It's winter in Korea again and most of the foreigners I know these days have gone a little bit crazy. My friend, Rick, is upset because of a looming divorce showdown and everyone that I've seen seems a little stir crazy from the short days and holidays.
The snow has been pretty, though, and there has been a reasonable amount of it over the past several weeks. Today, there was a lot of snow for a long time and it piled up good. Somebody told me that if a person falls down in front of a business (like, on the sidewalk directly outside of a shop) then the shop owner is responsible to pay the person. I asked if it was a court thing, and they said no, just formality or something. Somebody else said that that isn't true, though. I don't know. Seems like a formality that would be ripe for abuse, if it were true. In any case, shopowners all up and down most streets are outside plowing and sweeping the snow off of their steps.
I was going to start working at a second school on Tuesdays and Thursdays down in the South-East side of Seoul and had clocked two days down there in fact, when the school decided they preferred to have a 5-day a week teacher (their previous teacher, Dina, had flown the cup right before the holidays, as she'd told me she would months ago.) The two remaining Korean teachers at that school seem like nice, cool people. Sort of a shame I won't be going back there for the rest of the month, but maybe the three of us can hang out outside of work.
I have vacation this whole week, which is outstanding, aside from the fact that I haven't been paid yet and am pretty much broke. There was some craziness with my Chase checking account back in America where it got overdrawn and they were incapable of informing me because I'm overseas or something. I signed up for their online banking again, and that was helpful for a couple of days, but now I can't see my accounts even online anymore and Chase isn't responding to "Contact Us" e-mails I've been sending them. I'm really unhappy with their service. I imagine if I were a millionaire or a famous investor or something glamorous banking with them, they'd be giving me service with a smile like they show in TV banking commercials, but they're not much help when, by account activity, they judge you to be broke, and your checks are bouncing left and right. When I get paid, I'm gonna put enough in the account to get it back to zero and I'm going to be more careful about the hidden 2nd service charge when you send money through international wire transfers. What a headache, a real kick in the behind at the end of the year. One last snub from 2009.
Anyhoo, it's 2010 now. The Year of the Tiger. 2 years before the big end, if you're into that Mayan calander stuff. I'm looking for jobs and waiting for my student records to arrive from America to facilitate the job search. North Korea say they want formal peace with America and just banned the use of foreign currencies amongst their citizens, which is sure to enfuriate all. If it's anything like Vietnam when I visited there, American dollars (or probably South Korean Won) are actually preferrable to the local currency.
2009 was a pretty low year for numerous reasons. The death of my old friend Jon Eubanks was pretty much the bottom of the barrel. 2010 almost has to be better. Still, I did get a start on paying down student loans, which was necessary, and I reconnected with some of the old friends from last year in Korea (although others seem completely unavailable, although they still haven't left the ROK.)
I had Christmas dinner with a friend from Anyang last year, Angela, at an Indian restaurant in Itaewon. She's working at a middle school. Her older sister is in Korea, too, and I guess they just both plan to stay as long as the other sibling wants to.
At New Year's Eve night, I had gal-maik-gi sal (pig chest meat) grilled with Rick, who was in a pretty sour mood due to the divorce and holidays spent without his son, but I wasn't in much better spirits, so...Looking forward to a more positive 2010.
I aim to be more regular with the blog. Posting massive loads of pictures on here can be a hassle because the formatting isn't as easy as other sites, but it wouldn't kill me to at least keep people updated on my thoughts and the goings on around here. We'll see if that can be accomplished and maintained this year, but don't hold your breath. Speaking of this year, I need to go find another job so I can make sure there is a location for me to blog about "this year!"
Happy New Year Everyone!
And now, for some pictures:
Somebody yelled "JONADAN!" outside my apartment first thing in the morning on New Year's Day. I opened the window in my boxers and yelled back "Chankammanyeo!!!" excitedly ("Just a minute!!! in Korean), threw on some clothes, and ran down to get my Christmas package from dad. Thanks!
Burt's Bees Bay Rum cologne. I've been searching for it for well over 2 years, ever since my sample vial ran out. Can't be found in stores. Asked for it two years ago for Christmas, but it couldn't be found and instead I got some other Burt's Bees brand cologne that didn't smell as great, which I eventually used up, anyways, earlier this year.
My quest is finally over, though.
This stuff is the real deal.
The holy grail.
Better hide your womenfolk in 2010~!
Whiteout.
Outside my aparment window.
My coworkers at 언주초등학교 for two days only. :/
An awesome (and purportedly very expensive) crab restaurant in 강남.
