SHHHHUUUUUDDDDDAAAAAAAPPPP!!!!!

So there I was watching Kindergarden Cop thinking, 'Arnold, I totally feel you'. Man, kids were kicking me in the pants daily, everyday I wonder how I'm going to fill 45 minutes by explaining six words that they already know. And hell, getting the little jerks to sit down and be quiet is like wrestling a lion, a tiger, and a bear, except they're three feet tall and speak jibberish.

It has seriously been stressing me out every day but last night I had some awesome Cabernat-Shiraz inspired conversation with Brandon. Brandon is a very bright Canadian and a History major. We share alot of the same thoughts on life adventures, romance, and most importantly enlightenment.

We shared more than a glass or two last night after our poker game in Marcus' room and he gave me confidence that in time I will find my way. Since I was about 16 I've had a deep need to be the best at every job or anything new I jump into. I know that soon I will not have any trouble with this job and I will be giving others insightful advice. Today, I had a breakthrough.

Instead of barking orders and trying to be tough the whole class I used my chill voice, playing Jack Johnson and Ben Harper in the background of my class and never raising my voice allowed me to walk out of class with a smile. So, in short my funk is ending and I really just need to hit the gym and eat better so I can enjoy my time better. My shit attitude is imposing on my experience here and I need to meet every day with open arms.

From my new favorite book, The Razor's Edge, "I'm on the threshold. I see vast lands of the spirit stretching out before me, beckoning, and I'm eager to travel them. It's a toss up when you decide to leave the beaten track. Many are called but few are chose."

Jeonju Hashers: A Group of Drinkers With a Running Problem

Yesterday, I went to Jeonju for what is called a Hash. Apparently this an event that people participate in worldwide, personally I had no idea what it was. So if you are as ignorant on the term as I am here is what my day consisted of. I woke up at about eleven and Marcus, his girlfriend, Erica, Isaac and myself headed to Jeonju for the Hash. Me met with Tori and Greg, had a little BeeBimBop bought some wine and threw it into a backpack and met with some people that are regular 'Hashers'.

I met a British woman named Raveena or Highly Strung(her Hash name) and she gave me an explanation as to why I was thirty miles from home (okay so maybe more like 7000 from but 30 from my apartment) on a cold windy day. She explained that she and her husband led the Hash group for Jeonju and they were a group that went on treks through hills, neighborhoods, random buildings through the town. In a nutshell a Hash is an organized jogging session with many urban obstacles and you must keep a look out for Hashes or chalked arrows through out the town. If you go down the wrong path then the fun of the Hash is finding the path again. This trek we took was probably four miles, half of which was uphill on a mountain. Most Hashers run this trail but for myself and my friends we walked, enjoyed the views and some cheap Bordeaux from the local Mini-Mart. But why a run/walk? Why do these people insist on meeting no matter what the elements provide? Warren, a South Africa, had one explanation I found very positive. He said it was a way for foreigners to come together and bond. It is way to for us to say no matter how few of us there are in this country, we will seek each other out and have our fun and in great numbers no less. This particular Hash had at least twenty people from Iksan, Jeonju, and Seoul.

Once you reach the end, the walkers finally reconvene with thr runners and have a picnic. The picnic consisted of potstickers, beer, and sodas. After some good grub is consumed they all gather in a circle and sing short chants or songs about various things, one of which being Hash virgins. Myself and all my friends were new to the Hash and we had to stand in front of the group, introduce ourselves. In all honesty it was entertaining for the first thirty minutes but the songs dragged on for at least an hour and a half AHHHHHHHH!

Later in the evening they all meet again and have some drinks and dinner together to top off the day with a large amount of alchohol and hugs. Will I do it again? Eh, maybe, but I'm certainly glad that I went. The End....

I'll have more soon, I'm getting strange feelings and I'm not sure but something is wrong with me right now, so as soon as I figure out this funk I'm in I'll explain it.

Good To The Last Drip

This weekend was an adventure to say the very least. On Friday it was Brandon's birthday and we had a nice little time at the local foreigner bar Red Rock. As I was laying in bed and Mr. Jack Daniels was letting know how mean his sour mash after effects were, Brandon comes to my door to remind me that there was a bachelor party that night and if I was still interested they would be leaving in an hour. UGH! Though I thought going to a movie might be the more responsible thing to do but my curiosity and virile spirit had me in the shower and lacing up my chucks.

