The Greatest Lesson

With no textbook to work from I have the ability to teach however I want. There is always a planned lesson but if the students really tried to speak English, I would just sit on my desk and communicate with them all period. Instead I sometimes deviate from my lesson only for a few minutes when I see a possibility to reach an actual dialogue exchange with a student.
The boys hit each other all the time in my class but I let it go because it never escalates to point where they become a distraction. But when I saw one boy slap another boy across his face I decided to make a quick lesson about honesty. I walked up to the boy, tapped him on the shoulder and asked "Did you hit him?" "No no teacher! No hit" said the student. "Are you lying to me?"I said. "No lie" said the student. "He's liar! He hit me!" said the victim student, pleased that his friend was getting into trouble. "Just tell me truth" I said. "Did you hit him?" NO TEACHER! That finally did it"I saw you hitting! You lied to me! Ten push ups! The class erupted in cheers as the boy got down on the filthy floor and did his push ups. When he finished and the class had settled down I explained to them. I punished the student not for hitting but for lying. When you get caught doing something bad you should always telly the truth. Lying will only make it worse. I clarified this in the case they ever commit a crime and get caught by the police. I told them if that ever happened either say nothing or lie until you get an attorney. "If you admit you stole something to the police they will arrest you and you will have no defense. Being quite or lying will give you a better chance of getting away from the crime. Always tell the truth to your family and to your friends" I said. The students nodded in agreement.
Later on in the class I was able to show benefits of truth telling when another student bit his friend in the neck. "Did you just bite him in the neck" I asked. "Yes teacher" the student said with a big smile. "Honesty, thank you for telling me truth, no push ups"

Just when you think the area you live in is getting boring you get a weekend where you see some new shit and realize just how much there is to explore. On Saturday I made my second trip to Sinan, the island county located west of Mokpo. Virtually all of these islands are accessible only by ferry and I had been meaning to explore them for some time. What makes Sinan so great are the countless beaches scattered throughout the islands. Good beaches are hard to find in my area of Korea because of the strong tide. When you have thousands of islands in such a small area of the ocean, they act as a water funnel, causing the stronger, faster tides. Because of this, most of the beaches in south-western Korea are no good because the water sucks all the sand away, leaving mud and rock where sand would normally lay. The tide on this beach was strong but the sand remained. We had great time out playing Frisbee and drinking beers. There was a little house nearby that had a small grocery store. To buy food you had to get the attention of the family running the store as it was locked but it was well stocked for such in isolated area. We played a lot of Frisbee on the beach which great except for the occasional vehicle rolling by. This beach is flat and the sand compact so it made for a great driving surface and the locals use this beach for a road. Pretty funny to see decent cars cruising along the beach.
I will have to come back to these islands and explore more. This was a great first experience of Sinan County.

So bored

Today has been brutally boring because I have only one class. The reason for this is some of the little rotters are in China now so the classes were cancelled. Normally this wouldn't be so bad except the teachers who can speak English with me are also gone, leaving me with nobody to talk to besides myself. I love talking to myself but even I get bored of me after a while so now I am talking about myself on the computer in the third person which should pass the time rather nicely. Lets catch up on my life before I forget it.

Until this week I hadn't worked for a month and a half. I spent this glorious stretch of paid free time doing a motorcycle trip around Jeju Island and going home for a month long visit with the fam.
The Jeju trip was fantastic. I had been meaning to get over there with my bike to tour the place for some time now and just let me say, having your own wheels on Jeju is definitely the way to go. I was able to hike amazing craters, conquer mighty mountains ( twice) and bask in the hazy sun on the beaches of this great volcanic island. This place has a reputation for being like Hawaii and it must say it's true, but not in the way you may think. Jeju doesn't always look like Hawaii but it smells like Hawaii, and with the humidly in the summer it even feels like Hawaii. Jeju and the Hawaiian Islands are both volcanic so you see the same porous lava rock in Jeju that you find in Hawaii. Jeju and Hawaii both have incredible hiking tails. The hike up Halla was exotic, lush, and glorious; just like a good walk in Hawaii. Jeju and Hawaii both have beaches. Hawaiian beaches are way better but hey, beaches are beaches.
My favorite story from jeju was the afternoon I was snorkeling in the water by this sports rental place located on the water. The workers approached me and told me to get out of the water. Wae? (Why in Korean) I asked. "Oh police police" the owner replied to me from the rocks. I figured they just didn't want me near their boat launch but the snorkeling was lousy anyway so I decided to listen and get out of the water. I was on the rocks packing my things when the owner walked over to me and asked me to sit down with he and his crew. They were just sitting in chairs under an umbrella waiting for tourists to ride the banana boat, wake board or jet skies. I figured what the hell.
My communication with everyone was limited but we spoke and understand enough of each others language to make introduction, explain ourselves and make jokes. It helps that all Koreans young or old make pretty much the same jokes/insults to one another. "He is Crazy" " He is Korean Mafia" etc. After about an hour the boat crew loved me and started calling me their brother. They even let me go out on the banana boat once. Before I left they invited me to come back and spend the day with them and that's exactly what I ended up doing. I return the next morning and helped them assemble a trailer that was used for the new jet ski they just bought. Then I met some of the wives and children. The owners wife runs the gas station by the beach it turns out. After work I spent the afternoon acting as the honorary lifeguard for the banana boat. I also got to ride the jet skies and I wake boarded for the first time in my life. It was a great afternoon and was a perfect example of a fun cultural experience. This sort of thing would never happen to the U.S. unless you were a beautiful women or something. My only regret was that I promised them I would send the pictures from our day to them via email but the address they gave me doesn't work so I can't contact them. Still a great day and the highlight of Jeju.

