So...not too sure where I left off at. I know it's been a while. I think the topic of my last post had been that Yellow Dust was killing me. Well it did...and then I came back. Honestly...it wasn't soo bad...I just had to suffer through some of the worst allergies ever. I think I went through at least 10 packs of allergy medication. But...now all that's gone and I'm fine.
Well..better...considering that after I had a massive allergy attack...I got gastritis. Yeah. I don't deal with stress all that well. And it came on all of a sudden...unlike the last time. I felt fine in the morning when I woke up...had a bit of a twinge when walking to work...then...by lunch (so..about 2.5 hours later) I had to go to the hospital, the pain was so bad.
And get this...all the time while I was there...my manager had the audacity to continuously call me and tell me how I couldn't do this to the school..and it was my responsibility to be at work...and blah blah blah blah blah. Honestly. I now can understand why Kate left. Because...while I was at the hospital....I started to feel better. Sure..my stomach still hurt...but it wasn't as bad as it was at work. But...by 4:30...I got so annoyed with my manager calling me that I had to get up and tell the nurses to take the IV out. They seemed confused at that. They asked me why...and I told them, I had to go back to work.
Once I got back in to work, the stomach pain tripled and I spent the last hour that I had to teach doubled over in pain...trying not to scream as my students finished their tests. Now...not that I hate Esther....I don't. But sometimes...I really want to kill her.
Oh..and found out that I AM supposed to have sick-days. By law. Didn't know that. But..funny thing is, it's not in my contract. So...just to get back at her, I called in on Monday (got gastritis on Friday) and began bawling on the phone...telling her how sick I felt and that I didn't know what happened and basically played the weak/pathetic little girl....and took the day off. Once I was done with the call, I wiped the tears away and went back to sleep. I needed it. It was a mental health day. I was fairly certain that if I had gone in that day...I would have killed her.
On to more recent news.
I have a life outside of school...FINALLY!
As we all know, I've been salsa dancing for a while. And, well...by myself I suck, but once I get a decent partner...I'm damn good on the floor.
I also have been going out with the girls and doing all sorts of fun things. Like going to Seoul for a Rockabilly concert...(if you don't know what that is...looking up Brian Setzer Ochestra)....all in Korean. Haha...they call it Kimchi-billy. There are photos on Facebook if you have an account. If not...I'll have to try and see if I can link it to my blog somehow.
Hmm...what else.
Oh.....on the sad side of things. A rather good friend, Kester (one of the owners of Starface) got into a horrific motorcycle accident. His left foot was broken, but right one completely mangled. They had to sew his big toe back on, and do at least 3 re-constructive surgeries. We've been having fund-raisers for him...seeing that his medical insurance won't cover any of this. We raised about 3.4 million won...which is about $3,000 so far. And the worst of it is that his fiancee won't be able to come here without some major paper work...seeing that she's from Iran. So...we're trying to raise money to get her here as well.
Hmm....
Oh. I got drunk yet once again. I've decided that Buddha's B-day is an evil holiday. I don't know what it was....but there's something about that day that made me want to drink and drink I did. I really don't know what happened...well OK I do. Lucky (the bartender at Neo)'s goal lately has been to get me drunk. The whole reason for this is because I NEVER drink when I'm there. So...this past Saturday...he progressively made my drinks stronger and stronger...so that by the 5th vodka tonic..well I don't remember much. Except that I called my friend Shannon...after Dan had calmed me down over the phone and made me promise to call her then call him...I think...and she found me sprawled out on the floor of one of the bathroom stalls. I was concious...but I couldn't get home.
Anyways...So I got completely shit-faced....and have moments of not remembering...but all in all I've sworn off drinking hard liquor for a while.
On the school side of things....
I've been loosing students left and right. I started off with nine...then went down to seven after Nicole/Crystal and Martin left. Then...just this past Friday I found that my favorite student, Ruby, has quit. So...now I have 5 boys and 1 girl. But, they are well-behaved boys and girl. Hopefully no more will quit. Oh...we have 2 new teachers. Danni is a sweet girl. She's Mike's younger sister and seems to be quite the teacher. She's been here for about a month or two. Can't remember if I mentioned her or not. And then....on Monday...we got a new one. Zack (or Jack to the Koreans). He's a Kansas boy. Super frickin tall. And...I guess he was detained in Tokyo cause they had to check him for Swine Flu. Silly people with their animal diseases. Yes...I am talking to you all.
We don't have that here...well not yet at least. There have only been 2 reported cases of it in Korea as far as I know...and no fatalities. So :P
But....I believe that is it. Not alot else hase been going on...or at least nothing that I can remember. I'll have to try to update my blog a bit more often so that I don't get e-mails wondering if I'm alive or not.
Lots o Love.
K
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Yellow Dust is Killing Me
So...yeah. Yellow Dust. The worst thing ever for allergies. I'm dying. My body hurts, I can't breath, and I have a headache from coughing. Who ever knew that stuff that flew over the ocean could affect people as such? Well...for one thing it sucks and I don't want to be at work now. However, there are updates to be had. I'm gonna keep this short just cause I want to take a small nap before I have to go teach again.
