Another weekend, another random act of kindness.

This Halloween weekend was somewhat of a disaster (losing a phone, being sick, rain like you wouldn't believe and rediscovering my square wheels) but also a great time (Halloween, drinks, a nice little hike, an unexpected laugh attack, getting my phone back and the fireworks festival).

A lot of bad things were manageable. A runny nose has never stopped me from going out, even when it’s raining cats and dogs, just add another layer. For the square wheels I blame alcohol, arrogance being contagious, and stereotyping girls from New York as very up front "cut the crap" kind of ladies, especially when they have a stripper's name. Halloween was the following evening. Everybody got dressed up, and had a night on the town. Somewhere in between leaving the bar and getting into a taxi, I managed to lose my phone. I realized it was gone once I got out of the cab. Either way this event managed to spring me into a very eventful Sunday.

So here are the good things. I was super impressed with my Halloween costume. I went as a crazy homeless man: tin foil hat to prevent the satellites from reading your mind, sign that states "guvermint konspearacees are real" a construction site tape for a belt (I couldn't find an extension cord), and plastic bags for my feet. Because it was all free my costume was completely disposable, a major plus. The following morning, without my cell phone in a sweat lodge of an apartment, I figured I would go on a journey to try and find my phone. I went to both bars I vaguely remember going to, both of which were closed, but I managed to find the legendary 2hrs of unlimited beer for 10,000 won.

I continued on my walk to discover this:

It started at 72 seconds. My mind just continued churning out ways you can cross this 2-lane road and still make it to the other side: rolling, lunging, crawling, paddling a canoe, or riding a turtle. It's endless. Then I walked down to Gwangalli Beach, the site of the Fireworks Festival. Gwangalli Beach is the site of my cover photo, featuring the Gwangalli Bridge. The site is always very beautiful and because there's plenty of time in the day, the I-pods pumping some rocking beats I decide I'm going to walk over to the other side and see what I can discover. Doesn't take long to see some really cool things, lots of little marinas were scattered around the shoreline and plenty of fishermen too. When I got to the other side of the bridge, the music kept rocking so I kept going. I made it up to Igdae Park which is a hiking trail that goes along the shoreline. The weirdest things on that 2+km trek were a tree growing out of concrete (talk about hiding your roots) and rock pathway which was a primitive bed of nails. Each stone was half buried, or cemented in the ground with pointed tops, most of the people I saw did it in their socks. I did the same and tried to walk across the whole thing but, it kills me to say, I only made it half way before I put my shoes back on. Either way feeling revitalized I took the subway home, checked facebook to discover that the person with my phone has been calling people in my phone. Winning - too bad he only spoke Korean. Thankfully, the kind stranger sent one of them their number.

Today I asked one of my co-teachers to phone and ask where I can pick it. He explains he's running an errand by my school and drops it off this afternoon. Because of the short notice I didn't have time to get him a gift so I tried to hand him 10,000 won, but he refused (pretty much running out of the classroom giving me the X sign the whole time and shaking his head almost violently). While he was on the phone with my co-teacher though he explained that he owns a restaurant that's famous for pig’s feet, the direct translation from Korean is trotters. Now as payment I have to venture to this restaurant to hopefully appease the Lost and Found God.

Thinking back to the last time I lost my phone, I suddenly realize how helpful and determined Koreans are in comparison to back home. Last time I lost my phone it slipped out of my pocket in a mall in one of the poverty-stricken pockets of Toronto. When I realized it was gone I used my mom's phone, who was my chaperon at the time, to call my phone. Here's how it went down:

The phone rings twice.

"Hello?"

"Hi, you have my phone. Can we-"

"Yeah this is my phone now."

*Hangs up.

This person was obviously the one who didn't share in kindergarten. This Korean man, however, made up for it: phoning tons of people on my contact list and anyone who was trying to contact me. Despite the language barrier he kept trying to solve the problem and I totally commend him for it. It's people like this, in a city so amazing, that make me want to be the best person/teacher I can be.  

After getting home to discover the news that this guy was consistently trying to solve the problem I went out to the fireworks festival. And that’s when Korea really blew my mind bringing a completely new meaning to “light up the sky.” You would think one hour of fireworks could get boring, it doesn't  One x-factor is the people surrounding you, one woman next to us was like a kid on Christmas morning, waving her hands and clapping, grinning ear to ear the entire time. Gwangalli beach was packed probably upwards of 40,000 people is my guess. The pathway home was a long one to say the least. Police and security were controlling 3 subway stations regulating people at the street entrances and the turnstiles. Twas a zoo. So much so I kept walking until the next subway station, half an hour away. Still an amazing night.

Celebrating

One year ago, I was tied down, sulking away. That's right, I was in a bad relationship. Despite that, for reasons I don't understand, I was content settling for the way my life was heading. I had begun to research teaching in Northern Canada on a reservation (a much colder version of hell from what I've heard). Make some money, hate life for a year, come back down with more experience than a supply teacher and a girl friend that's missed you. However, this did not come to fruition and I couldn't be happier.

