alright ok ok I will

Sometimes I just dont' feel like it and I know that you are out there reading, or rather wishing you had something to read, and there is nothing and the less I blog the less you care to look, but hey i am me and thats just part of the deal. Really what I'm saying is sorry for not writing.

Meanwhile, I just got this cool feature from asher that shows where people visit the blog from; a kind of palantir for the sight, so thats fun:)

My Kindergarten class can read! its pretty cool all of them can read the english language, if only a little. They don't really know what it means but they can read it. Some of them are really good and can read books without much help. I have one girl in my class, Lily, who likes to take my novels from my desk at reading time and just sits there staring at the pages and looking at me with a smirk every once and a while. They are really sweet and love me a lot. Julia who only speaks a little english will come in in the morning and grab a pen and write "I Love You" on a post it note, hand it to me and then run of giggling. They make it worthwhile doing the job.

The afterschool program is exhausting as it consists of short classes with lots of different kids, and so you don't really get to know them. Because it's after the morning sessions I have no enrgy to put in. Its a little too much. We are heading into the Week before the Thanksgiving ( Chu Seok) holiday. It will be nice to have the break. I will be heading to Jejudo, a Semi-tropical Island of the south coast. I really look forward to being there.

I am about to head out to a writing session with some friends. I've lately been able to get connected to some great artistic people who are helping me feed some of my creative impulses. We are writing a script to be used at the cd release party of a friend. A mob themed play to run throughout the night with video and live segues between sets. I also met a guy who produces a English indie magazine here in Seoul and he has hooked me up with a gig two nights a week at a restaurant playing guitar and singing. It will be a nice way to keep that going. Kind of nerve rattling as I have never had a regular gig or thought that I would. But hey its Seoul and odd things are possible.

Thats probably more than enough for a post but lots is happening. Sorry no photos today maybe next time.

A little Bit of Everything

A great deal of heat exhaustion mixed with full moon ecliptical fever made this a bear of a day. As you can see getting these kids to walk the pace and stay on the rope as we traversed the busy Sinsa neighborhood to the park was nothing short of miraculous. Largely due to the Herculean effort by Jinny as the Line leader.

The Monkeys staying right where they should... for about three seconds.
Not your typical Asian street advertisement. Check out the Bobble-headed green haired hippie in the middle. Anyone recognize that chap?
One of the grand Palaces of Seoul. The home a great bronze bell one of the national treasures of Korea. But more excitingly the home of the Seoul National art museum, temporarily housing the Hapsburg Collectors of Vienna's masterpieces. A great afternoon was had, hanging with Rembrandt, Rubens, Denner, And Chiefly my first brush with Velásquez.
A moment of great pride and then curious unease. The Canadian Embassy on a beautiful old street in the palace district a warm welcoming albeit closed building. And then a short trip around the corner to the front gate of the US embassy. (the front Iron serrated gate with the 3"x6" bullet proof viewing window. But then the unease which embassy would I run to if shit really hits the fan. The nice welcoming "we rarely piss em' off eh" one or the "git yer tail behind this before all y'all git blown" one. Anyway considering the circumstance at the moment I sure was proud to see that Canadian coat of arms out on the Street.

sooo Hot

The local swimming pool, a tragedy at this time of year.
Since you haven't yet seen my house I figured I better post a shot. Its the building next to the grape vines, bottom floor. It stays pretty dark.
The local mega-church backed by a cumulonimbus.
I forget this scholars name but its a cool sculpture in front of the local high school.
Can anyone Identify this gourd?
The weather outside is frightful. Luckily the 35c temps are fought off by the air-conditioners which run steadily. This makes the kids and myself short fused. It also makes me short of words so thats all Ive got today.

water and skin

It's rained almost everyday for the past month. I got a rash from the water we swam in on my Chungju trip, it's about 40 degrees celcius at night and I can't lift my arms above my head from working out. ........some days are better than others.

chungju lake trip

Weekend retreat/ advance thing

This past weekend our whole school staff, teachers (Korean and Foreign) bus drivers everybody took a early morning five hour drive across the Korean peninsula to Sokcho; a strand of beach along the east coast. Along the way we visited the birthplace of a family of scholars Korean heroes immortalized on the W 5000 bill. (house pictured above)
We had a wonderful lunch of Chigae at an apparently famous restaurant. Outside was a little pond filled with Lotus flowers. It was very nice but at about that time it started to rain; notice the first drop forming in the leaf. It rained all day on and off.

I'm a little taller than average in most places but here its really marked this is a few of the Korean staff and teachers from the school getting a head up. The food in the restaurant who's porch we are standing on served an excellent dinner topped with Italian coffee with Real Cream! Maybe its not the rarity that I think here but I certainly miss it.
I am reading Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's Children" right now. This photo is both for the sake of the view but also because for the literary hilarity of snot-face's father falling prey to tetra-pod schemes. apparently its much more profitable to be in quadra-pod schemes. If you have no idea what I'm talking about then read the book. I will be sad to finish it in the next few days.
Morgan and Christine two of my colleagues enjoying the rain . It actually was quite lovely. I spent alot of the day playing my camera and guitar and listening to Neil Young's "On the Beach". "See the sky about to rain" never meant so much.