We have a new teacher now (Juliene left). She's my friend Angie from Australia. She seems to like it here...well enough that is. Uh...I'm teaching on the side now to make some extra cash...$300 a month....which isn't all that bad. Hmm....been going to salsa...hate my kids as usual...and I'm sure there's more...but I'm far too out of it to actually remember.
TTYL
We have a new teacher now (Juliene left). She's my friend Angie from Australia. She seems to like it here...well enough that is. Uh...I'm teaching on the side now to make some extra cash...$300 a month....which isn't all that bad. Hmm....been going to salsa...hate my kids as usual...and I'm sure there's more...but I'm far too out of it to actually remember.
TTYL
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Salsa
So I've finally decided to get out and be active. There's dance lessons at a club across the street from the bar I go to for pub quiz. And last night I finally decided to go. Saturday is Salsa night. So Shannon and I made our way down there, and at first the club wasn't open....so we decided to get a drink at Sunset.
After...half an hour or so, Jeff, the owner/bar tender, told us that we could go over to Neo...so..we did. And there were only Koreans there. And by looks of it, lessons had already started. But this one Korean came up to us and started talking to us about the dance lessons. I guess those were the intermediate dancers, and the beginner's class hadn't started. So, we decided to get another drink...which in the long run was a bad idea.
However, a little later, the beginners class started. There was Shannon, me, a guy named Rio, and some older guy. And Michael (one of the owners of Neo) was our teacher. He started us off on the basic steps...that's easy enough. I remember that from when I had lessons in college. Then came the back-step...a little disorienting...but still fairly easy. Then came the turns. I hate turns. The right turn isn't that bad...I just always forget to make one step. But the left turn....uhg.
Left turn is complicated. And...I can never remember to pause when I'm supposed to and there are far too many steps involved. However...I'm gonna have to keep practicing it. Cause I guess I have to show up to Neo on Tuesdays now for Salsa meetings...where we don't learn anything, but dance and I guess there's a workshop for people who need it.
So now, I go dancing every Tuesday and Saturday for Salsa. And I guess starting next week, Fridays will be Hip-hop dancing. Which...I want to do. One, it's a great way to loose weight, and two, I can finally look cool while I'm dancing.
So, starting next week, I'll be out three times a week learning how to dance. At least I'll have a friend with me, so it should be fun. Though, I need to find different shoes for Salsa...the ones I normally wear gave me three huge blisters that really hurt. I guess I'm gonna have to find a new pair of shoes. Pity that Korean women don't have shoes my size. Stupid small-feet people.
But that's all. I've finally gotten out of my apt to do something fun. Maybe when I come back, I'll be an expert dancer. Haha.
Peace.
After...half an hour or so, Jeff, the owner/bar tender, told us that we could go over to Neo...so..we did. And there were only Koreans there. And by looks of it, lessons had already started. But this one Korean came up to us and started talking to us about the dance lessons. I guess those were the intermediate dancers, and the beginner's class hadn't started. So, we decided to get another drink...which in the long run was a bad idea.
However, a little later, the beginners class started. There was Shannon, me, a guy named Rio, and some older guy. And Michael (one of the owners of Neo) was our teacher. He started us off on the basic steps...that's easy enough. I remember that from when I had lessons in college. Then came the back-step...a little disorienting...but still fairly easy. Then came the turns. I hate turns. The right turn isn't that bad...I just always forget to make one step. But the left turn....uhg.
Left turn is complicated. And...I can never remember to pause when I'm supposed to and there are far too many steps involved. However...I'm gonna have to keep practicing it. Cause I guess I have to show up to Neo on Tuesdays now for Salsa meetings...where we don't learn anything, but dance and I guess there's a workshop for people who need it.
So now, I go dancing every Tuesday and Saturday for Salsa. And I guess starting next week, Fridays will be Hip-hop dancing. Which...I want to do. One, it's a great way to loose weight, and two, I can finally look cool while I'm dancing.
So, starting next week, I'll be out three times a week learning how to dance. At least I'll have a friend with me, so it should be fun. Though, I need to find different shoes for Salsa...the ones I normally wear gave me three huge blisters that really hurt. I guess I'm gonna have to find a new pair of shoes. Pity that Korean women don't have shoes my size. Stupid small-feet people.
But that's all. I've finally gotten out of my apt to do something fun. Maybe when I come back, I'll be an expert dancer. Haha.
Peace.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
And Now the News,,,Continued
And so to continue..
I left off just after Lunar New Year's I believe. If not, well there wasn't much missed.
Anyways. So since Kate left us, we were kinda screwed over, now being short some teachers. So we hired in a new teacher. Maya. Awesome girl. Was born in Busan, but moved to the States to go to University and what not. Her English is excellent. Much better than half of the Korean staff here. But, she was capable on picking up the slack left in the wake of Kate leaving.
