Train Adventures and 10 Lessons Learned

So I learned several things lately on my train adventures.

First, there are suggestions on the platform as to where to wait for certain cars and sometimes the train doesn't exactly match up with it.

Second, there are difficulties to getting to the right car with baby strollers and elderly women in the way.

Third, rushing to the train and choking on a chili cheese hotdog is a good way to die. I didn't though, hence the blog update.

Fourth, if you fart on an escalator (if you need an explanation then read the previous lesson) that's headed up always give a look with a raised eyebrow to the guy in the suit in front of you.

Fifth, there are these hilarious signs posted on staircases in the stations. “Watch out for steps!” This would be a welcomed warning, except that it comes in the middle of the staircase. If you weren't already watching out for the steps then it's probably too late to start.

Sixth, it's very distracting to try and watch Two and a Half Men on my computer when there are two nuns sitting across the aisle from me. It's one thing to know they exist, but it's a completely differently thing when I'm laughing at penis, drinking and hooker jokes with a physical manifestation of a moral compass sitting next to me. That being said, add in a couple gay clown jokes and someone wearing a patch and T. Sean could be one of the writers.

Seventh, I don't know how sunny it has to be for Koreans to start wearing sunglasses, but it's almost blinding outside and the only people that are sporting tints are foreigners. Even more confusing is all the Koreans that are still wearing jackets. I want to shed my jeans and they're standing there in layers.

Eighth, Korean dads find it hilarious when you fist bump their elementary school sons who tell me hi. Korean moms, not so much.

Ninth, there probably should be complimentary deodorant or perhaps a time window like swimming in which if you ate curry within the last day you get to sit in a “special” car.

And last but not least, Tenth, just because you have the ticket that says that this is your specific seat, doesn't mean that you're going to feel good about telling the sweet old woman sitting in the seat that it's your seat.

Inferences and Solving Crimes

So last night's listening skill was making inferences with stated details and facts.  The best part was that all the lectures were on police procedural tv shows.  The students thought it was a riot when I abbreviated it and every time I referred to it I called it PPTV.  Anyways, they spoke about Dragnet and how that started the trend and that CSI and Law&Order are keeping the category alive.  I then went on Youtube and played the opening statement from Dragnet for them and they wanted to watch the whole episode, then I played the opening lines from Law&Order and Law&Order:CI and had them listen to those and we talked about what it really meant.  Then one of the mini lectures focused on forensic science and I asked them what shows focused on this subject and they all said CSI, two of the boys said NCIS and then one of the kids said Bones.  I wasn't aware that these kids had anytime for TV.  Then the next mini lecture was about entomology and how studying bugs can help people solve cases.  One of the kids said that this was like the main guy on CSI and so then we started talking about how he's been able to solve a number of cases through that.  Their final project was to interpret a series of clues about a crime and be able to come up with a circumstance in which it happened and who did it.  I loved it as it was a great lecture and perfect participation by all, even the shy ones.

On a side note:  I opened with one of those guessing games where you slowing give clues such as this animal has four legs, it has a tail, etc.  And the students make guesses as they go along.  We used this to talk about what the facts were and how we can use these facts in order to make appropriate inferences.  When we got to the end they were all guessing lizard which was the answer and so they were wondering if I had a lizard and I told them I used to and showed them pictures and they all thought that it was a pretty cool pet, and I explained how mom wasn't always a fan whenever I'd let him roam around the house.

CHiPs : Remastered

So I fell asleep with my glasses on, not the first time it has happened and probably won't be the last, the only unfortunate thing was that it was my glasses that has the magnetic polarized sunglasses attachments.  Oh well I thought and I have spare pairs, basically planning on this accident happening because like I said it has before and will again.  Anyways, I got a new pair of prescription sunglasses and Erik Estrada might have a new partner if they ever get around to doing a remake of a decent show like CHiPs.

Lessons Learned : Good Results, Bad Results

So this post is kind of one of those good news, bad news reports.  Not so much for y'all, but just of recent events and learnings on my part.  First I did a load of whites a couple weeks ago and I was thoroughly displeased with the result as they all came out dingy and nothing was truly what could be considered Clorox white.  So this week I got to thinking about how I could get my whites really white and I thought of Grandma and mom and how they do the whites from church and how they soak them in a little tub beforehand and I figured if that could get red wine and cheap lipstick out of whites then it should work for the soy sauce and red pepper sauce that I had in mine.  So I boiled a pot of water, threw some bleach and a little detergent into it and let my whites soak in it overnight and then washed them the next day.  They turned out great.  I was super happy mainly because both of my pillow cases that mom made for me were white tshirts and I wanted to be able to keep them that way.

And now for the otherside of the coin.  After my longer run yesterday I was stretching out and doing my yoga routine when I noticed that my pinky toenail on one of my feet was a little long.  It definitely needed a trim.  So I go to rip the top of it off, in hindsight I don't know why I didn't go to the bathroom and get my clippers, and unfortunately ended up ripping the entire nail off.  Heck of a way to top off an eventful morning.