We met up with seven other guys that included, Irishmen, Scots, Canadians, and even a couple Americans with the same curious nature including the man of the evening Travis, a physics teacher in China from Newfoundland. His best man also from Newfoundland, named, Paul had quite the little game planned. He gave us all laminated cards to wear around our necks that had a list of 'to-do's' for each objective you got a sticker. You see we were on a serious competition for the evening. Some examples would be, get three kisses from girls and get two stickers or for each beer/shot you slam you get a sticker (can you tell that we are all teachers yet?) and if you do some other ridiculous act that we all agree is dysfunctional and hilarious, you also get some points. So, we hopped on a train to the 5th biggest town in Korea, Gwangju.

On the train we were already into trouble, being silenced by the train ambassador numerous times, only because we were speaking English, not because we were being too loud. Typical circumstances for being in a foreign land. We got our hotel room once we stepped on the Gangju and set out on our night on the town.

We started on a street corner near a Mini-Mart (quick access to alcohol) pulled a random table sitting on the street up and began watching the 'coffee girls'. You see, in Gwangju, there is a unique culture of prostitution run by gangsters. You order 'coffee' and if you like what she has to offer then you make a negotiation, if not, then you pay for the coffee. So, if your into Maxwell House or venereal diseases, your senses can be cured in Gwangju. After darkness hit this town filled with sin, we hit up a traditional Korean restaurant and had some grub, more laughs, and probably too much rice liquor or Soju.

Brandon and I were pretty stuck on having one hell of a good time and though some of the fellas had a little drama, we held our own, we burned past the midnight owls, I obnoxiously obtained pecks on my hairy face from foriengers. Korean girls refused to even reply to my hellos but two did direct us to a nightclub. The SUPER CLUB HOUZE, why they always get the little spelling wrong I have no idea, but B and I walked three floors beneath the Earth into a disco with two thousand Koreans dancing their hearts out, we scared most of them away but managed to get a couple to dance with us...well more like near us.

We called it a night and got to the hotel at about 5 am and crashed. Around 11 am, I heard a knock on the door, I opened my steel eye lids and past the image of my red eyes in the headboard mirror (ask about this and I'll explain its a long story), I saw a woman walking in. I assumed she was coming to ask us to leave so she could clean, Brandon was a little disoriented himself and had no answers to my questions. I leaned over and saw her pulling out a thermos and cups. IT WAS A FREAKING COFFEE GIRL!!! So, we had some coffee and after her pimp who thought he was intimidating us standing all of 5'8'' and weighing in at a strikingly petite 120 lbs with a pink shirt no less, we paid her and she left, THANKS FOR THE COFFEE! We passed on the VD, funny story but I wish a pizza guy had gotten lost instead! There's really another five pages to this story but I thought I would give the highlights. I made some new friends and established deeper roots with friends I have already made, overall this weekend was a blast. Until next time readers.....

Education For The Educator

This week I began teaching. I have five classes to teach, two adult classes and three kids classes. My adults are shy and the biggest struggle that we all have with them is to get them to open up. I let them know that my classroom is a safe enviorment and this is where we make mistakes. I feel like I have such good intentions but my teaching style still hasn't developed into a natural habit. I sat in on the other teachers classes last week and they were all so good, well most of them anyway. The kids classes that I'm teaching are ages 10,11,13, and 14. The children are divided up by age level and skill level. For instance my 10 & 11 yr olds are in "English Time" and they are put into different level such as 1 or 2. I have an English Time 1 and an English Time 2. My ET1 class is a nightmare, well actually its just two little girls, my class size is about eight or ten on average. I gave a spelling test today but they refused to take it. I told them that they had to take the test if they wanted to participate in game day but they just planted themselves. I even gave them the opportunity to go outside and play but they refused to do anything I asked.

My other classes are fairly well behaved and I can always put on my bear voice to scare them into submission but these two little girls just wont budge!! This job is fun when it works out and you're able to make that connection with the kids or adults but with every job there are complications. Just imagine when I'm trying to enforce discipline on these little rascals and they're just whining and snarling at me and neither one of us can truly express why the other is upset. This experience will only make me a better canidate for an educator in my home country or another one but, the biggest lesson to be learned is COMMUNICATION! Patience with communication in our fellow man is they biggest thing I have learned here thus far. There is something for me to learn every day and I have always felt that way, being in a foreign culture only intensifies these lessons. Farewell for now readers, stay tuned for my next entry....