I ended up getting Kate's Calvert 1 class. Oh...I almost forgot to tell you. Harry, the kid that makes me contemplate killing little Korean children, has left! Oh and I no longer teach Bad Kids 1, 2, but have picked up on 3 again (this month). But don't rejoice yet. Kate's Calver 1 (CS1) class is the WORST class I've had so far. And considering what I've had...that's saying alot. Seriously, I've gone off on these kids more times than I can count. They constantly play with their cellphones in class...talk in Korean...and don't do their work. Dear God Above. Just two weeks ago I went off on Ted for playing with his cellphone. Well..okay, he was setting his alarm, but he shouldn't have had the damn thing out in the first place. I guess I was yelling so loud that two other teachers left their classes to see who/what I was going off on.
And you would think that...with me going off on them on a daily basis, the two (Ted and Paul) would learn. But oh no. Of course not. Just today, I was pretty sure I was twitching in anger at them...
Aside from them, I had an adult class, and lost it. They never really showed up. No skin off my back. I was getting paid to essentially talk to them.
Oh! And Amy, the girl that was put in my kindergarden class and subsequently made two of my students leave, never showed up for class. Ever. There were two weeks in a row that she was gone..and showed up for her afternoon classes. Hell, she wasn't even there for graduation.
Which reminds me,
We had graduation last week. (Yes, I've skipped a ton of stuff, but it's not really important)
I was sooo stressed over it. I shouldn't have been, but I was. I wanted to make sure that my kids knew their speeches and could sing all the songs. We had to impress the parents and what not. But luckily, I had the smart class. They knew their speeches and songs. I was so proud of them. And graduation itself went off without a problem. Sadly, I will no longer teaching Sue or Jason. Sue went to another Hagwan and Jason is supposedly in CS1..but I haven't seen him.
I am now teaching Ted and Paul....again...in CS2. I want to kill them. The pair of them...I don't know how Kate could ever like them. It's a battle to get them to write down their homework in 45 minutes. Dear god...I swear...
*deep breath*
Anyways, I also have a bunch of random classes on Mon, Wed, and Fri. I teach CS3 with Kevin and Anne, lost Ryan...but no real big there. Oh..speaking of loosing kids....when Jade left so did her brother Eric. Thank god.
OH!
So this week, we got new classes. I don't teach Calvert Kindgarden now...but ETS. I teach 9 kids...and got to name most of them!!! Yay! My first kids' names. I even got to name some in another class, cause Shirley never shows up. So in my kindergarden class I have a Ruby (came with the name), Crystal (gave it to her, but have to change it), Cai (came), Eric (came), Bill (came), Princess (she chose it), Martin (gave), Paul (came), and Issac (came). Then in the other class I gave two boys the name Jack and Kyle, the girl chose her name..Gina.
And that's it. You're all caught up.
On a side note...Ted and Paul stress me out so much that I've started to loose hair. Seriously, I'm almost tempted to see if I can switch classes with Mike. He teaches CS1...I can handle that. These two....uhg. If you hear in the news that an English teacher killed two of her students...well sorry folks, that will be me.
Outside of school, not alot has happened. Tried yoga...and stopped promptly. My back couldn't take it. Hmm..been hanging out with Shannon (the girl I met in Chicago, then again on the ski trip), and going to pub quiz regularily. Surprisingly, I get out more here than I did in college. And...I don't think that I've lost weight walking to work daily, but my legs have gotten skinnier. I think that once it gets just a tad bit warmer, I'll start walking back up the hill and that's when I'll start burning the fat off.
But that's all, I have to go teach now.
No more griping, and I promise to update more regularily.
Peace!
I left off just after Lunar New Year's I believe. If not, well there wasn't much missed.
Anyways. So since Kate left us, we were kinda screwed over, now being short some teachers. So we hired in a new teacher. Maya. Awesome girl. Was born in Busan, but moved to the States to go to University and what not. Her English is excellent. Much better than half of the Korean staff here. But, she was capable on picking up the slack left in the wake of Kate leaving.
I ended up getting Kate's Calvert 1 class. Oh...I almost forgot to tell you. Harry, the kid that makes me contemplate killing little Korean children, has left! Oh and I no longer teach Bad Kids 1, 2, but have picked up on 3 again (this month). But don't rejoice yet. Kate's Calver 1 (CS1) class is the WORST class I've had so far. And considering what I've had...that's saying alot. Seriously, I've gone off on these kids more times than I can count. They constantly play with their cellphones in class...talk in Korean...and don't do their work. Dear God Above. Just two weeks ago I went off on Ted for playing with his cellphone. Well..okay, he was setting his alarm, but he shouldn't have had the damn thing out in the first place. I guess I was yelling so loud that two other teachers left their classes to see who/what I was going off on.
And you would think that...with me going off on them on a daily basis, the two (Ted and Paul) would learn. But oh no. Of course not. Just today, I was pretty sure I was twitching in anger at them...
Aside from them, I had an adult class, and lost it. They never really showed up. No skin off my back. I was getting paid to essentially talk to them.
