My Last Semester

We started a new semester on Friday and it is my last semester of teaching. I can't believe that there is only 3 months left here! My new classes are great. I have a good schedule and the students are nice and smart. I have them on a tight leash. My students have some awesome names too. There is a Martin, a Johnson, I named a kid Paul yesterday. My mission is to name a kid Frank. I tried on a few but none of them would take it. Johnson is my favourite one to say though because when he puts up his hand to say something, I say his name like a military sergeant, "JOHNSON". I get a big kick out of it.

I went out on Friday night with Romi and Denise and Romi was pretty drunk and punched Denise in the face by accident. Then Denise and I met some guys from France. They were nice but the only reason I wanted to hang out with them was so I could practice my french. Although drinking and trying speak a language I haven't really spoken in 10 years doesn't work so well.

I have bronchitis again. This is the 4th time in 9 months that I've had it. I went to the doctor early though and am on antibiotics.

Cheap shoes lead to sore and beaten feet. I'm talking heels, ladies. So spend the money on the good ones.

Its been really stormy and rainy lately. Yesterday morning, the thunder was so loud that it shook the ground and set off a car alarm.

Random thoughts

For a country that doesn't like Japan or the Japanese, they sure do import a lot of Japanese products. I don't mean they dislike Japanese as in the Cambodians hate Pol Pot, but there is a lot of bitterness. Understandably with the history of takeovers, while banning traditional Korean culture and language, forcing women into prostitution. I think Korea is also a little jealous of the competition ie. Sony vs. Samsung, Hyundai vs. Toyoto, LG vs. Motorola. But go into any store here and there sure are a lot of Japanese products. At the drugstore, there are aisles called "Japan Plaza" where all the products are Japanese. Its like Japan makes better foot and beauty products. There is a lot of Hello Kitty and Japanese beer, lots of sushi restaurants. The hatred for the Japanese has filtered into the young minds I teach and inspire everyday. How can a 10 year-old hate Japanese people? More like their parents have told them a few too many stories.

It is so friggin humid here. It rained today so the air has 100% humidity. It is 10.30pm and temp is 18C. Its so humid that the cars have dew on them. When I got home, I didn't take off my jeans, I peeled them off. Its not even June and I know it is going to get way way worse so I am prepared. I might as well kiss my clothes goodbye because they will be permanently sweat-stained by the end of the summer.

Another thing, the head teacher, the AWESOME head teacher we have had for the last few months, "left" today. Sunoo was so cool and got shit done and listened to us and wasn't a noncommunicative pain-in-the ass and she is gone now. Its probably because we liked her that the director decided that she had to go. Eff that.

Ummmm...

Nothing really is new so there isn't much to write about. I went to a Korean wedding on Saturday. The groom, Mike, went to UNBC with me and he has been living here for 4 years. His wife, Doewon is also a teacher here and she is very sweet. I've gotten to know her well in the last few months. I felt priveledged to be invited to the traditional wedding. It was held outside and it was really hot. Mike and Doewon wore very traditional robes with layers and layers of silk. They had hats on too. Mike was clearly roasting, but Doewon probably didn't expell a single drop of sweat because Korean women seem to be evolved in that department of the human form. I'm very jealous.
Anyway, it was a really nice wedding. The ceremony was about 30 minutes. There was a lot of bowing and tea drinking. Then there were photos and we all hearded into the wedding hall for a meal. I think we had about an hour to eat because there was another wedding coming in right after. This is pretty common. There are these massive wedding halls with 5 banquet rooms, and there are about 5 weddings a day in each one. Its madness!
There were lots of people there. Mike's parents were here from Vancouver and then there were lots of teacher-friends. It seems like all us foreigners wore black. Not on purpose of course, but we all looked like we should have been at a funeral. After the wedding, a bunch of us went for some drinks, and then some food, and then some more drinks. Mike really wanted to go out somewhere for the rest of the night too, and he really wanted to go to this shitty club in Seoul called Tinpan. I try not to go there anymore, but since it was Mike's wedding day, I went for him. That's the first wedding I've been too where the party ended up at a nightclub. And Doewon was ok with it.
On Friday night, Denise and I went to a...hockey game! It was at the rink in our neighbourhood. There was a Canadian Navel ship in port and they have a hockey team. They played a friendly match against a team of amatures in Seoul. I think all the players were drunk. It was so nice to watch some live hockey again! We met some guys from the Navy and talked to them for a while. They ship is based in Esquimalt and they stay out at sea for about 200 days a year. This one guy were talking to the most has a little girl at home and his wife is expecting their second child in about 2 weeks. He wasn't even sure if he was going to make it home for the birth. That would really suck.
These guys invited us to come out to the ship before it left. We never got a chance to make it out the Incheon, the port, however because of the wedding and other plans. It was have been nice, and they have Alexander Keith's at the ship's bar.
We start a new semester on Friday and it is my last semester. I can't belive it is almost June. WTF?
So I guess more is going on than I thought. I'll post some photos of the wedding soon.

