SOooo behind again, I know. I started bringing my computer to school because in the evenings I have classes where the kids are just coming up to me to recite passages they have to memorize. Or they're done, and I tell them to at least speak English but when they're my favorite class, I end up laughing with them anyway. Still this was the ideal time to get some blogging done, since my breaks are either spent working on these schedules that were supposed to be finished at the beginning of September, or typing out vocab tests for one class with the English AND Korea-- I am 1-finger typing so it's tiring and takes a lot of time, but the Korean teachers are impressed as hell and I'm proud of myself for doing it too. Thank God I at least know a good bit of Hangul (as in reading & some writing-- I know the characters, can recognize them on the keyboard, and learned how to get the special characters). Sadly, I can't do that on my laptop because the school's computers have Korean/English keyboards, so that's just a bit easier than having to use some online, which still never seemed to have the ch- sounding character.
The main issue now is that my rosacea has gotten much worse. Not only are the pimple-like ones around my mouth not going away, but now the skin on either side of my nostrils is red and under my eyes has little pink bumps. Expats post that their skin hates Korea, and that is no fucking joke. The borax-hydrogen peroxide mask I was using in the US that worked like a charm has zero effect here. So this means going to a dermatologist.
Fortunately I mentioned this to Danielle (whom I hadn't seen in forever, but spent a lovely Sunday with her, her husband, cute little Leah & also got to meet Danielle's mom, who's in Korea visiting for about 2 months), and thank God I did, because she told me most dermatologists here aren't medical doctors, so instead of going to the hundreds/thousands of dermatology clinics here (which focus on cosmetic stuff, particularly skin whitening, because yeah, SUCH an Asian thing), you have to look at actual medical clinics.
Luckily I checked out a couple some other expats mentioned, and those searches brought me to the normally-ruled-by-trolls waygook.org expat site (it's seriously just assholes all day every day, it's a completely worthless site usually), but one person mentioned a clinic with a doctor who graduated from Johns Hopkins Medical School and speaks perfect English, and all the expats go to see him. So I'm going to see when I can get into see him.
Interestingly, it mentions on the site that in addition to internal and some external treatments, they also use something called fotofacials and chemical peels. I find it funny that I was like, how is a chemical peel going to help an inflammation problem, when I've been rubbing 19th-century laundry detergent and hydrogen peroxide on my skin, leaving it on for 10 minutes then rinsing off twice a day every day.
Anyway, you can call or email for an appointment, so I guess I'll send it off tomorrow, unless I take the chance and try to call, after mastering, "Do you speak English?" in Korean, and see when I can get in.
Other than that, I had a software download for my iPhone, and it was a rather big one. You know how they say on the iPhone 7 you don't swipe, you press the home key to unlock the phone? Now that's what mine does. It's taking some getting used to, but it's keeping me on my toes.
Friday, September 23, 2016
Monday, September 19, 2016
Damn it all to hell.
This is from the end of July
Last night, at last, was supposed to be the night that I figured out getting home in a taxi. Despite so not feeling ready for it, even after 7 months here. Because as I've mentioned before, nothing's as easy outside the US as it is in the US (though apparently there are city or suburb cabs in the airports, and they can only go to that specific destination, no others). So, getting a cab from one suburb, I've been told and experienced, isn't as simple a matter as just finding a free cab and even giving them your address in Korean. They'll say no because they're not going that way, it's too far/not convenient to home or break, or they just don't want to deal with someone who speaks a different language. Never mind whether or not they can actually go to... wherever you want/need to go.
This is the second night that, instead of experimenting with the cabs and discovering the ease or difficulty of it, regardless of proximity, I stayed up all night until public transport was up and running again.
The first time was when I went out with another Jennifer, a Brit I met at yoga pants wine night. I found a bona fide, really good craft cocktail bar, HARD AS HELL though it was to locate. We had a nice time talking, and then she said afterwards she was going to meet her school gang in Seoul. And the guys in particular are just so great and so fun and I'd love them. I decide to go up with her, but as it's 10:30 at night, knowing the trains stop at about midnight, I ask her how she gets home. "Take a cab, or stay up all night until the trains run again." Though I am a night owl, I definitely don't think the latter is an option for me. Especially with my phone, as usual, so low on battery, which is especially concerning since that's where my home address is saved in Korean.
We get to this crappy Korean bar, which honest-to-God all seem to vie to resemble the dankest dive bar in the US, to find about 10 of Jennifer's close friends gathered around. If you know me at all, you know that even with a really good friend there with me, anymore than 4 or so strangers is a bit too much for me to handle, and I will simply sit and observe, waiting to see whom I might like, and waiting to see if there's an in to any interesting conversations.