The Jeju trip lasted a week, after which I took the ferry back to Mokpo, grabbed my luggage and headed up to Ilsan that evening to visit my buddy before flying back to California.

Chico was great. Real nice seeing family and friends and enjoying the food variety. Went down to San Francisco twice to visit my dad and go to a concert. I had my car broken into and lost my digital camera. That sucked but now I have the waterproof one that all the cool kids are getting these days so that was good.
I spent five days in Lake Tahoe just chilling in this beach cabin. Did some great hiking up there but mostly drank beer from the keg and sat on the beach all day. The other major event was the wedding between my good friends Blake and Keri. This was the main reason I came back to California and it netted me an extra week off because my kind school gave me the time off. They got married in great little spot outdoors and in the mountains. No real stories to tell except it was great meeting some of their family I hadn't seen before. I talked to Blake's grandmother who was an ex LPGA tour pro and got some golf tips. ( She just told me to relax.)As Best man I had to give a speech which I kept short and sweet and then we began the reception. The great thing about weddings is it's always a reunion of sorts. Got to catch up with some people I hadn't seen in some time and tell them about Korea. Telling people about what I am doing in fun because their usually surprised and very engaged when you talk about it. Its just something you don't hear everyday though. I think when I finish telling my story the think"Wow what an adventure, I don't think I would do that." It reminds me what a Hugh step it is coming over to Korea. I am really glad it's turning out to be a positive one for me.
The reception went deep into the night and then I had to leave for Korea the next morning, brutal! I barley got my hung over ass to the airport on time and got scolded by the clerk for being so late. The travel time back was uneventful. I drank about six small bottles of airplane wine and took two norcos and that sedated me nicely. Got real lucky at Incheon when I got the one and only bus to Mokpo at 6:20. (Otherwise I would have had to go to the bus station. All and all a great trip. I already have my eyes set on the next extended vacation this winter when I will go to Thailand, can't wait.

And this is how you kill time at school!!!!!!!