A Weird Running Adventure and Acupuncture

Hey y’all.  So I was at acupuncture today and I’ve had a case of the drips lately and so I took one of those magic pills that basically dries every part of my head up and I’m laying there with my head cocked back and it was this rejuvenating feeling with a mix of blissful trance.  I was swimming in a sea of haziness that was amazing.  Add some ZZ Top from my iPod on top of it and it was a great rest. 

This was the followup to my morning run this morning.  I wanted to push it a little and go for a nice relaxing longer run.  I also wanted to go exploring and run in a part of Suncheon that I hadn’t before.  So here I am exploring and running and I really didn’t have any distance in mind, but just to run at an easy pace.  Well after the first hour I was looking to start heading back towards my apartment, but I didn’t directly see a turn that I could make that could head me in that direction.  So I was faced with two options, keep going straight or turn around and retrace my steps.  This was an adventure afterall so I pushed forward and chose straight.  I kept seeing signs for the town 30 minutes (by car) to the south of us in the direction I was going and I wasn’t too worried as I hadn’t seen any signs that said I was now entering that particular city, then again I wasn’t seeing signs that said my city in any direction either, just a lot of signs for random little farming villages as we’ll call them.  I finally arrive at a major intersection and decide that turning right is my best option as it does in fact get me relatively closer to my neighborhood, or in this case my city.  So here I am running and I look at my watch and I’m already at the hour and a half mark and I’m thinking that I definitely should have brought a little cash for cab money, but I’m also glad that I didn’t start out fast and that I’ve been taking it a leisurely pace.  After about fifteen minutes on this road I finally see a sign.  Praise God for a sign.  {Suncheon 12KM}

Ok at this point I’m thinking that I was better off not knowing.  I start walking for a little bit.  I’ve got to.  I know I’m not going to walk the entire 12KM, but I needed a little bit of a walk.  After a little bit of rest, I start my leisurely run again and finally make it back home.  It was in fact an enjoyable run, but not something I’m going to be repeating again anytime soon.  

My Small Town and Life with People Used to Americans

I love my small town. I love that I have to know Korean in order to function to a certain extent. For example, Saturday when we a couple of us were taking a cab from our apartment complex to a restaurant, and we hopped in the cab and told the driver the restaurant name and he didn't seem to understand so I gave him the neighborhood and then a landmark in the general location. Then when we got close I told him straight, in Korean, twice and then told him the same restaurant name as before, but now that we were closer he understood and dropped us off on the doorstep. The person I was traveling with was asking what I had told him and I was like, just straight. Then when we got to the restaurant the people we were meeting asked if we had just told him the shopping center and then just walked, and I replied that I had indeed told him the shopping center, but the I had redirected the cab from there.

Fast forward to a day off from work and I decided that I was going to pick up a birthday present for Heana and I found the perfect one. Well I wasn't in Suncheon and had gone to a close larger city and when I went to the register it took me for a loop when the girl goes “That'll be 13,500 in perfect English.” I wasn't at all expecting it, and in Suncheon I don't know of any place that that'd happen. She then told me to ”have a nice day”. Definitely not something you hear in English in Suncheon.

One of the other things that I saw while I was taking care of shopping in this area was traveling Mormans. Nothing really too interesting to note about 'em, just that I saw them, and yes they had white short sleeve shirts, black ties and name badges.

When I was picking up a few presents for lucky people back home I was telling them exactly what I wanted and what I needed and the first person that gave me a quote said “this is how much it'll cost”. The whole arrangement took place in English. He then asked how much I wanted to make as a deposit. I handed him some 10,000 ₩ bills and he said “oh you're paying in won”. I was confused for a short bit. He works in Korea, he is Korean, he lives in Korea, but I guess he deals mainly with US military personnel, but still are we that arrogant as a society that when we leave the US base or American soil that the American Dollar (which let's face it has seen better days dependently speaking) should still be accepted? He then tried to drive the price up for me in won using some brutal conversion rate that I was like PASS. Plus he didn't even know who the Oklahoma State Cowboys were. Anyways, I walked out of there and went to a similar establishment where I was upfront with the individual at the very beginning that I was not military, I do not have American dollars, and that I needed all quotes to be in Won. When I showed him the picture of the Oklahoma State Cowboys jersey I wanted he instantly was like BIG 12, Big 12. I got a chuckle out of it. He had some Notre Dame jerseys that were pretty fantastic looking so I will see how he does with this test run and he might have a repeat customer.   