In this case, with a group of early-to-mid-20-somethings playing some lame drinking game, the answer appeared to be not really on most counts. I have no drink because I had 3 at the cocktail bar, and when it's Koreans handling the mixing and measuring, there is shit to drink here. Next, everyone in the group has to hold up a hand if they've done what was mentioned (jumped out of an airplane, for example). This sort of information is fun when you're young and have a life ahead of you to plan on doing such things should you want to, or give any shits if the people at the table have because it's somehow interesting to learn whether or not your friends have done something so daring. But I don't care about these people, and find none of what any of them have or haven't done enthralling or even slightly entertaining. The only thing that's keeping me here is waiting for my almost-dead phone to charge behind the bar so I can either test out this whole cab thing, or go to the nearby 24-hour cafe and fiddle around on my phone until the trains run.
Soon enough, most of the group is heading to Homo Hill (yes that's the actual name of the small gay bar section of Seoul) to dance. All of you should likewise know my feelings on dancing and noisy clubs, and how I am completely comfortable sitting alone for an hour or however long it takes my phone to charge. But of course, most people do not understand said comfort, and feel compelled to keep me company and try to cajole me into joining/rejoining the group. That night, the role belonged to a super-nice friend of Jennifer's named Mike. Most of the time, people's discomfort with my comfort being alone in public will quickly devolve from my polite but firm insistence that I'm fine to my cold, irritated, sarcastic and misanthropic vibes that successfully fend off even the clingiest moron. But tonight, maybe it's my mood, some mellowing-with-age, and/or the fact that Mike is just so truly nice and not trying to be an asshole that I initially reiterate for the 10th time that I'm good alone, and no, dancing and loud bars hold no appeal, to just saying sure dude, as you say, I can really only confirm it's as unappealing as I think by going over with him to meet up with everyone else, and besides, we've only around 3 hours before the trains are up and running again. So I collect my not-nearly-sufficiently-charged-for-my-reading-purposes phone, and head over to my first Korean gay bar.
The precious little dancing that is happening is solely being done by the group of girls & 2 guys who'd gone ahead. I have to admit I find it a bit sad that no gay guys, few that are there, are dancing. At this bar, I switch from swearing up & down that I'm totally good not dancing constantly, until thank GOD an older gay man comes & sits next to me & we start talking. He gets up & goes to talk to guys for a while then comes back to talk to me, which is great because it means I have a good excuse to sit, & then don't have to keep working so hard to only half-hear what Ilan, my new friend, is saying.
This goes on for a rather slow 2 hours. Finally, after several false starts of saying I'm leaving only to be convinced to wait a LITTLE longer, since you know those damned trains still aren't running, I end up talking to a few other guys assembled outside to smoke, & gladly take my leave.
But naturally, the trains still aren't QUITE running yet, so I sit down on the raised vent for the trains to wait for them. I have far more fun sitting here and having brief, amusing conversations with passersby, including a couple who want to know what to do, and some Middle Eastern guy who thinks I'm pretty and stops to talk, only to realize that this conversation, nor I, are going anywhere. Around this time, Jennifer & her friends pass me, and ask me to join them for early breakfast at the Taco Bell around the corner. I decline. I think it's around 2 minutes after they leave that some Irish guy asks me to go drinking with him. When I agree, he's surprised, & keeps asking me if I'm sure I'm not Irish. I explain it's going to be difficult, since it's just after 5 and everything is closing. Sure enough, every bar we find won't let us in for that reason. I suggest coffee but he is adamantly against this. We wander around, until we run into a rather morose gay guy I'd talked to at the gay bar before leaving. We convince him to join us for some vodka & grapefruit juice, which John Henry is buying. The convenience stores are always open & stocked. We sit outside in Gangnam & drink until we decide we're tired & can be assured the trains are running again.On the train, I laugh when John Henry tells me that I wasn't actually supposed to take him up on his invitation to drink. I was supposed to do what his gran does and say, "God damn it John Henry it's too feckin' early/late for this, shut up and go to sleep!" Sadly, John Henry & I don't keep in touch, but it was still a surprisingly fun end to a waaayyy to long night.
The other night was wine night. They're always on Fridays, so I get there around 10:30 since I work til ten on Fridays. It isn't really worth it for me to leave by the time the last train or bus, since I just got there & there are still a couple stragglers. For once I wasn't tired & we just kept talking til 5. Turns out that the cabs around there pretty much won't be going in my direction, so we decide that I'll just stay over next time, instead of ensuring we all stay up til 5-6 in the morning talking.
