Man in the Mirror

Man that was crazy about Michael Jackson dying.... was a loyal fan in the 90's! Still think he was awesome!

So a couple weeks ago we had our OPEN HOUSE at my school. We've been preparing for this for about a month now. Open House in Korea is nothing like OH back in the States.
Back there, it's at the beginning of the year and the parents and students meet their prospective teachers and see the classroom and perhaps a brochure is provided concerning the class.. idk. At my school... it's a show, filled with songs, dances, interactive learning, skits, costumes, and whatever else you can think of. I was a little nervous. The kids worked really hard; however, I knew their excitement would throw off their game... it did for a select few. But anyway -- it was a pretty good experience-- now that's it's over of course.

The other day, a parent had a concern that was brought to my supervisor's attention and then forwarded to me. The concern was my English skills basically (This coming from a mommy who is in the beginning stages of the English language). The concern popped up from something she heard during Open House. Okay, back to the story... my supervisor said that a mommy told her I was using "slang" words such as: "worsmithum." Yes, hahaha that made me laugh, too. I told her that was not a word and some of my fellow proficient English teachers backed me up and laughed. My supervisor then relayed the message from the mommy that I used particular words that “only a lower-class white person from the west” would use. HA… Yes, believe it. I got a wee-bit on the defensive side and communicated my stance of such an outlandish statement. Unfortunately, the majority of Koreans don’t know the concept of sarcasm or the meaning of tact. I was pretty upset that a mommy who spoke very little English was questioning the authority of a native English speaker. The statement that the mommy finally remembered the kids saying was “just a smidge.” The mommy said her husband ‘went to a very good school in America and… blah, blah, blah… that is slang…’ I told the supervisor that this was indeed not slang and that the word “smidge” is used in telling someone ‘how much’ – like a tiny amount of something, etc… It’s a freaking synonym. I went on about teaching synonyms, and frankly in retrospect, I shouldn’t have had to explain myself. I finally informed my supervisor that she “hired me because I have a degree in Early Childhood Education and am a native English speaker. That mom questioning me is like me saying, ‘Oh Ms. ____ your Korean is getting a little sloppy, you could work on that pronunciation…’ …This is nonsense and is a waste of my time. This incident should have never come to my attention. It would be nice if you supported me and had given me, THE NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKER & teacher, the benefit of the doubt and informed the mommy that you’re sure the teacher knows what he’s doing and will monitor the situation.” --- I went on for a little bit longer… I left some stuff out about how the supervisor was telling me how much money this family had and they expect high-quality, 1^st class English, and I was teaching my supervisor/mommy about formal written English and conversation English… and some other ridiculous things the mommy had to say. Oh, another crazy day at GATE school. It’s run like a business… the mommies get what they want; unfortunately, Mr. Brandon stands up to mommies with money… Homey don’t play dat.

Haha on to new business. This 4^th of July weekend, we celebrated Independence Day… well first with my Korean lesson… and then Jo’m, Kristie, Foster and I went to Everland, a good-sized theme park. The big rollercoaster was the best! We ate way too much food and then watched the fireworks; many of which were red, white and blue!

Welp, I'm actually off to my Capoeira class and then perhaps a Norebang (Korean Karaoke) or seeing Transformers!

Sweet & Sweaty

So 2 weekends ago, Jo'm, Kristie & I went to a prison that Japan used to hold and torture Korean patriots back when Japan took control of Korea (1920ish-1960ish?). It was pretty graphic, but interesting.

This weekend we did a grip of stuff. Hmm can't remember what I did Friday... oh yeah, Jonathan and I went to Costco & E-mart and I bought a jump rope and matt (I gotta get in shape), another dresser, a fan (cuz it's super humid), and a cooler pad for my laptop. Saturdays I usually have my Korean lessons - they are really fun and I'm learning a lot I believe. Sunday after church, Jonathan, Kristie and I were going to go to a Tomato Festival, but instead we toured a sweet palace and saw a girl with hairy legs - she was American. We then went to a few other places to shop around and walk. Somewhere in there we visited a museum, ate too much food, walked too much, sat down for a concert on the street, and hit some balls in a batting cage.

Today after school, I went with a co-worker to a martial arts class called, capoeira. It combines music, martial arts, and music into a "staged fight" type of thing. Monday is the only time I can go... Monday is conditioning day... I'm going to be so sore in the morning. It was so intense. But this "intense" day is still dwarfed by my INTENSE 1st day of work - HA.