Monster crab!
Pristine shape before most of the little monsters arrive.
My school on a snowy day.
The snow has been pretty, though, and there has been a reasonable amount of it over the past several weeks. Today, there was a lot of snow for a long time and it piled up good. Somebody told me that if a person falls down in front of a business (like, on the sidewalk directly outside of a shop) then the shop owner is responsible to pay the person. I asked if it was a court thing, and they said no, just formality or something. Somebody else said that that isn't true, though. I don't know. Seems like a formality that would be ripe for abuse, if it were true. In any case, shopowners all up and down most streets are outside plowing and sweeping the snow off of their steps.
I was going to start working at a second school on Tuesdays and Thursdays down in the South-East side of Seoul and had clocked two days down there in fact, when the school decided they preferred to have a 5-day a week teacher (their previous teacher, Dina, had flown the cup right before the holidays, as she'd told me she would months ago.) The two remaining Korean teachers at that school seem like nice, cool people. Sort of a shame I won't be going back there for the rest of the month, but maybe the three of us can hang out outside of work.
I have vacation this whole week, which is outstanding, aside from the fact that I haven't been paid yet and am pretty much broke. There was some craziness with my Chase checking account back in America where it got overdrawn and they were incapable of informing me because I'm overseas or something. I signed up for their online banking again, and that was helpful for a couple of days, but now I can't see my accounts even online anymore and Chase isn't responding to "Contact Us" e-mails I've been sending them. I'm really unhappy with their service. I imagine if I were a millionaire or a famous investor or something glamorous banking with them, they'd be giving me service with a smile like they show in TV banking commercials, but they're not much help when, by account activity, they judge you to be broke, and your checks are bouncing left and right. When I get paid, I'm gonna put enough in the account to get it back to zero and I'm going to be more careful about the hidden 2nd service charge when you send money through international wire transfers. What a headache, a real kick in the behind at the end of the year. One last snub from 2009.
Anyhoo, it's 2010 now. The Year of the Tiger. 2 years before the big end, if you're into that Mayan calander stuff. I'm looking for jobs and waiting for my student records to arrive from America to facilitate the job search. North Korea say they want formal peace with America and just banned the use of foreign currencies amongst their citizens, which is sure to enfuriate all. If it's anything like Vietnam when I visited there, American dollars (or probably South Korean Won) are actually preferrable to the local currency.
2009 was a pretty low year for numerous reasons. The death of my old friend Jon Eubanks was pretty much the bottom of the barrel. 2010 almost has to be better. Still, I did get a start on paying down student loans, which was necessary, and I reconnected with some of the old friends from last year in Korea (although others seem completely unavailable, although they still haven't left the ROK.)
I had Christmas dinner with a friend from Anyang last year, Angela, at an Indian restaurant in Itaewon. She's working at a middle school. Her older sister is in Korea, too, and I guess they just both plan to stay as long as the other sibling wants to.
At New Year's Eve night, I had gal-maik-gi sal (pig chest meat) grilled with Rick, who was in a pretty sour mood due to the divorce and holidays spent without his son, but I wasn't in much better spirits, so...Looking forward to a more positive 2010.
I aim to be more regular with the blog. Posting massive loads of pictures on here can be a hassle because the formatting isn't as easy as other sites, but it wouldn't kill me to at least keep people updated on my thoughts and the goings on around here. We'll see if that can be accomplished and maintained this year, but don't hold your breath. Speaking of this year, I need to go find another job so I can make sure there is a location for me to blog about "this year!"
Happy New Year Everyone!
And now, for some pictures:
Somebody yelled "JONADAN!" outside my apartment first thing in the morning on New Year's Day. I opened the window in my boxers and yelled back "Chankammanyeo!!!" excitedly ("Just a minute!!! in Korean), threw on some clothes, and ran down to get my Christmas package from dad. Thanks!
Burt's Bees Bay Rum cologne. I've been searching for it for well over 2 years, ever since my sample vial ran out. Can't be found in stores. Asked for it two years ago for Christmas, but it couldn't be found and instead I got some other Burt's Bees brand cologne that didn't smell as great, which I eventually used up, anyways, earlier this year.
My quest is finally over, though.
This stuff is the real deal.
The holy grail.
Better hide your womenfolk in 2010~!
Whiteout.
Outside my aparment window.
My coworkers at 언주초등학교 for two days only. :/
An awesome (and purportedly very expensive) crab restaurant in 강남.
Monster crab!
Pristine shape before most of the little monsters arrive.
My school on a snowy day.