*Sight.* So, those were my 2 chances of attempting, but failing, to find a taxi that will take me home. Kids, I've been here about 8 months & still no dice. Let's hope I get it together & try sooner again, and successfully, rather than even later.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Today I feel like I was infected with anger and irritation
For one thing, it's the 15th anniversary of 9/11, and it's still a day I feel compelled to remember what happened and the people lost as a result of it. Most anniversaries I don't feel any emotions about it and it isn't the first thing I think about: some days I have to see reminders in facebook to remember. But I always take some moments on it. Yesterday though I remembered today would be 15 years later, so I did wake up aware of that.
Today was I think very much not helped because lately I've been exhausted by the US bashing everyone is so terribly fond of doing. I'm sure all of you know I'm pretty damned outspoken about a lot of the problems we're grappling with, or failing to, in the US. Though I often enjoy discussing these problems with people from other countries, there gets to be a point, and it's always closer than the day before, when I am just so sick and tired of the rest of the world ignoring their own problems so they can concentrate on the lunacy that often rules the US. I just don't want to hear it, or hear an acknowledgement that hey, sometimes the US DOES do good shit. And as I get older I do think that you can definitely have your opinions, but you should limit voicing them if you're not from there. Believe it or not, I didn't tell most Chileans what I thought of their country, and still don't. Because I'm a bitch, but I'm not a total asshole.
This morning my Australian friend Leeza who's in China just really pissed me off. As always, she starts off about how charmed her life is there, despite her town being bad when it comes to the internet, etc... all the things that I consider secondary essentials are challenges that require work-arounds, patience, and just accepting shit isn't always or usually going to work. So, I'm delighted for her that she's got people who bend over backwards to help her and glad she is liking it there. From there, it's on about how the Chinese can't distinguish not only between Australian/British/South African/German/American, and instead thinks everyone is American, they can't distinguish between well-educated and under- or uneducated, more prestigious professions, and less. I can understand being irritated everyone thinks you're from a country you're not from, but I don't get why the rest of it matters.
From there that went into how all the Chinese, and the rest of the world for that matter, totally buy the stereotypes, and thinks the US is the most dangerous place in the world, full of gun-obsessed, gun-toting lunatics shooting everyone everywhere up. I point out that this is a stereotype, that I'm from the city with the country's worst gun violence and most shootings, and yet somehow I made it all these years, along with many others, who never ever get shot, and recognize that we need drastic reform so freaking desperately. She replies she's just telling me what the rest of the world thinks (even though I so know that), and then condescendingly tells me how Australia banned all guns in the 80s or 90s, they're a recognized leader in getting rid of gun violence, blah blah blah. Bitch, I know. I've already read up on Australia so effectively fixing that problem there. But, she's not done: all mass shootings are in the US, and they in the rest of the world "just roll our eyes, and say that's America." She continues to say that she feels sorry for America now.
At this point, I'm done and I say, "You're right. The victims deserve it. And while many of us have been desperate for gun legislation for years, at heart we're all dangerous, gun-toting maniacs. I've got another eye-rolling American tragedy to think about today that simply annoys the rest of you, so off I go." Couldn't have been more sarcastic, and she breezily says, "Yes, I agree with you," (!!??? REALLY!?) and continues on to talk about learning a lot about how it won't change because of people in Congress being too afraid to lose their jobs to take it up.... etc.
Maybe she didn't mean to be offensive and victim-blaming and everything and say that ultimately each American shot in a mass shooting or shot at all deserves it for being stupid about not making these legislative changes years ago. Then again, maybe that is how the world feels, and maybe it's understandable to those on the outside. And today people from other countries very likely forget what happened today themselves and especially all these years out just don't care about it. But it never is understandable or forgettable to me, and today of all days I need GOOD vibes for and about the US.
So hope your day is better and less grating than mine, and hopefully it's a peaceful day regardless of your feelings, or lack thereof, about today's anniversary.
Today was I think very much not helped because lately I've been exhausted by the US bashing everyone is so terribly fond of doing. I'm sure all of you know I'm pretty damned outspoken about a lot of the problems we're grappling with, or failing to, in the US. Though I often enjoy discussing these problems with people from other countries, there gets to be a point, and it's always closer than the day before, when I am just so sick and tired of the rest of the world ignoring their own problems so they can concentrate on the lunacy that often rules the US. I just don't want to hear it, or hear an acknowledgement that hey, sometimes the US DOES do good shit. And as I get older I do think that you can definitely have your opinions, but you should limit voicing them if you're not from there. Believe it or not, I didn't tell most Chileans what I thought of their country, and still don't. Because I'm a bitch, but I'm not a total asshole.
This morning my Australian friend Leeza who's in China just really pissed me off. As always, she starts off about how charmed her life is there, despite her town being bad when it comes to the internet, etc... all the things that I consider secondary essentials are challenges that require work-arounds, patience, and just accepting shit isn't always or usually going to work. So, I'm delighted for her that she's got people who bend over backwards to help her and glad she is liking it there. From there, it's on about how the Chinese can't distinguish not only between Australian/British/South African/German/American, and instead thinks everyone is American, they can't distinguish between well-educated and under- or uneducated, more prestigious professions, and less. I can understand being irritated everyone thinks you're from a country you're not from, but I don't get why the rest of it matters.