Anerway... Happy Father's Day to all and I hope y'all are doing swell!!!

PS - I think we're going to China for our summer VACA!

B-MO's Back!

Alright... back for round 2. Another month has swiftly flown by and much has happened.

For starters... I got an A/C! It's used but it totally works! I also ordered 5 tshirts from bustedtees.com! Since it's pretty hot during the summer, and I hate dressing up... I'm going to wear tshirts every DAY! Eventually, I plan to try to slip in an extra jeans day in a couple of months. Sly.

So you all remember the time when my silly sisters waxed my neck bc I hate shaving, right?? Well, I had another opportunity to rid myself of that crazy hair. Maybe it's called electrolysis, but one of my student's moms is a physician and I went to see her. Initially I went to get a mole checked out... the one on my left arm. The doc said he didn't think it was cancerous - so I got it removed.
So, they wrapped my face in this jelly stuff for 45 minutes last Friday. Then, I was ready. I went into the lab or whatnot and the guy said "just a little bit of pain... bearable pain." HA! It hurt!! He was burning it off with this bright, hot light! Then they wrapped my face in this blue mold... and "la la lalalala..." I was a smurf. OH yeah... I broke out, again. It was gross. The procedure was like $250 PLUS the mom (who is really good looking btw) gave me 2 ointments that were $60 each..... I didn't have to pay for ANYTHING. That's the cool thing about being a teacher here... so many perks... the parents give you so many gifts.

Last week, I also had dinner with a celebrity. The girl's name is Yoona and she is a band member from the group Girl's Generation. She is Jonathan's girlfriend's cousin. We all went to dinner on her birthday. It was cool to say I had dinner with her...(b/c the Korean girls at school were really jealous)... but it was weird and awkward b/c I was the only one who couldn't speak the language and I couldn't really laugh or comment on anything they were saying, so I just sat there, thinking about my lack of water.

So at school there is this special class called, Theme. The theme for Theme for May-June is Ecology. It's way better than the last one... "Myself and MY Family"... haha so egocentric dont ya think? Anyway, I've been watching many episodes of Captain Planet. MAN, what a good cartoon! I get chills every time the theme song comes on. Lastnight I stayed up an extra 2 hours looking for a really good tree to plant whenever I settle down whereever that may be. Finally, I think I want to plant a sycamore. And not just b/c I like saying the word sycamore, well, maybe that's a good half of the reason. But man trees are so important! I've decided I want to see a Redwood someday. It ranks right up there with seeing a blue whale. Two of the largest living things on Earth.
Alright, so if any of you see a house for sale that has a sycamore tree, redwood, oak, weeping willow, & a white/pink/purple crape myrtle, lemme know.

So yeah... N Korea... I don't knowww... I have no plans to come home.. I don't feel in any danger right now (although the potential is there). Plus... vaca is coming up in July and I want to go to Russia!
I'm still taking Korean from my teacher, and I think I might buy a jump-rope... for aerobic reasons... maybe a bike, but let's not get too crazy! :)

PS - I live in Asia dude.

сумасшедший! Craziness

Alrighty, back again...

So, what happened this weekend? ...Went to a museum. There was a special exhibit featuring Ancient Egyptians and their gloriousness, it was actually pretty cool. After that, we went and ate some sweet food at an American restaurant. Best burger in Seoul! Big and juicy. This is where the story gets interesting... I know you were waiting for it... I saw you creeping to the edge of your seat... anticipating, no... yearning for some action/drama/suspense/thriller... horror? Anyway, Jomapin's girlfriend, Kristie, accidentally left her cell phone in the back seat of the taxi. We called it, several times it rang... no answer. After 4 minutes -max (seemed much longer), the cab driver answered it and the conversation started. He SAID he had just picked a customer up and was going (basically) to the farthest place from where we were in Seoul... like 45 minutes. Well, Kristie said that he could drop off his customer at his destination and come back this way when he was done - she'd wait. He said to call back in 5 minutes. She called back and he said he dropped him off in some werid location (not to his destination) and was coming to bring the phone. He wanted $50 now because he lost his customer... BS! That 5 minutes was to think of a lame story. He was like 2-3 miles away max when he answered the phone the first time. Anyway, Joshin and I were like... "don't give him $50, give him like $10 or $20... I'll (Brandon) stand in front of the car in case he tries to drive away, Jonathan will get inside the car and shake him down for being such a jerk... oh and make sure you get the phone first before giving him the money... " We had this whole scenario planned out determining if he wanted the money first before giving up the phone and vice versa. Well, the guy arrives and I stand in front of the car and the driver actually gets out of his cab... ha, back mistake my friend. He gives the phone back and wants $50... Jonathan hands out a $10. The guy is pissed and starts yelling at Kristie. Jonathan communicates that it's his money and she doesn't have any. I stand right next to the driver with my hoodie pulled over, trying to intimidate him. After much yelling from both parties, we give him $30 and he walks away. Joshin and Kristie said that if we weren't foreigners then this guy might have hit or pushed Kristie because of the whole "I'm older than you-- I demand respect and a bow" thing... most likely that didn't happen because maybe he knew foreigners don't swing that way and would have hit him back.... a Korean guy might have just stood there because the cab driver is older; therefore, correct in all his ways. Homie don't play like that. Anyway, that was a night.