Oh! And Amy, the girl that was put in my kindergarden class and subsequently made two of my students leave, never showed up for class. Ever. There were two weeks in a row that she was gone..and showed up for her afternoon classes. Hell, she wasn't even there for graduation.
Which reminds me,
We had graduation last week. (Yes, I've skipped a ton of stuff, but it's not really important)
I was sooo stressed over it. I shouldn't have been, but I was. I wanted to make sure that my kids knew their speeches and could sing all the songs. We had to impress the parents and what not. But luckily, I had the smart class. They knew their speeches and songs. I was so proud of them. And graduation itself went off without a problem. Sadly, I will no longer teaching Sue or Jason. Sue went to another Hagwan and Jason is supposedly in CS1..but I haven't seen him.
I am now teaching Ted and Paul....again...in CS2. I want to kill them. The pair of them...I don't know how Kate could ever like them. It's a battle to get them to write down their homework in 45 minutes. Dear god...I swear...
*deep breath*
Anyways, I also have a bunch of random classes on Mon, Wed, and Fri. I teach CS3 with Kevin and Anne, lost Ryan...but no real big there. Oh..speaking of loosing kids....when Jade left so did her brother Eric. Thank god.
OH!
So this week, we got new classes. I don't teach Calvert Kindgarden now...but ETS. I teach 9 kids...and got to name most of them!!! Yay! My first kids' names. I even got to name some in another class, cause Shirley never shows up. So in my kindergarden class I have a Ruby (came with the name), Crystal (gave it to her, but have to change it), Cai (came), Eric (came), Bill (came), Princess (she chose it), Martin (gave), Paul (came), and Issac (came). Then in the other class I gave two boys the name Jack and Kyle, the girl chose her name..Gina.
And that's it. You're all caught up.
On a side note...Ted and Paul stress me out so much that I've started to loose hair. Seriously, I'm almost tempted to see if I can switch classes with Mike. He teaches CS1...I can handle that. These two....uhg. If you hear in the news that an English teacher killed two of her students...well sorry folks, that will be me.
Outside of school, not alot has happened. Tried yoga...and stopped promptly. My back couldn't take it. Hmm..been hanging out with Shannon (the girl I met in Chicago, then again on the ski trip), and going to pub quiz regularily. Surprisingly, I get out more here than I did in college. And...I don't think that I've lost weight walking to work daily, but my legs have gotten skinnier. I think that once it gets just a tad bit warmer, I'll start walking back up the hill and that's when I'll start burning the fat off.
But that's all, I have to go teach now.
No more griping, and I promise to update more regularily.
Peace!
Monday, March 2, 2009
And now the News
So...a little birdy has told me that you all want updates.
Well here they are.
Chistmas
Well the party went as well as can be expected with only two days of planning. Granted, there were no fires/injuries/calamities that anyone can account for, so, it went well. Luckily, I didn't have to try and teach the little hellians how to do that hip-hop dance to silent night. Hell, they couldn't even remember how to do the small hand-motions to Santa is Coming to Town, let alone try and remember a complicated dance routine. But, I think the high-light of she show was when we all had to sing Deck the Halls, and well...NO ONE but Kate knew the words after the first verse. So..we all sang the Fa La La La La La La La Las while she sang the rest of the song.
I'm sure the parents found that slightly entertaining.
Let's See...
Oh and the Silent Night part was good, almost had a few hair fires, but we made sure that no child's hair was singed off. Couldn't be slacking infront of the parents. After the singing and what have you (I'm gonna completely skip the part where I had to stand in the middle of a circle and dance while the kids sang) Santa came.
Well Patrick dressed up as Santa that didn't fool a single kid. Seriously, these kids knew. All they kept saying was Santa Patrick-Teacher! But the kids were happy none the less. They got presents, some of them bigger than the child receiving them. All-in-all it turned out to be a good day.
Colleen came to visit me Christmas weekend too! It was great. She bought me an iPod for an X-mas gift and we went to go see the family in Seoul. It was nice to see them all again. Of course, since I hadn't seen them in like 3 or so years...things have definately changed. One being that Yun Su and her brother shot up. Man. I feel short compared to them. And only three years ago were they tiny little whelps. The others look about the same. And I can assume that Yun Cho looks the same as his brother, Yun Ho, as he's in Russia at the moment. Aunt cooked us great food...I love her cooking. Almost stole one her cats and brought it home with me. It was adorable. A little black and white cat...kinda looked like Big Foot. But..alas, my happiness was not allowed. Yun Su wouldn't let me take the cat back. *sigh*
Things from there got a little un-eventful. Jade and Kerri left my kindergarden class because their parents didn't want another student to join because they hated her parents. Yes, I lost two kids because thier parents were acting like kids.
