Friday, November 28, 2008

Updating


Firstly, I would like to update you the state of my Korean language. I thought that I would quote from a book that I'm reading to help convey my current thinking. The book is titled "Shantaram", and is written by Gregory David Roberts. Gregory Roberts would suffice for me, but who am I to judge as to why he uses all three.
The quote is "We can't really know what a pleasure it is to run in our own language until we're forced to stumble in someone else's".
Stumbling is definitely the impression that a Korean would have, if I they were to see me in the street, whilst executing my latest phrase. The Korean script is written into their phonic sounds. So my name would read 'to-be', rather than Toby. When I learn new words, phrases etc, I learn by writing it over and over, mixed in with a few listening exercises and verbal practices. But the most efficient way for me to learn is repetition of writing and then reading. So I am used to most words broken down. My results consist of well pronounced but excruciatingly slow spoken words. Example; if you were to hear a foreigner asking you for help, and they had learned their language "Toby Style", it might sound like this
hel-low, ker-an, you, huh-elp me pur-lee-sur. I aa-mer, In-tur-re-sur-tae-dur in see-ing a fur-il-mer....... Translated into fluent speaking English.
Hello, can you help me please? I am interested in seeing a film.
I require a lot of patience from my close Korean friends and work colleagues.

I'm currently in a little storm of studying Korean. It's the first bout of form that I have hit since being back in the country. You might say I have wasted three months of valuable study time. To a certain degree, I agree, but I have no one to answer to but myself, therefore I think I'm doing great. It's hard to digress the state of my Korean language. I think I know more than I think, if you know what I'm thinking. What I can say is that if someone was to ask, "Do you speak any other languages?", I would say yes. I wouldn't step out of my shoe size and say I have two languages!! actually, I would, I would lie. After all, how many people in the world can test me on my level of Korean. It may be a globally useless language to learn (exception being in Korea and inside Korean restaurants across the world), but to me it's something I enjoy, and something that one day will serve me well. I hope, that one day, my stumbling can become an adolescent waddle, or better still, a steady, Sunday stroll.

It's now only three weeks till I depart for Thailand. I'm hoping, with every ounce of hope, that the political troubles will have been swept away before my flight departs Seoul, 8:05pm, 24th Dec, 2008 (Seoul Time). Admittedly, it would be quite nice for the protests to flare up again whilst I'm on the islands. Whose going to complain at a few extra days in the sunshine eh?
So Christmas, this year, will be spent in Bangkok. Last year it was Seoul. This year I will be parading around Bangkok with Chris, one of my old mucker's from Himley Road. Chris came to Seoul for Christmas last year. He loved the Asian way so much that he took himself out of the comfort zone and flew his life to Malaysia. So, with Thailand sitting comfortably within both of our grasps, what a fine excuse to spend a second, on the bounce, Christmas together.

The weekend has passed and I spent a fun fun day at the horse races. Seoul Race Course was the chosen location, midday was the chosen meeting time, and Chris's 25th Birthday was the cause for celebration. Five British, Four Americans and Two Koreans made up our party of eleven. I didn't know what to expect, apart from the obvious running horses, small bets, slightly bigger bets, some wins, some loses and most likely a chilly afternoon in the crisp winter air. Unexpected extras that unpacked themselves throughout the day were; most clientèle were middle aged heavy smoking men, there was a distinct lack of females (not a huge surprise), we had the comfort of a foreign lounge (leather seats, warmth, non-smoking, English speaking guide), a sand track rather than grass and non-alcoholic larger. The days betting couldn't have got off to a better start. I threw myself into a BIG first race bet. I put down a thumping 4,000 Korean won bet on a horse to finish in the top three. 4,000 won is about £1.80. Not much!. My horse came in third. I had put the bet down, not knowing the odds. The system was fairly complex and I didn't have time to digest all the different numbers and fractions. Anyway, my horse came in a position and I knew, I had won something. It turned out I had gathered, with a huge almighty slice of beginners luck, a whopping 48,800 won. So my cute little £1.80 had transformed into a juicy £24.00, roughly. Still small time money, but I nice way to start the day. My pot luck continued, in the 12 races that I placed money on, I won in 10 of them. So, I went home the only person with a +figure in their wallet. I was up by about £15.00 after 6 hours of hustle and bustle. Fair Play!

