Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Looking forward to 추석 (Chuseok)
Gave a bunch of midterm-type tests today. Pretty boring. Now I have to grade them. I ran terribly this morning. There's definitely a little cold in the back of my throat, and I didn't get enough recovery rest anyway. I'm going to go home and try to convince myself to fall asleep, but I'm in a mood where I don't know if I'll be able to. Anyway, I can't even think of a funny story comment for today. Oh well, vacation next week. Yay!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
SleepyTown
Super-tired again today. Yesterday, I went out to Troy's dong to nab my winter stuff instead of getting to sleep early. His area is pretty cool. It's kind of like a suburbs, although the buildings, and establishments are all the same as ours. His dong just has more space, and more kids wandering around at night.
Ran again today, and continue to see improvement. Feeling a little sick tonight, but I may be able to just sleep it off. Classes went reasonably well today. My funny story...what is my funny story? I don't know. My 3A(M) kids did presentations today, and they were pretty creative. One girl had something about her father's pet worm, and then an uncle's pet turtle eating the worm, or something. I'm fading here. Well, hopefully, I'll be more awake tomorrow. All in all, I had energy through the day, but I just need some rest...
Ran again today, and continue to see improvement. Feeling a little sick tonight, but I may be able to just sleep it off. Classes went reasonably well today. My funny story...what is my funny story? I don't know. My 3A(M) kids did presentations today, and they were pretty creative. One girl had something about her father's pet worm, and then an uncle's pet turtle eating the worm, or something. I'm fading here. Well, hopefully, I'll be more awake tomorrow. All in all, I had energy through the day, but I just need some rest...
Monday, September 25, 2006
Tired
Today was a long day. Didn't feel like getting up this morning, but I did and I ran anyway. It sucked, but I ran further and faster than Friday. Need to figure out just how long 5K/3.3 miles is.
Like I say, it was a long day. Kind of normal, but I was tired. I can't think of much funny, but a couple of my students from earlier today just found me, and asked me to cheer up when they found out I was tired, so that was nice. I think that's about it for today.
Like I say, it was a long day. Kind of normal, but I was tired. I can't think of much funny, but a couple of my students from earlier today just found me, and asked me to cheer up when they found out I was tired, so that was nice. I think that's about it for today.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Sutonggol (수통골)
Today, Jeff, Tracy (our new foreign teacher), and I went hiking around Sutonggol (valley) and Dodeokbong (Mt.) (도덕봉, 440m), another facet of Gyeryongsan National Park. I didn't run yesterday or today, but I think the two hours of scrambling up and down the rocks today made up for it. Will run again tomorrow. I'm registered for a 5K in three weeks. Tracy's going to run the half marathon. I don't think I'll end up anywhere near the front of my race, but I should be able to finish.
My beetle did die. I think maybe a lack of humity did it. On the other hand, a large ant moved into the terrarium. A sadder possibility is depression brought on by captivity, and lack of social interaction with other beetles (if they are even social). It might've just reached the end of its natural life-cycle too.
No funny stories today. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
My beetle did die. I think maybe a lack of humity did it. On the other hand, a large ant moved into the terrarium. A sadder possibility is depression brought on by captivity, and lack of social interaction with other beetles (if they are even social). It might've just reached the end of its natural life-cycle too.
No funny stories today. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
ROCKY
C'mon, it's true -- But that don't bother me -- I just wanna prove somethin' -- I ain't no bum... It don't matter if I lose... Don't matter if he opens my head... The only thing I wanna do is go the distance -- That's all. Nobody's ever gone fifteen rounds with Creed. If I go them fifteen rounds, an' that bell rings an' I'm still standin', I'm gonna know then I weren't just another bum from the neighborhood...Friday, September 22, 2006
Running and yesterday's funny story
Ahh, a little slow this morning. Fourth run. Hurt worse than the second day, but ran farther than the previous days. I take a Tylenol, and don't hurt too bad during the day, so that's a good sign - don't seem to have injured myself yet, so my pace must be okay.
Funny story for yesterday wasn't all that funny for non-Korean speakers, but it was hilarious to my 3B(M) class. Apparently, the way I pronounce dokboki sounds like chicken. As one student put it, "Teacher you can't even think of this!" Apparently, the word I create is somewhere between chicken string cheese, and rubber. Like chewy chicken. Anyway, it was a topic of high-interest for about five minutes.