From there that went into how all the Chinese, and the rest of the world for that matter, totally buy the stereotypes, and thinks the US is the most dangerous place in the world, full of gun-obsessed, gun-toting lunatics shooting everyone everywhere up. I point out that this is a stereotype, that I'm from the city with the country's worst gun violence and most shootings, and yet somehow I made it all these years, along with many others, who never ever get shot, and recognize that we need drastic reform so freaking desperately. She replies she's just telling me what the rest of the world thinks (even though I so know that), and then condescendingly tells me how Australia banned all guns in the 80s or 90s, they're a recognized leader in getting rid of gun violence, blah blah blah. Bitch, I know. I've already read up on Australia so effectively fixing that problem there. But, she's not done: all mass shootings are in the US, and they in the rest of the world "just roll our eyes, and say that's America." She continues to say that she feels sorry for America now.
At this point, I'm done and I say, "You're right. The victims deserve it. And while many of us have been desperate for gun legislation for years, at heart we're all dangerous, gun-toting maniacs. I've got another eye-rolling American tragedy to think about today that simply annoys the rest of you, so off I go." Couldn't have been more sarcastic, and she breezily says, "Yes, I agree with you," (!!??? REALLY!?) and continues on to talk about learning a lot about how it won't change because of people in Congress being too afraid to lose their jobs to take it up.... etc.
Maybe she didn't mean to be offensive and victim-blaming and everything and say that ultimately each American shot in a mass shooting or shot at all deserves it for being stupid about not making these legislative changes years ago. Then again, maybe that is how the world feels, and maybe it's understandable to those on the outside. And today people from other countries very likely forget what happened today themselves and especially all these years out just don't care about it. But it never is understandable or forgettable to me, and today of all days I need GOOD vibes for and about the US.
So hope your day is better and less grating than mine, and hopefully it's a peaceful day regardless of your feelings, or lack thereof, about today's anniversary.
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Well, yes, I suppose it HAS been a while...
I have a few drafts saved, but... yeah....
Anyway, THIS installment of Jen failing to understand/relate to/and especially share experiences with normal people is brought to us all by yet another expat talking about how rough it is to go home, particularly the terrible surprise that is reverse culture shock. When you've lived abroad, you supposedly come back and experience culture shock of your home, and the greater the difference between living-abroad country and your own, the bigger the shock.
My friend Alyssa came back to the US from Chile right about when I got there after about a year there. Her first post, which amused me, was her amazement over hearing so much English. It kind of... shocked her.
I have no comprehension of this.When I got back to the US, I was RELIEVED and OVERJOYED to hear English. I remembered extremely quickly that I could go up to pretty much any person I saw and ask them something in English and they'd understand me and answer in English. That was awesome. Not shocking, awesome. Something to marvel over and celebrate very, very occasionally, but that's it.
The only other time that I kind of forgot where I was was when I was on the L, waiting at a station for a train and was doing what I always did in Chile: practicing reading the names and signs at the stops in my head in Spanish for pronunciation. I was halfway through reading when I realized that no, Cermak/Chinatown isn't pronounced, "Keermok/Cheena-" it was the "town" that reminded me these were English words pronounced with English pronunciation, and I was working WAY too hard unnecessarily.
Marveling at how easy it was to use a credit card, and not be charged extra for the privilege. But it didn't shock me, and I didn't struggle with it. I embraced returning to fucking civilization.
There are no guarantees of course, but I highly, highly doubt I'll return to the US and experience the "shock" of hearing English everywhere, which is a big part of it for former expats, or forget how people acknowledge you and say, "Excuse me," if you bump into each other. I won't be shocked to see women wearing shirts cut lower than a turtleneck, people of different colors and backgrounds, particularly because it remains shocking to me that no matter how long I'm in Korea I will continue to get stares, and students I've had for 6 months get right in my face and say, "Teacher!! Your eyes are blue!!" (though honestly the latter always amuses me greatly). I think, people have been coming here to teach English for over 20 years. There are LOTS of non-Asians around. And you have movies and the internet! It can't REALLY be that amazing. It just can't. And while others have rightly pointed out that Koreans all look alike in the way of hair, eye color, etc., I never notice it, except when wondering how I'll spot the foreigner at a big metro stop, only for them to be fluorescent beacons compared to the Koreans around them, lol. So, actually, in essence, I never really acclimate to where I am, to seeing mostly straight black hair, dark brown eyes, tennis shoes and anklets worn with pantyhose and ridiculously short skirts and shorts, and Little House on the Prairie/Amish outfits thrown in.