Here are a few things you might not of known about Korea, and Korean people.
  • People remove shoes inside ALL houses and a lot of other offices, restaurants etc.
  • Kids go to school, two Saturdays a month.
  • Most people live with their parents until they get married, regardless of age.
  • Being busy and achieving (bettering yourself) is more important than leisure time.
  • Koreans don't sell ANY kind of medicine in supermarkets or convenience stores, everything, including aspirin, is sold in pharmacies.
  • Transferring money from bank to bank, or bank to retail company, bank to anywhere in the world is instant, no 1,2,3,4,5 or 6 day interest snatching time laps.
  • Age is very significant in all walks of Korean life.
  • Baseball is, by far, the most watched, played and enjoyed sport in the country.
  • Young singers, pop stars if you like, men and women, have a lot of plastic surgery to look even younger than they already are. Most popular being, creating a small bag under the eyes, to enhance roundness, softness and all round cuteness. Apparently.
  • Koreans, in general, don't like the Chinese. In a non discriminating way they refer to them as dirty. But this is a huge stereotypical view. Apparently. Also, their relationship with the Japanese isn't too hot either. However, Japan is preferred to then that of the "dirty" Chinese.
  • The beer, larger, isn't good. At all.
  • Men take huge pride in their workmanship.
  • Dried squid is, probably, the most popular snack. I personally want to turn my stomach inside out a thousand times just looking at it. The smell?!!! I wouldn't wish it upon anyone, not even the Arsenal first team.
  • Certain people refer to each other as Brother and Sister, rather than their name. Example, Anthony Teacher is older than me, so I would have to call him Brother, not friend, not Anthony. Something like that anyway.
  • If you have a sore throat, slight ear infection, stomachache or any other small irritant sickness, the Korean doctor will supply with a ludicrous amount of pills. The pills, which come in packs of five, a range of colours and sizes, are a lethal mixture of 'I have no idea'. You must take the pack of 5, 4 times a day for a ransom number of days. Luckily enough, touching wood, I haven't had any kind of reason to visit the doctor. Hopefully, touching more wood, I won't have to.
I will post more Korean insights as they come to mind. As for the pictures below. I will let the image itself tell you.






Saturday, November 22, 2008

The Last Week..........., the next week.

The last week has been a pretty busy one. My mind has been occupied with one special event, that was completed yesterday. It was our annual Kids Herald School, winter performance. Red and Blue class have been under tight scrutiny other the past 4/5/6 weeks. They have been memorising individual speeches, song lyrics, dance movements, more song lyrics and a twenty minute musical thrown on top. The pressure that has been mounting for these 4/5/6 year olds finally came flowing down on Saturday. The event, which was MC'd by myself, again, and a co-teacher under the name of Sarah, was a raging success. There were, of course, a few hiccups along the way. Sound quality from the microphones, pressure of on-stage performing, emotional kids, slight memory loss etc, but if one was to absorb the whole situation as a whole event, then one would say it was more than satisfactory. Job done. After, we were treated to a celebratory meal with all teachers of both the schools in our building. We had a private suite at Gimpo International airport. Once we had consumed our buffet dinner and a few semi chilled beers, it was time for singing. They had hired a karaoke man. He came with PA system, computer monitors and a bass guitar. Every song that was sung was accompanied by him plucking away at his bass. It was amusing and distracting. The evening was yet another good opportunity to bond with co-teachers. Teachers come and go quickly at the school, it seems. So every meal/dinner/drinks occasion usually results in tighter, more homely, relationships with the people we spend a days with. Job done.

BREAKING NEWS..................
Utichi Steps into the Spotlight.....

My British compatriot, Giovanna Utichi, has finally come out of the woodwork. She has put her typing shoes firmly back on both of her feet. No longer does she hide in the shadows of lexical shyness. Her worldly confidence is currently being exercised, in the form of writing a blog. The last entry was the middle of August. A staggering three months has passed without any update on mood or experience, she has left hr loved ones in the dark. But the light has been turned on. Will her newly acquired motivation last? Will she embrace this new turn of a leaf with continued optimism? Or will she fade, like your new pair of jeans and freshly tanned body? Time will tell. I am, for one, screamingly excited about her blog update. Tune in very soon to http://giovannautichi.blogspot.com/ to find out WHAT has been happening....

The following week will probably contain some post-'big Kids Herald School event' depression. Going back to a normal schedule will be strange but refreshing. The weekend ahead promises to be fun. Chris Utton will be turning 25. We are going horse racing in Seoul. We aren't racing the horses ourselves, we will be merely putting money on some other people racing horses. Can't wait. First time for me.

No photos today. I will post some very soooooon.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Creamed Ice


Winter, Autumn, somewhere in between. 5pm, sun falling down, residing onto the side of the apartment block for a few seconds, slashing a glare across Han River........

