one-piece, wearing 20 feet of stretch aluminum air-duct piping I'd think he'd gone mad.  But for some reason, unknown to me, these girls did it.  And it was bad!!!

Thankfully, we ended the day with a little arts and crafts.  Perfect ending to a culturally, interesting day.

Twenty-older

I turned twenty-older in Korea (9/30) and it was a great night but poo getting older.

It's not that I'm "old" or that I'm even feeling "older", it's just the number.  It had to go up.  It had to change.  

25.  Twenty-FIVE.  That sounded so great.  "How old are you"... "I'm 25!"... "Oh, you're only 25."

I'd say it with an exclamation mark!  It seemed exciting, proud, happy, fun... it seemed ok.

And now... 26.  Six?  Ugh that just seems like fffffffffffff - what are you doing.

Period. No exclamation mark. No question mark. Just a period.  

What are you doing.

26. Period.

Statement.  Remark.  Fact.

But!  No one answers that on their birthday!!  So I did what anyone mourning their youth would do.

I got wasted by midnight, blacked out by two.  

Happy Birthday to me.

Do You Speak Korean?

The answer is still 아니오 (anio).

Despite my best efforts (ok, I am using that expression very loosely) to learn the language, I'm still incapable of saying more than a few words or minor phrases.

A list of what I do know:

• How much is it?


• Left, right, straight


• I don't know.


• Are you ok? / It's ok. / I'm ok.


• Discount, please.


• Numbers (on a good day)


• some body parts / some clothes


• Have you eaten (breakfast, lunch, dinner)? / What did you eat? 


• I like it. / I don't like it.


• It's delicious. 


• Yes / No / Thank you.


• family members


• the alphabet


• how to order food (kind of, definitely Konglish)


• and a few more odds and ends

The reason that list is even half as long as it is, is because I started going to Korean language classes after Chuseok (9/15).  

I joined for two reason - mainly to learn the language (I am living here, I am planning to stay another year, and I'd sure look like a bit of a fool if I learned nothing) and to do something productive, not just be a waste outside of school.

So when I heard about lessons, and free lessons, I was all in!  

I go twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays) and meet with my tutor, Lee Hyun Jeong - or if you prefer you can call her Cherry!

Our progress is slow.  All due to me.  She's a fantastic tutor, but my ears seem to be deaf and my brain is dumb to languages, especially ones so different to English.

Even though my abilities are an obstacle, I like going to K class.  I'll keep going - hoping to improve one day - because they're good fun.  Cherry, my language partner, Adam, and I are all friends; we sit there chatting in English (more than we attempt to learn/practice any Korean... oops!).  It's a great time!  

Maybe one day I'll just magically speak Korean with the ease and skill of a native... or maybe I'll just continue to smile and nod. ^^

 

Have a try at Korean! Go to Talk To Me In Korean.

Be Warned

This is going to be my Superbowl of info-mercials - except it's my blog and not a football game, but hopefully you get the reference - million dollar, 30 second slots, to deliver all the information you missed / I was... not! lazy!

The word there is definitely not lazy!  I've been at it like mad this semester.  On overdrive with lesson planning, teaching, teaching extra classes (in and out of my own school) and keeping up with a social life that makes a sorority calendar look second rate! (I know!! I used to plan them!)

So don't blink. Don't go to the bathroom.

These next few entries are going to cover a lot of the field and bring you into the endzone and up to date.

 

Ewww I just did a football comparison... and I really dislike football.