This is how Alex, one of my students sees me.
This is the Egg man; lots of Beatles in our class.
This is him watching Iron Giant. He's my favorite new artist.

A Taste of the City

I bought a camera. Its a nice little Samsung pocket camera. see what you think.

View from a mountain
And this doesn't even really capture it all

Laundry Day
Sunrise through Hongdae
Sunday Night in Myong Dong
Building or Sculpture?

Guui-dong shopping street
Guui-dong market
fish
Kiddie-Arcade
mountain in the city

Potter Street Philadelphia

Maybe you read it maybe you didn't but in January I wrote a blog noting strange coincidences that crossed my path with Shane Claibourne author of "the irresistible revolution" and revolutionary worker for "the simple way" in Philadelphia. Shane's whole block, simple way and all recently burned to the ground. Check out his blog through the link or through my "others" link "Shane and the simples." Help if you can.

http://thesimpleway.org/

getting OLD, or is it just growing up?

Its funny what makes you see it.
did you see my hair in those pictures.
i don't really make my hair look like that do I?
oh and zoom in on my shirt pocket. Can you see it.
I was given that pen today by Rose. She got it for me while in Guam.
I thought it a lovely gift. Then I slipped it in my pocket... In that instant I felt what my Dad must have felt like. I have no idea what he felt like when he got his first pen.
Maybe he bought his first teacher pocket pen himself. He's always had one.
I mean maybe he actually went through the doors of proffesional teacherdom of his own accord. I backed into them and realized as I slipped pen to pocket I was through. Its funny the
sweeps of emotion one can swing in a day.
It was only in the sand that I forgot about it again.
I don't mean to suggest that Dad is old but to me the 24 year old that was already teaching when I was born was old to me.
well I have to go teach a class.

I just looked at the photo again I don't think the pen is visible. But can't you just tell that I have a good teacher pen in my pocket.

the doctor

edumacation at its funnerest

What else would I have done with my life? It reminds me of the song "lather" by the Jefferson Airplane. check it out its a good strange song about the improtant things, like drawing pictures and playin in the sand.

I hear rumour that quite a few people are checking up on this blog. Its always nice to know your audience, so please let me know if you peek in. Nathan, that especially goes for you. I hear you look in everyday. It is hard to post everyday but I will try.

Gwanngan Bridge against the city

Pusan

This weekend I traveled south on the KTX Bullet train three and a half hours to Pusan. Pusan is the second largest city in Korea, a mere 3 million. Set on the edge of the southern coast it is a bit of what I imagine Miami to be like except with Koreans. This means no bikinis, people wearing jeans and shirts in the water. I actually have no idea what Miami is like, maybe they wear jeans instead of trunks. Anyway the water was lovely.
I was able to visit my friends Remco and Kim Delmeijer. It was good to see them before they head back to Canada in a few weeks. They were good company as we checked out some of the night lights, ate Wei (raw fish) and hung out on the beach. I played some Volleyball on which has burned up my muscles in my legs and turned them into smoldering firewood instead of working appendages. (its been a while).
The bridge in Pusan was one of the highlights. A giant snaking span across the bay of the Gwang-Alli beach front. I was able to ride across it three times. Remco parked illegally and the car was towed so we had to cab over the bridge to get it and then back over. quite a lovely scene.
anyway I am back at school and need to get ready to teach.

friday ok maybe that was a little heavy

Its friday. I have one more class to teach. The kids will write a test and then if theyre done early we will play scrabble. I used to play scrabble at home and hated it because Mom and Rueben would kick my ass. I hated it because of course I only ever play to win. Just kidding. But I thought that I was terrible and kind of stupid. Then I played other people besides them and i realized that I was not that terrible. That either means Im as stupid as evryone else or my Mom and Rueben are genius'. Anyway I am talking about people at college not my 10 year old students who speak english as a second language. But I sure can kick ass in those games. ah teaching is such a great ego trip.
today my kinderkids were all singing this song that is about loving kimchi but they changed the words to be that they loved me. its a bit much so I will leave here today and shave my head and wear sackcloth and ashes to humble myself. Actually Im going to find a corner store and buy a beer and sit on the stoop and people watch till im really hungry.