So, yeah, maybe I need to write the single anti-former-expat-reverse-culture-shock experience, because as usual, I've read so many articles about how hard it is to get used to your culture of origins, but it just isn't true.
Except after France. I seriously thought every Goddamned person around me was yelling instead of talking like a normal person. For 2 weeks, I had a headache, and seriously dreaded going to see Gina's family the following weekend, because they ARE loud.
So, ok, maybe one or two things take you aback. But not everything, not so many things that it's oppressive and stressful and aggravating, which culture shock is.
So if you ever see any of those articles, know that I'm back here railing about how untrue it is, because despite ALL these stories about it being a thing, it is SOOOOOO not a thing.
Anyway, THIS installment of Jen failing to understand/relate to/and especially share experiences with normal people is brought to us all by yet another expat talking about how rough it is to go home, particularly the terrible surprise that is reverse culture shock. When you've lived abroad, you supposedly come back and experience culture shock of your home, and the greater the difference between living-abroad country and your own, the bigger the shock.
My friend Alyssa came back to the US from Chile right about when I got there after about a year there. Her first post, which amused me, was her amazement over hearing so much English. It kind of... shocked her.
I have no comprehension of this.When I got back to the US, I was RELIEVED and OVERJOYED to hear English. I remembered extremely quickly that I could go up to pretty much any person I saw and ask them something in English and they'd understand me and answer in English. That was awesome. Not shocking, awesome. Something to marvel over and celebrate very, very occasionally, but that's it.
The only other time that I kind of forgot where I was was when I was on the L, waiting at a station for a train and was doing what I always did in Chile: practicing reading the names and signs at the stops in my head in Spanish for pronunciation. I was halfway through reading when I realized that no, Cermak/Chinatown isn't pronounced, "Keermok/Cheena-" it was the "town" that reminded me these were English words pronounced with English pronunciation, and I was working WAY too hard unnecessarily.
Marveling at how easy it was to use a credit card, and not be charged extra for the privilege. But it didn't shock me, and I didn't struggle with it. I embraced returning to fucking civilization.
There are no guarantees of course, but I highly, highly doubt I'll return to the US and experience the "shock" of hearing English everywhere, which is a big part of it for former expats, or forget how people acknowledge you and say, "Excuse me," if you bump into each other. I won't be shocked to see women wearing shirts cut lower than a turtleneck, people of different colors and backgrounds, particularly because it remains shocking to me that no matter how long I'm in Korea I will continue to get stares, and students I've had for 6 months get right in my face and say, "Teacher!! Your eyes are blue!!" (though honestly the latter always amuses me greatly). I think, people have been coming here to teach English for over 20 years. There are LOTS of non-Asians around. And you have movies and the internet! It can't REALLY be that amazing. It just can't. And while others have rightly pointed out that Koreans all look alike in the way of hair, eye color, etc., I never notice it, except when wondering how I'll spot the foreigner at a big metro stop, only for them to be fluorescent beacons compared to the Koreans around them, lol. So, actually, in essence, I never really acclimate to where I am, to seeing mostly straight black hair, dark brown eyes, tennis shoes and anklets worn with pantyhose and ridiculously short skirts and shorts, and Little House on the Prairie/Amish outfits thrown in.
So, yeah, maybe I need to write the single anti-former-expat-reverse-culture-shock experience, because as usual, I've read so many articles about how hard it is to get used to your culture of origins, but it just isn't true.
Except after France. I seriously thought every Goddamned person around me was yelling instead of talking like a normal person. For 2 weeks, I had a headache, and seriously dreaded going to see Gina's family the following weekend, because they ARE loud.
So, ok, maybe one or two things take you aback. But not everything, not so many things that it's oppressive and stressful and aggravating, which culture shock is.
So if you ever see any of those articles, know that I'm back here railing about how untrue it is, because despite ALL these stories about it being a thing, it is SOOOOOO not a thing.
Monday, August 15, 2016
Ok, super-short
FOR ONCE!! And I worry, as I always do, that by saying anything I will jinx myself, but last week and this week my upper body workout showed some improvements. Last week I remember feeling a little stronger, doing a little more. Today was a holiday, and I stayed home, never left the apartment, and didn't even eat brunch for once! Cooked up all my veggies and very trimmed pork... bacony-things (pork is the main meat here in Korea), and looked at my unopened bottle of Absolut Korea. It was a total last-minute buy when I stopped for some grapefruit juice at the convenience store across the street, and they had it. The flavors are almond, coffee, and chili. And I have to say, I love it. Tried it first with (too much) lemon juice and pepper, then just tried it plain, and I like it that way best.