Give me strength. Thriving, and living with an abundance of comfort-ness, in this country is easy. However, I have come across a new, impossibly difficult, and daily challenging, ‘decision making moment’. You may remember that my last, blogged, tough decision making dilemma was ‘what to listen to on my way to work’, well my new dilemma is, Ice-Creams! Which one shall I eat today??

The choice is extraordinary. The options that I have delved into, to date, our nothing short of delicious. So delicious, that, about 9/10 times I end up eating two.

I might research into the exact number of varieties they have here, in Korea. In England, I can remember it being a straight choice between a Cornetto, Magnum, Solero, Feast and Callipo (and mini-milk). That was hard enough. I could roll off a list of about 15 I’ve already tried and would consider as a premium taste of ice-cream. The ice cream freezer at my local convenient store is (inconveniently) large enough to house a small Asian family and their pet dog (depending on breed). I’ve stood at the summit of the menu-less freezer for about 10 minutes before, going through the motions of taste and after taste satisfaction, before finally, comfortably, relying on one of my top three choices, most of the time. The decision irritates me so much at times, that I end up purchasing 3/4 different options, taking them home, placing them in the freezer, relaxing, contemplating, deliberating, assessing and then plunging in with the instinct of my head, or heart.

To cement this, new, phenomenon in my life, the price is no more, and sometimes less, then 25p, a pop. Just today, I bought my entire class an ice cream, total price was about £1.75. That’s one Deluxe Magnum in some corner shops in London.

Something, within this state of ice cream satisfaction, does baffle me. One of my favourite choices of creamed ice is in the shape of a fish (fin, scales and pout included). I do eat some of the seas little swimmers, but in general I would declare myself as an extreme part time eater of fish. The process of fish, from the sea, to the rod, to the fish boat, to the port, sea-weed cleaning, sea-dirt removing, head chopping, eye-popping, gutting, hand slipping etc, disgusts me. Fish smell foul when fresh, fish stink when being cooked, fish, most of the time repulse me. My stomach has turned over, flipped, twisted, stretched and cleared out countless times just at the smell of most fish. (n.b. I love you Tuna)

My old house, the rather sexy offictel across the road from my, new, old school humble abode, was pivotal to a number of shops. One of the shops was a fish restaurant. Not a huge problem, but my walk, from the bus stop to the front door was a wind tunnel. At the end of the wind tunnel stood the fish restaurant. Every minute of every hour, of every day I would be walking home to the repulsive intake of smouldering fish eyes, and brains.

With all this taken into the equation, you would have thought I would pass on the fish shaped ice-cream. I tried to, but it’s far too delicious and scrumptious to ignore. The ice cream in question is a sandwich style ice cream. A sensationally soft outer curtain, that once opened exhibits a succulently mouth watering filling of vanilla ice cream and then a generous layer of sweet red bean paste. If served at the right temperature you can safely melt away from lives worries and stresses, and seduce yourself into ice cream heaven.

It was 430am, I set my alarm to watch the Carling Cup tie between Spurs vs. Liverpool (COYS). Mid way through the first half (0-0), hunger struck me hard. As it was an unsociable hour, and I was unsociably attired, I thought thrice about heading out to the store. I did, however, venture into my kitchen and started a very brief exploration of my cupboards. I stalled upon the freezer. My fishy friend was there. I’m, confidently, sure that this was the sole inspiration for Tottenham’s goal fest towards the end of the second half (half-time 3-0).

Happy Days!



Friday, November 07, 2008

Word-Search....... Taxis........Korean Study (Lack of)


My most desirable past time, at work, is giving the kids a word-search. The words I give are usually of relevance to the unit they’re studying. It has become a kind of ‘in’ joke between myself and the other foreign teachers (Anthony and Chris), we seem to teach the same level books around 3/4 times a year, and we come across the same vocabulary often. Example, Anthony and I have both taught ‘Herald Leaders, B2’, on numerous occasions. Vocab – Tall, short, fat, thin, pretty and ugly makes up unit 2 of the book. We could create a whole workbook/workpack for B2 with our eyes closed and our brains set to low.