A look in the pool

So its been a while since I wrote any sort of reflective piece thus the title. I got a strong gut reaction just now reading Asher's out of Africa blog and am thinking about all the differences in the world that we find are selves in. The other night I was out in Apgujeong-dong meeting a friend. The street is lined with the world's finest fashion houses and with beautiful people and their beautiful clothes all bought at a highstreet price. Korean people are naturally very beautiful but this neighborhood has a huge amount of plastic surgery clinics. People actually can get tax breaks for getting plastic surgery. THe most popular are eye skin tucks and colligen shots but it ranges to jaw reductions a process where the actually file down your jaw bone and adjust where the bone meets your skull. (suprisingly this is apparently very common.) the other is of course breast implants (the other option here being the water bra, a noticably common enhancment and serious disapointment Im sure. The most extreme, considering the infatuation with height, is leg lengthening. A six month procedure where the legs are broken seperated and allowed to grow and fill the fracture. The process is repeated to a gain of as much as three inches. All of this Narcissism behind closed doors does pour onto the street where the young twenty somthing women speed past "the Galleria" in their Mazaratti's going to the clubs. Those who have seen both say that this high flying Seoul is wilder then Manhattan. Coming into the world Fore at this time in history gives it a strange science fiction edge.
This is of course a discription of a crust of Korean society but it happens to be the part of the pie I am surrounded by these are the streets I walk home from work or when I go to do yoga or have a beer with friends.
I am sure that if some of my Korean co-workers read what I wrote they would be embarassed at my impressions that I send home. And that is fair. Because I don't speak the language I can't talk to anyone unless they speak english and so my impressions are from the rich who by and large speak english. It is kind of scary in Apgujeong how many young people will tell you a place in North America where they are from, usually playing up that accent and acting as if they lived there for more then the three or four years of college. These of course are the ones driving the bentley's.
So it gives me a feeling of unease to look at a schools red Roof in Sierra Leone and to stare across the street and see the giant flashing neon panasonic sign or Johnny Walker or Mercedes or whatever.....
Today we had a class birthday Party for Gemini he is 7, korean age that means 6 back home, and every kid got a box of cookies and ate enough cake to make horse sick, all provided by young Gemini's family, who I was told by my co teacher "were showing that they cared a lot".(I almosted pasted the guy on the spot, as if big cakes and presents ever made up for a good time with loved ones.) And despite the affluence of it all here was just a normal little boy having his birthday party with his friends. sure the cake was bigger then most, sure the presents cost more. But he still likes "baby beluga" and playing musical chairs and cries when he loses. it's his party, he can if he wants to. And it makes me think that much of our understanding of self and wealth is like the air we breathe. it comes like our skin. We only see it from another perspective if we get a chance to breathe someone elses air or have a skin transplant. And few 6 year olds are self aware let alone globally aware. it seems a little to much to ask on a birthday.
How much is to much? I can't say that I know the line but its a few turns before you get to the broken leg stretch exit Im pretty sure. "Of those to whom much is given, much is required. " I am gonna go in tommorow and donate a few inches between my knee and my ankle. It seems there's people who need it more then me. or at least they need something................

The little people I spend most of my time with.

These are my M/W/F afterschool kids, Henry looks like I think he feels about being in a class of all girls but me. Most of these kids have spent time abroad and have a great grip on english already. right now we're reading a drastically abridged version of "The Nutcracker"
These kids shouldn't be in school at the time I teach them they should be tearing around, building forts, riding bikes, swimming and fighting; not sitting in desks learning another language at 4:30pm. As a result they rarely listen. They still surprise me with how much they do pick up.
Irene (and Steve in the background) brilliant, both of them. We have great classes in which I can talk at a very sophisticated level of English and they still understand (with the help of the dictionary.) Wendy also in the class took the day off (no photo)
This is Will hes going to be a Ninja when he grows up. He may already be a Ninja. He is one of the smallest fiestiest kids I've ever met. Him and Adrian Vanwoerden would get on famously. I teach him art, that is to say I put paint and a brush near him and see how long he's entertained for. I don't teach the kid "standing" next to him; thank the Lord. Today in this class on kid pee'd his pants another drew a penis on a picture of him self and Will here threw lots of paint on the floor and walls. Education; that's what its all about.
These are my Kindergarten kids. 5 days a week for 5 hours I hang out with these kids. We read good books and sing raffi songs, and draw, paint and play in the sand box, we write in our journals and listen to sweet music like Modest Mouse, Niel Young and Sigur Ros
This is Lola, I want to learn Korean because they say this girl has the driest sense of humor, she apparently is continually cracking lines at me that I can't catch.
That is John in my chair. As you can see I surround myself with quality art. Note also the "Where the Wild things are Masks" on the wall. That was a fun class. Alex is the fuzzy guy in front but you'll see him later.
Here they all are.. somewhat. this is from a set of 3 funny progression photos which Ill post later.
This is the school at 1:30 with all the K kids about to get on the buses. My classroom is in the window by the top of red "S" on the sign.
Alex and Tulip madly chopping away.
Julia, drama queen and someone whose humor I understand.
Alex: Very creative, possibly a few candles short of a cathedral.
Gemini and Soo Yeon, two of the sweetest kids. Gemini (the Boy) has the softest heart and is most likely to burst tears of all my students. Soo Yeon's favorite word is Belly button and she is continually sneaking around and poking other peoples. That leaves no mention of Andy, Danny, Rose or Taylor. I will have to get them in later