Vladimir POUTINE

Dear general public,

As a foreigner/traveller, please do not ask if I am an American. There are several other countries inhabited by pasty freckled caucasian white women. Assume I am...from anywhere else. America is not the best first assumption. I've memorized the polite way of saying "I am Canadian" in Korean. "Na nuen Canada saram ee yae yo". Please let me practice this wonderful sentence.

Best regards,
Stephanie



I went to Busan with Denise last weekend. It was a long weekend in Korea so the train availability coming home was limited. We spent about 24 hours there. I went there with my parents in March, but bronchitis left me bed-ridden and I didn't get to see the city. But now that I've been, I don't need to go back. I felt totally ostracized, more than normal. Children were afraid to sit next to me on the subway. Their mothers would pull their arms towards the empty seat next to me, but they would not sit down. There was a giant Christian festival at the beach, so it was loud and crowded.

One of the HIGHLIGHTS of the weekend was going to the APEC building, but not for the obvious reason. The APEC summit was held there in 2005 and all the biggity-bigs were there, but APEC schmAPEC. There was a picture of Vlad Putin and Paul Martin wearing their complimentary Korean "hanboks", the traditional outfit. The BEST part of this whole thing, and so far one of the best things I have ever witnessed, is that when a Korean says Putin, it sounds like POUTINE.

Denise and I had high dining expectations for the weekend, Busan being a fishing mecca, however we were blessed with one of the worst meals I have had in my entire life. We went to a Turkish restaurant. I love trying new foods so I was excited. They used ketchup as a "garnish" along with re-heated frozen zig-zag fries. The mystery meat was flavourless and overcooked.

The whole weekend vacation was topped off with an open-mouth-eater/chewer on the train on the way home. You know "that guy" who eats by smacking his lips and pushing his food part way out of his mouth while he eats it? Well he was sitting across from me on the train and I saw every form that food takes after a human has chewed it, meanwhile listening to it too. Then once back in Seoul on the subway ride home, I was fortunate enough to watch a passed out business man pick his nose and then wipe the aftermath onto the cloth seat of the subway.The next day, Monday, I didn't even leave the house.

Whatever, it has been one of those weeks. I did just get home form Denise's house. Dale, my other travel buddy, was there and we drank some beer and the night was a preview of our travels throughout Nepal in September. We act like siblings, insulting each other and being stupid, talking about inappropriate things. Its kind of like Martin family dinners and it makes me feel really happy.

Nice Little Saturday

Yesterday I went to the Seoul Word DJ Fest. It was a beautiful day, there were lots of diverse people, which was a nice change from the rest of the time here. For example, Koreans with dreadlocks and wearing second hand clothing. Blasphemous to the culture and I loved it. I felt amongst my own kind cause there were lots of foreigners. THe music was great, the staff were awesome. There were lots of artists and different interests represented. It really felt like a music fest at home.I got there at 4pm and left at 4am. It was crazier at 4am than at 10pm.

There was also a tattoo booth. There is a new shop opening up here in Seoul and they were promoting not only the shop, but tattooing in general. Its definitely not a popular thing here. At about 8 they started doing free tattoos. Yes, free and real. So I got in line and got myself a new tattoo! I got the Korean word for three, Sam. Three is my favorite number and my nickname here is Sam, which are also my initials. Meaningful on so many levels. All sorts of people were looking at the whole process and I think a lot of Korean people were pretty impressed that I got a Korean tattoo. I absolutely love it. I was going to get it when I go to Japan in July, but why wait when it is free?