July 2009
14 posts
Bicycle Race - Queen
i had my fun - little walter
one of the greatest...
Mike Kim gives a lecture about his book →
this is the same guy in the previous link, but google let him talk about his book for an hour. i just finished listening to it. nuttier than squirrel shit.-c
The Daily Show discusses the North Korean Human... →
a neat video about the “underground railroad” running from north korea to thailand.
Congratulations! It's... Korea?
So today was the first day back to school after recovering from LASEK surgery for a week. I figured that since there’s only 2 more weeks left for school, the students can relax a bit, so I decided to show a movie.
Apparently, I don’t care about the school anymore, since I’m not coming back, because I’m being very lazy and only showing movies. Instead, I should play some educational games, like...
MJ's Lasting Legacy
(Billie Jean and Thriller playing in the background over the school loud speakers…yeah my kids rock)
Student: Eric, Eric! Michael Jackson dance! (begins tipping an invisible cap and grabbing his crotch)
Me: Hmmmm, well he did do that a lot.
(Student continues “dancing” around the room)
What's with the recent media focus on "Asian...
soslow:
The problem I always have with articles like this, and this, is how they accept, and are many times built entirely around, the premise that there is a special, unparalleled longing in the West for Asian women. When talking about sexual attraction, for example, there is no other ethnic group for whom a special fixation is called a “fetish.” For everybody else, the person has “a thing” or...
English Teachers: Scourge of Korea??? →
Man, I love these straight hate pieces that pass for journalism (this one’s a translation of the piece that appeared in the Chosun Ilbo today). I like you Korea, but damn, sometimes you make it hard for me.
-Wallin
June 2009
32 posts
The Seattle Times talks to the Wonder Girls →
and the results are pretty predictable.
highlights include:
-Asians like more cute and pretty girls. They’re more like conservative,” Yenny said. Americans like more sexy and funky, like Lady GaGa.”
-It’ll be great if we can go to Disneyland,” Yenny said.
-a commenter: “Great! They are a big hit all over Asia outselling many US bands. Nice to have some...
Ohhhhh America.... →
Ohhhhhh religious people, will you ever cease to amaze and humor me? I sure hope not.
Open Lesson Update
So its been delayed. Yeah, I didn’t even think they could do that. My co-teacher graciously offered this solution up after I had busted my balls for the last few days to finish my shit and the task now fell to her to do…..anything. Which is understandable cuz this “anything” could really take some time. Allthough we are truly co-teaching now, as she has willingly...
Hello? Anyone here speak English?
So after the exciting discussion with the VP last week, I started doing the speaking exams yesterday. Of course, they only told me about it last week, so I couldn’t prepare for it properly, but I managed to squeeze one out.
Out of the 2~3 chapters that I’ve done with them, I’m going to semi-randomly choose 2 students (pair up higher skilled student with lower skilled) to read a...
clearly a violation of school policy
this was in the slim packet of fake “journal entries” my co-teach gave to the childrens to use as examples:
“Date: August 4, Sunday Weather: Rainy
I went to the public bath with my dad. I love to go to the public bath. Because I can swim in the huge bath tub and see naked people. This is a secret, but I really want to go to the women’s public bath. When I was very...
Me vs. the VP - aka "the appointment skit"
Me: Ok, so I’m gonna need 5 days off for the surgery instead of the 3 that we talked about before. Here’s a doctor’s note that you requested that I get if I needed the extension.
VP: 5? That’s not what we discussed before. Why do you need the extra 2 days for?
Me: Because I need to go back for post-op checkup on the 4th and 5th day.
VP: But that’s not what we...
more letters from my father
care,
a guy at work just got back from visiting his family in laos. boy, they sure do take a lot of pictures of themselves.
dad
Oooops?
Today, in a true testament to how much I sleepwalk through my job some days, I accidentally left school an hour early. Yes, you heard right accidently. Allow me to explain.
So my after school class finishes and I head to the office to waste some time before heading off to the bus stop. 30 after rolls around and I pack up my shit and say my goodbyes and head out the door. As I leave the school...
An Honest Question
So the co-teacher finally approached me about the open lesson for next Friday. I especially liked the part where she initially hesitated when I told her what I was doing. I’m sure the thought process was something like this: “Well, I don’t like that he’s doing the lesson on a past chapter, maybe I should say something….Nope, scratch that. I’m just too damn...
Bring on the Ridicule
So, I’m ashamed to even admit this, but the meat I’ve been buying and eating from my grocery store for some 10 months now was not beef, as I assumed, but pork. That’s right, the self-proclaimed “Master Carnivore” (I’m pretty sure I must have given myself that title in one of my many rants) couldn’t even differentiate between his meats by taste. Sad, ohh,...