New Year's
Well nothing really to report there aside from the fact that on New Year's Eve's Eve I got completely smashed. Like...I hadn't been that drunk in at least 2 or 3 years. I don't remember alot of the night. I know we went out to Karaoke...and I think I fell there...then we managed to make it to some club, where there were guys stripping on the stage. At some point they opened the ceiling and fake snow poured in. I remember this part...cause I was to the point where I was sick and crabby from drinking and loathed the fact that they were letting in snow. Mind you it really wasn't cold enough for snow outside. Hm...New Year's itself was rather un-eventful. I went out with a few friends, didn't drink much, stayed out til about 5 am when I called it quits and went home to sleep. Had to work the next day. Yea, that's right. I had to work the day after New Years. AND! Only the afternoon classes. Which was annoying cause I originally only had 1. Nice and easy work. Then they dumped others on me. Bastards.
Hmm...
Next would be Lunar New Year's
Okay. So Korea doesn't really care about the changing of the years. It's all about Lunar New Year's here...or better known as Chinese New Year's. It was nice. I got a a 5-day holiday. Paid for too. However...what sucked was we hadn't gotten paid on time in January. And didn't get paid until a week and a half later. Can you imagine how pissed I was? Seriously. I only had maaaayybee $30 to go off of, or about 50,000 won. Yea. Not too happy. And I was also supposed to go skiing that weekend. The first social excursion that I would have had since......
Well a really long time. However, Eddy pulled through in the end and paid us on Friday. Which was good, cause I was leaving at 5 am Saturday morning. Oh, and by the by, this also happened to be the weekend that one of our teachers quit cause she couldn't take it anymore. I can't blame her really. Our manager yelled at her for having strep. Like it was her fault that she caught it from one of the kids.
Anyways...skiing was a blast. It had been about 6 or so years since I last went skiing, so needless to say, I was a bit rusty. But after the first few runs I had it down. It took us about 6 hours to get from Busan to ... where ever the hell we were. All I know is that when I woke up at the first rest stop, there was snow on the ground and it was COLD. I mean, almost Michigan cold. Which was a bit of a shock to my system. I was getting used to nice warm weather. In all honesty, I was kinda excited and...took pictures. Yes, I know, I hate snow. But I hadn't seen any real snow since last year (2007) and wanted proof that it did snow in Korea. Anyways, Our driver had no clue where he was going. We got lost at least...6 times before we finally parked at the resort.
Oh funny side story that slightly relates...
I met a girl here. No...not like that. It was funny, and shows what a small world it really is. So, wayyy back in November when I went to the Consulate in Chicago, I met a girl that was going to Busan too. I asked her where she would be working, but she didn't know. Hadn't given it a thought since I arrived. In all honesty, I completely forgot her after I left Chicago. However..2 months later on the ski trip...there she is. We randomly met again..and well have become great friends.
Back to the long story.
Skiing...great times. Cold as hell, but great. I only fell twice. Once when I was standing, and tried to turn aroung....yes, I know. I know. The other time, I was flying down the slope, and my glasses started to fog up. I couldn't see anything, considering the fog and blizzard, and well..there was just the tiniest of snow piles right in front of me. I hit it and went flying. Not too sure what happened for about 5 seconds because I blacked out. But I woke up as I hit the ground full-force, sliding on my back, backwards. Must have flipped somehow. In the process of sliding I saw one of my skis near me. Okay..not half bad. I got up laughing, considering that I hadn't broken anything. A miracle for me. But...getting up was unusual. I could stand up with no problems. Which meant I had lost both skis, not just one. It was a bit higher up the hill.
Needless to say, I got them back on, and continued down the hill, and kept skiing til about 10 that night. Surprisingly I didn't drink alot that weekend. Though, I did polish off the 5 bottles of wine I brought along with me. 2 of them were on the bus on our way back home. Met some great new people. It was seriously one of the best times I had in a long time.
Seeing as this is really long....I'll continue it in another post.
Well here they are.
Chistmas
Well the party went as well as can be expected with only two days of planning. Granted, there were no fires/injuries/calamities that anyone can account for, so, it went well. Luckily, I didn't have to try and teach the little hellians how to do that hip-hop dance to silent night. Hell, they couldn't even remember how to do the small hand-motions to Santa is Coming to Town, let alone try and remember a complicated dance routine. But, I think the high-light of she show was when we all had to sing Deck the Halls, and well...NO ONE but Kate knew the words after the first verse. So..we all sang the Fa La La La La La La La Las while she sang the rest of the song.
I'm sure the parents found that slightly entertaining.
Let's See...
Oh and the Silent Night part was good, almost had a few hair fires, but we made sure that no child's hair was singed off. Couldn't be slacking infront of the parents. After the singing and what have you (I'm gonna completely skip the part where I had to stand in the middle of a circle and dance while the kids sang) Santa came.
Well Patrick dressed up as Santa that didn't fool a single kid. Seriously, these kids knew. All they kept saying was Santa Patrick-Teacher! But the kids were happy none the less. They got presents, some of them bigger than the child receiving them. All-in-all it turned out to be a good day.