Wando

I cut my Busan trip short by a day because I really wanted to ride my motorcycle to Wando for the Mokpo camping trip. Since I got back so late I didn't get a hold of the other riders so I rode to Wando solo. Took about two hours and I was able to enjoy some great view of Jeollanam-Do. Like most area in South Korea, Jeollanam-Do is dotted with lush green mountains. when the mountains give way, the dominate feature is rice fields. Summer is a great time to ride if you can avoid rainy weather since everything is green but you have to avoid the rain. Lucky for me the weather was great until I got to Wando. There the weather turned cooler and foggy but no rain thank god. I rode through Wando and crossed the bride to the Island where Myeongsasimri Beach was located. This is one of the great beaches of South Korea. It's 4k long and very wide so there is plenty of room to relax. The beach and the ocean meet smoothly so the water stays nice and shallow which helps keep the temperature warm. This beach is similar to Daegwang Beach which at 12k is the largest in South Korea. I can't decide which one I like better so I just need to visit both again to make an educated decision.
After I set up camp and said hi to everyone I headed to the beach for a swim. It was exactly what I needed after the ride down and the water felt great despite the dropping temperature and increasing cloud cover. That evening we built a campfire, ate some dinner and drank some booze (classic camping) It was Canada day so Canadian maple leaves could be found on everyone and everything throughout camp. Some people brought fireworks so we had a little show going by the beach despite the high winds and light sprinkles. Since everyone had been drinking since noon, we ran out of steam and called it an evening at around nidnight. This was when the fun really started. I have a cheap tent that has only netting on the sides and thus provides no protection against water so I was really worried about possible rain. For the first half of the night the main problem was the high wind. It created a nasty little sound in my tent and made sleeping impossible. At one point a gust uprooted one of my stakes and caused my tent to collapse. The rain starting coming at around 3am. I had not slept but my tent had done a good job of keeping out the light rain and I was cautiously optimistic a dry night could be attained. My optimism quickly shifted to an impending sense of doom when the rumble of thunder in the distance made itself known. Lightning followed it and before I knew it when had a torrential downpour in Camp Wando. The monsoon was coming down like a shower at home and the water quickly flowed into my tent, forcing me to abandon it for shelter in a tarp setup that was being used by some other campers. Much of the structure had collapsed from the wind but there was still enough room to put my soggy sleeping bag. At least I wasn't going to get any wetter. The rain bounced off the tarp like bullets and I knew this would be a sleepless night. Anyone that was actually asleep at camp was woken up but by one of the loudest thunder claps I have ever experience. The decibel level had to have reached 120-130 at camp.
The rain continued to pour until about 5am, at which point daylight began and everyone rose to assess the damage. Our camp resembled a flood zone more then anything. One girls motorcycle had fallen over due to the mushy ground and was damaged. Canadian beach balls and flags littered the landscapes. My tent had an inch of water in it but thank god my electronics stayed dry. One couple had even abandoned their sleeping spot for the safe refuge of the bathroom! That's how bad it was folks.
The busers packed up and left really early. We bikers got a later start because we had to deal with the broken motorcycle but we did get on our way at around 10am. The ride back was like the night camping. Very hard rain. We all got soaked head to toe in water while navigating the slippery roads back to Mokpo. Although soaked, none of us got cold. The weather was warm and the water felt like a shower even with the wind factor. My motorcycle Entourage did have one bad incident when a girl lost control of her bike on a 90 degree turn and flew off the side. I saw her accident in my rear view mirror and I knew she was probably injured as I pulled my bike over. Amazingly she escaped with a only a few cuts and bruises. She was wearing a leather jacket which prevented road burn and the helmet saved her head. She was even brave enough to get back on the bike and finish the trip. I dried off and collapsed into bed not wanting to think about going to school the next day.
This Wando trip was not what I hoped it would be but I can chalk it up as a life experience I can talk about. It's not very funny when you are experiencing a sleepless night in rain and witness a motorcycle accident but time makes these sort of things funny and in the end you are glad to have went through them.

Busan

Last week was finals week at my school and since my class doesn't have a final exam I was excused from classes for the finals period. Usually Principals will make the native speaker attend school regardless of whether they have classes because Koreans are just consumed by their work and don't yet understand the meaning of time off. I am very lucky to have a reasonable principal who doesn't see the need to for me to attend when I have nothing to teach. So last week I headed to Busan for some much needed beach time. I went over there on Tuesday because I did have classes that monday. Got there really late so after I check into my hostel I headed to Haeundae beach just to check it out. Haeundae is the famous beach you see in photographs jammed packed with people. That occurs only during the peak tourist season which is still a few weeks away, the rest of the time leaves plenty of space on the 2k beach to take a rest. Nighttime is a special time at Haeundae. The whole beach is clearly lit from the plaza walkway and all sorts of different colors are used to create a romantic seaside effect. The plaza itself is lined with hotels, restaurants, a casino and even an aquarium. There is no shortage of things to do on this beach.



The next day was sunny and so I really had no other option but to spend the day at Haeundae. The beach was not crowded at all except for a large group of kids who arrived at the beach for a little field trip. The water was a bit chilly at first but I quickly got used to it. Afterword I took a ferry ride around the harbor for a view of Busan from the water. It was a really hazy day and not a good time for photography but I really enjoyed the cruise. Busan is often called the San Francisco of Asia and although I would certainly never mistake one for the other, I did notice some similarities on that boat trip. The Grand suspension bridge which links the two sides of bay and is the signature structure of the Busan skyline looks like a cheaper and less attractive version of the Golden Gate. The steap rolling hills throughout Busan also give it Frisco feel to it and Busan also gets some fog from the ocean, especially around Haeundae beach which you can see in one of my photos. After swimming I found a sauna shower room nearby. These public facilities are famous all over Korea and I was told they were quite relaxing. The sauna was one giant room Showers were located near the entrance since that is the first thing you must do before using the goods stuff. In the middle were two large hot tubs. In the corner was a cold tub and next to that was two sauna rooms. Basically what I did was spend 10 minutes in the hot tub then jump in the cold tub. Ten minutes in the sauna, then jump in the cold tub It was comfortable and relaxing in there and for the cheap price I was glad I tried the public sauna. That evening I checked out the casino at Haeundae in search of a Poker room. I was disappointed to find only the mindless slot games and some blackjack and craps which I have never enjoyed so I left there sooner then I thought and called it a night.



