is the grass always greener?...or does it not reek of kimchi as much as your side?

15 months down...9 more to go? is this how i will be spending my days in korea? i don't know if it's a bad combination of gastrointestinal problems finally catching up to me, unpleasant week of bronchitis, and a lingering unbalance of classroom "power", but i'm THISCLOSE to buying my return ticket home and calling it quits here. i have become this absolutely caustic individual who's constantly snapping at people and her students. i've reached a new level of bitterness in korea that i've never felt before, and it's quite scary.

i no longer find humor in the most awkward situations (which there are many when you live in this socially inept country), and i'm finding myself constantly criticizing this kind society for their social short-comings.

but when i think of going back home, what do i have there that will fully satisfy me? family? good (real) food? better climbing? better attitudes?

or maybe this is all a really, really bad case of "grass is greener on the other side" and i need a break from the korean peninsula? oh yeah, that's right. i'm not allowed out of the country until the end of my contract...in august.

chair patrol

I wish I could say that "chair patrol" or "desk warmer" is a cool new name for a band, but alas, it's the description of what I'm doing this week in school. As a means to slow down the transmission of the "cheeson plu", i.e. "the swine flu", the Korean gov't has decided to shut down the majority of schools this week. Whether or not it's effective has yet to be seen, but as a result of this, I am required to sit at my desk for 8 hours. Granted, I get paid to do this, but I'd rather be home relaxing and reading than sitting at my desk and stewing in my unproductivity. Ahhh, Korea...

sea of japan vs. the east sea...are you kidding me?

It's been a while since I last posted. I've had quite a ride in the past seven months. A condensed version of the events would be as follows: crazzzzzzzzzy co-teacher with control issues; inundated with work; falling in love; going to southeast asia and getting robbed there; going home and visiting with family before embarking on another year in korea...Are you caught up yet?

My second year started rather strangely with a quarantine for the swine flu (I luckily didn't have it) and working full-time at one school. It's rather curious how the Koreans have been taking all of this H1N1 fever...no pun intended. At first they blamed "foreigners" for carrying the flu to Korea. The irony was that it wasn't our fault. It was a Korean nun who had traveled to Mexico that introduced this rather "sterile" country to the "cheeson plu". And the subsequent infections can be directly attributed to the lack of hygiene of Korean people; spitting all over the place (even inside nice buildings); coughing and sneezing without covering their mouths; and the best offense of all, eating too much kimchi as a means to ward themselves from the flu. We can only hope for some sensible reasoning to be graced upon these people.

I've grown more annoyed with time at the "Korean" way of life. I understand that I came here on my own volition, but I'm still constantly befudled by their odd way of thinking and their constant reluctance to accept anything other than their perspective. The distended, Korean ego has even affected their way of looking at a globe. Today in the office while I was taking inventory of the books that I donated, I came across this Time magazine world atlas. Inside the atlas, the map of East Asia included the Korean peninsula and of course their archnemesis, Japan. Much to the dismay of my fervently proud principal, the sea east of the Korean peninsula was recognized as "The Sea of Japan" in the book. He chided me for purchasing a book that didn't name the sea "The East Sea". According to many Koreans, the "East Sea" is THEIR property...so don't forget that you fool!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_of_Japan_naming_dispute

So what is the lesson learned? Never buy and donate atlases to a Korean school for you will come off as an impertinent, insensitive reprobate that has no clue that Korea is the CENTER of the world and that the "East Sea" is Korean property and NOT Japan's.

stereotypes

today i was bored in the office and i started to do a search for genetic testing laboratories. what i found was rather offensive http://www.gtldna.com/sendtoday.html why is it that minorities are portrayed as baby mamas or baby daddys? that's just royally messed up.

too cool for skool

wrapping up the school year has been quite interesting and boring at the same time.  we have no lessons to teach so i've been warming my desk chair for the past 2 weeks.  luckily, i was able to have story-time with 3rd graders and take pictures with them.  hope the new school year brings some busy-work for me to do...

Korea, Take 2

ok i'm back and forcing myself to enjoy the delights of the korean mountains.  yesterday i went hiking at gyeryongsan.  the views: spectacular.  the hike: challenging.  the cold: hated it!  but totally worth freezing my toes and fingers.

S L A C K E R

yes, i'm guilty as charged.  but i have my reasons for not posting in months.  1)  i was confronted with difficulties at work 2)  i was having a hard time adjusting to korean life 3)  i had ZERO motivation after all of these things transpired.  my morale was hitting almost rock bottom and frankly, i didn't feel as though writing about korea wasn't worth the effort.  

ok, so it's a new year and i need to start fresh.  for starters, i will climb more often and post more beautiful pictures of the korean landscape.  it's definitely worth the trip.  and i will also post with more frequency.  

i am happy to report that i went home during winter break.  it was worth every penny of my plane ticket.  even though i had been hankering to go on a brief sojourn to southeast asia, i figured that it could wait.  i was terribly fatigued and couldn't stand being in asia much longer.  so it was a great surprise to all that i returned home and i've truly come to appreciate everything and everyone in my life.

happy new year to all!