I have gone on to enter this new world of self-discoveries, cultural experiences, and challenges while loving every moment.  Along the way I have met some amazing people who I can relate to on so many levels. I look back at what I wanted a year ago and laugh. I almost forgot how fun it is to be a bachelor with money. Although I do miss it a little, this change of scenery has helped me forget, and more importantly feel accomplished. Even though this distraction is another honeymoon phase in the roller coaster that is my life, hopefully this can evolve into something sensational over time. So a happy belated 2 months Busan.

You've been an excellent host.      

Farley

I have discovered my favourite student in Korea, thus far, and impulsively nicknamed him Farley; not after Mowat but Chris. The first day I saw him, I couldn't miss him. He was wearing a bright yellow track suit and greeted me with a deep resonating "Anyong Haseyo," followed by a super serious bow. Before I continue the profile of this prolific school bus of a child (maybe that'll be his alternate nickname) I should mention that instead of recess students have a 10 minute break in between each class where they can go outside and play or sit in the halls and play Gong-gi (jacks). However, the most common thing to do, especially since the weather is getting colder, is stay in the classroom and do whatever the hell you want. This includes playing Gong-gi, tag, baseball or simply fighting, all of which overlap and intertwine. Now Farley has grown significantly more than the rest of his classmates but he still tries to do everything that they do. While chasing a much smaller student he lost his footing  turning a corner and was so close to pulling a Matt Foley (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=XaoM0FyLmGY&NR=1), thankfully he didn't. Watching him is like comparable to a puppy running full speed, tripping over his own legs and not knowing how to stop.

Round 2 of Farley vs. little children. The boys were simulating the most exciting play in baseball: sliding into home plate with a catcher blocking their path. At first Farley was talking to another group, then noticed the game and jumped in front of the entire line to run and slide. He takes four or five steps and slides four inches. Disaster averted. As the class started to settle a boy in the front row starts flipping the bird to some one behind him. I casually walk over to his desk, tap it twice to get his attention, and calmly say, "Don't do that again." Farley sits behind him and sees the whole thing go down and decided to put in his own two cents. He stands up, straight as an arrow,to address me.
"Teacher" pointing his middle finger that's ever-so slightly extended, "Next time, off." There isn't a shred of sarcasm, humor, or questioning in his voice.
Nonchalantly I mutter, "Sure.'
To his pure joy he bellows "Yes!" in that fog horn voice of his and shakes his fist in triumph.
Having only known him for 80 minutes, I am very intrigued about what other surprises Farley will bring to the classroom. Perhaps a three piece suit, a novel knock-knock joke, or something that isn't even known to Westerners.

Today Farley was dressed in Korean-style letterman jacket (the three piece suit of an 11 year old.) with a maple leaf on the shoulder. How can you hate the guy now? He had a very serious demeanor today he shook my hand, upon entering the class room, in typical Korean fashion. Today was a practice test day for their mid-term at the end of the week. Farley seems to take a vow of silence in preparation. If he ever had something to report he would mime with such passion and speed, you couldn’t help but smile: it’s too noisy, they’re talking too much, she’s cheating and so on. The only real let down I had was he told me after the test that there was going to be steak for lunch. Because this is a school cafeteria I expected some sort of beef dish that had bones in it.

Even still, he was wrong. Bland chicken soup, white rice, green onions for the soup, kim chee, and little mini omelets served cold. This is usually a typical lunch here but expecting something good and getting something worse always goes down in a bitter fashion. Back to Farley, his hair is also very hilarious. It grows up, rather than out, so he’s got this out grown eraser head look going for him right now. He’s a very awesome kid and a riot to teach.     

                                                                                                                  
On a completely random note: Beersbee is an amazing drinking game. All you need are 4 sticks (a very challenging feat in Korea) a Frisbee, some patented red plastic cups, and alcohol. Each team takes two sticks and places them in the ground a foot apart, the two sets should be no less than 20 ft away from each other. Place a cup on each stick. The rules are simple: you must ALWAYS have a drink in your hand and you can't go in front of your sticks. The goals and scoring system are a little more complicated. Like most sports the highest point total wins. You get points by knocking the red cups off the stick, but if the team saves their cup before touching the ground its -1 for the team that threw the disc. If hits the ground the throwing team gets 1 point. You can get two points if you throw the Frisbee through the two sticks cleanly if the opposing team does not catch it. If they do no points are awarded to either team.
It's a great game for the beach, in the park, or your own backyard. Actually anywhere you can have open liquor and stick something in the ground is an excellent Beersbee field.

BIFF

Last weekend a friend from university came down for the Busan International Film Festival. I saw three films. All were very well done but at the same time each was very unique. A friend asked me last night, "Was there one that wasn't depressing?" Immediately the answer was yes. Each story dealt with something taboo but there was an element of escapism. After pondering over the plots they weren't as depressing as they were shocking. The shock-factor probably contributed to my emotions swirling around like a tornado bringing on my watery eyes in 1 of the 3. So here are my brief outlines of each movie. I won't rank them, however, it should be noted that all of these film were selected to be premiered at an International Film Festival (unlike any movie starring Nicholas Cage). I believe the best way to watch a movie is by going in blind, thus, I tried to give a basic outline of the movie without giving anything away.