Baseball

I got pretty excited his morning.  I was looking at baseball schedules over here and seeing which teams I'd like to start off going to see.  One of the Seoul teams that I was looking at their roster and who've they got that plays for them and I got even more excited when I saw the American flag next to one of their pitchers names, Van Hekken.  Definitely an awesome feeling as this is one of the pitchers that James, Sean T. and I watched in Round Rock two seasons ago, hoping perhaps that he could give the Astros' bullpen some much needed help.  Now he's a starting pitcher in the rotation over here.  :-)   Byron is definitely excited.  In other good news, the Astros are just one game back from .500 and that was after dropping extra innings in Miami. 

SHOPPING EXPERIENCES IN KOREA

There's been a couple interesting things that I've noted at the grocery stores as of lately.

The Sam's Club type store that I go to get stuff at sometimes, just remodeled and created a International foods section.  I got a kick out of this as it was divided into columns with one labeled Europe/Med one India one Middle Eastern and then there was an America/Mexico section.  The very top row of this section is what I got a kick out of.  Heinz Yellow Mustard, Heinz Ketchup, Tabasco Sauce, and Bullseye Barbecue Sauce.  :-)   Made me chuckle.  What also made me chuckle is outside of these designated columns there were also general international food columns.  On these you could see foods such as Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate Mix and Nature's Valley Granola Bars.

They have self-service checkout machines in the grocery store that's close to work and I've always gotten a kick out of the super helpful lady that is there usually right before I go to work.  She smiles at me whenever she sees me coming and goes ahead and takes initiative to push the English button on the screen.  The thing I find cool though is it sounds almost identical to the self-service checkout machines in WalMart. 

Last when I was at the first mentioned store the other day, I only really went for two things.  But the two things that I went for I needed to make another batch of tuna salad.  Anyways, I'm sure it looked quite unique for someone to come into a Sam's type store and only buy two items.  The girl checking me out seemed to find it humorous too that all I was getting was a can of pickles and brown mustard.  Ahhh the stares and quizzical glances.

Yumminess from last night

Teacher, You're So Skinny

The weather has changed and so has my general apparel when dressing for work.  Instead of the usual skinny merino wool sweater over a button-up shirt, I'm sporting a variety of vests that I purchased over here.  The first day I donned one, one of my older elementary students walks in the room and goes "Teacher, you're so skinny? When did you get so skinny?"

Yes the change happened overnight haha.  But it got me thinking.  It is easier to buy clothes over here.  Take my vest for example.  I had to buy a medium.  It fits beautiful.  It doesn't have extra fabric flapping around.  I don't really think about size, I wouldn't care if I had to buy an XL as long as it fit right.  What I have a problem with is the growing trend in the US that I'll buy a S and the darn thing still doesn't fit.

Teacher you like to run?

There's numerous people that don't understand my desire and drive to run in the US.  Now I'm getting the same questions from my students.  Why does it make you happy?  What do you like about it?  What's the point?  Putting my race number and medal above my desk does make the questions more frequent though.  I'm hoping that there will soon be a collage of race numbers above my computer, but one step at a time.

What Makes an Adult?

Last week my older students were tasked with the challenge of creating a rubric to grade adults on in order that a person could determine whether an adult was really acting like an adult or whether they were acting like something less than one.  Their projects were so awesome that I definitely was riding on cloud 9 after their presentations.

Cranberry Orange Delights

So tips aren't usual in Korea.  In fact in a lot of places they are outright refused.  My doctor's office (acupuncture) got pretty mad when after the first couple of visits I left a couple of extra bucks.  Ok maybe not so much mad, but I got a stern talking to that they can actually get in legitimate trouble for having too much money.  Once I was talking with my boss about it, he was saying that people sometimes will bring foods and similar items that they made at home for "tips" every once and a while.  I decided that yesterday I was going to "tip" my acupuncture group with a batch of orange cranberry muffins.  You would've thought I had given them gold bars. They went nuts and kept coming over to my area and asking if "handmade" and if I made them and etc.  It certainly injected a pleasant smell into my apartment, and I finally got to use a bunch of my odd shaped silicone cupcake molds.  I decided that for the acupuncture place the squares and hearts were of appropriate size and I had enough batter left over to make a batch of tiny stars for the others at work.

Role Play [Might've been a little too realistic]

So the younger students' lesson all have a role play dialogue that goes along with the readings that the students memorize and then speak in a back and forth conversation form.  Sometimes the amount that the parts have is equal, but often times it is very lopsided and therefore I often take the shorter of the two and make the ALL of the students memorize the longer one.  This is the one from Friday.  The funny thing is I think they made this dialogue too realistic.

Part A : Mom! it smells bad in my room.

Part B : It's your dirty clothes.  You threw them all around the room last night.

Part A : Sorry Mom.  I'll put them in the laundry basket right now.

Part B: I think you should clean your room too.

No Internet

That's the issue I've been dealing with on and off again for the past week.  It'll sometimes be an entire day without it.  The good news is that I don't need it for an entire day because I've got other stuff that I can enjoy doing, but when you're wanting to text with folks back home, or face chat with them then it does in fact make it quite difficult.  Life goes on though.