Peter, baby boy


The JunMonster and Ann

It's been a while

Greetings from neonnation,
Hey, does anybody out there in America care about the World Cup? I know I never did, but I'm ready to go this year. Here, it's all anyone cares about these days. Everyone is wearing their red "Corea, Let's Do It Again" Tshits. At first, I thought Korea spelled as Corea was just another hilarious English mistake, but it's actually intentional. From what I've heard, Koreans spell it with a C so that they can be above Japan in the alphabet. I know, that's petty as hell, but I wouldn't doubt it. The last World Cup was held here and Korea did suprisingly well. Since then, they've been waiting to show off on the international stage again. I think this stuff is especially important because Korea has always felt that their not known enough around the world. Then again, they pride themselves on being a hermit nation, so it's understandable that they don't demand much attention.
These most recent pics are from our Spring picnic in the park fieldtrip. I tried to get some pictures of the babies. I still can't believe I'm teaching 3 yr olds who can't even speak their native language a 2nd one. It's insane, but that's what happens with Korea's educational competitiveness. Also, I got some good pictures of Jun, the Swaton legend. I told you before about his pooping in his pants story. He's a giant, and he's got a massive perm to match his size. We often joke that it's a 'magic perm' which protects his head from being hurt in any way. He loves that. Also, the girl sitting next to Jun in a few shots is Ann, and she became my favorite Swaton student during this field trip. On days like this, the kids aren't pressured into speaking much English and most don't say much to us the whole day. I can't blame them, like breaktime and lunchtime, it's a chance for them to be amongst their peers and go crazy. But today, Ann wanted to walk with me, hold my hand the whole day and speak nothing but English. She was really excited about not speaking Korean and she did amazing. She doesn't understand it, but 3 hours of 1 on 1 English conversation is invaluable here in Korea and she got it. I've suggested all English days to Illinois class and they're really into it. Considering the erasing of their language and culture in the past, I would never demand that they not speak any Korean in their free time, but I merely offered a reward and presented it as a challenge. No penalties though. So far they all try on No Korean Days but only 1 or 2 can pull it off all day.
The pictures don't do the trick though. I really wish you could hear the children in class. My 6 year old students can go an entire 45 minute class without saying a word of Korean, but that does not mean they are speaking intelligible English. Most everything they say is broken to the point I doubt many people would understand it. After doing this for a year plus, I think I'm an expert now in putting together wretched, broken fragments of a sentence.

Example:

"Me is a yes" = "I did it" or "I have it"
"My no" = "I didn't do it" or "I don't have it"
"My is a doctor" = "I want to be a doctor"

It may sound as if I'm making fun of my students but you must understand I hear this stuff all day and it's not even funny to me anymore. It's only at times when I think how much I'd like to show all of you the realities of my life, that I'm reminded how absurd much of it is. Hey, Spring's here and I gotta hit up the broken, uneven, 9 ft. rim basketball courts while I can. Just trying to keep my game tight for the return. Stay up ya'all.

ps. Did you hear that new Chilli Peppers yet?

The Scent of a Westerner

This past week was both my birthday and teacher's day. That means presents, presents and more presents than I can carry home at times. Of course, and I'm not lying here, the best were the drawings and little cards that the children actually did by themselves. But, one mother bought me a $100+ bottle of Don Perignon, something I could never afford before. I don't even know when to drink such a bottle. Mainly though, I was given all kinds of bathroom products. Just like last year, I'm stocked with face wash, after-shave, shampoo, body wash, and every kind of scented spray you could think of. They look flashy, and expensive, but I don't usually use this new scentology. (haha, new word) I'm in a rush in the morning so a dabble of shampoo and some soap gets the job done. I even have some foot spray that, supposedly will prevent me from becoming tired on my monster 14 hr teaching days. All these products got me thinking about my childhood, growing up on Parkwood I noticed that all my Asian friend's houses had a similar, specific smell. It wasn't bad, but it was just some combination of the spices they use in their meals. I wonder..........do Koreans believe we smell? The BNRTDG (Big Nose Round Table Discussion Group) has got together to discuss whether we have a smell and what exactly it could be. The Koreans deny it, but they're much too polite to admit it. When we get on a crowded elevator, you can definitely notice people smushing themselves against the wall just so they don't have to be close to you. But I'm an alien here, a photo-opt, a dinner conversation, so I can't be sure if it's my smell that unnerves them. Whatever it is, I have a bathroom cabinet full of toiletries I don't understand and probably will never use. Still, it's the thought that counts, I'm just curious what that thought is.

Birthday Show

hangook noray

So I've got music in my life once again. Strong. Myself and another foreigner have formed a rock band with a couple Koreans. We're only able to practice at a bar called COOL and there's always an audience. We've practiced twice, and I feel like we've also had two concerts, it's strange. I'm into this, it takes what little free time I have but it's good for me. I know when I come back in June, H20 is going to have gigs lined up so I have to be sharp and ready to perform. What I'm really excited about is my Korean songs. Many times Bart and I have sat outside a Supa (little family owned supermarket) and belted out Korean songs to the family's delight. We don't really know songs, we just improvise. Korean songs are simple because all the verbs end in a 'yo' so everything rhymes. My new creation is called "napoon namja" (bad man) and it's going to be a hit. It's more poppy than anything I've written. Almost disgustingly poppy, I can't get it out of my head! I premiered it last night to a hostile crowd. I set up, with Bart and Chris as my protection, in the middle of the underground mall. This place is always packed and it's full of young ladies. Everyone's always looking, so I'm used to that, but now they're listening. I didn't even get to the chorus before the police/securityguard/cute old man came and shut the concert down. It's alright though, we got it all on tape. I'll try to get the video up on the internet somewhere. I prefaced the performance by explaining that it's a joke song, and I think they understood that soon into it. I'm trying to make these songs a good representation of foreigner's Korean. I'm basing all the songs around the 20 phrases all of us know. This way, it will be funny for foreigners and Koreans alike. The translation goes something like this:

I'm a bad man, I'm a bad man, I eat dog.
I'm a bad man, I'm a bad man, I smoke cigarettes,
You're a bad girl, you're a bad girl, you smoke cigarettes (shhhhhh)
You're a bad girl, you're a bad girl, you want a kiss.

Chorus:
It's OK, we're bad together.
It's OK, I love you

Sea of Black

One image that still strikes me is the endless expansion of black heads on a crowded street in Korea. It's funny too because often in class we will do an exercise with, "He has brown hair and yellow eyes." But, when we look around the classroom, it's always the same; "she has black hair, black eyes, black hair, black eyes, black hair, and black eyes." I found a good opportunity to capture this uniquely Asian scene this weekend. I challenge you, try and spot a foreigner.