The next day was hot, humid, sticky, and rainy. Earlier that day I had made contact with my global freeloader contact and made a plan to stay at her apartment after I checked out of the hostel. I really wanted to swim at Haeundae so I was walking in shorts and sandals on my to the beach when my sandal gave way on the slippery cement causing my foot slide forward violently. When I looked down I realized by big toe ( which is abnormally big) had slid off my sandal and had been shredded like sandpaper on the cement. Blood was already pouring out of the toe and I was pretty mad. I had nothing to clean or bandage the wound but luckily I found a pharmacy about one block away. I dragged my ozzing digit into the store and asked for bandages and disinfectant. They were very nice in the store and sat me down to treat the wound themselves. I bought the disinfectant and waterproof bandages they used and was as good as new. I made my went to a great bakery I found the day before to eat but I skipped the swimming for that morning. In the afternoon I met Jen from GFL, she was a hogwan worker but has a great location on Gwangalli beach. She had to go to school pretty quickly so we basically had intro talk and arranged a key situation. I then headed to the famous fishing market in Busan. This place has all sorts of sea creatures ranging from king crab to small sharks. It was basically a giant aquarium only an abattoir. I also went to Busan Tower, the highest structure in Busan to check out the view. The fog prevented me from seeing the whole city but the view was still nice. I then spent some time in the major shopping district of Busan looking for bargains. I wanted to escape the heat so I watched Transformers to kill some time in the cool theatre. Great movie. That evening I photographed the Grand Bridge and a few drinks on Gwangalli Beach.



I decided to head back to Mokpo on Friday because I wanted to go camping in Wando but I did get some more sightseeing in before I left. I saw a great Buddhist temple just north of Busan. There were a lot of people praying by the shrines and some Monks were present leading dozens in people in worship. I thought it best not take photos of these sacred moments but it was a very powerful sight seeing the significance this place has for the South Korean people. I was photographing a statue and a group of korean girls asked me to take a picture of them. After I did that they asked me to be in the photo with them and then they had me do those stupid poses you can see. Just another example of feeling like a celebrity in this country.
The best beach in Busan is SanJeong beach which was nearby the temple. This beach is little bit north of the city so is doesn't have the artificial vibe the other major beaches give off. The high hills and lush vegatation give it a more exotic and tropical feeling as well. Sanjeong has a sand spit that goes into the sea so the waves break far away which makes this the best spot for surfing and Bogey boarding. I had badly burned myself at Haeundae but with the overcast weather I figured I could spend a couple hours swimming without doing to much damage. I'm glad I did because it was a great capper to the trip spending time at this great beach. When I come back to Busan I would like to stay near this place and try some surfing. At around three I packed up my stuff and headed back to Mokpo to get ready for the Wando trip.
This was a great trip for me because it was the first time taking a vacation by myself. It's certainly better to travel with friends and family but I'm glad I was still able to have a good time alone. I did meet some new people that I might not have I traveled with friends. Fun times.

Motorcycle and police Encounter

I love my apartment but my only complaint is its location. In Mokpo the hot spots in town reside in the old and new downtown areas. I am in North Harbor which is far away from both so I have been spending a lot of money on cabs. So it made sense to buy some transportation and I am now the proud owner of a used Sizuki 125 CC motorcycle. I had never driven one but with the help of my san sam niem (teacher, wrong korean spelling I know) Christa I was able to get enough training to ride on my own pretty quickly. Unlike California, getting a motorcycle is cheap and easy. Mine cost 500,000 won (about 500$) plus another 120,000 for a new helmet and wheel lock. That's it. No registration, no insurance, and no DL. A 125 CC engine and under do not require a drivers license. I think a big reason for this is the number of businesses that use motorcycles and scooters to deliver food and perform other services. Just a theory anyway. I found out the accuracy of this information very quickly. I was taking an evening cruise south of Mokpo checking out the great Korean landscape when I came to a red light in the middle of the freeway. I could have stopped but I didn't want to wreck the momentum and there were no cars anywhere so I ran it. In Korea stoplights are treated as more of a suggestion then command. Except when it's a cop trap. There were a group of five policeman waiting down the straightaway and they waved me in. My first ticket in another country I thought. Sweet " An yong ha sayo" said the senior policeman, Can I see driver license? "125 CC" I said motioning to the engine anio license. I showed him my ARC, and my Cali DL. 125 CC? ah ok. You have job asked the cop? Neh, Neh English Teacher I said. English teacher? ah ok. Shouldn't run red light, must stop. Neh neh, my bad I said. I apologize. He then tried to tell me something In Korean that I didn't understand. Don't understand? he said. Ok you may go. I got out of my first traffic ticket!! I think the policeman decided it was to much work to give me ticket when I didn't even have a license or understanding of his instructions so he released me. This made my day. I never would have gotten out of that in the states but in Korea I can. I rode back to Mokpo and this time did not run anymore red lights.