Colleen came to visit me Christmas weekend too! It was great. She bought me an iPod for an X-mas gift and we went to go see the family in Seoul. It was nice to see them all again. Of course, since I hadn't seen them in like 3 or so years...things have definately changed. One being that Yun Su and her brother shot up. Man. I feel short compared to them. And only three years ago were they tiny little whelps. The others look about the same. And I can assume that Yun Cho looks the same as his brother, Yun Ho, as he's in Russia at the moment. Aunt cooked us great food...I love her cooking. Almost stole one her cats and brought it home with me. It was adorable. A little black and white cat...kinda looked like Big Foot. But..alas, my happiness was not allowed. Yun Su wouldn't let me take the cat back. *sigh*
Things from there got a little un-eventful. Jade and Kerri left my kindergarden class because their parents didn't want another student to join because they hated her parents. Yes, I lost two kids because thier parents were acting like kids.
New Year's
Well nothing really to report there aside from the fact that on New Year's Eve's Eve I got completely smashed. Like...I hadn't been that drunk in at least 2 or 3 years. I don't remember alot of the night. I know we went out to Karaoke...and I think I fell there...then we managed to make it to some club, where there were guys stripping on the stage. At some point they opened the ceiling and fake snow poured in. I remember this part...cause I was to the point where I was sick and crabby from drinking and loathed the fact that they were letting in snow. Mind you it really wasn't cold enough for snow outside. Hm...New Year's itself was rather un-eventful. I went out with a few friends, didn't drink much, stayed out til about 5 am when I called it quits and went home to sleep. Had to work the next day. Yea, that's right. I had to work the day after New Years. AND! Only the afternoon classes. Which was annoying cause I originally only had 1. Nice and easy work. Then they dumped others on me. Bastards.
Hmm...
Next would be Lunar New Year's
Okay. So Korea doesn't really care about the changing of the years. It's all about Lunar New Year's here...or better known as Chinese New Year's. It was nice. I got a a 5-day holiday. Paid for too. However...what sucked was we hadn't gotten paid on time in January. And didn't get paid until a week and a half later. Can you imagine how pissed I was? Seriously. I only had maaaayybee $30 to go off of, or about 50,000 won. Yea. Not too happy. And I was also supposed to go skiing that weekend. The first social excursion that I would have had since......
Well a really long time. However, Eddy pulled through in the end and paid us on Friday. Which was good, cause I was leaving at 5 am Saturday morning. Oh, and by the by, this also happened to be the weekend that one of our teachers quit cause she couldn't take it anymore. I can't blame her really. Our manager yelled at her for having strep. Like it was her fault that she caught it from one of the kids.
Anyways...skiing was a blast. It had been about 6 or so years since I last went skiing, so needless to say, I was a bit rusty. But after the first few runs I had it down. It took us about 6 hours to get from Busan to ... where ever the hell we were. All I know is that when I woke up at the first rest stop, there was snow on the ground and it was COLD. I mean, almost Michigan cold. Which was a bit of a shock to my system. I was getting used to nice warm weather. In all honesty, I was kinda excited and...took pictures. Yes, I know, I hate snow. But I hadn't seen any real snow since last year (2007) and wanted proof that it did snow in Korea. Anyways, Our driver had no clue where he was going. We got lost at least...6 times before we finally parked at the resort.
Oh funny side story that slightly relates...
I met a girl here. No...not like that. It was funny, and shows what a small world it really is. So, wayyy back in November when I went to the Consulate in Chicago, I met a girl that was going to Busan too. I asked her where she would be working, but she didn't know. Hadn't given it a thought since I arrived. In all honesty, I completely forgot her after I left Chicago. However..2 months later on the ski trip...there she is. We randomly met again..and well have become great friends.
Back to the long story.
Skiing...great times. Cold as hell, but great. I only fell twice. Once when I was standing, and tried to turn aroung....yes, I know. I know. The other time, I was flying down the slope, and my glasses started to fog up. I couldn't see anything, considering the fog and blizzard, and well..there was just the tiniest of snow piles right in front of me. I hit it and went flying. Not too sure what happened for about 5 seconds because I blacked out. But I woke up as I hit the ground full-force, sliding on my back, backwards. Must have flipped somehow. In the process of sliding I saw one of my skis near me. Okay..not half bad. I got up laughing, considering that I hadn't broken anything. A miracle for me. But...getting up was unusual. I could stand up with no problems. Which meant I had lost both skis, not just one. It was a bit higher up the hill.
Needless to say, I got them back on, and continued down the hill, and kept skiing til about 10 that night. Surprisingly I didn't drink alot that weekend. Though, I did polish off the 5 bottles of wine I brought along with me. 2 of them were on the bus on our way back home. Met some great new people. It was seriously one of the best times I had in a long time.
Seeing as this is really long....I'll continue it in another post.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Connected
So...I'm connected. Got me a laptop, internet and cable. Which means...more updated blogs! Except not right now. Cause I'm tired. So...I shall post soon and tell you all about what happened between X-mas and now.
XOXO
XOXO
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Fire in the Disco!
So..I know that I said that I wouldn't post until I get my own comp...but this has to be posted. I know..I know...I still need to post about my X-mas/New Year's adventures...but you all can wait for those.
On to the story...
