Moving!

So this year has been pretty bad for rain. Apparently, Korea has had the most amount of rain in the mansoon season in years causing flooding and most importantly construction to be delayed. Because they are still in the construction phase of the new English Village in Ansan, the school's construction has been delayed almost 4 weeks, causing Paula and I's moving date from the Seoul English Village to be quite uncertain. As of Friday though, the school has stated that we can move into our new apartments on August 14, 2006. For one week Paula and I will be commuting from Ansan to Seoul, as they will still need for us to teach here since they are sooo understaffed. But it is a small price to pay, to be able to have my own kitchen and apartment again.
Tomorrow I am going to cut my hair. I am planning on going really short.... I will post pictures... here's hoping it comes out nice.
Cheers!

My first grey hair

So Paula found my first grey hair (though it was more white than grey) yesterday. I made her pull it out though... I know... now I'll get 4 more to replace it. Though I think it is more from stress than age... things with the new school have been a bit frustrating to say the least.
Because of the amount of rain, the construction on the school has been delayed by 4 weeks... so they aren't going to open the new school until September (which means we are still at SEV next month and who knows when we are moving).
We had contract negotiations on Monday and well... it felt more like it was a raising voice match then anything... I spent almost an hour with J, then needed to ask for 24 hours to just cool down. It wasn't anything with the contract really... it was more the confusion that was going on regarding the new school.
Paula was next and she spent almost 2 hours in the room talking to J. Because of the language barrier, I don't think (or now know) that J really had no idea why I was upset... but once Paula (who can speak Korean fluently) went into the negotiating room... she was clearly able to express what was wrong. We were more upset with the lack and miscommunication we were getting.
In the end, J was able to explain a lot of things and promised to look into others. To his credit though, I think he did not know of the problems we were experiencing and is going to make an effort to help us.
In the end, we both signed the new ammended contract... and in Septemeber we will again negotiate for new terms in a brand new contract.
Overall, I am feeling a lot better. Jason made us promise that if we have any further issues or problems we need to tell him or JW immediately, so that they don't fester or get any bigger.
I think that everything worked out how it was supposed to.
Cheers!

Fears

So I traded shifts with a co-worker this week. Because it was his brthday and the borean mud festival, we switched so that I would work his weekend shift and he would take my thursday and friday classes.
Today, I was working with the higher-level team in the auditorium and we were talking about fears. After our discussion, each student was given a balloon and a marker. They were told to blow up the balloon, but not to tie the end. Then, they wrote their biggest fear on the balloon. Some children wrote the typical things, "spiders", "thunderstorms", but a few went further and wrote "not pleasing my parents"... which of course broke my heart. Since we do all the activities with our students, I blew up my balloon... but wasn't sure what to write on it... I mean I wasn't sure what fear was my number one... and then it hit me "loneliness". I am afraid that I will never find someone who loves me as much as my parents do... I am afraid of being alone forever.
Once all of the fears were written on the balloon, we all stood up in a circle and together took our fingers off of the bottom of the balloon, causing the air to escape and the shrivelling balloon to sore in the auditorium. This symbolized the letting go of what you feared the most, and giving the control of that fear to god or another higher power or the universe... depending on whomever you believe or don't believe in.
Though my fear is still present, it was nice to, for a moment, give away the control and put it outside of me. I think the students enjoyed the activity as well.

Something to Sing About

By: Joss Whedon

Life's a show
And we all play our parts
And when the music starts
We open up our hearts.
It's alright
If something comes out wrong
We'll sing a happy song
And you can sing along.

Where there's life,
There's hope.
Everyday's
A gift.
Wishes can
Come True.
Whistle while
You work
So hard
All day.

To be like other girls
To fit in this
Glittering world.
Don't give me songs.
Don't give me songs.
I need something to sing about!

Life's a song
You don't get to rehearse
And every single verse
Can make it so much worse.
Still, my friends
Don't know why I ignore
The million things or more
I should be dancing for.

All the joy
Life sends.
Family
And Friends.
All the twists
And then
Knowing that
It ends
Well, that
Depends
On if they let you go
On if they know enough to know.
That when you bow,
You leave the crowd.

There was no pain
No fear, no doubt
Til they pulled me out
Of Heaven!
So that's my refrain,
I live in Hell
Cause I've been expelled
From Heaven!
I think I was in Heaven!

So give me something to sing about!
Please give me something to sing about!
___________________________________________
Life's not a song.
Life isn't bliss
Life is just this
It's living!
You'll get along,
The pain that you feel
Only can heal
By Living!
You have to go on living!
So one of us is living!