Oh! but anyway, this afternoon I thought, just be lazy, don't workout, only 4 days/week is enough (except Friday's wine and yoga pants night so no, not 4 days), and then went ahead and did the tortuous tabata workout. I held 2 sets of the halfway down push-up for all 20 secs, did a better job of bringing my chest to the floor first in burpees, and then did tricep crab thingies (sorry, I know, not helpful), whereas I usually didn't bother dipping.
Didn't even make it to the doctor because when I set the alarm Saturday I'd set it for weekdays instead of Saturday, and got up too late to get to the clinic. So another week (still have 3 weeks' of pills), but hoping that the small improvements will continue. Yay!
Oh! but anyway, this afternoon I thought, just be lazy, don't workout, only 4 days/week is enough (except Friday's wine and yoga pants night so no, not 4 days), and then went ahead and did the tortuous tabata workout. I held 2 sets of the halfway down push-up for all 20 secs, did a better job of bringing my chest to the floor first in burpees, and then did tricep crab thingies (sorry, I know, not helpful), whereas I usually didn't bother dipping.
Didn't even make it to the doctor because when I set the alarm Saturday I'd set it for weekdays instead of Saturday, and got up too late to get to the clinic. So another week (still have 3 weeks' of pills), but hoping that the small improvements will continue. Yay!
Saturday, August 13, 2016
It's funny because I've actually encountered more of that weird English you hear about in Asia in the 3 weeks I've been at my new school, versus the 5 months I was at ILS, and ILS adhered a lot more to Korean customs than my new school. Aside from my having gotten over my culture shock, Jungchul is a lot more accessible culturally than ILS. By that I mean the other teachers and staff are nice and respectful to everyone, Korean or otherwise, have a sense of humor. Last minute planning still happens, but FAR less often, and isn't just so ingrained to how things are done that it's less stressful for everyone all around. The other little difference is that at ILS we removed our shoes and wore slippers at work, whereas here we just walk around in our shoes. Of course, it appears ILS was just an overall shitty place to work, while Jungchul is definitely not.
But the kids at ILS rarely, if ever,wore t-shirts with English on them (or much writing at all), though when they did it was fine. The books we used were actually school books from the US, so those likewise spared me the fun, albeit harmful* fun for those trying to learn English.
At the new school, we use many books that were written in Korea. In fact, 1/2 of my middle school classes use books that explain language concepts, instructions, etc in Korean, which worried me about teaching since I don't speak Korean (turns out we just play the CDs so they can get their instruction in Korean, then listen to English examples and exercises).
And so, there are definitely some mistakes to be found. Some are very small, like the middle school class today who listened to 2 Americans talking about where to go for pizza, and in the script, it talked about thick and thin bread, instead of crust. I will add that the kids found that particular exercise way too easy, so I blew their minds by explaining something that apparently they didn't get, and didn't know they didn't get: that the girl liked goat cheese on her pizza. The kids were truly shocked, not just that other animals produce milk that people consume, but that they'd make cheese out of it. I then had 8 middle schoolers howling with laughter as I attempted to draw a camel that looked more like a puzzle piece, a sheep, and then worked on their request for me to draw a dog which kept just being a horse. Teacher draw time is a hit for all ages.
And then there are the conversation books that are designed to give kids small conversation practice, like introducing yourself, meeting your friend's mom, going to the store... or asking someone what they think about what you're wearing, which reflects no word usage a native speaker would ever use, albeit due to cultural difference (in Asia, it's perfectly appropriate to tell someone not wearing makeup that they look pale or ugly... telling someone you're ugly can be commonly used particularly if the person doesn't know other words. It's also considered fine to comment on how nice or bad a woman's hair or skin is, for example, pretty much only if you're white & not tan, which means daily, frequent comments on how nice and light your skin/hair is/are. Naturally they'll tell you if you're fat, ask what's wrong with your skin, etc.).This conversation is on agreeing and disagreeing, as well as the phrase, "you're right:"
A. Is this right for me?
B. Well, I don't think so.
A Is it to small?
B. That's right.
A. Maybe I'm too fat.
B. You're right.
And it wasn't until this school that I finally have seen a kid oblivious to the fact that his baseball hat says FUCK in big, capital letters.
There are 2 reasons I can see for this:
1.) The boy who wears it, though he's in a class where they listen to conversations about cancelling reservations, boss and employee conversations, etc, clearly hears Charlie Brown's teacher when I talk, he looks at me so blankly whenever I say anything or ask a question.
2.) It's written in a Gothic font. If I connect my lowercase L to an E, my students freak out and can't figure out what word I've written. So, this particular font, which takes a bit of effort on my part to get, is way out of their league. But my GOD that first week that hat was right in front of me, in the front row, it was nearly impossible not to stare at it and wonder what the hell everyone was thinking.