Ms. Li’s breakfast was a favorite among... →
A Chat
Co-teacher: So Eric, what answer is correct? Mine or yours? (obviously she didn’t speak this clearly in real life, but whatever)
Me: Well, the thing is, they both are. We have different ways of speaking.
Co-teacher: I don’t understand. Which one is right?
Me: They both are. There is no “right” answer, only different answers.
Co-teacher: No right...
He's looking at me with those puppy-dog eyes.....
There’s this really cute puppy that’s been abandoned, and I really want to take him home with me. How do I know it’s abandoned? Well, it’s tied to one of the benches with a cheap plastic rope thingie and it looks like it hadn’t been washed in days (someone was kind enough to give him a quick shower or something, since it was all wet, but still couldn’t get all...
For Future Reference
Given the preceding posts, I believe we should institute a policy where whenever Chris or Amy get drunk, they MUST write down their thoughts on anything and everything. Poetry of that magnitude needs to be preserved for the good of mankind.
-Wallin
ok.
fing, he was the fuckniig jollye green ASIAN giant.
heythwatf
okhwejust longst at paegu or vobllyebooal. yeslkj, iomshgt be drunk,w e drowned oiutpr soruros in somek. fuckoing jipeyong and their giant jollgy green bean playser. hey twtf the poitn of invinting any other teams hwen you have a jolly breaen giant? fuckres.
well meaning letters from my father
Hey,
I know you are aware of the conviction and sentencing of the two young American journalists in North Korea. Please stay away from the DMZ and any place near North Korea. I have heard stories of extreme cruelty that is inflicted upon the prisoners in their work camps. I know you are a smart person but, I just wanted to express my concern.
Take care,Care.
Dad
must resist driving 3 hours...
you know how we had “student discounts” at the ol’ UW.
my high school girls told me they got them in korea, too.
for plastic surgery.
sigh.
-carrie
This is a Man's World...sadly
Ohhh, James Brown you were so right, at least for Korea. Not sure if you folks have heard about lastest setback for the ladies, so here’s the link to someone with more knowledge of the situation.
http://thegrandnarrative.wordpress.com/2009/06/05/choi-jin-sil/
Basically, the women is beaten and abused by her husband, then commits suicide from shame/public pressure/etc and is now sued for...
Gender Blender Korea
In yet another “unique” turn of events with my kids, my kids decided to ditch the “Eric Teacher” moniker and replace it with “Eric 오빠”, which is sweet, except for the fact that it insinuates that my male students are in fact, female. To remedy this, the students instead called me “Eric 누나”. Older sister?….okay. I guess I can kinda see that,...
Prison Break? Not quite yet...
So right now, there’s a HUGE hole in the middle of the road leading from my school to my home, and what should only be a 3 minute walk has become a 15 minute hike through steep, soft patches of loose dirt with the construction going on literally about 2 feet away from me. They haven’t finished the overpass/walkway (which they haven’t worked for a few months) and it looks like it...
Korea's Fashion Sense
You wanna know how i know that Korea is crazy about fashion? Today, at the bus station in Seoul, the vagrant/homeless looking guy that wanders around town picking up cardboard in his rickshaw-looking thingy was rocking an Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirt underneath his obligatory ratty trenchcoat. I shit you not.
Course, maybe Abercrombie stuff is way out of fashion and it’s exactly what the...
Dear Co-Teachers,
We’re on the same page ladies. I swear. I want to teach more and make more creative lessons. The mannequin at the front of the class would very much like to come alive. I’m dying to, truth be told.
But shit, we got to do something about our communication. Because you can’t leave the room two minutes into class and tell me to “do as I please.” This is not the...
Open Lesson
so, today we received rave reviews on our open lesson.
wait, make that… shin received rave reviews on the open lesson, and how beautiful i am… :-/
anyways, the point of this post is a short rant on big city slicker teachers from yangpyeong.
mr. song, as he’s called, teaches at tony’s and jethro’s school—yang-il high school in yangpyeong. when we attended...
May 2009
24 posts
Best Mandu in Seoul →
I want to go here next weekend after the GRE. Located in the Hyundai Dept. Store, COEX. I have a friend who just arrived and will take us to this restaurant. It’s actually run by his aunt. They have vegetarian mandu and Carrie, we can do our shopping here. What do you think guys?
English Poem.
tomorrowstea:
If you can pronounce correctly every word in this poem, you will be speaking English better than 90% of the native English speakers in the world. After trying the verses, a Frenchman said he'd prefer six months of hard labour to reading six lines aloud. Try them yourself. Dearest creature in creation, Study English pronunciation. I will teach you in my verse Sounds like corpse,...