So, Sunday night is Pub Quiz at the bar that I go to down the street from my apt. Like every Sunday...we started just a wee bit late. But no matter, cause it was still good convo up until then. If you're wondering just what the hell a pub quiz is...well it's 5 rounds of random questions plus a photo round. At the end, the winning team gets a bottle of Tequila to share with everyone.
Anyways...
So the quiz starts. And...Red (only called that cause he has ginger hair) is our MC for the night...which wasn't so great. Cause all of his questions had something to do with science (not a popular topic). So, we carry on as usual, but this time around there were prizes for answering random questions. Cool.
Towards the end of the quiz (picture round) Red was trying to explain that we would get bonus points for spelling Arnold Schwarzenegger's name right. It was then that I realized there was an awful lot of smoke in the room. The first thought that flitted through my mind was that we were smoking far too much. But...there were maybe 5 people smoking...at random intervals. Not enough to create that much smoke. The second thought was that someone pulled out a smoke machine for all the prizes that we were giving away. But...that didn't make sense. It was then that I looked at the kitchen door.
FIRE!
(I'll tell you this now...it only took about 30 seconds from the time I realized the building was on fire to getting out...but it definately felt much longer)
At first...all I could see through the door was a nice bright orange color. Fuck. Then, one of the bartenders had the brilliant idea to actually open the door. Obviously no one in Korea knows that introducing oxygen to fire only makes it worse. Once the door was opened, the flames roared to life and began to spread across the ceiling (wood). Of course, the first action that they took was trying to fan the flames out with the coats....which made it worse, as I'm assuming this was an oil fire. It was then that all the Koreans in the bar began screaming and running to the door. Which, incedentally, was right next to the kitchen fire.
Immediately, I grabbed my coat and purse and made way for the door. I know, I know....technically I was supposed to just leave, but it was cold outside and my purse had ALL my info in it. Like passport, license, bank info, health card...etc. I was not about to loose those. By the time I made it to the door, I had to crouch down low to avoid the flames. At this point things began to fall from the ceiling. The only thought that I had while trying to get out, was 'Don't let anything explode'.
As you can figure, I made it out safely. And no, the first thought that went through my head when I got out wasn't 'I'm alive...' but rather...'Damnit I left my smokes in there'. So, I made my way to the 7-11 next door and bought a new pack. Of course, the ajeshi wasn't in there....he came in a few seconds after I yelled for him. As I bought my new fresh pack, I realized my hands were shaking horribly. Adrenaline. That rush of adrenaline stayed off the cold of the night. I couldn't feel it...at least not until I had calmed down a bit.
Walking back out, I noted that everyone got out of the bar safely. However, they were still screaming and honking their bike horns. There were still people in the upper levels. Joining in the frenzied screaming...I noticed the elevator moving up and down. The IDIOTS! They were talking the elevator out of a burning building. I couldn't believe it! However...I think everyone from there got out as well. However, in the process of trying to scream at people to get out of the building...I was standing across from the transistor when it blew, nearly giving me a heart attack...I quickly made my way down the street.
The fire department showed up in three minutes. Which was impressive. Quickly they put out the fire and made thie way inside to check for survivors/if anyone else was in there. Of course, by this time, all the residences of Dalmaji (the street I live on) were out and watching. Not to mention and a building on fire did not deter the delivery boys. They just zipped right through the throngs of people/firemen. Of course, while meandering amongst the 'survivors' I noticed that a friend of mine was without a jacket...but had his beer. At least I know where his priorities lie.
Of course, after all was said and done...we went to another bar to drink. This was suggested by one of the three owners of Starface. I feel horrible for him. 2 of the owners were there that night...and one back in England on vacation visiting family. I wouldn't want to be the person who called him.
So, now I can say that I escaped a burning building.
Though, someone posted pictures of the aftermath of the fire...and....wow. Some of the bar looks like it just got a bit of smoke damage...where as other parts seem to have been blasted with a blow torch. Pictures melted right off the wall, the dart machine warped and melted, pints of beer either busted or completely blacked out (they look kinda cool...actually), the kitchen/front entrance completely burned and in ruins, chairs singed or destroyed...
However...the books survived. Which I find kinda funny. And...alot of the bottled alcohol...namely the beer. Upon looking at these pics closer....it looks like my fresh pack of smokes that I had in the bar with me survived as well. That...cracks me up.
Now, I wonder what is in store for the owners. I know that they have insurance, but will they rebuild. I hope so. I loved that place. Hell, if they need it..I'll help out. It also brings to mind...where were the fire alarms/smoke detectors? I heard neither now that I recall that night. Korea seems to have a rather lax policy when it comes to fire safety. Considering that earlier in the week a Norebong (karaoke place) in Busan caught fire and killed 8 people. I also noticed, once back at my apt, that there are no smoke detectors or fire alarms in the building. Hmm....
But...that's it. The exciting story of the Great Starface Fire. I needed to tell you all. I am alive and well. No worries. And...no...this won't put me off from going to the bars. I'll just have to remember to grab my smokes next time around. Knock on wood.
Peace.
On to the story...