For more on this, you should google "Asian kids wearing bad English." There was a whole page on kindergartners wearing shirts that say things like... well, why don't I just give you a few examples of the gems you'll find, which are not actually limited to kids way too young to get it:
But the kids at ILS rarely, if ever,wore t-shirts with English on them (or much writing at all), though when they did it was fine. The books we used were actually school books from the US, so those likewise spared me the fun, albeit harmful* fun for those trying to learn English.
At the new school, we use many books that were written in Korea. In fact, 1/2 of my middle school classes use books that explain language concepts, instructions, etc in Korean, which worried me about teaching since I don't speak Korean (turns out we just play the CDs so they can get their instruction in Korean, then listen to English examples and exercises).
And so, there are definitely some mistakes to be found. Some are very small, like the middle school class today who listened to 2 Americans talking about where to go for pizza, and in the script, it talked about thick and thin bread, instead of crust. I will add that the kids found that particular exercise way too easy, so I blew their minds by explaining something that apparently they didn't get, and didn't know they didn't get: that the girl liked goat cheese on her pizza. The kids were truly shocked, not just that other animals produce milk that people consume, but that they'd make cheese out of it. I then had 8 middle schoolers howling with laughter as I attempted to draw a camel that looked more like a puzzle piece, a sheep, and then worked on their request for me to draw a dog which kept just being a horse. Teacher draw time is a hit for all ages.
And then there are the conversation books that are designed to give kids small conversation practice, like introducing yourself, meeting your friend's mom, going to the store... or asking someone what they think about what you're wearing, which reflects no word usage a native speaker would ever use, albeit due to cultural difference (in Asia, it's perfectly appropriate to tell someone not wearing makeup that they look pale or ugly... telling someone you're ugly can be commonly used particularly if the person doesn't know other words. It's also considered fine to comment on how nice or bad a woman's hair or skin is, for example, pretty much only if you're white & not tan, which means daily, frequent comments on how nice and light your skin/hair is/are. Naturally they'll tell you if you're fat, ask what's wrong with your skin, etc.).This conversation is on agreeing and disagreeing, as well as the phrase, "you're right:"
A. Is this right for me?
B. Well, I don't think so.
A Is it to small?
B. That's right.
A. Maybe I'm too fat.
B. You're right.
And it wasn't until this school that I finally have seen a kid oblivious to the fact that his baseball hat says FUCK in big, capital letters.
There are 2 reasons I can see for this:
1.) The boy who wears it, though he's in a class where they listen to conversations about cancelling reservations, boss and employee conversations, etc, clearly hears Charlie Brown's teacher when I talk, he looks at me so blankly whenever I say anything or ask a question.
2.) It's written in a Gothic font. If I connect my lowercase L to an E, my students freak out and can't figure out what word I've written. So, this particular font, which takes a bit of effort on my part to get, is way out of their league. But my GOD that first week that hat was right in front of me, in the front row, it was nearly impossible not to stare at it and wonder what the hell everyone was thinking.
For more on this, you should google "Asian kids wearing bad English." There was a whole page on kindergartners wearing shirts that say things like... well, why don't I just give you a few examples of the gems you'll find, which are not actually limited to kids way too young to get it:
Monday, August 8, 2016
DAMN IT.
My workouts for the past 2 months or so have basically sucked. Workouts I used to be challenged by, or super challenged by but capable of doing, are practically killing me. And no matter how often I do them, there's no improvement, no strength gains, everything's as hard as if I just started working out.
I haven't been able to do a straight-leg push-up in all this time, and bringing my chest to the floor with my knees on the floor is now the perfect challenge, which I do to exhaustion, within 30 seconds each set.
I've been eating rice at dinner, both because the dishes aren't close to filling enough (protein, particularly in the form of meat, is too expensive to the owner, so used very sparingly), and because I know from previous programs that I need carbs to get through my workouts, but it hasn't ultimately been helping
Today was a 10 minute HIIT workout, with a guy who usually does stuff that's too easy for me: when I was in Chicago, I'd have to do 2 of them in a row, increasing the work time and decreasing the rest time, just to feel it. Today 1 workout (though I still increased the work time) was at the perfect level. That was followed by a 12 minute upper body tabata workout, 20 seconds work, 10 secs rest, 4 rounds of 3 sets of exercises. Whereas I used to be able to hold 1/2way down in a push-up for 60-90 seconds, I can just make it to the 20 second mark for 2 rounds, today being the first time I could hold out for that long without dropping my knees.
It is true that the last time I went in to get my levels checked, I was supposed to call back to see if the increased dosage of thyroid meds was sufficient. I forgot for at least a month, and when I finally remembered, naturally, the English speaking doctor can only be reached through a Korean-only speaking staff, and they didn't seem to understand when I asked for Dr. Park. So there IS a chance I still need another bump in my meds. Plus the anxiety gradually wore off. (But then, I also got away from that hellish job.)