I wonder

Once you are in a in different country and you become the minority it really opens your eyes to the behaviors and rudeness that people do to them do to missunderstandings and xenophobia.
When I was living and working in Waterloo, during university, I worked for a little convenience store. This store had been present in the community for more than 40 years and the owners and managers had worked there for like ever. The ladies that ran the store constantly reminded us (the other employees) of the store's "good old days" when the customers were regulars and more importantly everyone spoke English. I remember turning my nose up to these comments and passing them off as xenophobic and racist... but when it came down to it... I would find myself getting frustrated with the international community in the 'loo... asking "why can't they learn English?"... "Why come to a country when you can't even speak the language?".
I never actually realized how many xenophobic views I held myself.
This "hmmm" moment didn't actually hit me until yesterday. My phone rang and when I answered it, a Korean person started talking to me in Korean. I quickly said in Korean, "I speak only a little Korean, I am sorry!"... to which the person then began talking louder (almost yelling). He must have figured that by speaking louder and more slowly I would be able to understand all that he was saying. Not only was I annoyed by this... but was upset... I felt like the man was belittling me and though I understood some of what he was saying, I was annoyed that the man did not speak English. It was then that it hit me... though I was in his country and the language of majority is Korean, I expected him to speak and understand English. I expected him to conform for me.
I guess it isn't until a mirror is held back to you and you experience the situation for yourself, that you truly understand the error of your ways. To qickly end a cheesy self-actualization moment... I hope that I can remember this moment and have it lead to a little more compassion and understanding when I am faced with similar situations.
Cheers!

BORED!

So Paula is now in Australia for 2 weeks so I am going it alone here for a bit. In all fairness, the silence was nice for a couple of days, I did a lot of reading and catching up on some work... but now I am completely and utterly bored out of my mind. Due to the typhoon... the Village is without television for a bit... and well... other than videos which I have seen over a billion times... there is nothing to watch. Radio is out because English radio... yah right... and well... I am sooo very bored. I wish something exciting would just happen so that I could be entertained.

Missile Crisis

So right now things are a little tense in South Korea. On Wednesday (July 4, North Korea sent 7 missiles into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) causing widespread panic and concern within the international community. Though the missiles were not sent as an act of aggression (North Korea claims that they are only testing the missiles to ensure their country's safety), the United States and the rest of the world are taking the missiles very seriously.
Because I am an expat in this county (Canadian), things are a little more tense then they seem to be for the Native Korean community. While at a staff meeting on Wednesday, the Korean staff seemed to be amused with our (the foreign staffs) concerns with the new developments. Granted the Koreas are still technically at war and nothing agressive has happened in over 50 years, it is different for them than it is for us. Because they have the security of their family, things are a little less "serious" for some of them. Anyways... after raising our concerns, the school checked into what we (as foreigners) would do if, heaven forbid, the cold war between the Koreans warmed up again.
If we are bombed (knocking hard on wood) we are to evacuate the building and go to our designated waiting areas for the Korean Army to pick us up and go to our bomb shelter. Then, we are to contact our embassies, who will have planes awaiting us at the airport to take us to a "safer" country, then home.
Though the chances of anything happening are very slim (to almost none), it is still a lot more comforting to know what would happen in case of the worst happening.
The school is going to run an evacuation drill next week, in hopes of easing the concerns of its foreign teachers.
Oh well.... logically, I know that the chances of an active "war" are non-existant (97%).... it is nice to know what to do in case the worst (3%) happens.
Anyhoo... things are good... my couch and desk were delivered and things are good.
Cheers!

Gmartket

So Koreans are really big on buying on the internet. One of the largest online sites is Gmarket. This site is great for foreigners because you can order online and then pay the fee at the bank, like a bill (rather than use a credit card). Since I have to buy almost all of own furniture, I have discovered the joy of this site. I bought myself a new desk (it is a desk/bookshelf unit) for only 59$ and I have a fouton coming next week. Also, one of the listing companies on the site is IKEA Sweden, so I ordered all my dishes and pots and pans from them. It is so easy.
This month at the Village I am teaching Chemistry. I get to teach the children to make mint toothpaste. It is a lot of fun so far, and my teeth have never been cleaner (especially since I am brushing them 5-10 times a day).
I am excited though to start my new job in Ansan. I am getting more excited about my own apartment daily. I have seen a few photos of the new place, and it looks good, clean.... and of course the kitchen looks glorious.
Things are good.
Hope you had a good Canada Day.
Cheers!