So, Sunday night is Pub Quiz at the bar that I go to down the street from my apt. Like every Sunday...we started just a wee bit late. But no matter, cause it was still good convo up until then. If you're wondering just what the hell a pub quiz is...well it's 5 rounds of random questions plus a photo round. At the end, the winning team gets a bottle of Tequila to share with everyone.
Anyways...
So the quiz starts. And...Red (only called that cause he has ginger hair) is our MC for the night...which wasn't so great. Cause all of his questions had something to do with science (not a popular topic). So, we carry on as usual, but this time around there were prizes for answering random questions. Cool.
Towards the end of the quiz (picture round) Red was trying to explain that we would get bonus points for spelling Arnold Schwarzenegger's name right. It was then that I realized there was an awful lot of smoke in the room. The first thought that flitted through my mind was that we were smoking far too much. But...there were maybe 5 people smoking...at random intervals. Not enough to create that much smoke. The second thought was that someone pulled out a smoke machine for all the prizes that we were giving away. But...that didn't make sense. It was then that I looked at the kitchen door.
FIRE!
(I'll tell you this now...it only took about 30 seconds from the time I realized the building was on fire to getting out...but it definately felt much longer)
At first...all I could see through the door was a nice bright orange color. Fuck. Then, one of the bartenders had the brilliant idea to actually open the door. Obviously no one in Korea knows that introducing oxygen to fire only makes it worse. Once the door was opened, the flames roared to life and began to spread across the ceiling (wood). Of course, the first action that they took was trying to fan the flames out with the coats....which made it worse, as I'm assuming this was an oil fire. It was then that all the Koreans in the bar began screaming and running to the door. Which, incedentally, was right next to the kitchen fire.
Immediately, I grabbed my coat and purse and made way for the door. I know, I know....technically I was supposed to just leave, but it was cold outside and my purse had ALL my info in it. Like passport, license, bank info, health card...etc. I was not about to loose those. By the time I made it to the door, I had to crouch down low to avoid the flames. At this point things began to fall from the ceiling. The only thought that I had while trying to get out, was 'Don't let anything explode'.
As you can figure, I made it out safely. And no, the first thought that went through my head when I got out wasn't 'I'm alive...' but rather...'Damnit I left my smokes in there'. So, I made my way to the 7-11 next door and bought a new pack. Of course, the ajeshi wasn't in there....he came in a few seconds after I yelled for him. As I bought my new fresh pack, I realized my hands were shaking horribly. Adrenaline. That rush of adrenaline stayed off the cold of the night. I couldn't feel it...at least not until I had calmed down a bit.
Walking back out, I noted that everyone got out of the bar safely. However, they were still screaming and honking their bike horns. There were still people in the upper levels. Joining in the frenzied screaming...I noticed the elevator moving up and down. The IDIOTS! They were talking the elevator out of a burning building. I couldn't believe it! However...I think everyone from there got out as well. However, in the process of trying to scream at people to get out of the building...I was standing across from the transistor when it blew, nearly giving me a heart attack...I quickly made my way down the street.
The fire department showed up in three minutes. Which was impressive. Quickly they put out the fire and made thie way inside to check for survivors/if anyone else was in there. Of course, by this time, all the residences of Dalmaji (the street I live on) were out and watching. Not to mention and a building on fire did not deter the delivery boys. They just zipped right through the throngs of people/firemen. Of course, while meandering amongst the 'survivors' I noticed that a friend of mine was without a jacket...but had his beer. At least I know where his priorities lie.
Of course, after all was said and done...we went to another bar to drink. This was suggested by one of the three owners of Starface. I feel horrible for him. 2 of the owners were there that night...and one back in England on vacation visiting family. I wouldn't want to be the person who called him.
So, now I can say that I escaped a burning building.
Though, someone posted pictures of the aftermath of the fire...and....wow. Some of the bar looks like it just got a bit of smoke damage...where as other parts seem to have been blasted with a blow torch. Pictures melted right off the wall, the dart machine warped and melted, pints of beer either busted or completely blacked out (they look kinda cool...actually), the kitchen/front entrance completely burned and in ruins, chairs singed or destroyed...
However...the books survived. Which I find kinda funny. And...alot of the bottled alcohol...namely the beer. Upon looking at these pics closer....it looks like my fresh pack of smokes that I had in the bar with me survived as well. That...cracks me up.
Now, I wonder what is in store for the owners. I know that they have insurance, but will they rebuild. I hope so. I loved that place. Hell, if they need it..I'll help out. It also brings to mind...where were the fire alarms/smoke detectors? I heard neither now that I recall that night. Korea seems to have a rather lax policy when it comes to fire safety. Considering that earlier in the week a Norebong (karaoke place) in Busan caught fire and killed 8 people. I also noticed, once back at my apt, that there are no smoke detectors or fire alarms in the building. Hmm....
But...that's it. The exciting story of the Great Starface Fire. I needed to tell you all. I am alive and well. No worries. And...no...this won't put me off from going to the bars. I'll just have to remember to grab my smokes next time around. Knock on wood.
Peace.
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