But the other, and at this point I'm going to go with more likely cause, is that I'm losing muscle building ability and energy due to this awesome part of hypothyroidism, where your thyroid levels are where they're supposed to be, but you're dealing with any of the myriad, really pretty shitty, side effects of it. Some people lose hair, some have brain fog, some people feel sedated, some people have headaches and soreness, some have stomach problems... the list goes on and on. People reported improvements in their conditions from the Autoimmune Paleo Protocol. Prior to my leaving for Chile, I was going to try APP, a diet that is really as bad as the symptoms you can feel. I decided since I didn't feel like shit as others did, I would take on the elimination diet once I too started having issues, but NOT before.
And it occurred to me today as I frustratingly struggled through knee push-ups for the 6th week in a row and needed a minute break between each set change, that this may be my version of feeling-shitty-because-why-not. It may be time to eliminate wheat, see how that works, then dairy, because those are the 2 biggest issues for people with autoimmune, then go from there. It occurred to me as well to cut out the rice and grains again, but fruit alone isn't remotely enough carbs (or at least, I haven't found them to provide them).
So, I have the unmitigated pleasure of trying this elimination shit here in Korea. You would naturally think this would be easy, since dairy isn't part of the diet usually, and wheat isn't that common either. Well, it WASN'T, but deep fried everything is as popular here as ever. So there's that.
Anyway, it all comes down to hating I have to do without this stuff. Especially when brunch is still a thing I do here... and we're going to the Original Pancake House on Sunday. But hey, if it's going to make push-ups more possible, it's almost worth it. Almost.
I haven't been able to do a straight-leg push-up in all this time, and bringing my chest to the floor with my knees on the floor is now the perfect challenge, which I do to exhaustion, within 30 seconds each set.
I've been eating rice at dinner, both because the dishes aren't close to filling enough (protein, particularly in the form of meat, is too expensive to the owner, so used very sparingly), and because I know from previous programs that I need carbs to get through my workouts, but it hasn't ultimately been helping
Today was a 10 minute HIIT workout, with a guy who usually does stuff that's too easy for me: when I was in Chicago, I'd have to do 2 of them in a row, increasing the work time and decreasing the rest time, just to feel it. Today 1 workout (though I still increased the work time) was at the perfect level. That was followed by a 12 minute upper body tabata workout, 20 seconds work, 10 secs rest, 4 rounds of 3 sets of exercises. Whereas I used to be able to hold 1/2way down in a push-up for 60-90 seconds, I can just make it to the 20 second mark for 2 rounds, today being the first time I could hold out for that long without dropping my knees.
It is true that the last time I went in to get my levels checked, I was supposed to call back to see if the increased dosage of thyroid meds was sufficient. I forgot for at least a month, and when I finally remembered, naturally, the English speaking doctor can only be reached through a Korean-only speaking staff, and they didn't seem to understand when I asked for Dr. Park. So there IS a chance I still need another bump in my meds. Plus the anxiety gradually wore off. (But then, I also got away from that hellish job.)
But the other, and at this point I'm going to go with more likely cause, is that I'm losing muscle building ability and energy due to this awesome part of hypothyroidism, where your thyroid levels are where they're supposed to be, but you're dealing with any of the myriad, really pretty shitty, side effects of it. Some people lose hair, some have brain fog, some people feel sedated, some people have headaches and soreness, some have stomach problems... the list goes on and on. People reported improvements in their conditions from the Autoimmune Paleo Protocol. Prior to my leaving for Chile, I was going to try APP, a diet that is really as bad as the symptoms you can feel. I decided since I didn't feel like shit as others did, I would take on the elimination diet once I too started having issues, but NOT before.
And it occurred to me today as I frustratingly struggled through knee push-ups for the 6th week in a row and needed a minute break between each set change, that this may be my version of feeling-shitty-because-why-not. It may be time to eliminate wheat, see how that works, then dairy, because those are the 2 biggest issues for people with autoimmune, then go from there. It occurred to me as well to cut out the rice and grains again, but fruit alone isn't remotely enough carbs (or at least, I haven't found them to provide them).
So, I have the unmitigated pleasure of trying this elimination shit here in Korea. You would naturally think this would be easy, since dairy isn't part of the diet usually, and wheat isn't that common either. Well, it WASN'T, but deep fried everything is as popular here as ever. So there's that.
Anyway, it all comes down to hating I have to do without this stuff. Especially when brunch is still a thing I do here... and we're going to the Original Pancake House on Sunday. But hey, if it's going to make push-ups more possible, it's almost worth it. Almost.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)