Oh, so there's this Korean teacher at my school who asked me if I wanted to learn Korean, right? Anyway, she's totally sweet and cute.... (I mentioned this in a previous blog.) Anyway, the last couple weeks she has been buying me candy with little hand-written letters attached, and I've returned the favor a few times. She has also been texting me pretty regularly with things such as, "Have a nice day, NICE guy :)" & "I'm shy to talk to you.... let's talk later..." & "I'm shy of your blue eyes" lol - all these messages include like hearts and winks, etc... Another time, she texted me about forgetting her umbrella on a rainy day and said "we should talk sometime..." Well, I give her a call and bring her an umbrella... So, I walked with her to her bus stop and that was that. Then a couple days ago, she asked me if I wanted to go to an art exhibit this coming Saturday and I'm like yeaaah, for sure. Later that night she texted "SWEET DREAMS" with all these stars. lol --- SO, I'm thinking she likes me, right? Surely I'm not "reading into" anything... seems legit. WELL, today while I was scrounging for some books in the library, she brings me another bag full of goodies, and I'm thinking 'wow, she's really sweet.' --- She hands me the neatly wrapped candy and says, "My boyfriend made this for you." (((WHAT))) lol "Your boyfriend, huh (?) that's - so - niiiiice," I say with a freaked out smile. I'm thinking - what - the - heck - just - happened. I'm completely bamboozled. I sit there in the library, puzzled. I walk back to my room and offer my Korean teacher some of my awesome candy. She replied, "oh I have the same one, too!" I then ask what the note attached says. She said it said something like "Happy anniversary ___ and ___... blah, blah, blah.." I lost interest in the rest. Seems like the boyfriend sent them to all the teachers at my school and probably to all of Korea, who knows? Seems like a nice guy. Wow, what a shocker, huh? lol I sat there laughing for like 20 minutes about the entire situation and how it led up to THIS.

Yeah... what a crazy world. School here sucks - the workload and the given time is unrealistic. Sometimes I think of quitting, but other times I think I'm here for a reason and need to tough it out and figure what I'm doing wrong. Love the kids. Supervisors... not so much. Anyway...hope you all enjoy that one! Tomorrow is a holiday!

Schlakum

First off, I wanted to start out by figuring out how much I spend on food - right now, as we speak.

This next part might be kind of boring to you, but not for me!
So, I eat cereal for breakfast everyday, so each bowl (including milk) is probably around $0.75. I eat lunch everyday for free provided by the school, so M-F lunch money is n/a. During the week for dinner, I usually have cereal or a PB&J... mmm. Each of those sandwiches are around $1.50.
SO - from Monday's breakfast until Friday's lunch, I am spending about ~ $10-13 max. Purty good I would say.
Now the weekend is where this changes dramatically. Friday night's meals out with "Big Spender Jothin" are like $15 on average. Saturday morning is cereal and lunch might be around $10. Saturday night's meal might average $15 again. Sunday morning is cereal and lunch could be $10. Sunday night could be $10 or cereal or PB&J, so we'll just say $5 dinner.
So, I guess I'm averaging $75 on food a week. That sounds kind of high. I think this week might have been more about $100... I'll try to cut down on those expensive meals.

So, I got my first bill this week. It was for electricity, gas, and water. Since I only turn on the heat to use the shower, and rarely use the lights, my first monthly bill was $18! haha I've been checking my meter box against my next-door neighbors, and theirs outputs 3X's the amount of kilowatts than mine.... girls.