The first movie on the list was In Another Country, a Korean film about Korea through the eyes of a foreigner. The setting was lacking and it forced the audience to focus on the characters and the dialogue. There were some funny points in the film where they dealt with the laguage barrier in between foreigners and Koreans, other than that, I'd say it was the worst movie out of the 3.

Fly with the Crane is story set in rural China, with beautiful scenery. The main family in the story is at ends with one another's values, leading to arguments which drive the story. The film takes very long shots which can't get a little dreary but its a small price to pay.  It takes a while to get into but don't judge it until you've watched the whole thing.

Finally, the best movie of them all, Beasts of the Southern Wild. A compelling story of a girl and her father that are forced to deal with poverty and disaster. The blending of reality and fantasy in this film is absolutely phenomenal. If I can recommend any of these three films this is the one. The acting was superb.

The End of September and the Beginning of October

There is reason why 5 day weekends are completely unheard of in some parts of the world. Time seems to sit still and the taps never run dry, but sometimes I wished they would. My only regret is not getting out of Busan to see other parts of Korea, even though it seems like the place to be. It probably could have softened the blow to the head courtesy of my good friend alcohol. Each day brought on new adventures exploring the city and all its little intricacies.

One of the most interesting places I went to was a bar that was exclusively for people born in 1993. It took a while to figure this out because of the language barrier but the doorman was a perfect gentleman and tried many ways to explain how my friend and I are too old for the bar. As we continued on our crawl we stumbled into a gem of a bar: All you can drink for 2 hours for the price of 10,000 won. The bar was pretty empty, the bar tenders were awesome, because they let you pour your own beer and took song requests.  Tons of fun and I’d go back in a heartbeat once I feel like drinking again.

Then there were the nights of the sloth. One day I went for a long walk in Dancheon Park which is a gorgeous walk along a rocky river. It was a beautiful sunny day which really added to the magnificence of the site. At this point I really considered buying a camera. Taking that hike was a great decision, and rejuvenated me from the night before. One thing in nature is you can just admire it and not worry about bad stuff happening. While walking back home, still in my doe-eyed state, I go to cross the street and without warning a car blows by me. It was so close I could have high-fived the driver, a harsh welcome back to civilization. After cleaning up I went out to dinner, to my dismay it was at the same place where I had that raw steak. This time I had the Philly cheese steak which was much better, but it had way too much bun. Needless to say I hit a food wall and couldn’t continue in the evening and went home and fell asleep instantly.

On the last night of drinking we went to PNU, where we had orientation and some amazing nights. Things got really out of control. After a sojo roadie, couple of beers, an extremely fun drinking game, and Ho Bar we stumbled into a place that served mixed drinks in a pitcher. I was the first one to order one of these colossal drinks and as I watched the bar tender pour me the biggest rum and coke of my life I began to mentally count how long he poured the rum,

One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi… NINE mississippi, Ten miss-

I remember explaining this to several people, and that’s about all. Apparently this galactic cocktail was downed in half an hour according to the “sober” one.   You’d think the drink was good, but it was just really hot in that bar. After waking up completely wasted I decided I did not need to drink anymore for a while. Maybe have a sober October?  Don’t count on it.

            Once I recovered from Tuesday night, I needed to answer a very important question: Where do I work?

            Luckily I remembered, and I arrived early as usual to play guitar in the specialist room. Since today was the first school day in October I am now the Grade 3-4 teacher. Even though I have seen Grade 3s and 4s wandering through the halls I expected them to look much smaller in the classroom. They were still really happy and silly but not as crazy as some of the stories I’ve heard from other NETs. My co-teacher’s classroom management is completely on-point and that might have something to do with their behaviour. Her main technique to manage the class is her voice drops at least 2 octaves and bellows, “ATTENTION!” the kids clap back and reply “Attention” with hands behind their backs, straight as an arrow.  

            For my first week at the school I had to prepare and present a PPT introducing myself to each class. I did it 18 times and never wanted to do it again. Thankfully this time around the students got to ask me questions in Korean and my co-teacher would translate it for me. These children asked very interesting questions to say the least. 

There were standard ones:

Do you speak Korean?  

Do you like Korean food?

What sports do you play?

Do you have a girlfriend?

Do you have any pets?

hat’s your favourite song?

hat’s your favourite animal?

How tall are you?
How old are you?

Then some were weird ones:

What’s your favourite tree?

Have you ever been in a car accident?

What’s 4+4? (got that one wrong)

Have you ever had a terminal illness?

How many friends do you have?

What’s your favourite proverb?

Who is your ideal mate?
Have you ever attended a musical academy?

I have a feeling if this keeps up it will be an excellent month and much different from teaching grade 5 and 6.