Within the 15-20 minutes it takes the kids to find everything, as their eyes go into overdrive, and their mindsets frantically and competitively search for that elusive word, I am able to sit back and enjoy a well deserved, and more often than not, essential rest bite. ‘Everyone wins’ during word-search time. The kids enjoy the challenge of finding the words (I add an extra incentive of, “Whoever finds ‘November’ first, gets 20 stickers….. GO, GO, GO!!”), I, as I just mentioned, get a well deserved break, and finally my boss has been convinced that doing a word-search is beneficial to their vocabulary and spelling. Some days I prepare a bumper word-search (I might consist of around 15-10 words, and even some of the words might be backwards), knowing that it will take them the entire class to complete. It’s also common practice to prepare a word-search for each and every afternoon class. So, from 2:30 to 5:30, I do nothing but sit back and say the odd sentence (to reassure my boss that all is ok), and enjoy my afternoon.

You can create your own word-searches, very easily, online. The day I discovered the website was like inventing the wheel. An over zealous remark maybe!! But I’m in the teaching game, I’m not a philosopher, or a geeky scientific genius sitting in my lab mixing chemicals, components, compounds and shapes (wheels are round right???), I’m looking to enhance the education of the kids and ease my work load. So!! discovering the word-search creator, levels with the invention of the wheel, for me.

Moving away from the collation of random letters into a square shape and mysteriously hiding words within, I want to talk about Korean taxis.

‘The Korean Taxi’, is a pretty interesting subject. Like in most cities they are all the same. New York you have your infamous Yellow Cab, distinctive in colour, foremost, and then distinctive in shape. The London Taxi’s shape is worldly recognised, as is its colour. In Korea, it’s the same, kind of. They’re all grey in colour. Not as outstanding as yellow, so you would have thought they would back up the dull colour but implementing an outstanding, or unique, shape. Nope! The Korean Taxi, is the same model, and colour, as about 90% of cars on the road. The single thing, that alienates them from other road users, is that they stop to pick you up, where as Kim and Lee, don’t, they drive past (rightly so). Koreans, in general, along with most Asian cultures, seem to be ‘streets’ (nice) ahead, of the rest of the world, when it comes to inventions of gadgets, convenient lifestyle living, and more importantly, being able to have a hugely populated city ticking along nicely. They’re basically 10-20 years head of us lazy lot. But when it comes to cars, they suck!! At times, I walk down any street and I am amazed at how many cars are the same colour, shape and if they had personalities, then they would match too. If ‘Herbie goes Bananas, part 8’ is set in Korea. Don’t watch it. If Pixar, do Cars 2, Streets of Seoul’, don’t watch it. I get excited when I see a bus coming down the high street. Buses are either Green, Blue, Red, White and Turquoise or another variation of the colours mentioned. They also come in many different sizes, shapes and personalities. My boss is obsessed with me getting a car. Anthony teacher bought one and is now my bosses best friend. I won’t be buying a car just yet, but never say never.

The exterior to a taxi is, as I’ve mentioned, horrific. Once you get inside, all is well. The language barrier, is pure genius once you get in the taxi. As long as you can say where you want to go, which I can, then you can sit back and enjoy the ride, knowing that he won’t be asking you any small talk questions. I don’t miss taxis from back home. Overpriced!! and to compensate for the over pricing, they seem to want to befriend you, maybe to make them feel better about charging you obscene amounts of money for short distances. I have had a number of conversations with Koreans, but they’re short lived and very rare. One conversation, which I shared with a couple of friends in the taxi, was centred around the drivers ability to cheat on his three girlfriends and wife at the same time. We found it rather amusing, so did he. We had labelled him an ‘odd ball’ on first entering the taxi. He was wearing a Kangol cap. Do you remember Samuel L Jackson’s fashion disaster??? Same!!!!

I have sadly been sick, out of the window, in a Korean taxi, maybe 2/3 times. But, this was in my first 6 months in Korea, so I make no excuses. I just did. Oh well.

To summarise, Korean taxis are disgusting to look at, but generously cheap and all round an efficient mode of transportation.

I have been very slack with my Korean studying. Since I got back from UK, I have focused my intentions on being able to stay in the country (Visa issues). Once that was sorted, I managed to pick up some extra classes. One of my kids needed some extra help, so I obliged. This is taking up my downtime, which was usually set aside for blog writing and Korean study. With new schedules and new routines comes a period of familiarisation. I’m there now and to celebrate I bought myself a new notebook, as a motivational incentive, so hopefully my self teaching of Korean can and will continue, next week, I need to have a relaxing weekend first, then I will continue, I promise, I can feel the urge, it’s there, I think…………..


I have created a word-search for you. Please find, Tobyteacher, Koreantaxis and wordsearch. Also, the image above proves that all cars are grey. OK, ok, the image is in black and white, but you will have to just trust me.


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