I think my beetle might have croaked. I'll have to check it again later.
Funny story for yesterday wasn't all that funny for non-Korean speakers, but it was hilarious to my 3B(M) class. Apparently, the way I pronounce dokboki sounds like chicken. As one student put it, "Teacher you can't even think of this!" Apparently, the word I create is somewhere between chicken string cheese, and rubber. Like chewy chicken. Anyway, it was a topic of high-interest for about five minutes.
I think my beetle might have croaked. I'll have to check it again later.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Choon-ah (전어) Festival
Last night we wandered down to this tent festival we noticed on the Yudeungcheon. The reason for the festival was a certain fish that tastes very good this time of year. The fish is small, and they don't bother to clean it. They just cook it whole, and that's how you eat it too. Overall, I thought it was pretty good.
Speaking Classes and Troy
Alright, this morning I'm writing after two days of morning jogs. Yesterday was brutal, but today was twice as good.
I didn't get a chance to blog last night. The day went well. Classes were pretty good. I had to get a little strict on some students, but they actually often like that. Crazy nuts.
After work, Keith and I hung out at a local pub, and Troy caught up with us again. We visited a few more local establishments we hadn't seen before. Our dong is great because there is so much in such a small area, and it's very local. It's kind of fun to go into a bar, and try to talk with these folks who can hardly speak a lick of English. Helps improve my Korean as well, and everyone is very nice, and thoughtful.
Troy seems to be adjusting extremely well. He seems pretty non-plussed by the travel, and his classes. Also, the lucky bastard gets to teach classes of like eight kids max, junior high and high school level. Nicely, his hours coincide with ours. But, he got here alright, he looks good, and he already reads and speaks better Korean than Tremendous...not that that's saying much, but... ;-)
As far as my funny story of the day for yesterday, I have these speaking classes. Our school doesn't really specialize in conversation, so it's a bit of a creative struggle to figure out how to conduct these classes. Also, they're supposed to be fun (no homework), but too little structure drives these kids wild. Anyway, it's always a bit of a stressor to figure out how I'm going to edutain this kids, and one class in particular seems to always get out of hand. Anyway, my first speaking class comes in, one that's not generally too bad, and it's just like four or six kids (two show up late), and for whatever reason they spontaneoulsy get on this magic kick. They're showing me silly little tricks, and just being pleasant and jovial. I just thought, why mess with this, let it go. I don't know if it's exactly what the school and parents would have wanted, but I think the kids had more real enjoyment, and better communication during that session than I ever could have engineered at my curent skill level. Anyway, I had fun, and thought it was a good thing.
Then, of course, my next class came in like a pack of wild animals, and they're the ones I had to get punitive on.
I didn't get a chance to blog last night. The day went well. Classes were pretty good. I had to get a little strict on some students, but they actually often like that. Crazy nuts.
After work, Keith and I hung out at a local pub, and Troy caught up with us again. We visited a few more local establishments we hadn't seen before. Our dong is great because there is so much in such a small area, and it's very local. It's kind of fun to go into a bar, and try to talk with these folks who can hardly speak a lick of English. Helps improve my Korean as well, and everyone is very nice, and thoughtful.
Troy seems to be adjusting extremely well. He seems pretty non-plussed by the travel, and his classes. Also, the lucky bastard gets to teach classes of like eight kids max, junior high and high school level. Nicely, his hours coincide with ours. But, he got here alright, he looks good, and he already reads and speaks better Korean than Tremendous...not that that's saying much, but... ;-)
As far as my funny story of the day for yesterday, I have these speaking classes. Our school doesn't really specialize in conversation, so it's a bit of a creative struggle to figure out how to conduct these classes. Also, they're supposed to be fun (no homework), but too little structure drives these kids wild. Anyway, it's always a bit of a stressor to figure out how I'm going to edutain this kids, and one class in particular seems to always get out of hand. Anyway, my first speaking class comes in, one that's not generally too bad, and it's just like four or six kids (two show up late), and for whatever reason they spontaneoulsy get on this magic kick. They're showing me silly little tricks, and just being pleasant and jovial. I just thought, why mess with this, let it go. I don't know if it's exactly what the school and parents would have wanted, but I think the kids had more real enjoyment, and better communication during that session than I ever could have engineered at my curent skill level. Anyway, I had fun, and thought it was a good thing.