School Festival

Every year around this time schools take a break from their normal curriculum to have a festival in honor of Buddhas birthday. That meant no classes after tuesday which is always nice. The first day was sports day for the students. Each class created uniforms in advance and competed in all sorts of events including ping-pong, kickball, soccer, track, tug of war, and the very unusual and funny Pec jok. In this race the kids linked up in a very... awkward proximity to one another. Hopefully there were no...personal discoveries in those races.
The games finished up the next day and that evening a special event was held in the schools gymnasium. It was a show consisting of musical performances, magic tricks, and acting skits done by the students. It also featured a song performed me and four other female English teachers "How Deep is your Love". How I was drawn into this I will never know but I went with it and the song went really well. I am a terrible singer but singing with four other girls really made my voice sound better. Everyone sung the chorus but we divided the lyrics up. I sung the first bit with another teacher and I must say we sounded fantastic! After we finished the other teachers who could actually sing took care of the rest. I thought the chorus sounded okay. It was fun getting up on stage in front of such a large crowd. There was quite a bit of smoke on the stage so for a few seconds there I really felt like a rock star. If I can get ahold of some photos of the actual song I will be sure to put them up.
I spent the rest of the evening hanging out with the other teachers. Although communication is very limited with the exception of the female English teachers, the school appreciates that I stick around and make an effort to socialize. I am making progress learning Korean words but I have a long way to go till I can have a real conversation in Korean.

Jeju Island ( Frisbee Tournament)

Jeju Island is a sub-tropical Island located off the southern coast of South Korea. It is a volcanic Island not unlike the Hawaiian Islands and there the 3rd annual Ultimate Frisbee tournament was held. This tournament was fantastic. Each team paid a $300 entry fee that covered hotel, food, and drinking expenses. The tournament was held on the World Cup practice field which had the nicest grass I ever played on.
On Friday the tournament hosted an all you can drink party at the hotel. They only offered one kind of beer which was the very ordinary Cass beer. Despite the limited selection no one was complaining about a free beer that can be can be consumed in very large quantities. I learned quickly that Ultimate players take their drinking very seriously. Frisbee and Beer seem to go together and on this night I was introduced to a new kind of chug; Frisbee Chug. Did you know you can fit nearly forty ounces of beer inside an inverted frisbee? It took me a few minutes to finish my disk of beer and I quickly felt sick afterword.
The night ended on the Fourth floor where a large group of us formed Frisbee baseball, with an empty water jug being the bat. Being considerate folk, some diskers took down the hotel pictures and some other loose objects before beginning the fun. I am happy to report nobody got hurt during this game and I only wish I pictures to show of this great game.
The next day was a painful one initially. Once I got to the stadium and walked in the sun I felt better. On my way to the field I walked past a giant stack of Cass, Soju, and Water, yes drinking was allowed at the tournament. There were teams from all over Asia at this tournament and many were very competitive and fun to watch. It was great to see Ultimate played by people who understand the game. Team Gongshow could be described as the ultimate recreational team. I knew we wouldn't compete with the good teams but it was great getting out on that field and playing.
That night was another buffet and all night drinking party. Two people I travelled with brought a single and couples beer bong that was readily embraced by all the players. It was these beer bongs and the general party attitude of the Mokpo crew that led us to receive the award for best spirit/party attitude.
The next day was very very painful but thankfully there were only a few games to be played before the playoffs started. My group watched some very good Frisbee be played while drinking the Cass from the grandstands. Took off late that afternoon for the five hour ferry ride back to Mokpo. I slept much of the way in my cabin which is a giant room that dozens of passengers share. I will have to return to Jeju and check out the beaches next time. It was a great tournament but it took up all of the time there.

The First Blog

What a historic moment. I am going to stop writing now and figure out how this works