This Friday, Jopim, Kristie, and I went to this performance called, "Nanta" which was extremely humorous and entertaining. They actually pulled me on stage to help them. It was pretty sweet. Check out their website. We then went to eat at this place called, Butterfinger Pancakes, and their pancakes rival my favorite, Cracker Barrel.

One of Jo'm's friends are leaving Korea to voyage back home for a while, so we had dinner at this place called, Tutti Matti. I don't know if I mentioned this place in a previous blog, but an Australian owns it, and J and I were given a tour of the place by the owner, Locklin several weeks ago. Well, we finally go and check out his place and bring in some customers. Now, you've got to realize I live in Apgujeong... the richest part of Seoul (that does not mean I make huge wads of money, I just teach their children)... thus, the shops are expensive. I forgot the meal's name, but it was amazing Australian steak meat with noodles that was $27 + a $10 glass of house wine. So that was my most expensive meal so far in Seoul.
Later that night, we all went to a Jimjilbong. Jimjilbongs are known for saunas, massages, and overnight sleeping. The co-ed part (saunas) are clothed, but the separate facilities are bare booty.... anyway, it was sweet. I would tell you all about it, but I'm tired.

On Sunday, we went to this market, and I got a backpack... haha... wow this sounds totally boring. We did much more than this, but I don't feel like writing about it, sad day.

Korea is pretty sweet. The exchange rate kina stinks because when I do send money back, I'll lose about $300 to ever $1,000 I send.

Alright, someone leave a comment already.. .just so I know I'm not just writing this for fun, because fun is not allowed. Hope whoever (or whomever?) reads this is doing well!!

Slokes 'n bomes

Well, I guess I'm a little behind on the updates.
Last weekend, Jonathan, Kristie, another couple, and I went to the cherry blossom festival in Yoidi (a small island) in Seoul. On the way, we saw some police decked out in their full-riot gear regalia because of a transportation protest nearby. On this warm day, I decided to bust out my red bandanna for such an occasion. Anyway, as we walked by the riot police, I noticed many of them staring at me - I presumed my foreign fashion looked silly to them... so I stared back, unbeknownst to the reason for their watchful eyes! As we got closer to the protest, I noticed that all the protesters were wearing a little special something on their heads.... YES, a red bandanna! lol I have this entire thing on video, too - the stares, the realization, the laughter.
On Easter Sunday, we went to the Yoido Full Gospel Church, the largest Christian church in the Milk Way, what-what. Jonathan, Foster (a Canadian), and I, aboot, did the cherry blossom walk again and threw the ole foosball around.

This weekend, I went to Costco and E-Mart and bought some stuff, including my first frying pan! I can now almost make spaghetti (I just need a pot to boil the noodles). I am planning on buying a convection oven soon so I will be able to bake cookies and lasagna. I also bought a dresser and other knick-knacks paddy whack give a dog a bone.
Yesterday, I also bought some draino stuff at E-Mart because the drain in my bathroom sink was slowly draining. I let it work its magic, and then when I pushed down on the "drainer-majig," the entire pipe under the sink collapse and the best smelling stuff made its debut. It was splendid. I relieved the pipes of its clog - hair and gunk basically. My next-door neighbor, who works with me, had the same problem, and she said the landlord replaced all the pipes in her bathroom, so... here's to hoping.

Oh, a Korean teacher at my school will soon be teaching me 'the language' starting in May. As of right now, I can read it, but usually have no idea what it says.

I'll post pics and videos when I have time. Such a busy bee in KO-rea. Oh, here's my cell phone number: (806) 589-0127. Since it is a Lubbock area code, it won't cost any of you Me-gooks (Americans) a thing, only me... remember I'm 14 hours ahead.

List

So here's what I did this week:

-Went to a Korean Folk Village (Korean life 150 odd years ago). It was pretty interesting.
-Walked around the "Great Wall of Korea", ha not really known by that name, but it was a massive, long fortified wall
-Had a sweet meal on the floor
-Visited the biggest (member) church in the world: 650,000 members? They had special headsets that were translated into English, Russian, Japanese, French, Spanish, and perhaps Vietnamese... no love for my Germans
-Went to this sweet aquarium where I saw Nemo, Dora, and that totally rad Turtle
-Damaged North Korea's missile with my slingshot

I'll post pics lata... peace