Then, of course, my next class came in like a pack of wild animals, and they're the ones I had to get punitive on.
Monday, September 18, 2006
The eye of the tiger
So, today, I am just waiting for Troy to arrive. He called me yesterday, and surprised me by saying he would be in Korea today around 4:00PM. This morning, Dingo told me he would be in Daejeon around 9:30PM, and she would bring him to our dong/neighborhood this evening. Unfortunately, I think the dong he will be in is a little far away. Maybe 15-20 minutes. That's alright, but the group of us often like to eat, or go to the pub after work. So, it'll be a little more expensive and wearying for Troy to join us. We will just have to be sure to visit his area as well, and we should see more of Jenny's area too. Jenny's area is nice, but there aren't as many establishments nearby her apartment as there are nearby to ours'.
As far as my funny story for the day, nothing really sticks out except that there's a push right now to make ReadingTown fun because the kids are overworked at the moment between their elementary school's and ReadingTown and whatever other activities they are involved in, AND two of the Korean teachers said the students enjoy my classes. This is great because I'm not sure how good a job I'm doing, and also if my kids are happy I'm happy from both a teacher and employee standpoint.
Oh, we've finally seen all the Rocky movies, and we're more inspired than ever. The new foreign teacher is an avid runner, and I think I'll start joining her running in the morning. Tremendous also wants to do yoga, and some of us will probably do that too. Also, one of our Korean friends is apparently a pretty good Tae Kwon Do-er. But, besides that, all five feet of him is pretty damn fit - like a little Bruce Lee. So, hopefully, we'll get into some good routines here pretty soon.
"The eye of the tiger!"
As far as my funny story for the day, nothing really sticks out except that there's a push right now to make ReadingTown fun because the kids are overworked at the moment between their elementary school's and ReadingTown and whatever other activities they are involved in, AND two of the Korean teachers said the students enjoy my classes. This is great because I'm not sure how good a job I'm doing, and also if my kids are happy I'm happy from both a teacher and employee standpoint.
Oh, we've finally seen all the Rocky movies, and we're more inspired than ever. The new foreign teacher is an avid runner, and I think I'll start joining her running in the morning. Tremendous also wants to do yoga, and some of us will probably do that too. Also, one of our Korean friends is apparently a pretty good Tae Kwon Do-er. But, besides that, all five feet of him is pretty damn fit - like a little Bruce Lee. So, hopefully, we'll get into some good routines here pretty soon.
"The eye of the tiger!"
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Weather changes and new semester
Okay, I'm going to try to do just a little post everyday. I still have a backlog of photos to post, but that'll just have to wait. So, as of today, we are a few weeks into a full semester of four months. Things are going well. The weather is changing, and the coolness is delightful. Some of us went hiking on Daedunsan last weekend, and it was really nice. As I meet more Koreans, I'm slowly learning more Korean words. If you're not talking to Koreans regularly, you really only need to know a few foods you like, and how to get around. JJ and I are scheduled to go to Hong Kong over Chuseok, so that should be cool. Also, I've gotten a few odds and ends, wall hangings and baskets, for my apartment so it looks a little less cold. I also bought a Korean beetle a few weeks ago, and a couple plants.
Our friend, Dingo, always asks us for our funny story of the day, so I think I'll start posting them here too. They're not always super funny, but usually they are at least interesting. Today, the one that sticks out in my head was an essay about dogs that one of my students wrote:
All the dog has the job. It is all different. Many dog is for fondle. But some of the dogs are work for police, finding dead person, or finding the way for not-see person.
I had the fondle dog. But my mother had allergy so I can't raised my fondle dog. So I want to get the dog.
Our friend, Dingo, always asks us for our funny story of the day, so I think I'll start posting them here too. They're not always super funny, but usually they are at least interesting. Today, the one that sticks out in my head was an essay about dogs that one of my students wrote:
The Dog's Job
All the dog has the job. It is all different. Many dog is for fondle. But some of the dogs are work for police, finding dead person, or finding the way for not-see person.
I had the fondle dog. But my mother had allergy so I can't raised my fondle dog. So I want to get the dog.
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